View source for January 1910 United Kingdom general election

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{{Redirect|February 1910 general election|the Finnish election|1910 Finnish parliamentary election}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = January 1910 United Kingdom general election
| country = United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
| type = parliamentary
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1906 United Kingdom general election
| previous_year = 1906
| previous_mps = List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906
| next_election = December 1910 United Kingdom general election
| next_year = Dec 1910
| seats_for_election = All [[List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies (1885–1918)|670 seats]] in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]
| majority_seats = 336
| elected_mps = List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, January 1910
| election_date = {{start and end dates|1910|1|15|1910|2|10|df=yes}}
<!--      Liberal      -->| image1 = [[File:H H Asquith 1908 (cropped).jpg|160x160px]]
| leader1 = [[H. H. Asquith]]
| leader_since1 = 30 April 1908
| party1 = Liberal Party (UK)
| leaders_seat1 = [[East Fife (UK Parliament constituency)|East Fife]]
| last_election1 = 397 seats, 48.9%
| seats1 = '''274'''
| seat_change1 = {{decrease}}123
| popular_vote1 = 2,712,511
| percentage1 = 43.5%
| swing1 = {{decrease}}5.4 [[Percentage point|pp]]
<!--      Conservative     -->| image2 = [[File:Arthur-James-Balfour-1st-Earl-of-Balfour.jpg|160x160px]]
| leader2 = [[Arthur Balfour]]
| leader_since2 = 11 June 1902
| party2 = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] and [[Liberal Unionist]]
| leaders_seat2 = [[City of London (UK Parliament constituency)|City of London]]
| last_election2 = 156 seats, 43.4%
| seats2 = 272
| seat_change2 = {{increase}}116
| popular_vote2 = '''2,919,236'''
| percentage2 = '''46.8%'''
| swing2 = {{increase}}3.4 [[Percentage point|pp]]
<!--      Irish Nationalist      -->| image3 = [[File:John Redmond, circa 1909.jpg|160x160px]]
| leader3 = [[John Redmond]]
| leader_since3 = 6 February 1900
| party3 = Irish Parliamentary Party
| leaders_seat3 = [[Waterford City (UK Parliament constituency)|Waterford City]]
| last_election3 = 82 seats, 0.6%
| seats3 = 71
| seat_change3 = {{decrease}}11
| popular_vote3 = 74,047
| percentage3 = 1.2%
| swing3 = {{increase}}0.6 [[Percentage point|pp]]

<!--      Labour      -->| image4 = [[File:1910 Arthur Henderson (cropped).jpg|160x160px]]
| leader4 = [[Arthur Henderson]]
| leader_since4 = 22 January 1908
| party4 = Labour Party (UK)
| leaders_seat4 = [[Barnard Castle (UK Parliament constituency)|Barnard Castle]]
| last_election4 = 29 seats, 4.8%
| seats4 = 40
| seat_change4 = {{increase}}11
| popular_vote4 = 435,770
| percentage4 = 7.0%
| swing4 = {{increase}}2.2 [[Percentage point|pp]]
<!--      All for Ireland      -->| image5 = [[File:William O'Brien 1917.jpg|160x160px]]
| leader5 = [[William O'Brien]]
| leader_since5 = March 1909
| party5 = All-for-Ireland League
| leaders_seat5 = [[North East Cork (UK Parliament constituency)|North East Cork]]
| last_election5 = ''Did not contest''
| seats5 = 8
| seat_change5 = {{increase}}8
| popular_vote5 = 23,605
| percentage5 = 0.4%
| swing5 = {{increase}}0.4 [[Percentage point|pp]]
| map_image = January 1910 United Kingdom General Election.svg
| map_size = 400px
| map_caption = Colours denote the winning party
| title = [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]]
| posttitle = Prime Minister after election
| before_election = [[H. H. Asquith]]
| before_party = Liberal Party (UK)
| after_election = [[H. H. Asquith]]
| after_party = Liberal Party (UK)
| turnout = 6,234,435<br>86.8% ({{increase}}3.6 [[Percentage point|pp]])
| map2_image = File:Jan 1910 UK GE Composition.svg
| map2_caption = Composition of the House of Commons following the election.
| registered = 7,694,741
}}
The '''January 1910 UK general election''' was held from 15 January to 10 February 1910. Called amid a [[constitutional crisis]] after the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]-dominated [[House of Lords]] rejected the [[People's Budget]], the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] government, seeking a mandate, lost their majority.

The result was a [[hung parliament]]: [[Arthur Balfour]]’s [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservatives]] and their [[Liberal Unionist Party|Liberal Unionist]] allies won the most votes, but [[H. H. Asquith|Asquith]]’s [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberals]] secured the most seats, edging out the Conservatives by two. With [[Irish Parliamentary Party]] support, Asquith remained in power. Another election followed in [[December 1910 United Kingdom general election|December]].

