Opinion polling for the 2010 United Kingdom general election was carried out by various organisations to gauge voting intention. Most of the polling companies listed are members of the British Polling Council (BPC) and abide by its disclosure rules. The opinion polls listed range from the previous election on 5 May 2005 to the election on 6 May 2010.
Immediately following the previous general election, the Labour Party held a double-digit lead in opinion polls. However, in the latter part of 2005, this lead was eroded somewhat. By December, the Conservative Party showed its first small leads in opinion polls following the controversial 90 days detention proposals and the election of David Cameron as Conservative leader.
In early 2006, opinion polls were increasingly mixed with small leads given alternately to Labour and Conservative. From the 2006 local elections in May, in which Labour suffered significant losses, the Conservatives took a small single-digit lead in opinion polls. This was the first consistent lead of the opinion polls that the Conservatives had enjoyed for 14 years.
Labour regained the lead in June 2007, following the resignation of Tony Blair as prime minister after 10 years and the selection of Gordon Brown as his successor. Brown resisted calls from his party to hold a general election, despite opinion polls suggesting that Labour was capable of being re-elected at this stage.
The Conservatives took the lead once again in November 2007. This grew wider in spring 2008, particularly in response to the onset of the great recession along with the increased unemployment that resulted from it. After a brief narrowing between Labour and the Conservatives in late 2008, the latter's lead widened again following the emergence of the MPs' expenses scandal in 2009. Though Labour slightly recovered in the latter half of 2009, the Conservatives maintained their lead through to election day. In the campaign period, the Liberal Democrats enjoyed a significant and unprecedented surge following the first televised debate of the party leaders, in which their leader Nick Clegg was widely seen as the strongest performer.
Poll results are listed in the tables below in reverse chronological order. The highest percentage figure in each poll is displayed in bold, and its background is shaded in the leading party's colour. The "lead" column shows the percentage point difference between the two parties with the highest figures. When a poll result is a tie, the figures with the highest percentages are shaded and displayed in bold.
Most national opinion polls do not cover Northern Ireland, which has different major political parties from the rest of the United Kingdom. As mentioned prior, most of the polling companies listed are members of the BPC; however, BPIX is not a BPC member and does not publish detailed methodology and findings.
An exit poll, collected by Ipsos MORI and GfK NOP for the BBC, ITN and Sky News, was published at 22:00 at the end of voting. Data was gathered from 130 polling stations across the country.
Initial reaction to the exit poll by various commentators was of surprise at the apparent poor prospects for the Liberal Democrats because it was odds with many opinion polls undertaken in the previous weeks. However, the actual results showed that the exit poll was a good predictor.
A later BBC forecast (05:36 BST) predicted the Conservatives on 306, 20 short of an overall majority, Labour on 262, and Liberal Democrats on 55.
Blaenau Gwent maintained its 2005 boundaries at the 2010 general election.
Between the 2005 and 2010 general elections the boundaries of Brighton Pavilion were changed. The Green Party candidate was its leader, Caroline Lucas.
Between the 2005 and 2010 general elections the boundaries of Crewe and Nantwich were changed.
Glasgow East maintained its 2005 boundaries at the 2010 general election.
Glasgow North East maintained its 2005 boundaries at the 2010 general election.
Glenrothes maintained its 2005 boundaries at the 2010 general election.
Between the 2005 and 2010 general elections the boundaries of Norwich North were changed.
<sup>P</sup> â <small>The dates when the fieldwork for this poll was carried out is unknown, therefore the date of publication has been given.</small>