1841 United Kingdom general election

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1841 United Kingdom general election

← 1837 29 June – 22 July 1841 (1841-06-29 – 1841-07-22) 1847 →

All 658 seats in the House of Commons
330 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
  Robert Peel by RR Scanlan detail.jpg William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, painted by John Partridge.jpg Portrait gallery of eminent men and women of Europe and America - embracing history, statesmanship, naval and military life, philosophy, the drama, science, literature and art, with biographies (1873) (14587944860).jpg
Leader Sir Robert Peel Viscount Melbourne Daniel O'Connell
Party Conservative Whig Irish Repeal
Leader since 19 December 1834 16 July 1834 15 April 1840
Leader's seat Tamworth House of Lords Dublin City (defeated)
County Cork
Last election 314 seats, 47.6% 344 seats, 52.4% Compact with Whigs
Seats won 367 271 20
Seat change Increase53 Decrease73 Increase20
Popular vote 306,314 273,902 12,537
Percentage 51.6% 46.2% 2.1%
Swing Increase4.0% Decrease6.2% New party

United Kingdom general election 1841.svg
Colours denote the winning party

House of Commons - United Kingdom general election, 1841.svg
Composition of the Commons after the election

Prime Minister before election

Viscount Melbourne
Whig

Prime Minister after election

Sir Robert Peel
Conservative

In the 1841 United Kingdom general election, there was a big swing as Sir Robert Peel's Conservatives took control of the House of Commons. Melbourne's Whigs had seen their support in the Commons erode over the previous years. Whilst Melbourne enjoyed the firm support of the young Queen Victoria, his ministry had seen increasing defeats in the Commons, culminating in the defeat of the government's budget in May 1841 by 36 votes, and by 1 vote in a 4 June 1841 vote of no confidence put forward by Peel. According to precedent, Melbourne's defeat required his resignation. However, the cabinet decided to ask for a dissolution, which was opposed by Melbourne personally, but he came to accept the wishes of the ministers. Melbourne requested the Queen dissolve Parliament, leading to an election.[1] The Queen thus prorogued Parliament on 22 June.[2]

The Conservatives campaigned mainly on an 11-point programme modified from their previous electoral effort and designed by Peel, whilst the Whigs emphasised reforming the import duties on corn, replacing the existing sliding scale with a uniform rate. The Whig position lost them support amongst protectionists, and the Whigs saw heavy losses in constituencies like the West Riding, where aristocratic Whig families who held a strong tradition of unbroken representation in Parliament were rejected by the electorate. Even radical support coalesced around the Tories, with it being felt that Peel would be more open to electoral reform. Radical opinion also appeared to favour the business background of Peel and his supporters to the aristocratic and political background of Melbourne's Whigs, with it being felt that the Whigs made poor governors.[1]

O'Connell, who had been governing with the Whigs through a compact, felt the government's unpopularity rub off on him. His own party was shattered in the election. Barely a dozen Repealers retained their seats, and O'Connell himself lost in Dublin while his son was defeated in Carlow.[3] The Chartists picked up only a few votes.

Results[]

1841 UK parliament.svg
UK General Election 1841
Party Candidates Votes
Stood Elected Gained Unseated Net % of total % No. Net %
  Conservative 498 367 +53 55.78 51.62 306,314 +2.6
  Whig 388 271 −73 41.19 46.15 273,902 −4.8
  Irish Repeal 22 20 20 0 +20 3.04 2.11 12,537 N/A
  Chartist 8 0 0 0 0 0 0.12 692 N/A

Voting summary[]

Popular vote
Conservative
51.62%
Whig
46.15%
Irish Repeal
2.11%
Chartist
0.12%

Seats summary[]

Parliamentary seats
Conservative
55.78%
Whig
41.19%
Irish Repeal
3.04%

Regional results[]

Great Britain[]

Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes % % change
Conservative 439 185 326 +42 286,650 52.7 +4.5
Whig 333 83 229 −42 256,774 47.2 −4.6
Chartist 8 0 0 Same position 692 0.1 New entry
Total 780 268 555 Same position 544,116 100
England[]
Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes % % change
Conservative 374 147 277 272,755 53.1
Whig 277 62 187 236,813 46.8
Chartist 4 0 0 Same position 307 0.1 New entry
Total 655 209 464 Same position 509,875 100
Scotland[]
Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes % % change
Whig 40 13 31 16,356 60.8
Conservative 35 16 22 9,793 38.3
Chartist 3 0 0 Same position 385 0.9 New entry
Total 78 29 53 Same position 26,534 100
Wales[]
Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes % % change
Conservative 24 16 21 4,102 53.2
Whig 16 8 11 3,605 46.8
Chartist 1 0 0 Same position 0 0.0 New entry
Total 41 24 32 Same position 7,707 100

Ireland[]

Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes % % change
Whig 55 30 42 17,128 35.1
Conservative 59 27 41 19,664 40.1
Irish Repeal 22 12 20 12,537 24.8
Total 136 69 103 49,329 100

Universities[]

Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes % % change
Conservative 6 6 6 Same position Uncontested Uncontested
Total 6 6 6 Same position Uncontested Uncontested

Whig MPs who lost their seats[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Kemp, Betty (June 1952), "The General Election of 1841", History, 37 (130): 146–157, doi:10.1111/j.1468-229X.1952.tb00231.x, JSTOR 24402876
  2. ^ Saint James's Chronicle Tuesday 22 June 1841, p.2.
  3. ^ Marriott, John (1913). England since Waterloo. p. 143. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  4. ^ British Electoral Facts 1832–2006, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher (Parliamentary Research Services, 2007)

Further reading[]

  • Craig, F. W. S. (1989), British Electoral Facts: 1832–1987, Dartmouth: Gower, ISBN 0900178302
  • Gash, Norman (1972), Sir Robert Peel: The life of Sir Robert Peel after 1830, pp. 234–72[publisher missing]
  • Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael, eds. (2000), British Electoral Facts 1832–1999, Ashgate Publishing Ltd

External links[]

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