The [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]], led by [[Arthur Henderson]], returned 40 MPs. Much of this apparent increase (from the 29 Labour MPs elected in 1906) came from the defection, a few years earlier, of [[Liberal-Labour (UK)|Lib Lab]] MPs from the Liberal Party to Labour.

{{UK general election navigation|clear=none|1900|1906|January 1910|December 1910|1918}}

==Results==
[[File:1910 (1) UK parliament.svg|center|300px]]
{{Election summary begin with leaders| title = UK General Election January 1910}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party      = Conservative and Liberal Unionist
  |leader     = [[Arthur Balfour]]
  |candidates = 594
  |seats      = 272
  |gain       = 130
  |loss       = 14
  |net        = +116
  |votes      = 2,919,236
  |votes %    = 46.8
  |seats %    = 40.6
  |plus/minus = +3.4
  |vps        = 10,732
}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party      = Liberal Party (UK)
  |leader     = [[H. H. Asquith]]
  |candidates = 511
  |seats      = 274
  |gain       = 12
  |loss       = 135
  |net        = &minus;123
  |votes      = 2,712,511
  |votes %    = 43.5
  |seats %    = 40.9
  |plus/minus = &minus;5.4
  |government = yes
  |vps        = 9,900
}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party      = Labour Party (UK)
  |leader     = [[Arthur Henderson]]
  |candidates = 78
  |seats      = 40
  |gain       = 17
  |loss       = 6
  |net        = +11
  |votes      = 435,770
  |votes %    = 7.0
  |seats %    = 6.0
  |plus/minus = +2.1
  |vps        = 10,894
}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party      = Irish Parliamentary Party
  |leader     = [[John Redmond]]
  |candidates = 85
  |seats      = 71
  |gain       = 0
  |loss       = 11
  |net        = &minus;11
  |votes      = 74,047
  |votes %    = 1.2
  |seats %    = 10.6
  |plus/minus = +0.6
  |vps        = 1,043
}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party      = All-for-Ireland League
  |leader     = [[William O'Brien]]
  |candidates = 10
  |seats      = 8
  |gain       = 8
  |loss       = 0
  |net        = +8
  |votes      = 23,605
  |votes %    = 0.4
  |seats %    = 1.2
  |plus/minus =
  |vps        = 2,951
}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party      = Independent Nationalist
  |leader     = ''N/A''
  |candidates = 10
  |seats      = 3
  |gain       = 3
  |loss       = 2
  |net        = +2
  |votes      = 16,533
  |votes %    = 0.3
  |seats %    = 0.5
  |plus/minus =
  |vps        = 5,511
}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party      = Social Democratic Federation
  |leader     = [[H. M. Hyndman]]
  |candidates = 9
  |seats      = 0
  |gain       = 0
  |loss       = 0
  |net        = 0
  |votes      = 13,479
  |votes %    = 0.2
  |seats %    = 
  |plus/minus = &minus;0.1
  |vps        = N/A
}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party      = Independent Conservative
  |leader     = ''N/A''
  |candidates = 4
  |seats      = [[Sunderland (UK Parliament constituency)|1]]
  |gain       = [[Sunderland (UK Parliament constituency)|1]]
  |loss       = 1
  |net        = 0
  |votes      = 11,772
  |votes %    = 0.2
  |seats %    = 0.1
  |plus/minus =
  |vps        = 11,772
}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party      = Free Trader
  |leader     = [[John Eldon Gorst]]
  |candidates = 4
  |seats      = 0
  |gain       = 0
  |loss       = 0
  |net        = 0
  |votes      = 11,553
  |votes %    = 0.2
  |seats %    = 
  |plus/minus =
  |vps        = N/A
}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party      = Independent Labour
  |leader     = ''N/A''
  |candidates = 6
  |seats      = 0
  |gain       = 0
  |loss       = [[Chester-le-Street (UK Parliament constituency)|1]]
  |net        = &minus;1
  |votes      = 9,936
  |votes %    = 0.2
  |seats %    = 
  |plus/minus =
  |vps        = N/A
}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party      = Independent Liberal
  |leader     = ''N/A''
  |candidates = 3
  |seats      = [[Glasgow Tradeston (UK Parliament constituency)|1]]
  |gain       = [[Glasgow Tradeston (UK Parliament constituency)|1]]
  |loss       = 0
  |net        = +1
  |votes      = 5,237
  |votes %    = 0.1
  |seats %    = 0.1
  |plus/minus =
  |vps        = 5,237
}}
{{Election summary party with leaders|
  |party      = Scottish Prohibition Party
  |leader     = [[Edwin Scrymgeour]]
  |candidates = [[Dundee (UK Parliament constituency)|1]]
  |seats      = 0
  |gain       = 0
  |loss       = 0
  |net        = 0
  |votes      = 756
  |votes %    = 0.0
  |seats %    = 
  |plus/minus =
  |vps        = N/A
}}
|}

