1868 United Kingdom general election

none August 2024 May 2014 1868 United Kingdom general election United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland parliamentary no 1865 United Kingdom general election 1865 outgoing members 1874 United Kingdom general election 1874 2,333,251 All 658 seats in the House of Commons 330 1868 11 17 1868 12 7 yes 160x160px List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1868 William Gladstone 3 December 1868 Liberal Party (UK) Greenwich(Defeated at South West Lancashire) 369 seats, 59.5% 387speaker 18 1,428,776 61.2% 1.7 pp 160x160px Benjamin Disraeli 27 February 1868 Conservative Party (UK) Buckinghamshire 289 seats, 40.5% 271 18 903,318 38.7% 1.8 pp United Kingdom general election 1868.svg 330px Colours denote the winning party Prime Minister Prime Minister afterelection Benjamin Disraeli Conservative Party (UK) William Gladstone Liberal Party (UK) Composition of the House of Commons after the election File:1868 UK GE Composition diagram.svg The 1868 United Kingdom general election was held between 17 November to 7 December 1868. The Liberal Party, under William Ewart Gladstone, defeated the governing Conservative minority government, led by Benjamin Disraeli. This was the first general election to be held after the 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 in 1865.December 2020 The establishment of the Church of Ireland was a dominant issue in the 1868 general election. Earlier that year, the House of Lords blocked the Established Church (Ireland) Bill, which would have imposed restrictions on the Irish Church. Gladstone's Liberal government, which favored disestablishment, used its parliamentary majority to pass the Irish Church Act the following year.Dymond Glenn Deadman Hugo 30 June 2006 The Salisbury Doctrine https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/lords-library/hllsalisburydoctrine.pdf live https://web.archive.org/web/20250428075740/https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/lords-library/hllsalisburydoctrine.pdf 28 April 2025 13 January 2026 parliament.uk This was the last general election at which all 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.December 2020 none 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880 Results center|300px UK General Election 1868 Liberal Party (UK) 600 387speaker The seat and vote count figures for the Liberals given here include the Speaker of the House of Commons +18 1,428,776 61.24 58.81 +2.0 yes 3,692 Conservative Party (UK) 436 271 −18 903,318 38.71 41.19 −2.1 3,333 Others 3 0 0 0 0 1,157 0.05 0 N/A N/A |} Total votes cast: 2,333,251. Voting summary Popular vote #ddd 600px 380px Liberal Liberal Party (UK) 61.24 Conservative Conservative Party (UK) 38.71 Others #777777 0.05 Seats summary Parliamentary seats #ddd 600px 380px Liberal Liberal Party (UK) 58.81 Conservative Conservative Party (UK) 41.19 Others #777777 0.0 Regional results Great Britain Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes % % change Liberal Party (UK) 515 80 321 7 1,374,315 61.4 Conservative Party (UK) 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 Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes % % change Liberal Party (UK) 412 46 244 7 1,192,098 59.7 Conservative Party (UK) 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 Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes % % change Liberal Party (UK) 70 23 51 9 125,356 82.5 Conservative Party (UK) 20 3 7 4 23,985 17.5 Total 90 26 58 5 149,341 100 Wales Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes % % change Liberal Party (UK) 29 10 23 5 52,256 62.1 Conservative Party (UK) 20 4 10 4 29,866 37.9 Total 49 14 33 1 82,122 100 Ireland 1868 United Kingdom general election in Ireland Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes % % change Liberal Party (UK) 85 41 66 8 54,461 57.9 +2.3 Irish Conservative Party 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 Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes % % change Conservative Party (UK) 9 4 6 7,063 55.4 Liberal Party (UK) 4 1 3 3 4,605 44.6 Total 13 5 9 11,668 100 See also List of MPs elected in the 1868 United Kingdom general election Notes References F. W. S. Craig F. W. S. Craig British Electoral Facts: 1832–1987 1989 Dartmouth Gower 0900178302 British Electoral Facts 1832–1999 Colin Rallings Colin Rallings Michael Thrasher Michael Thrasher Ashgate Publishing Ltd 2000 Roberts Matthew Election Cartoons and Political Communication in Victorian England Cultural and Social History 2013 10 3 369–395 10.2752/147800413X13661166397229 143879878 (covers 1860 to 1890). External links Spartacus: Political Parties and Election Results: 1868 General Election UK Parliament - 1868 General Election Category:1868 elections in the United Kingdom General election 1868 Category:November 1868 in the United Kingdom Category:December 1868 in the United Kingdom Category:Benjamin Disraeli Category:William Ewart Gladstone