1868 United Kingdom general election

1868 United Kingdom general election

17 November – 7 December 1868 (1868-11-17 – 1868-12-07)
All 658 seats in the House of Commons 327 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader William Ewart Gladstone Benjamin Disraeli Party Liberal Conservative Leader since 3 December 1868 27 February 1868 Leader's seat South West Lancashire (defeated) Greenwich Buckinghamshire Last election 369 seats, 59.5% 289 seats, 40.5% Seats won 387 271 Seat change 18 18 Popular vote 1,428,776 903,318 Percentage 61.2% 38.7% Swing 1.7% 1.8%
Colours denote the winning party
Prime Minister before election Benjamin Disraeli Conservative Prime Minister after election William Ewart Gladstone Liberal

The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom. It was the first election held in the United Kingdom in which more than a million votes were cast; nearly triple the number of votes were cast compared to the previous election of 1865.

The result saw the Liberals, led by William Ewart Gladstone, again increase their large majority over Benjamin Disraeli's Conservatives to more than 100 seats.

This was the last general election at which all the seats were taken by only the two leading parties, although the parties at the time were loose coalitions and party affiliation was not listed on registration papers.

Results

Largest party in each constituent country

↓ 

style="background: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color; width:58.8%;" | 387	style="color:white; background: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color;" "width:41.2%;" | 271
Liberal	Conservative

UK General Election 1868
Party		Candidates						Votes
		Stood	Elected	Gained	Unseated	Net	% of total	%	No.	Net %
	Liberal	600	387			+18	58.81	61.24	1,428,776	+2.0
	Conservative	436	271			−18	41.19	38.71	903,318	−2.1
	Others	3	0	0	0	0	0	0.05	1,157	N/A

Total votes cast: 2,333,251.

Voting summary

Popular vote Liberal   61.24% Conservative   38.71% Others   0.05%

Seats summary

Parliamentary seats Liberal   58.81% Conservative   41.19% Others   0.0%

Regional results

Great Britain

style="width: 2px; background-color: #FFD700;" data-sort-value="Liberal Party (UK)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #DDDDBB;" data-sort-value="Other" |

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
Liberal	515	80	321	7	1,374,315	61.4
Conservative	383	65	234	10	864,551	38.6
Other	1	0	0		969	0.0
Total		899	145	555	3	2,239,835	100

England

style="width: 2px; background-color: #FFD700;" data-sort-value="Liberal Party (UK)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #DDDDBB;" data-sort-value="Other" |

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
Liberal	412	46	244	7	1,192,098	59.7
Conservative	334	54	211	2	803,637	40.2
Other	1	0	0		969	0.1
Total		747	100	455	9	1,996,704	100

Scotland

style="width: 2px; background-color: #FFD700;" data-sort-value="Liberal Party (UK)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
Liberal	70	23	51	9	125,356	82.5
Conservative	20	3	7	4	23,985	17.5
Total		90	26	58	5	149,341	100

Wales

style="width: 2px; background-color: #FFD700;" data-sort-value="Liberal Party (UK)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" |

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
Liberal	29	10	23	5	52,256	62.1
Conservative	20	4	10	4	29,866	37.9
Total		49	14	33	1	82,122	100

Ireland

Main article: United Kingdom general election, 1868 (Ireland)

style="width: 2px; background-color: #FFD700;" data-sort-value="Liberal Party (UK)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Irish Conservative Party" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #DDDDBB;" data-sort-value="Other" |

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
Liberal	85	41	66	8	54,461	57.9	+2.3
Irish Conservative	53	26	37	8	38,765	41.9	−2.5
Other	2	0	0		188	0.2	+0.2
Total		140	67	103		149,341	100

Universities

style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #FFD700;" data-sort-value="Liberal Party (UK)" |

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
Conservative	9	4	6		7,063	55.4
Liberal	4	1	3	3	4,605	44.6
Total		13	5	9		11,668	100

References

• Craig, F. W. S. (1989), British Electoral Facts: 1832–1987, Dartmouth: Gower, ISBN 0900178302
• Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael, eds. (2000), British Electoral Facts 1832–1999, Ashgate Publishing Ltd

External links

• Spartacus: Political Parties and Election Results