1918 United Kingdom general election

none August 2026 May 2014 December 2019 1918 United Kingdom general election United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland parliamentary no December 1910 United Kingdom general election Dec 1910 List of MPs elected in the December 1910 United Kingdom general election 1922 United Kingdom general election 1922 All 707 seats in the House of Commons 354Given that Sinn Féin MPs practised abstentionism and did not take their seats, while the Speaker and deputies did not vote, the number of MPs needed for a majority was lower in practice.https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/government-majority Government majority Institute for Government 20 December 2019 Sinn Féin won 73 seats, meaning a practical majority required 318 MPs. List of MPs elected in the 1918 United Kingdom general election 14 December 1918 21,392,322 10,786,81857.2% (24.4 pp) Andrew Bonar Law 01.jpg 125 120 160 0 0 Bonar Law 13 November 1911 Conservative Party (UK) Glasgow Central 271 seats, 46.6% 382Co-con Including Conservatives and Unionists not elected under the Coalition Coupon.speaker Figure includes Speaker of the House of Commons James Lowther in Penrith and Cockermouth. He received a Coalition Coupon in this election. 111Co-con 4,144,192Co-con 38.7%Co-con 7.9 ppCo-con David Lloyd George (3x4).jpg 120 120 160 0 0 David Lloyd George 7 December 1916 Coalition Liberal Caernarvon Boroughs Did not contest 127 127 1,396,590 12.6% New party William Adamson 1918 portrait (cropped).jpg 120 120 160 0 0 William Adamson 24 October 1917 Labour Party (UK) West Fife 42 seats, 6.4% 57 15 2,245,777 20.8% 14.4 pp De Valera LCCN2016822004 (headshot).jpg 120 120 160 0 0 Éamon de Valera 25 October 1917 Sinn Féin East Clare;East MayoDe Valera was elected in both seats. Did not contest 73The Sinn Féin MPs did not take their seats in the House of Commons, and instead formed Dáil Éireann. 73 497,107 4.6% New party H.H. Asquith in 1910s by Olive Edis (cropped).jpg 120 120 160 0 0 H. H. Asquith 30 April 1908 Liberal Party (UK) East Fife (lost seat) 272 seats, 44.2% 36 236 1,388,784 13.0% 31.2 pp John Dillon, circa 1915.jpg 120 120 160 0 0 John Dillon 6 March 1918 Irish Parliamentary Party East Mayo (lost seat) 74 seats, 2.5% 7 67 238,197 2.2% 0.3 pp 1918 UK general election map.svg Colours denote the winning party 1918 UK general election seat apportionment diagram.svg Composition of the House of Commons after the 1918 general election Prime Minister Prime Minister after election David Lloyd George Coalition Liberal David Lloyd George Coalition Liberal Coalition Coalition Following the Armistice with Germany, which ended the First World War, a general election was held in the United Kingdom on Saturday, 14 December 1918. The governing coalition, under Prime Minister David Lloyd George, sent letters of endorsement to candidates who supported the coalition government. These were nicknamed Coalition Coupons, and led to the election being known as the "coupon election". The result was a massive landslide in favour of the coalition, comprising primarily the Conservatives and Coalition Liberals, with massive losses for Liberals who were not endorsed.McEwen 1962 Nearly all the Liberal MPs without coupons were defeated, including party leader and former Prime Minister H. H. Asquith.Stuart R. Ball Asquith's Decline and the General Election of 1918 Scottish Historical Review 61 171 1982 44–61 It was the first general election to be held after enactment of the Representation of the People Act 1918. It was thus the first election in which women over the age of 30 (with some property qualifications), and all men over the age of 21, could vote. Previously, all women and many poor men had been excluded from voting. Women generally supported the coalition candidates.Hilson Mary Mary Hilson 2001 Women voters and the rhetoric of patriotism in the British general election of 1918 Women's History Review 10 2 325–347 10.1080/09612020100200284 freeDavid Thackeray Home and politics: women and Conservative activism in early twentieth-century Britain Journal of British Studies 49 4 2010 826–848, esp. p. 836 10.1086/654913 20941876 It was also the first parliamentary election in which women were able to stand as candidates, following the Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act 1918, which received royal assent shortly before Parliament was dissolved. At 27 operative words, it is believed to be one of the shortest Acts of Parliament. It followed a report by Law Officers that the Reform Act 1832 had specified parliamentary candidates had to be male, and that the Representation of the People Act passed earlier in the year did not change that. One woman, Nina Boyle, had presented herself as a candidate in the 1918 Keighley by-election, but had been turned down by the returning officer on technical grounds.David