1747 British general election

1747 general election in Great Britain Kingdom of Great Britain parliamentary no 1741 British general election 1741 outgoing members 1754 British general election 1754 All 558 seats in the House of Commons 280 elected members 1747 6 26 1747 8 4 yes 150x150px Henry Pelham by William Hoare.jpg Henry Pelham Whigs (British political party) Sussex 338 52 Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, 3rd Bt by Michael Dahl.jpg Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn Tories (British political party) Denbighshire 117 19 Patriot Whigs FFFF00 — Patriot Whigs — 94 37 Prime Minister Prime Minister after election Henry Pelham Whigs (British political party) Henry Pelham Whigs (British political party) 1747 British GE composition diagram.svg Composition of the House of Commons after the election The 1747 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 10th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw Henry Pelham's Whig government increase its majority and the Tories continue their decline. By 1747, thirty years of Whig oligarchy and systematic corruption had weakened party ties substantially; despite that Walpole, the main reason for the split that led to the creation of the Patriot Whig faction, had resigned, there were still almost as many Whigs in opposition to the ministry as there were Tories, and the real struggle for power was between various feuding factions of Whig aristocrats rather than between the old parties. The Tories had effectively become an irrelevant group of country gentlemen who had resigned themselves to permanent opposition. Summary of the constituencies See 1796 British general election for details. The constituencies used were the same throughout the existence of the Parliament of Great Britain. Dates of election The general election was held between 26 June 1747 and 4 August 1747. At this period elections did not take place at the same time in every constituency. The returning officer in each county or parliamentary borough fixed the precise date (see hustings for details of the conduct of the elections). Results 300px Seats summary Parliamentary seats #ddd 375px 480px Whig Whigs (British political party) 60.6 Tory #3333CC 21.0 Patriot #E2EE00 16.8 See also List of parliaments of Great Britain References British Electoral Facts 1832–1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher (Ashgate Publishing Ltd 2000). (For dates of elections before 1832, see the footnote to Table 5.02). Category:1747 in politics General election Category:18th-century elections 1747 Category:Henry Pelham