1859 United Kingdom general election in Ireland

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1859 United Kingdom general election in Ireland
  1857 28 April – 18 May 1859 (1859-04-28 1859-05-18) 1865  

105 of the 670 seats to the House of Commons
 First partySecond party
  14th Earl of Derby.jpg Palmerston.jpg
Leader Earl of Derby Viscount Palmerston
Party Conservative Whig
Leader sinceJuly 18466 February 1855
Leader's seat House of Lords Tiverton
Seats before4248
Seats won5550
Seat changeIncrease2.svg11Increase2.svg2
Popular vote35,25857,409
Percentage38.9%61.1%
SwingDecrease2.svg 4.7%Increase2.svg 13.3%

United Kingdom general election 1859 in Ireland.svg
Results of the 1859 election in Ireland

The 1859 United Kingdom general election in Ireland produced the last overall victory for the Conservatives in Ireland. They won a majority of seats on the island despite the Liberals receiving over 60% of the vote; this was partly due to a disproportionately large number of Conservative candidates standing unopposed. The franchise was restricted to the middle and upper classes.

Contents

Electoral reform in subsequent decades saw something of a rise in the Tory vote in Ireland accompanied by a diminution in the number of seats the party won. This was again due in some degree to the relative numbers of candidates standing unopposed for the two parties.

Results

1859 general election in Ireland [1]
PartyCandidatesUnopposedSeatsSeats changeVotes%% Change
Irish Conservative 673655Increase2.svg1135,25838.9Decrease2.svg4.7
Whig 732650Increase2.svg257,40961.1Increase2.svg13.3
Total14062105Steady2.svg92,667100.0
Popular vote
Whigs
61.95%
Irish Conservative
38.05%
Parliamentary seats
Irish Conservative
52.38%
Whigs
47.62%

See also

References

  1. Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. British Electoral Facts: 1832–2012. p. 8.