Hallam Hallam David J. A http://www.brewinbooks.com/taking_on_the_men Taking on the Men: the first women parliamentary candidates 1918 Studley 2018 11–12 It was also the first general election to include on a single day all eligible voters of the United Kingdom, although the vote count was delayed until 28 December so that the ballots cast by soldiers serving overseas could be included in the tallies.Barry McGill Lloyd George's Timing of the 1918 Election Journal of British Studies 14 1 1974 109–124 10.1086/385668 Prior to this election the university constituency seats were re-allocated. Several seats were filled in multi-seat constituencies using STV.https://wonkhe.com/blogs/the-history-of-university-representation/ The history of university representation Wonkhe 28 January 2015 Mike Ratcliffe The election resulted in a landslide victory for the coalition government of David Lloyd George, who had replaced H. H. Asquith as Prime Minister in December 1916. They were both Liberals, and continued to battle for control of the party, which was rapidly losing popular support, and never regained power.Paul Adelman The decline of the Liberal Party 1910–1931 2014 The election was also noted for the dramatic result in Ireland, which showed clear disapproval of government policy. The Irish Parliamentary Party were almost completely wiped out by the Irish republican party Sinn Féin, who vowed in their manifesto to establish an independent Irish Republic. They refused to take their seats in Westminster, instead forming Dáil Éireann as a separatist parliament and made a Declaration of Independence in 1919. The Irish War of Independence also began in January 1919. Because of the resulting partition of Ireland, this was the last United Kingdom general election to include the entire island of Ireland.Staunton Enda 2001 The Nationalists of Northern Ireland 1918-1973 Dublin The Columba Press 15–24 1 85607 328 9 Background June 2026 Lloyd George's coalition government was supported by a minority (majority after the election) of the Liberals and Bonar Law's Conservatives. However, the election saw a split in the Liberal Party between those who were aligned with Lloyd George and the government and those who were aligned with Asquith, the party's official leader. On 5 November, with a Western Front armistice imminent, Lloyd George asked King George V for a dissolution of Parliament. The King was initially reluctant because of the large number of newly enfranchised voters, both male (many of them in the Army) and female. He was persuaded, on the grounds that Parliament had been sitting since 1910 and had been extended since the end of 1915 by emergency wartime legislation.Ridley 2021 272-3Under the 1911 Parliament Act (see that article) a vote by the Commons to extend its own life is one of the exceptional cases over which the House of Lords retains a veto. The Conservative Peers could therefore have forced an election by blocking any further extension. Jane Ridley makes no mention of Lloyd George raising this point. On 14 November it was announced that Parliament would dissolve on 25 November, with elections on 14 December.Mowat 1955 3 Following confidential negotiations over the summer of 1918, it was agreed that certain candidates were to be offered the support of the Prime Minister and the leader of the Conservative Party at the next general election. To these candidates a letter, known as the Coalition Coupon, was sent, indicating the government's endorsement of their candidacy. 159 Liberal, 364 Conservative, 20 National Democratic and Labour, and 2 Coalition Labour candidates received the coupon. For this reason, the election is often called the Coupon Election.Trevor Wilson, "The Coupon and the British General Election of 1918." Journal of Modern History 36.1 (1964): 28–42. 80 Conservative candidates stood without a coupon. Of these, 35 candidates were Irish Unionists. Of the other non-couponed Conservative candidates, only 23 stood against a Coalition candidate; the remaining 22 candidates stood in areas where there were no coupons, or refused the offer of a coupon.McEwen 1962 295 The Labour Party, led by William Adamson, fought the election independently, as did those Liberals who did not receive a coupon. The election was not chiefly fought over what peace to make with Germany, although those issues played a role. More important was the voters' evaluation of Lloyd George in terms of what he had accomplished so far and what he promised for the future. His supporters emphasised that he had won the Great War. Against his strong record in social legislation, he called for making "a country fit for heroes to live in".Taylor 1976 127–128 This election was also known as a khaki election, due to the immediate postwar setting and the role of the demobilised soldiers. Coalition victory The coalition won the election easily, with