1837 United Kingdom general election

1837 United Kingdom general election

←  1835 24 July – 18 August 1837 (1837-07-24 – 1837-08-18) 1841  →
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All 658 seats in the House of Commons 330 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	798,025 [a]
First party Second party   Leader Viscount Melbourne Sir Robert Peel Party Whig Conservative Leader since 16 July 1834 19 December 1834 Leader's seat House of Lords Tamworth Last election 385 seats, 57.2% 273 seats, 42.8% Seats won 344 [b] 314 [c] Seat change 41 41 Popular vote 418,331 [a] 379,694 [a] Percentage 52.4% 47.6% Swing 4.8 pp 4.8 pp
Colours denote the winning party
Composition of the House of Commons after the election
Prime Minister before election Viscount Melbourne Whig Prime Minister after election Viscount Melbourne Whig

The 1837 United Kingdom general election was held from 24 July to 18 August 1837, following the death of King William IV and the accession of Queen Victoria. The election saw the Whigs secure their fourth consecutive victory, though the Conservatives, led by Robert Peel, continued to gain ground.

The election marked the last time that a Parliament was dissolved as a result of the demise of the Crown. The dissolution of Parliament six months after a demise of the Crown, as provided for by the Succession to the Crown Act 1707, was abolished by the Reform Act 1867.

Results

UK General Election 1837
Party		Candidates						Votes
		Stood	Elected	Gained	Unseated	Net	% of total	%	No.	Net %
	Whig	510	344 [d]			−41	52.28	52.42	418,331	−4.8
	Conservative	484	314			+41	47.72	47.58	379,694	+4.8

Total votes cast: 798,025.

Voting summary

Popular vote Whig   52.42% Conservative   47.58%

Seats summary

Parliamentary seats Whig   52.28% Conservative   47.72%

Regional results

Great Britain

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Conservative	414	102	284	+46	353,000	48.2	+5.4
	Whig	422	81	271	−46	379,961	51.8	−5.4
Total		836	183	555		732,961	100

England

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Conservative	348	80	239	+39	321,124	48.9	+6.3
	Whig	352	60	225	−39	347,549	51.1	−6.3
Total		658	177	464		491,540	100

Scotland

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Whig	49	15	33	−5	22,082	54.0	−8.8
	Conservative	35	7	20	+5	18,569	46.0	+8.8
Total		84	22	53		40,651	100

Wales

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Conservative	25	11	19	+2	11,616	52.8	−11.1
	Whig	20	6	13	−2	10,144	47.2	+11.1
Total		45	17	32		21,760	100

Ireland

Main article: United Kingdom general election, 1837 (Ireland)

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Whig/Repeal Coalition	88	34	73	+5	38,370	58.5	+9.9
	Irish Conservative	70	19	30	−5	26,694	41.5	−9.9
Total		158	53	103		65,064	100

Universities

Party		Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change
	Conservative	6	4	6		1,691	90.1
	Whig	1	0	0		186	9.9
Total		6	6	6		1,877	100

Notes

1. Voting took place in 422 of 658 seats.
   The other 236 MPs were unopposed.
2. Includes the Speaker of the House of Commons, as well as 115 members elected unopposed.
3. Includes 121 members elected unopposed.
4. The seat and vote count figures for the Whigs given here include the Speaker of the House of Commons

References

• 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

External links

• Spartacus: Political Parties and Election Results