1802 United Kingdom general election

Last updated

1802 United Kingdom general election
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
 5 July – 28 August 1802 (1802-07-05 1802-08-28) 1806  

All 658 seats in the House of Commons
330 seats needed for a majority
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Henry Addington by Beechey.jpg Reynolds Charles James Fox.jpg OlderPittThe Younger crop.jpg
Leader Henry Addington Charles James Fox William Pitt
Party Addingtonian Foxite Pittite
Leader's seat Devizes Westminster Cambridge University
Seats won3832696

1802 UK parliament.png
The UK parliament after the 1802 election

Prime Minister before election

Henry Addington
Addingtonian

Prime Minister after election

Henry Addington
Addingtonian

The 1802 United Kingdom general election was the election to the House of Commons of the second Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was the first to be held after the Union of Great Britain and Ireland. The first Parliament had been composed of members of the former Parliaments of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland.

Contents

The Parliament of Great Britain held its last general election in 1796. The final election for the Parliament of Ireland was held in 1797.

The first united Parliament was dissolved on 29 June 1802. The new Parliament was summoned to meet on 31 August 1802, for a maximum seven-year term from that date. (The maximum term could be and normally was curtailed, by the monarch dissolving the Parliament, before its term expired.)

Political situation

Tory Prime Minister Henry Addington led a war-time administration of pro-government Whigs and Tories, collectively referred to as the "Addingtonians", [1] in office during part of the Napoleonic Wars.

The previous Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger, had been out of office since 1801. King George III had forced Pitt to resign by refusing to agree to Catholic emancipation (allowing Catholics to sit in Parliament) following the Union. His faction in Parliament was generally supportive of the Addington ministry, but was semi-detached from it.

On 25 March 1802 the Treaty of Amiens brought about peace with France, with which Great Britain had been at war since 1792. The international situation remained uneasy and a renewal of war was still possible.

In the election the combination of the followers of Addington and Pitt comfortably defeated the Opposition Whigs of Charles James Fox.

Dates of election

At this period there was not one election day. After receiving a writ (a royal command) for the election to be held, the local returning officer fixed the election timetable for the particular constituency or constituencies he was concerned with. Polling in seats with contested elections could continue for many days.

The election took place over a period of almost two months. The time between the first and last contested elections was 5 July to 28 August 1802.

Summary of the constituencies

Monmouthshire (1 County constituency with 2 MPs and one single member Borough constituency) is included in Wales in these tables. Sources for this period may include the county in England.

Table 1: Constituencies and MPs, by type and country

CountryBCCCUCTotal CBMPCMPUMPTotal MPs
Flag of England.svg  England 202392243404784486
  Wales 13130261314027
Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland 15300451530045
  Ireland 333216635641100
 Total26311433804671765658

Table 2: Number of seats per constituency, by type and country

CountryBCx1BCx2BCx4CCx1CCx2UCx1UCx2Total C
Flag of England.svg  England 4196203902243
  Wales 13001210026
Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland 15003000045
  Ireland 31200321066
 Total631982427212380

See also

Notes

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament of Great Britain</span> United English and Scottish parliament 1707–1800

The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdom of Great Britain and created the parliament of Great Britain located in the former home of the English parliament in the Palace of Westminster, near the City of London. This lasted nearly a century, until the Acts of Union 1800 merged the separate British and Irish Parliaments into a single Parliament of the United Kingdom with effect from 1 January 1801.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1832 United Kingdom general election</span>

The 1832 United Kingdom general election, the first after the Reform Act, saw the Whigs win an overall majority of 224 seats, with the Tories winning less than 30% of the vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1831 United Kingdom general election</span>

The 1831 United Kingdom general election saw a landslide win by supporters of electoral reform, which was the major election issue. As a result, it was the last unreformed election, as the following Parliament ensured the passage of the Reform Act 1832. Polling was held from 28 April to 1 June 1831. The Whigs won a majority of 136 over the Tories, which was as near to a landslide as the unreformed electoral system could deliver. As the Government obtained a dissolution of Parliament once the new electoral system had been enacted, the resulting Parliament was a short one and there was another election the following year. The election was the first since 1715 to see a victory by a party previously in minority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1830 United Kingdom general election</span>

The 1830 United Kingdom general election was triggered by the death of King George IV and produced the first parliament of the reign of his successor, King William IV. Fought in the aftermath of the Swing Riots, it saw electoral reform become a major election issue. Polling took place in July and August and the Tories won a plurality over the Whigs, but division among Tory MPs allowed Earl Grey to form an effective government and take the question of electoral reform to the country the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd Parliament of Great Britain</span>

The 2nd Parliament of Great Britain was the first British Parliament to actually be elected, as the 1st Parliament of Great Britain had been drawn from the former Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1826 United Kingdom general election</span>

The 1826 United Kingdom general election saw the Tories under the Earl of Liverpool win a substantial and increased majority over the Whigs. In Ireland, liberal Protestant candidates favouring Catholic emancipation, backed by the Catholic Association, achieved significant gains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1820 United Kingdom general election</span>

The 1820 United Kingdom general election was triggered by the death of King George III and produced the first parliament of the reign of his successor, King George IV. It was held shortly after the Radical War in Scotland and the Cato Street Conspiracy. In this atmosphere, the Tories under the Earl of Liverpool were able to win a substantial majority over the Whigs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1818 United Kingdom general election</span>

The 1818 United Kingdom general election saw the Whigs gain a few seats, but the Tories under the Earl of Liverpool retained a majority of around 90 seats. The Whigs were divided over their response to growing social unrest and the introduction of the Corn Laws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1806 United Kingdom general election</span> 2nd election held after the Union of Great Britain and Ireland

The 1806 United Kingdom general election was the election of members to the 3rd Parliament of the United Kingdom. This was the second general election to be held after the Union of Great Britain and Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1807 United Kingdom general election</span> 3rd election after the union of Great Britain and Ireland

The 1807 United Kingdom general election was the third general election to be held after the Union of Great Britain and Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1812 United Kingdom general election</span>

The 1812 United Kingdom general election was the fourth general election to be held after the Union of Great Britain and Ireland.

Downpatrick was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning one MP. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.

Buckinghamshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Parliament of the United Kingdom</span> Parliament of the United Kingdom, 1801–1802

In the first Parliament to be held after the Union of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801, the first House of Commons of the United Kingdom was composed of all 558 members of the former Parliament of Great Britain and 100 of the members of the House of Commons of Ireland.

The 1796 British general election returned members to serve in the 18th and last House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain. They were summoned before the Union of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801. The members in office in Great Britain at the end of 1800 continued to serve in the first Parliament of the United Kingdom (1801–02).

This is a list of the MPs for Irish constituencies, who were elected at the 1802 United Kingdom general election, to serve as members of the 2nd UK Parliament from Ireland, or who were elected at subsequent by-elections. There were 100 seats representing Ireland in this Parliament.

This is a list of the MPs for Irish constituencies, who were elected at the 1806 United Kingdom general election, to serve as members of the 3rd UK Parliament from Ireland, or who were elected at subsequent by-elections. There were 100 seats representing Ireland in this Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Addington ministry</span> Government of the United Kingdom

Henry Addington, a member of the Tories, was appointed by King George III to lead the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1801 to 1804 and served as an interlude between the Pitt ministries. Addington's ministry is most notable for negotiating the Treaty of Amiens, which marked a brief cessation of the Napoleonic Wars.

References