1885 United Kingdom general election

1885 United Kingdom general election
← outgoing members elected members →
All 670 seats in the House of Commons; 336 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	81.2%
	Diagram displaying the composition of the House of Commons following the general election
Prime Minister before election; Marquess of Salisbury; Conservative	Prime Minister after election ; William Gladstone; Liberal

The 1885 United Kingdom general election was held from 24 November to 18 December 1885. This was the first general election after an extension of the franchise and redistribution of seats. For the first time a majority of adult males could vote and most constituencies by law returned a single member to Parliament, fulfilling one of the ideals of Chartism to provide direct single-member, single-electorate accountability. (Fifty-four MPs were elected in two-member districts, using plurality block voting.)

The election saw the Liberals, led by William Gladstone, win the most seats, but not an overall majority, so a minority government was necessary. The Irish Nationalists held the balance of power between the Liberals and the Conservatives who sat with a large number of allied Unionist MPs (their name referred to their support for the Union of Great Britain and Ireland). The pressure of minority government status exacerbated divisions within the Liberals over Irish Home Rule. This led to a Liberal split that caused another general election the following year.

The 1885 election saw the first socialist party participate, with the Social Democratic Federation led by H. M. Hyndman standing three candidates. None were elected.

Results

UK General Election 1885

Party		Candidates						Votes
Party		Stood	Elected	Gained	Unseated	Net	% of total	%	No.	Net %
	Liberal	575	319^[a]			−33	47.61	47.65	2,071,868	−7.3
	Conservative	597	247			+10	36.87	43.00	1,869,560	+0.9
	Irish Parliamentary	91	86			+23	12.84	6.88	299,178	+4.0
	Independent Liberal	35	11			+11	1.64	1.28	55,652	N/A
	Crofters	6	4			+4	0.60	0.38	16,551	N/A
	Ind. Conservative	8	2			+2	0.30	0.29	12,599	N/A
	Lib-Lab	4	1			+1	0.15	0.19	8,232	N/A
	Independent	6	0			0	0	0.15	6,570	N/A
	Ind. Nationalist	2	0			0	0	0.07	2,889	N/A
	Scottish Land Restoration	5	0			0	0	0.05	2,359	N/A
	Irish Loyalist	6	0			0	0	0.04	1,869	N/A
	Social Democratic Federation	3	0			0	0	0.02	657	N/A

Voting summary

Popular vote

Liberal			47.65%
Conservative			43.00%
Irish Parliamentary			6.88%
Independent Liberal			1.28%
Crofters			0.38%
Independent Conservative			0.29%
Lib-Lab			0.19%
Independent			0.15%
Others			0.18%

Seats summary

Parliamentary seats

Liberal			47.61%
Conservative			36.87%
Irish Parliamentary			12.84%
Independent Liberal			1.64%
Crofters			0.60%
Independent Conservative			0.30%
Lib-Lab			0.15%

Notes

^ ^a ^b The seat and vote count figures for the Liberals given here include the Speaker of the House of Commons, Arthur Peel
^ All parties shown.

References

^ "General Election Results 1885-1979". Archived from the original on 30 January 2012.

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
United Kingdom election results—summary results 1885–1979 Archived 30 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine

[speaker-1] The seat and vote count figures for the Liberals given here include the Speaker of the House of Commons, Arthur Peel

[2] All parties shown.

[3] "General Election Results 1885-1979". Archived from the original on 30 January 2012.

[a]

[b]

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