the Conservatives the big winners. They were the largest party in the governing majority. Lloyd George remained Prime Minister, despite the Conservatives outnumbering his pro-coalition Liberals and having a majority in their own right. The Conservatives welcomed his leadership on foreign policy as the Paris Peace talks began a few weeks after the election.Inbal Rose, Conservatism and foreign policy during the Lloyd George coalition 1918–1922 (2014). An additional 47 Conservatives, 23 of whom were Irish Unionists (22 Irish Unionist Alliance MPs and 1 Independent Unionist MP), won without the coupon but did not act as a separate block or oppose the government except on the issue of Irish independence. While most of the pro-coalition Liberals were re-elected, the Independent Liberal faction was reduced to a handful of MPs, not all of whom were opponents of the coalition. Asquith and the other leaders lost their seats, and only three with junior ministerial experience were elected.Koss 241–242 According to Trevor Wilson's book, The Downfall of the Liberal Party, 136 couponed Liberals were elected, whereas only 29 who did not receive the coupon were returned to Parliament, but as 8 Independent Liberals received the coupon and 10 Lloyd George Liberals did not, the actual number of the Asquith faction was 27.Trevor Wilson The Downfall of the Liberal Party https://archive.org/details/downfalloflibera0000wils registration Cornell University Press 1966 393 Another historian puts the Asquith faction at 36 seats, of whom nine of these MPs subsequently joined the Coalition Liberal group. The remainder became bitter enemies of Lloyd George.Edward David, "The Liberal Party Divided 1916–1918." Historical Journal 13.3 (1970): 509–532. Asquith's biographer Stephen Koss accepts that, although accounts differ as to the exact numbers, around 29 uncouponed Liberals had been elected. On 3 February 1919, 23 non-coalition Liberals formed themselves into a "Free Liberal" group (soon known as the "Wee Frees" after a Scottish religious sect of that name); they accepted Asquith's appointment of Sir Donald Maclean as chairman in his absence. After a brief attempt to set up a joint committee with the Coalition Liberal MPs, the "Wee Frees" resigned the government whip on 4 April, although some Liberal MPs still remained of uncertain allegiance. Maclean served as Leader of the Opposition until Asquith returned at a by-election in February 1920.Koss 241–242 The Labour Party greatly increased its vote share and surpassed the total votes of either faction of the Liberal party, but they lacked an official leader. Labour could only slightly increase their number of seats, however, from 42 to 57 and some of their earlier leaders including Ramsay MacDonald and Arthur Henderson lost their seats. The Conservative MPs included record numbers of corporate directors, bankers and businessmen, while Labour MPs were mostly from the working class. Bonar Law himself symbolised the change in the type of a Conservative MP as he was a Presbyterian Canadian-born Scottish businessman who became, in the words of his biographer Robert Blake, the leader of "the Party of Old England, the Party of the Anglican Church and the country squire, the party of broad acres and hereditary titles".Blake, Robert The Unknown Prime Minister: The Life and Times of Andrew Bonar Law, 1858–1923, London: Faber and Faber, 2011 p.86. Bonar Law's ascent as leader of the Conservatives marked a shift in Conservative leaders from the aristocrats who generally led the party in the 19th century to a more middle class leadership who usually led the party in the 20th century. Many young veterans reacted against the harsh tone of the campaign and became disillusioned with politics.Mowat 1955 9 Ireland 1918 United Kingdom general election in Ireland thumb|Constance Markievicz was the first woman elected to the House of Commons and also to the Dáil Éireann, but as an Irish nationalist she did not take her seat at Westminster. In Ireland, the Irish Parliamentary Party, which favoured Home Rule within the United Kingdom, lost almost all their seats, most of which were won by Sinn Féin under Éamon de Valera, which called for independence. The executions of many of the leaders of the Easter uprising of 1916, the force-feeding of those imprisoned in connection with the uprising who had gone on a hunger strike in 1917, and the Conscription Crisis of 1918 all served to alienate Irish Catholic opinion from the United Kingdom.Cottrell, Peter The Anglo-Irish War: The Troubles of 1913–1922, London: Osprey, 2006 page 39. The Sinn Féin candidates had promised on the campaign trail to win an Irish republic "by any means necessary", which was a code-word for violence, though it is not entirely clear if all Irish voters understood what the phrase meant.Cottrell, Peter The Anglo-Irish War: The Troubles of 1913–1922, London: