1807 United Kingdom general election

none March 2026 September 2026 May 2014 1807 United Kingdom general election United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland parliamentary no 1806 United Kingdom general election 1806 List of MPs elected in the 1806 United Kingdom general election 1807 5 4 1807 6 9 yes List of MPs elected in the 1807 United Kingdom general election 1812 United Kingdom general election 1812 All 658 seats in the House of Commons 330 01-Bentinck William Henry Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Portland c 1774.jpg 160x160px Duke of Portland Tory Party (UK) 31 March 1807 216 12 1st Baron Grenville-cropped.jpg 160x160px Lord Grenville Whigs (British political party) 11 February 1806 213 218 1807generalelection.svg 380px Composition of the House of Commons after the election Prime Minister Duke of Portland Tory Party (UK) Prime Minister afterelection Duke of Portland Tory Party (UK) The 1807 United Kingdom general election was the third general election after the Acts of Union 1800, held from 4 May 1807 to 9 June 1807. The third United Kingdom Parliament was dissolved on 29 April 1807. The new Parliament was summoned to meet on 22 June 1807, for a maximum seven-year term from that date. The maximum term could be and normally was curtailed, by the monarch dissolving the Parliament, before its term expired. none 1802 1806 1807 1812 1818 Political situation Following the 1806 election the Ministry of all the Talents, a coalition of the Foxite and Grenvillite Whig and Addingtonite Tory factions, with William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, as Prime Minister continued in office. It had attempted to end the Napoleonic Wars by negotiation. As this hope failed the war continued. The faction formerly led by William Pitt the Younger, before his death in January 1806, were the major group in opposition to the Talents' Ministry. George Canning in the House of Commons and the Duke of Portland in the House of Lords were at the head of this opposition. Grenville and his cabinet lost the support of King George III by trying to legislate to permit Roman Catholics to serve as Army and Navy officers. When ministers refused to give the King written confirmation that they would not raise the Catholic issue again, he decided to find new servants. The elderly Duke of Portland was asked to form a new ministry in March 1807. Portland had been the Whig Prime Minister before, in the 1780s, so now he described himself as the Whig Prime Minister of a Tory ministry. After Pitt's death the younger Pittites increasingly began calling themselves the Tory Party, whether they had previously belonged to the Whig or Tory tradition. This was an important stage in the development of a more organised two-party system, which reduced the influence of factions and connections in British politics. The new ministers found it difficult to manage a House of Commons recently elected to support their opponents. A month into the new government the King granted a dissolution. The government policies of opposing Catholic relief and supporting the traditional powers of the King proved popular (at least with the restricted section of the population enfranchised in elections for the unreformed House of Commons). After the election the government programme was approved by a vote of 350 to 155 in the House of Commons, demonstrating the substantial gains ministers had made in the election. Dates of election At this period there was not one election day. After receiving a writ (a royal command) for the election to be held, the local returning officer fixed the election timetable for the particular constituency or constituencies he was concerned with. Polling in seats with contested elections could continue for many days. The time between the first and last contested elections was 4 May to 9 June 1807. Results Seats summary Parliamentary seats #ddd 375px 480px Tory #3333CC 32.8 Whig Whigs (British political party) 32.2 Radical #FF3333 0.2 Others #C7C7C7 34.7 Summary of the constituencies Key to categories in the following tables: BC – Borough/Burgh constituencies, CC – County constituencies, UC – University constituencies, Total C – Total constituencies, BMP – Borough/Burgh Members of Parliament, CMP – County Members of Parliament, UMP – University Members of Parliament. Monmouthshire (1 County constituency with 2 MPs and one single member Borough constituency) is included in Wales in these tables. Sources for this period may include the county in England. Table 1: Constituencies and MPs, by type and country Country BC CC UC Total C BMP CMP UMP Total MPsEngland202392243404784486Wales 180713130261314027Scotland15300451530045Ireland333216635641100Total26311433804671765658 Table 2: Number of seats per constituency, by type and country Country BCx1 BCx2 BCx4 CCx1 CCx2 UCx1 UCx2 Total CEngland4196203902243Wales 180713001210026Scotland15003000045Ireland31200321066Total631982427212380 See also United Kingdom general elections References His Majesty's Opposition 1714–1830, by Archibald S. Foord (Oxford University Press 1964) (Dates of Elections) Footnote to Table 5.02 British Electoral Facts 1832–1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher (Ashgate Publishing Ltd 2000). (Types of constituencies – Great Britain) British Historical Facts 1760–1830, by Chris Cook and John Stevenson (The Macmillan Press 1980). (Types of constituencies – Ireland) Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland 1801–1922, edited by B.M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978). Category:1807 elections in the United Kingdom General election 1807 Category:May 1807 Category:June 1807 Category:1800s elections in Ireland Category:William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland Category:William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville