1857 United Kingdom general election

United Kingdom general election, 1857

27 March–24 April 1857
All 654 seats in the House of Commons 328 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader The Viscount Palmerston The Earl of Derby Party Whig Conservative Leader since 6 February 1855 July 1846 Leader's seat Tiverton Earl of Derby Last election 324 seats, 57.9% 330 seats, 41.9% Seats won 377 264 (including Peelites) Seat change 53 66 Popular vote 464,127 239,712 Percentage 65.9% 34.0% Swing 7.0% 7.9%
PM before election Lord Palmerston Whig Subsequent PM Lord Palmerston Whig

1847 election • MPs

1852 election • MPs

1857 election • MPs

1859 election • MPs

1865 election • MPs

In the 1857 United Kingdom general election, the Whigs, led by Lord Palmerston, finally won a majority in the House of Commons as the Conservative vote fell significantly. The election had been provoked by a vote of censure in Palmerston's government over his approach to the Arrow affair which led to the Second Opium War.

Results

United Kingdom General Election 1857
Party		Candidates						Votes
		Stood	Elected	Gained	Unseated	Net	% of total	%	No.	Net %
	Whig	507	377			+ 53		64.9	464,127	+ 7.0
	Conservative	351	264			- 66		33.5	239,712	- 7.1
	Others	19	13	13	0	+ 13		1.7	12,099	N/A
	Chartist	1	0	0	0	0		0.1	614	- 0.1

Total votes cast: 716,552. "Others" are mostly Irish Independent Opposition. The Conservative total votes cast and MPs includes around 26 Peelites - some reference works claim it was as few as 18.

Summary

Popular vote Whig   64.77% Conservative   33.45% Others   1.69% Chartist   0.09%

Seats summary

Parliamentary seats Whig   57.65% Conservative   40.37% Others   1.99%

References

• F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987
• British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher (Ashgate Publishing Ltd 2000)
• 1857 General Election / Spartacus: Political Parties and Election Results