The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after 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.[citation needed]
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All 658 seats in the House of Commons 327 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Liberals, led by William Gladstone, increased their majority over Benjamin Disraeli's Conservatives again to more than 100 seats.
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.[citation needed]
ResultsEdit
387 | 271 |
Liberal | Conservative |
UK General Election 1868 | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidates | Votes | |||||||||||||
Stood | Elected | Gained | Unseated | Net | % of total | % | No. | Net % | |||||||
Liberal | 600 | 387 | +18 | 58.81 | 61.24 | 1,428,776 | +2.0 | ||||||||
Conservative | 436 | 271 | −18 | 41.19 | 38.71 | 903,318 | −2.1 | ||||||||
Others | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.05 | 1,157 | N/A |
Voting summaryEdit
Seats summaryEdit
Regional resultsEdit
Great BritainEdit
Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | 515 | 80 | 321 | 7 | 1,374,315 | 61.4 | ||
Conservative | 383 | 65 | 234 | 10 | 864,551 | 38.6 | ||
Other | 1 | 0 | 0 | 969 | 0.0 | |||
Total | 899 | 145 | 555 | 3 | 2,239,835 | 100 |
EnglandEdit
Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | 412 | 46 | 244 | 7 | 1,192,098 | 59.7 | ||
Conservative | 334 | 54 | 211 | 2 | 803,637 | 40.2 | ||
Other | 1 | 0 | 0 | 969 | 0.1 | |||
Total | 747 | 100 | 455 | 9 | 1,996,704 | 100 |
ScotlandEdit
Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | 70 | 23 | 51 | 9 | 125,356 | 82.5 | ||
Conservative | 20 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 23,985 | 17.5 | ||
Total | 90 | 26 | 58 | 5 | 149,341 | 100 |
WalesEdit
Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | 29 | 10 | 23 | 5 | 52,256 | 62.1 | ||
Conservative | 20 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 29,866 | 37.9 | ||
Total | 49 | 14 | 33 | 1 | 82,122 | 100 |
IrelandEdit
Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | 85 | 41 | 66 | 8 | 54,461 | 57.9 | +2.3 | |
Conservative | 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 |
UniversitiesEdit
Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | 9 | 4 | 6 | 7,063 | 55.4 | |||
Liberal | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4,605 | 44.6 | ||
Total | 13 | 5 | 9 | 11,668 | 100 |
See alsoEdit
References and further readingEdit
- Craig, F. W. S. (1989), British Electoral Facts: 1832–1987, Dartmouth: Gower, ISBN 0900178302
- Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael, eds. (2000), British Electoral Facts 1832–1999, Ashgate Publishing Ltd
- Roberts, Matthew (2013). "Election Cartoons and Political Communication In Victorian England". Cultural & Social History. 10 (3): 369–395. doi:10.2752/147800413X13661166397229. S2CID 143879878. (covers 1860 to 1890).