Osprey, 2006 page 29. The 73 Sinn Féin elected members declined to take their seats in the British House of Commons, sitting instead in the Irish revolutionary assembly, the Dáil Éireann. On 17 May 1918 almost the entire leadership of Sinn Féin, including de Valera and Arthur Griffith, had been arrested. In total 47 of the Sinn Féin MPs were elected from jail. The Dáil first convened on 21 January 1919, which marks the beginning of the Irish War of Independence. In the six Ulster counties that became Northern Ireland, Unionists consolidated their position by winning 23 out of the 30 seats. Cardinal Michael Logue brokered a pact in eight seats (one, East Donegal, not in the six counties), after nominations closed, where Catholic voters were instructed to vote for one particular nationalist party. Split evenly, the Irish Parliamentary Party won four of those seats and Sinn Féin three. (The pact failed in East Down). Joseph Devlin, memorably, also won Belfast (Falls) for the Irish Parliamentary Party in a straight fight with Éamon de Valera of Sinn Féin. Constance Markievicz became the first woman elected to Parliament and also to the Dáil Éireann. She was a Sinn Féin member elected for Dublin St Patrick's, and like the other Sinn Féin MPs, did not take her seat at Westminster. Women candidates Election results of women in United Kingdom general elections (1918–1945) The seventeen women candidates were: Margery Corbett Ashby, aged 36, Liberal, Birmingham, Ladywood Winnifred Carney, aged 31, Sinn Féin, Belfast, Victoria Charlotte Despard, aged 74, Labour, Battersea, North Norah Dacre Fox, aged 40, Independent, Richmond Alison Vickers Garland, aged 56, Liberal, Portsmouth South Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, aged 51, Labour, Manchester, Rusholme Alice Lucas, aged 65, Conservative, Lambeth, Kennington Mary Macarthur (Mrs W. C. Anderson), aged 38, Labour, Stourbridge, Worcestershire Violet Markham (Mrs Carruthers), aged 46, Independent Liberal, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire Edith How Martyn, aged 43, Independent Progressive, Hendon, Middlesex Janet McEwan, aged 58, Liberal, Enfield, Middlesex Millicent Mackenzie, 55, Labour, University of Wales Constance Markievicz, aged 50, Sinn Féin, Dublin, St. Patrick's (elected) Eunice Murray, aged 41, Independent, Glasgow, Bridgetown Christabel Pankhurst, aged 38, Women's Party, Smethwick Emily Phipps, aged 53, Independent Progressive, Chelsea Ray Strachey, aged 31, Independent, Brentford and Isleworth, MiddlesexHallam, David J. A., ibid, pp 73–90 Results Summary of seats returned + centre|420px PartyBritish Electoral Facts Colin Rallings Micheal Thrasher Total Politics 978-1-907278-03-7 2006 Leader MPs Aggregate votes Of total Of totalAdjusted for multi-member constituencies. Conservative and Unionist Party Bonar Law 382Includes a total of 50 non-Coalition Conservative and Unionist MPs.speaker 382 707 1 yes Conservative Party (UK) 4,144,192Includes a total of 671,454 for non-Coalition Conservatives and Unionists. 38.7% 38.7 Conservative Party (UK) Conservative PartyResults for England and Wales. Bonar Law 325Includes 23 non-Coalition Conservative MPs.speaker 325 707 1 yes Conservative Party (UK) 3,486,114Includes 356,911 for non-Coalition Conservatives. 32.6% 32.6 Conservative Party (UK) Unionist Party George Younger 32Includes 2 non-Coalition Unionist MPs. 32 707 1 yes Unionist Party (Scotland) 365,474Includes 21,939 for non-Coalition Unionists. 3.4% 3.4 Unionist Party (Scotland) Irish Unionist Party Edward Carson 22There were no recipients of Coalition Coupons. 22 707 1 yes Irish Unionist Party 262,300There were no recipients of Coalition Coupons. 2.4% 2.4 Irish Unionist Party Ulster Unionist Labour AssociationAdjunctive party to the Irish Unionist Party, set up by Leader of the Irish Unionist Party Edward Carson. Thompson DonaldDonald was the Honorary Secretary of the group, though it was organised by Edward Carson. 3There were no recipients of Coalition Coupons.Those elected were Samuel McGuffin in Belfast Shankill, Thomas Henry Burn in Belfast St Anne's and Thompson Donald in Belfast Victoria. 3 707 1 yes Ulster Unionist Labour Association 30,304There were no recipients of Coalition Coupons. 0.3% 0.3 Ulster Unionist Labour Association Coalition Liberal David Lloyd George 127 127 707 1 yes Coalition Liberal 1,396,590 12.6% 12.6 Coalition Liberal Sinn Féin Éamon de Valera 73Sinn Féin won 73 constituencies in Ireland, however, this only represented 69 MPs, due to four candidates winning two seats each. The party's MPs did not take their seats at Westminster. 73 707 1 yes Sinn Féin 497,107 4.6% 4.6 Sinn Féin Labour Party William Adamson 57 57 707 1 yes Labour Party (UK) 2,245,777 20.8% 20.8 Labour Party (UK) Liberal Party H. H. Asquith 36 36 707 1 yes Liberal Party (UK) 1,388,784 13.0% 13.0 Liberal Party (UK) Coalition NDP 9 9 707 1 yes National Democratic and Labour Party 156,834 1.5% 1.5 National Democratic and Labour Party Irish Parliamentary Party John Dillon 7Includes T. P. O'Connor in Liverpool Scotland. 