The 1847 United Kingdom general election was conducted between 29 July 1847 and 26 August 1847 and resulted in the Whigs in control of government despite candidates calling themselves Conservatives winning the most seats. The Conservatives were divided between Protectionists, led by Lord Stanley, and a minority of free-trade Tories, known also as the Peelites for their leader, former prime minister Sir Robert Peel. This left the Whigs, led by Prime Minister Lord John Russell, in a position to continue in government.[1]
The Irish Repeal group won more seats than in the previous general election, while the Chartists gained the only seat they were ever to hold, Nottingham's second seat, held by Chartist leader Feargus O'Connor.
The election also witnessed the election of Britain's first Jewish MP, the Liberal Lionel de Rothschild in the City of London. Members being sworn in were however required to swear the Christian Oath of Allegiance, meaning Rothschild was unable actually to take his seat until the passage of the Jews Relief Act in 1858. The constituency of Sudbury (UK Parliament constituency), which elected two members, was disfranchised for this election. This accounts for the fact that there were two fewer seats in the House of Commons as compared to the previous election, though no redistribution took place.
^ abSeveral country and university seats held by Conservatives were uncontested, and many urban multi-member constituencies that tended to vote Liberal had multiple candidates, so this is an misleading figure. Therefore, national swing is not applicable to elections in this era.
1847, united, kingdom, general, election, conducted, between, july, 1847, august, 1847, resulted, whigs, control, government, despite, candidates, calling, themselves, conservatives, winning, most, seats, conservatives, were, divided, between, protectionists, . The 1847 United Kingdom general election was conducted between 29 July 1847 and 26 August 1847 and resulted in the Whigs in control of government despite candidates calling themselves Conservatives winning the most seats The Conservatives were divided between Protectionists led by Lord Stanley and a minority of free trade Tories known also as the Peelites for their leader former prime minister Sir Robert Peel This left the Whigs led by Prime Minister Lord John Russell in a position to continue in government 1 1847 United Kingdom general election 1841 29 July 26 August 1847 1847 07 29 1847 08 26 1852 outgoing memberselected members All 656 seats in the House of Commons329 seats needed for a majority First party Second party Third party Leader Lord Stanley Lord John Russell John O ConnellParty Conservative Whig Irish RepealLeader s seat House of Lords City of London Limerick CityLast election 367 seats 51 6 271 seats 46 2 20 seats 1 9 Seats won 325 1 292 36Seat change 42 21 16Popular vote 205 481 259 311 14 128Percentage 42 6 n 1 53 8 n 1 2 9 Swing 9 0 7 6 1 0 Prime Minister before electionLord John RussellWhig Prime Minister after election Lord John RussellWhigThe Irish Repeal group won more seats than in the previous general election while the Chartists gained the only seat they were ever to hold Nottingham s second seat held by Chartist leader Feargus O Connor The election also witnessed the election of Britain s first Jewish MP the Liberal Lionel de Rothschild in the City of London Members being sworn in were however required to swear the Christian Oath of Allegiance meaning Rothschild was unable actually to take his seat until the passage of the Jews Relief Act in 1858 The constituency of Sudbury UK Parliament constituency which elected two members was disfranchised for this election This accounts for the fact that there were two fewer seats in the House of Commons as compared to the previous election though no redistribution took place Contents 1 Results 1 1 Voting summary 1 2 Seats summary 1 3 Regional results 1 3 1 Great Britain 1 3 1 1 England 1 3 1 2 Scotland 1 3 1 3 Wales 1 3 2 Ireland 1 3 3 Universities 2 Notes 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External linksResults Edit UK General Election 1847 Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain loss Seats Votes Votes Whig 292 21 44 51 53 75 259 311 6 9 Conservative 325 42 49 54 42 59 205 481 8 2 Irish Repeal 36 16 5 49 2 93 14 128 1 0 Chartist 1 1 0 1 0 15 0 59 2 848 0 Irish Confederation 2 2 0 2 0 30 0 14 661 N ATotal votes cast 482 429 2 Voting summary Edit Popular voteWhig 53 75 Conservative 42 59 Irish Repeal 2 93 Chartist 0 59 Others 0 14 Seats summary Edit Parliamentary seatsWhig 44 51 Conservative 49 54 Irish Repeal 5 49 Chartist 0 15 Others 0 3 Regional results Edit Great Britain Edit Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes changeConservative amp Liberal Conservatives 373 180 285 194 223 43 1Whig 360 125 267 253 376 56 2Chartist 9 0 1 1 2 848 0 6Total 742 305 553 450 447 100England Edit Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes changeConservative amp Liberal Conservatives 319 149 239 170 407 42 1Whig 297 92 222 230 656 57 2Chartist 9 0 1 1 2 848 0 7Total 625 241 462 403 911 100Scotland Edit Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes changeWhig 48 21 33 2 20 092 81 7 20 9Conservative amp Liberal Conservatives 23 16 20 2 3 509 18 3 20 0Total 71 37 53 23 601 100Wales Edit Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes changeConservative amp Liberal Conservatives 22 15 20 11 114 89 5Whig 13 12 12 1 394 10 5Total 35 27 32 12 508 100Ireland Edit Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes changeConservative 38 24 29 1 10 294 31 0 6 1Peelite 11 9 11 964 3 0Irish Repeal 51 18 36 14 128 43 6Whig 33 11 25 5 935 20 2Irish Confederate 3 0 2 629 2 0independent politician 1 0 0 32 0 2Total 137 62 103 31 982 100Universities Edit Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes changeConservative amp Liberal Conservatives 9 0 6 9 193 88 2Whig 2 0 0 1 234 11 8Total 11 0 6 10 427 100Notes Edit a b Several country and university seats held by Conservatives were uncontested and many urban multi member constituencies that tended to vote Liberal had multiple candidates so this is an misleading figure Therefore national swing is not applicable to elections in this era References Edit Including Peelites Conservative totals include Liberal Conservatives Further reading EditCraig 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 LtdExternal links EditSpartacus Political Parties and Election Results Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1847 United Kingdom general election amp oldid 1124204850, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
