1868 United Kingdom general election

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.

1868 United Kingdom general election
17 November – 7 December 1868 (1868-11-17 – 1868-12-07)
All 658 seats in the House of Commons
327 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader William Gladstone Benjamin Disraeli
Party Liberal Conservative
Leader since 3 December 1868 27 February 1868
Leader's seat Greenwich
(Defeated at South West Lancashire)		 Buckinghamshire
Last election 369 seats, 59.5% 289 seats, 40.5%
Seats won 387 271
Seat change Increase18 Decrease18
Popular vote 1,428,776 903,318
Percentage 61.2% 38.7%
Swing Increase1.7% Decrease1.8%
Colours denote the winning party
Prime Minister before election

Benjamin Disraeli
Conservative

 Prime Minister after
election

William Gladstone
Liberal

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.

Results
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 summary
Popular vote
Liberal
 
 61.24%
Conservative
 
 38.71%
Others
 
 0.05%

Seats summary
Parliamentary seats
Liberal
 
 58.81%
Conservative
 
 41.19%
Others
 
 0.0%

Great Britain
Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes  %  % change
Liberal 515 80 321 Increase7 1,374,315 61.4
Conservative 383 65 234 Decrease10 864,551 38.6
Other 1 0 0 969 0.0
Total 899 145 555 Decrease3 2,239,835 100
England
Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes  %  % change
Liberal 412 46 244 Decrease7 1,192,098 59.7
Conservative 334 54 211 Decrease2 803,637 40.2
Other 1 0 0 969 0.1
Total 747 100 455 Decrease9 1,996,704 100
Scotland
Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes  %  % change
Liberal 70 23 51 Increase9 125,356 82.5
Conservative 20 3 7 Decrease4 23,985 17.5
Total 90 26 58 Increase5 149,341 100
Wales
Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes  %  % change
Liberal 29 10 23 Increase5 52,256 62.1
Conservative 20 4 10 Decrease4 29,866 37.9
Total 49 14 33 Increase1 82,122 100

Ireland
Main article: 1868 United Kingdom general election in Ireland
Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes  %  % change
Liberal 85 41 66 Increase8 54,461 57.9 +2.3
Irish Conservative 53 26 37 Decrease8 38,765 41.9 Decrease2.5
Other 2 0 0 Steady 188 0.2 +0.2
Total 140 67 103 Steady 149,341 100

Universities
Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes  %  % change
Conservative 9 4 6 Steady 7,063 55.4
Liberal 4 1 3 Increase3 4,605 44.6
Total 13 5 9 11,668 100

See also

References and further reading
  • 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 and Social History. 10 (3): 369–395. doi:10.2752/147800413X13661166397229. S2CID 143879878. (covers 1860 to 1890).
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