7 707 1 yes Irish Parliamentary Party 238,197Includes 8,225 for 2 Irish Nationalists in Liverpool Scotland and Liverpool Exchange. 2.2% 2.2 Irish Parliamentary Party Coalition Labour 4 4 707 1 yes Coalition Labour 53,962 0.4% 0.4 Coalition Labour Independent Labour 2 2 707 1 yes Independent Labour 101,362 0.9% 0.9 Independent Labour National Party Henry Page Croft 2 2 707 1 yes National Party (UK, 1917) 94,389 0.9% 0.9 National Party (UK, 1917) Independent 2 2 707 1 yes Independent (politician) 66,971 0.6% 0.6 Independent (politician) Independent Unionist 2Robert Hewitt Barker in Sowerby was also unofficially endorsed by the National Association of Discharged Sailors and Soldiers. 2 707 1 yes Independent Unionist 49,500 0.5% 0.5 Independent Unionist Co-operative Party William Henry Watkins 1 1 707 1 yes Co-operative Party 57,785 0.6% 0.6 Co-operative Party Independent Liberal 1 1 707 1 yes Independent (politician) 24,985 0.2% 0.2 National Government (United Kingdom) National Socialist Party Henry Hyndman 1 1 707 1 yes National Socialist Party (UK) 11,013 0.1% 0.1 National Socialist Party (UK) Coalition Independent 1 1 707 1 yes Independent Unionist 9,274 0.1% 0.1 Independent Unionist Full results centre|500x500px +Results of the December 1918 general election to the House of Commons of the United KingdomPartyCraig F. W. S. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–49 https://books.google.com/books?id=MMCuCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA147 1st 1977 The Macmillan Press Ltd London and Basingstoke 978-1-349-81467-1https://api.parliament.uk/uk-general-elections/general-elections/21 UK General Elections Results 1832-2019 12 August 2026British Electoral Facts Colin Rallings Micheal Thrasher Total Politics 978-1-907278-03-7 2006LeaderCandidatesMPsAggregate votes Total Gains Losses Net Of total (%) Total Of total (%)Adjusted for multi-member constituencies. Change (%)   Coalition Government (Total) David LloydGeorge614 523 colspan="2" New 252 74.0 5,760,852 53.3 New   Conservative Figure includes the Unionist Party and the Irish Unionist Party under their nation affiliations with the Conservative Party; figure also includes the Ulster Unionist Labour Association, which was an adjunctive party to the Irish Unionist Party. BonarLaw445Includes 83 non-Coalition Conservative and Unionist candidates. 382Includes 50 non-Coalition Conservative and Unionist MPs.speaker colspan=2 111 54.0Includes 7.1% for non-Coalition Conservatives and Unionists. 4,144,192Includes 671,454 for non-Coalition Conservatives and Unionists. 38.7Includes 6.2% for non-Coalition Conservatives and Unionists. 7.9   CoalitionLiberal David LloydGeorge 145 127 colspan="2" New 127 18.0 1,396,590 12.6 New   CoalitionNDP 18 9 colspan="2" New 9 1.3 156,834 1.5 New   CoalitionLabour 5 4 colspan="2" New 4 0.6 53,962 0.4 New   CoalitionIndependent 1 1Douglas King in North Norfolk. colspan=2 New 1 0.2 9,274 0.1 New   Labour WilliamAdamson 361 57 colspan=2 15 8.1 2,245,777 20.8 14.4   Liberal H. H.Asquith 276 36 colspan=2 236 5.2 1,388,784 13.0 31.2   SinnFéin Éamonde Valera 102 73 colspan=2 New 73 10.3 497,107 4.6 New   IrishParliamentary JohnDillon 602 Irish Nationalists in Liverpool Scotland and Liverpool Exchange. 7Includes T. P. O'Connor in Liverpool Scotland. 0 67 67 1.0 238,197Includes 8,225 for 2 Irish Nationalists in Liverpool Scotland and Liverpool Exchange. 2.2 0.3   IndependentLabour 24 2Frank Rose in Aberdeen North and Owen Thomas in Anglesey. 2 0 2 — 102,021 1.0 0.9   National Henry PageCroft 26 2Henry Page Croft in Bournemouth and Sir Richard Cooper in Walsall. colspan=2 New 2 0.4 94,389 0.9 New   Independent 28 2Horatio Bottomley in Hackney South and Noel Pemberton Billing in Hertford. 2 0 2 0.4 66,971 0.6 0.6   Co-operativeParty William Henry Watkins 10 1Alfred Waterson in Kettering. colspan=2 New 1 0.1 57,785 0.6 New   IndependentNFDDSS JamesHogge 25 0 colspan=3 New — 55,219 0.5 New   IndependentUnionist 17 2Robert Woods in Dublin University and Robert Hewitt Barker in Sowerby. Barker was also unofficially endorsed by the National Association of Discharged Sailors and Soldiers. 2 0 2 0.3 49,500 0.5 0.5   IndependentLiberal 9 1Josiah Wedgwood in Newcastle-under-Lyme. 1 0 1 0.2 24,985 0.2 0.2   National Democratic and Labour 8 0 colspan=3 New — 24,497 0.2 New   Farmers'Union Edward Mials Nunneley 5 0 colspan=3 New — 15,966 0.2 New   NFDDSS JamesHogge 5 0 colspan=3 New — 12,329 0.1 New   BelfastLabour 4 0 colspan=3 New — 12,164 0.1 New   NationalSocialist HenryHyndman 3 1Jack Jones in Silvertown. colspan=2 New 1 0.2 11,013 0.1 New   ScottishProhibition EdwinScrymgeour 1 0 0 0 — 10,423 0.1 0.1   Independent Progressive (Coalition) 1 0 colspan=3 New — 9,862 0.1 New   HighlandLand League 4 0 colspan=3 New — 8,710 0.1 New   Women'sParty ChristabelPankhurst 1 0 colspan=3 New — 8,614 0.1 New   BritishSocialist AlbertInkpin 3 0 colspan=3 New — 8,394 0.1 New   IndependentDemocrat 4 0 colspan=3 New — 8,351 0.1 New   SocialistLabour TomBell 3 0 colspan=3 New — 7,567 0.1 New   Seaman'sUnion HavelockWilson 1There were 2 other candidates, including Havelock Wilson, who were sponsored by the Seaman's Union; however, stood under other party labels. 