1868 United Kingdom general election

* * *

| ← 1865 | 17 November – 7 December 1868 (1868-11-17 – 1868-12-07) | 1874 →

|
|

← outgoing members

elected members →

* * *

All 658 seats in the House of Commons
330 seats needed for a majority
Turnout| 2,333,251
|   | 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[a] | 271
Seat change  | 18  | 18
Popular vote  | 1,428,776 | 903,318
Percentage  | 61.2% | 38.7%
Swing  | 1.7 pp | 1.8 pp

* * *

Colours denote the winning party

* * *

Composition of the House of Commons after the election

* * *

| Prime Minister before election

Benjamin Disraeli
Conservative

| Prime Minister after
election

William Gladstone
Liberal

|

The 1868 United Kingdom general election was held between 17 November to 7 December 1868. It saw Gladstone's Liberals increase their majority to 116 seats.

This was the first general election to be held after the 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]

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]

* 1859 election
* MPs

* 1865 election
* MPs

* 1868 election
* MPs

* 1874 election
* MPs

* 1880 election
* MPs

## Results

[edit]

UK General Election 1868

Party  | Candidates  | Votes
Stood  | Elected  | Gained  | Unseated  | Net  | % of total  | %  | No. | Net %
| Liberal | 600  | 387[a] |  |  | +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

Total votes cast: 2,333,251.

### Voting summary

[edit]

| Popular vote

|  |
Liberal |

| 61.24%
Conservative |

| 38.71%
Others |

| 0.05%

### Seats summary

[edit]

| Parliamentary seats

|  |
Liberal |

| 58.81%
Conservative |

| 41.19%
Others |

| 0.0%

### Regional results

[edit]

#### Great Britain

[edit]

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  |

##### England

[edit]

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  |

##### Scotland

[edit]

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  |

##### Wales

[edit]

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  |

#### Ireland

[edit]

Main article: 1868 United Kingdom general election in Ireland

Party  | Candidates  | Unopposed  | Seats  | Seats change  | Votes  | %  | % change

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| Liberal | 85  | 41  | 66  | 8  | 54,461  | 57.9  | +2.3
| Irish 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  |

#### Universities

[edit]

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 also

[edit]

* List of MPs elected in the 1868 United Kingdom general election

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b The seat and vote count figures for the Liberals given here include the Speaker of the House of Commons

## References and further reading

[edit]

* 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).

## External links

[edit]

* Spartacus: Political Parties and Election Results: 1868 General Election

* v
* t
* e

Elections and referendums in the United Kingdom

General elections|

* 1802
* 1806
* 1807
* 1812
* 1818
* 1820
* 1826
* 1830
* 1831
* 1832
* 1835
* 1837
* 1841
* 1847
* 1852
* 1857
* 1859
* 1865
* 1868
* 1874
* 1880
* 1885
* 1886
* 1892
* 1895
* 1900
* 1906
* 1910 (Jan)
* 1910 (Dec)
* 1918
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1929
* 1931
* 1935
* 1945
* 1950
* 1951
* 1955
* 1959
* 1964
* 1966
* 1970
* 1974 (Feb)
* 1974 (Oct)
* 1979
* 1983
* 1987
* 1992
* 1997
* 2001
* 2005
* 2010
* 2015
* 2017
* 2019
* 2024
* Next

Local elections|

* 1889
* 1890
* 1892
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025
* 2026

European elections|

* 1979
* 1984
* 1989
* 1994
* 1999
* 2004
* 2009
* 2014
* 2019

Referendums|

* 1975
* 2011
* 2016

See also
Elections in England
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Wales
Great Britain
*[No.]: Number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template