1859 United Kingdom general election

United Kingdom general election, 1859

28 April–18 May 1859
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 377 seats, 65.9% 264 seats, 34.0% Seats won 356 (including Peelites) 298 Seat change 21 34 Popular vote 372,117 193,232 Percentage 65.7% 34.3% Swing 0.2% 0.3%
PM before election Lord Derby Conservative Subsequent PM Lord Palmerston Whig

1852 election • MPs

1857 election • MPs

1859 election • MPs

1865 election • MPs

1868 election • MPs

In the 1859 United Kingdom general election, the Whigs, led by Lord Palmerston, held their majority in the House of Commons over the Earl of Derby's Conservatives. This election is also considered to be the first to be contested by the Liberal Party - a name unofficially adopted to cover the alliance of Whigs, Peelites, Radicals and Irish Brigade who had previously voted against the Derby administration in the House of Commons that had led to the election. It was also the last general election entered by the Chartists, before their organisation was dissolved.

Results

UK General Election 1859
Party		Candidates						Votes
		Stood	Elected	Gained	Unseated	Net	% of total	%	No.	Net %
	Whig	298	356			- 21	54.4	65.7	372,117	- 0.2
	Conservative	394	298			+ 34	45.6	34.3	193,232	+ 0.3
	Chartist	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	151	- 0.1

Total votes cast: 565,500

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)
• Spartacus: Political Parties and Election Results