0 colspan=3 New — 7,235 0.1 New   Naval and Lower-Deck 1 0 colspan=3 New — 7,063 0.1 New   IndependentConservative 2 0 0 1 Francis Bennett-Goldney in Canterbury. 1 — 6,425 0.1 0.1   National Amalgamated Union Joseph Nicholas Bell 1 0 colspan=3 New — 5,959 0.1 New   Miners' Reform Union JamesCook 1 0 colspan=3 New — 5,076 0.0 New   IndependentNorthumbrian 1 0 colspan=3 New — 4,397 0.0 New   IndependentNationalist 33 other candidates stood as Irish Nationalist. They (those candidates in Dublin St James's, South Tyrone and Dublin University) are sometimes labelled as Independent Nationalists; however, they are classed as candidates for the Irish Parliamentary Party under the collations of Craig and Thrasher, as well as the Parliamentary tables which use those historical studies. Those 3 candidates are classed as part of the IPP for the purposes of this table, with 3 candidates here being Independent Nationalists. 0 0 2Laurence Ginnell in North Westmeath re-elected but as candidate for Sinn Féin; John McKean in South Monaghan did not recontest. 2 — 3,768 0.0   Agriculturalist 2 0 colspan=3 New — 3,446 0.0 New   IndependentProgressive 2 0 colspan=3 New — 3,010 0.0 New   HarrowElector's 1 0 colspan=3 New — 3,007 0.0 New   Carters' and Motormen's AlfredHilton 1 0 colspan=3 New — 2,572 0.0 New   National Amalgamated Coal Workers' AlfredWalton 1 0 colspan=3 New — 2,072 0.0 New   Women'sParliamentary 1 0 colspan=3 New — 2,067 0.0 New   Greenock and District Dockers 1 0 colspan=3 New — 2,050 0.0 New   Independent Labour and Agriculturalist 1 0 colspan=3 New — 1,927 0.0 New   People'sProgressive 1 0 colspan=3 New — 1,367 0.0 New   Health 1 0 colspan=3 New — 1,127 0.0 New   Edmonton Pro-Ally & Labour 1 0 colspan=3 New — 1,223 0.0 New   IndependentBusiness 2 0 colspan=3 New — 1,002 0.0 New   Teachers 1 0 colspan=3 New — 885 0.0 New   Whitechaple Street Sellers' and Costers' 1 0 colspan=3 New — 614 0.0 New   ChristianSocialist 1 0 colspan=3 New — 597 0.0 New   IndependentSilver Badge 1 0 colspan=3 New — 452 0.0 New   Other non-contested 0 0 colspan=2 88 All-for-Ireland League MPs. — 0 0.0 Total 1,623 707 37 100.0 10,786,818 100.0 0.0 Registered voters, and turnout 21,392,322British Electoral Facts 1885-1975 F.W.S. Craig Macmillan Press 3 76 0333197348 1976Including the electorate in uncontested constituencies. 55.7https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7529/CBP-7529.pdf UK Election Statistics: 1918-2023, A Century of Elections Cracknell Richard Uberoi Elise Burton Matthew 9 August 2023 House of Commons Library 29 8 August 2026Adjusted for multi-member constituencies. 24.4 Popular vote Popular vote #ddd 600px 410px Conservative Conservative Party (UK) 38.7 Labour Labour Party (UK) 20.8 Liberal Liberal Party (UK) 13.0 Coalition Liberal Coalition Liberal 12.6 Sinn Féin Sinn Féin 4.6 Irish Parliamentary Irish Parliamentary Party 2.2 Coalition NDP National Democratic and Labour Party 1.5 Coalition Labour Coalition Labour 0.4 Others #a9a9a9 6.2 Popular vote (coalitions) #ddd 600px 410px Coalition Gov. #000000 53.3 Labour Labour Party (UK) 20.8 Liberal Liberal Party (UK) 13.0 Sinn Féin Sinn Féin 4.6 Irish Parliamentary Irish Parliamentary Party 2.2 Others #a9a9a9 6.1 Parliament seats Parliament seats #ddd 600px 410px Conservative Conservative Party (UK) 54.0 Coalition Liberal Coalition Liberal 18.0 Sinn Féin Sinn Féin 10.3 Labour Labour Party (UK) 8.1 Liberal Liberal Party (UK) 5.1 Coalition NDP National Democratic and Labour Party 1.3 Irish Parliamentary Irish Parliamentary Party 1.0 Coalition Labour Coalition Labour 0.6 Coalition Ind. Independent (politician) 0.2 Others #a9a9a9 1.4 Parliament seats (coalitions) #ddd 600px 410px Coalition Gov. #000000 74.0 Sinn Féin Sinn Féin 10.3 Labour Labour Party (UK) 8.1 Liberal Liberal Party (UK) 5.1 Irish Parliamentary Irish Parliamentary Party 1.0 Others #a9a9a9 1.4 Maps Transfers of seats All comparisons are with the December 1910 election. In some cases the change is due to the MP defecting to the gaining party. Such circumstances are marked with a *. In other circumstances the change is due to the seat having been won by the gaining party in a by-election in the intervening years, and then retained in 1918. Such circumstances are marked with a †. FromToNo.SeatsLabour Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) (HOLD)Burslem (replaced Staffordshire North