{{Hatnote|Total votes cast: 6,234,435.<ref>All parties shown.</ref><br/>Electorate: 7,694,741 (7,201,029 in contested seats)<br/>Turnout: 86.8%
<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130011015/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/geresults.html|archive-date=30 January 2012|url=http://www.election.demon.co.uk/geresults.html|title=General  Election Results 1885-1979|access-date=13 February 2023|url-status=dead}}</ref>}}

===Voting summary===

{{bar box
|title=Popular vote
|titlebar=#ddd
|width=600px
|barwidth=350px
|bars=
{{bar percent|Conservative & Liberal Unionist|{{party color|Conservative and Liberal Unionist}}|46.82}}
{{bar percent|'''Liberal'''|{{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}|43.51}}
{{bar percent|Labour|{{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}|6.99}}
{{bar percent|Irish Parliamentary|{{party color|Irish Parliamentary Party}}|1.19}}
{{bar percent|All-for-Ireland|{{party color|All-for-Ireland League}}|0.38}}
{{bar percent|Others|#A9A9A9|1.11}}
}}

===Seats summary===
{{bar box
|title=Parliamentary seats
|titlebar=#ddd
|width=600px
|barwidth=350px
|bars=
{{bar percent|'''Liberal'''|{{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}|40.90}}
{{bar percent|Conservative and Liberal Unionist|{{party color|Conservative and Liberal Unionist}}|40.60}}
{{bar percent|Irish Parliamentary|{{party color|Irish Parliamentary Party}}|10.60}}
{{bar percent|Labour|{{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}|5.97}}
{{bar percent|All-for-Ireland|{{party color|All-for-Ireland League}}|1.19}}
{{bar percent|Others|#A9A9A9|0.75}}
}}

==See also==
*[[List of MPs elected in the January 1910 United Kingdom general election]]
*[[Parliamentary franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918]]
*[[January 1910 United Kingdom general election in Ireland]]
*[[January 1910 United Kingdom general election in Scotland]]

[[File:Under-Which-Flag--LPD 1910 poster.jpg|thumb|Election poster from "Labour Party and Democratic League" (a faction of the British Labour Party)
  ]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation |last=Blewett |first=Neal | author-link = Neal Blewett |title=The Peers, the Parties and the People: The General Elections of 1910 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan London |year=1972 |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-00652-6}}
* {{citation |last=Clarke |first=P. F. |title=The electoral position of the Liberal and Labour parties, 1910–1914 |journal=English Historical Review |volume=90 |pages=828–836 |number=357 |year=1975 |doi=10.1093/ehr/xc.ccclvii.828}}
* {{citation |author-link=F. W. S. Craig |first=F. W. S. |last=Craig |title=British Electoral Facts: 1832–1987 |year=1989 |location=Dartmouth |publisher=Gower |isbn=0900178302 }}
* {{citation |last=O'Brien |first=Phillips Payson |contribution=The 1910 Elections and the Primacy of Foreign Policy |editor1-first=William |editor1-last=Mulligan |editor2-first=Brendan |editor2-last=Simms |title=The Primacy of Foreign Policy in British History, 1660–2000 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |year=2010 |pages=249–259}}
* {{citation |last=Pelling |first=Henry |author-link=Henry Pelling |title=Social Geography of British Elections 1885–1910 |year=1967}}{{publisher missing}}
* {{citation |last=Sykes |first=Alan |title=Tariff Reform in British Politics: 1903–1913 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1979}}
* {{citation |last=Sykes |first=Alan |title=The Confederacy and the purge of the Unionist free traders, 1906–1910 |journal=Historical Journal |volume=18 |pages=349–366 |number=2 |year=1975 |doi=10.1017/S0018246X00023724 }}
* {{citation |last=Wald |first=Kenneth D. |title=Class and the vote before the first world war |journal=British Journal of Political Science |volume=8 |pages=441–457 |number=4 |year=1978 |doi=10.1017/S0007123400001496 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*[http://www.spartacus-educational.com/politics.htm Spartacus: Political Parties and Election Results]
*[http://www.election.demon.co.uk/geresults.html United Kingdom election results—summary results 1885–1979] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130011015/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/geresults.html |date=30 January 2012 }}

===Manifestos===
*[http://www.conservativemanifesto.com/1910/jan/january-1910-conservative-manifesto.shtml January 1910 Conservative manifesto]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070811005157/http://www.labour-party.org.uk/manifestos/1910/jan/1910-jan-labour-manifesto.shtml January 1910 Labour manifesto]
*[http://www.libdemmanifesto.com/1910/jan/january-1910-liberal-manifesto.shtml January 1910 Liberal manifesto]

{{British elections}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1910 01 United Kingdom general election}}
[[Category:January 1910 United Kingdom general election| ]]
[[Category:General elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1910 elections in the United Kingdom|General election]]
[[Category:January 1910 in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:February 1910 in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1910 elections in Ireland]]
[[Category:1910 in British politics]]
[[Category:H. H. Asquith]]
[[Category:Arthur Balfour]]