1859 United Kingdom general election

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox election The 1859 United Kingdom general election was held from 28 April to 18 May 1859 following the defeat of Prime Minister the Earl of Derby's Conservative government in a vote of confidence. The newly formed Liberal Party, led by Viscount Palmerston, secured victory despite winning fewer seats than in the previous election.

There is no separate tally of votes or seats for the Peelites. They did not contest elections as an organised party but more as independent Free trade Conservatives with varying degrees of distance from the two main parties.

It was also the last general election entered by the Chartists, before their organisation was dissolved. Template:As of, this is the last election in which the Conservatives won the most seats in Wales.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The election was the quietest and least competitive between 1832 and 1885, with most county elections being uncontested. The election also saw the lowest number of candidates between 1832 and 1885, with Tory gains potentially being the result of a lack of opposition as much as a change in public opinion.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> According to A. J. P. Taylor:

the government which Palmerston organized in June 1859 was a coalition of a different kind: not a coalition of groups which looked back to the past, but a coalition which anticipated the future. Had it not been for Palmerston himself—too individual, too full of personality to be fitted into a party-pattern—it would have been the first Liberal government in our history. Everything that was important in it was Liberal—finance, administrative reform, its very composition: the first government with unmistakable middle-class Free Traders as members.<ref>A. J. P. Taylor "Lord Palmerston", History Today (1951) 1#7 pp 35-41 at p. 39</ref>

Results

Template:Election summary begin with candidates Template:Election summary party with candidates Template:Election summary party with candidates Template:Election summary party with candidates |}

Regional results

Great Britain

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
Template:Party name with colour	392	157	306		314,708	66.6
Template:Party name with colour & Peelites	327	160	245		157,974	33.4
Template:Party name with colour	1	0	0		151	0.0
Total		720	317	551	Template:Same position	472,833	100

England

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
Template:Party name with colour	330	109	251		307,949	67.1
Template:Party name with colour & Peelite	286	129	209		152,591	32.9
Template:Party name with colour	1	0	0		151	0.0
Total		617	238	460	Template:Same position	460,691	100

Scotland

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
Template:Party name with colour	44	34	40		5,174	66.4
Template:Party name with colour & Peelite	17	11	13		2,616	33.6
Total		61	45	53	Template:Same position	7,790	100

Wales

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
Template:Party name with colour & Peelite	18	14	17		2,767	63.6
Template:Party name with colour	18	14	15		1,585	36.4
Total		36	28	32	Template:Same position	4,352	100

Ireland

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
Template:Party name with colour & Peelite	67	36	53		35,258	38.9
Template:Party name with colour	73	26	50		57,409	61.1
Total		140	62	103		92,667	100

Universities

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
Template:Party name with colour & Peelite	6	6	6
Total		6	6	6	Template:Same position		100

See also

• List of MPs elected in the 1859 United Kingdom general election
• 1859 United Kingdom general election in Ireland

References

Sources

• Template:Citation
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External links

• Spartacus: Political Parties and Election Results