West), Deptford, Plaistow (replaced West Ham South), Woolwich East (replaced Woolwich) Coalition LabourNorwich (1 of 2), Stockport (1 of 2) Coalition National Democratic and Labour PartyHanley Liberal Party (UK) Coalition Liberal Conservative Party (UK)Bow and Bromley†, NuneatonSinn Féin Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)abolishedNationalist Party (Northern Ireland) Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)abolished Liberal-Labour (UK) Coalition LiberalBattersea North (replaced Battersea)Liberal Party (UK) Labour Party (UK)Forest of Dean, Leek, Wellingborough (replaced Northamptonshire Mid) National Democratic and Labour PartyWalthamstow W (replaced Walthamstow) Liberal Party (UK) (HOLD)Bermondsey West (replaced Bermondsey), Camborne, Cornwall North (replaced Launceston), Newcastle-under-Lyme, Norwich (1 of 2), Saffron Walden, Whitechapel and St Georges (replaced Whitechapel), Wolverhampton East Coalition LiberalBanbury, Barnstaple, Bedford, Bethnal Green NE, Bristol East, Bristol North, Bristol South, Cambridgeshire (replaced Chesterton), Crewe, Dartford, Dorset East, Eye, Hackney Central, Isle of Ely (replaced Wisbech), Kennington, Lichfield, Stepney Limehouse (replaced Limehouse), Lowestoft, Luton, Norfolk South, Norfolk South West, Northampton (1 of 2), Peckham, Poplar South (replaced Poplar), Romford, St Ives, Shoreditch (replaced Hoxton), South Molton, Southampton (both seats), Southwark Central (replaced Newington West), Southwark North (replaced Southwark West), Southwark South East (replaced Walworth), Stockport (1 of 2), Stoke-upon-Trent, Stroud, Thornbury, Wellington (Salop)Coalition IndependentNorfolk North Independent politicianHackney South Conservative Party (UK)Bedfordshire Mid (replaced Biggleswade), Bethnal Green South-West†, Buckingham, Camberwell North, Cheltenham†, Coventry, Exeter†, Frome, Gillingham (replaced Rochester), Ipswich (1 of 2)†, Islington East, Islington South, Islington West, Macclesfield, Norfolk East, Northwich, Peterborough, Reading†, Rotherhithe, St Pancras North, Stafford, Swindon (replaced Cricklade), Tottenham South (replaced Tottenham), Upton (replaced West Ham North), Westbury, Yeovil (replaced Somerset Southern)†abolishedFinsbury East, Haggerston, Hyde, Ipswich (1 of 2), Newmarket, Norfolk North West, Northampton (1 of 2), Northamptonshire East, St Austell, St George, Tower Hamlets, St Pancras East, Stepney, Truro, Worcestershire North Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom) Liberal Party (UK)Liberal Unionist Party Conservative Party (UK)Aylesbury*, Birmingham West*, Bodmin*, Burton*, Birmingham Handsworth*, Hythe*, Ludlow*, Portsmouth North (replaced 1 of 2 Portsmouth seats)*, Stepney Mile End (replaced Mile End)*, Birmingham Sparkbrook (replaced Birmingham South)*, Stone (replaced Staffordshire West)*, Torquay*, Totnes*, Westminster St George's (replaced St George, Hanover Square)*abolishedAshburton, Birmingham Central, Birmingham North, Birmingham Bordesley, Droitwich, Norfolk Mid, Ross, Somerset Eastern, Worcestershire EastConservative Party (UK) Labour Party (UK)Kettering (replaced Northamptonshire North), Kingswinford, Wednesbury, West Bromwich Liberal Party (UK)Lambeth North, Weston-super-Mare (replaced Somerset Northern) Coalition LiberalSudbury Conservative Party (UK) (HOLD)Abingdon, Altrincham, Ashford, Birmingham Aston (replaced Aston Manor), Basingstoke, Bath (1 of 2), Bewdley, Bilston (replaced Wolverhampton South), Birkenhead East (replaced Birkenhead), Brentford and Chiswick (replaced Brentford), Bridgwater, Brighton (both seats), Bristol West, Brixton, Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Chatham, Chelmsford, Chelsea, Chertsey, Chester, Chichester, Chippenham, Cirencester and Tewkesbury (replaced Tewkesbury), Clapham, Colchester, Croydon South (replaced Croydon), Daventry (replaced Northamptonshire South), Devizes, Plymouth Devonport (replaced 1 of 2 Devonport seats), Dorset North, Dorset South, Dorset West, Dover, Plymouth Drake (replaced 1 of 2 Plymouth seats), Dudley, Dulwich, Ealing, East Grinstead, Eastbourne, Eddisbury, Birmingham Edgbaston, Enfield, Epping, Epsom, Birmingham Erdington (replaced Birmingham East), Essex South East, Evesham, Fareham, Faversham, Finsbury (replaced Finsbury Central), Fulham East (replaced Fulham), Gloucester, Gravesend, Great Yarmouth, Greenwich, Guildford, Hackney North, Hammersmith South (replaced Hammersmith), Hampstead, Harrow, Harwich, Hastings, Henley, Hereford, Hitchin, Holborn, Honiton, Hornsey, Horsham and Worthing (replaced Horsham), Huntingdonshire (replaced Huntingdon), Isle of Thanet, Isle of Wight, Islington North, Kensington North, Kensington South, Kidderminster, King's Lynn, Kingston upon Thames, Knutsford, Leominster, Lewes, Lewisham West (replaced Lewisham), City of London (both seats), Maidstone, Maldon, New Forest & Christchurch (replaced New Forest), Newbury, Norwood, Oswestry, Oxford, Paddington North, Paddington South, Penryn and Falmouth, Petersfield, Portsmouth South (replaced 1 of 2 Portsmouth seats), Reigate, Rugby, Rye, St Albans, St Marylebone (replaced Marylebone West), St Pancras South East (replaced St Pancras South), St Pancras South West (replaced St Pancras West), Salisbury, Sevenoaks, Shrewsbury, Stalybridge and Hyde (replaced Stalybridge), Plymouth Sutton (replaced 1 of 2 Plymouth seats), Tamworth, Taunton, Tavistock, Tiverton, Tonbridge (replaced Tunbridge), Uxbridge, Wandsworth Central (replaced Wandsworth), Warwick and Leamington, Watford, Wells, Westminster Abbey (replaced Westminster), Wimbledon, Winchester, Windsor, Wirral, Wolverhampton West, Woodbridge, Worcester, Wycombe National Party (UK, 1917)Bournemouth (replaced Christchurch)†, Walsall Independent (politician)Hertford†abolishedAndover, Bath (1 of 2), Cirencester, Devonport (1 of 2), Marylebone East, Medway, Newport (Shropshire), Ramsey, St Augustine's, Stowmarket, Strand, Stratford upon Avon, Wellington (Somerset), Wilton, Wokingham, Woodstock Independent Conservative Conservative Party (UK)Canterbury†Ulster Unionist Party Ulster Unionist Partyabolished Irish Unionist AllianceabolishedSeat created Labour Party (UK)Smethwick Coalition LabourCannock National Socialist Party (UK)Silvertown National Democratic and Labour PartyBirmingham Duddeston, East Ham South Liberal Party (UK)Portsmouth Central, Stourbridge Coalition LiberalCamberwell North-West, East Ham North, Leyton East Conservative Party (UK)Acton, Aldershot, Balham and Tooting, Battersea South, Birkenhead West, Bristol Central, Bromley, Chislehurst, Croydon North, Birmingham Deritend, Edmonton, Farnham, Finchley, Fulham West, Hammersmith North, Hemel Hempstead, Hendon, Ilford, Birmingham King's Norton, Birmingham Ladywood, Lewisham East, Leyton West, Mitcham, Birmingham Moseley, Putney, Richmond (Surrey), Southend, Spelthorne, Stoke Newington, Stratford, Streatham, Surrey East, Tottenham North, Twickenham, Wallasey, Walthamstow East, Willesden East, Willesden West, Wood Green, Woolwich West, Birmingham Yardley Ulster Unionist Party See also 1920 United States elections, the first held after the passage of the 19th amendment allowed American women to vote United Kingdom general elections List of MPs elected in the 1918 United Kingdom general election Parliamentary franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918, for details of the franchises replaced by the ones used in 1918 1918 United Kingdom general election in England 1918 United Kingdom general election in Scotland 1918 United Kingdom general election in Ireland 1918 United Kingdom general election in Wales Notes References Bibliography 30em Adelman, Paul. The Decline of the Liberal Party 1910–1931 (2014). Ball Stuart R. Stuart Ball Asquith's Decline and the General Election of 1918 Scottish Historical Review 1982 61 171 44–61 25529447 F. W. S. Craig F.W.S. Craig British Electoral Facts: 1832–1987 1989 Dartmouth Gower 0900178302 Hallam, David J.A., Taking on the Men: the first women parliamentary candidates 1918, Studley 2018 Hilson, Mary. "Women voters and the rhetoric of patriotism in the British general election of 1918" Women's History Review 10.2 (2001): 325–347. Koss Stephen Stephen Koss 1985 Asquith https://books.google.com/books?id=tBGGAAAAIAAJ&q=Asquith+Stephen+Koss London Hamish Hamilton 978-0-231-06155-1 Koss McEwen J. M. The Coupon Election of 1918 and Unionist Members of Parliament Journal of Modern History 1962 34 3 294–306 1874358 10.1086/239118 143523855 McGill, Barry. "Lloyd George's Timing of the 1918 Election." Journal of British Studies 14.1 (1974): 109–124. Mowat Charles Loch C. L. Mowat Britain between the wars, 1918–1940 1955 Chicago University of Chicago Press 2–9 Jane Ridley Ridley Jane Never A Dull Moment Chatto & Windus London 2021 0701188707 (a biography of George V) A. J. P. Taylor A. J. P. Taylor English History, 1914–1945 New York Oxford University Press 1976 127–128 0198217153 Turner John British Politics and the Great War: Coalition and Conflict, 1915–1918 1992 New Haven Yale University Press 317–333, 391–436 0300050461 (Covers the campaign as well as a statistical analysis of the vote) Wilson Trevor The Coupon and the British General Election of 1918 Journal of Modern History 1964 36 1 28–42 1874424 10.1086/239234 144905456 External links Spartacus: Political Parties and Election Results United Kingdom election results—summary results 1885–1979 Manifestos 1918 Conservative manifesto 1918 Labour manifesto 1918 Liberal manifesto 1918 Sinn Féin manifesto https://web.archive.org/web/20240721231619/http://www.firstdail.com/?page_id=71 21 July 2024 1918 General election United Kingdom general election General election Category:Bonar Law Category:David Lloyd George Category:Éamon de Valera Category:H. H. Asquith