1831 United Kingdom general election

Last updated

1831 United Kingdom general election
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
  1830 28 April – 1 June 1831 (1831-04-28 1831-06-01) 1832  

All 658 seats in the House of Commons
330 seats needed for a majority
Registeredabout 516,000 [1] (out of a population of 24,000,000)
 First partySecond party
  Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey after Sir Thomas Lawrence copy.jpg Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington by John Jackson cropped.jpg
Leader Earl Grey Duke of Wellington
Party Whig Tory
Leader since22 November 183022 January 1828
Last election196 seats, 59.3%250 seats, 38.4%
Seats won370235
Seat changeIncrease2.svg174Decrease2.svg15
Popular vote80,76346,892
Percentage63.3%36.7%
SwingIncrease2.svg4.0%Decrease2.svg1.7%

United Kingdom general election 1831.svg
Colours denote the winning party

1831 UK parliament.svg
The UK parliament after the 1831 election

Prime Minister before election

Earl Grey
Whig

Prime Minister after election

Earl Grey
Whig

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.

Contents

Political situation

The ninth UK Parliament elected in 1830 lacked a stable Commons majority for the Tory government of the Duke of Wellington: the best estimate is that it there had 310 supporters, 225 opponents and 121 doubtful. [2] After a series of defeats, on 15 November 1830 Henry Parnell's motion for an inquiry into the civil list was carried by 233 to 204; this defeat surprised Wellington and his cabinet and forced their resignation. Wellington went into opposition, with Sir Robert Peel as the Tory Leader of the Opposition in the Commons. A Whig government under Earl Grey was appointed on 22 November 1830, the first since the Ministry of all the Talents in 1806–07. The government's Leader of the House of Commons was Viscount Althorp, who also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer.[ citation needed ]

Grey was determined to bring in reform to the traditional electoral system, which had been discussed for many decades. With aristocratic colleagues he produced a surprisingly bold scheme of reform; the second reading of the Reform Bill was carried by only one vote (302–301) on 22 March 1831. The Tory opposition was determined to stop the scheme going ahead, and when the Bill went into committee on 18 April, General Gascoyne moved an amendment which required that the total number of MPs representing England and Wales ought not to be reduced. This proposal was a skilfully drafted 'wrecking amendment' and when it was passed by 299–291 on 19 April, the Grey government knew it would not get its legislation. In truth Grey had been ready to ask for a dissolution immediately when the Committee stage began, and King William IV reluctantly agreed; the King dissolved Parliament in person (amid a great political tumult) on 22 April. [3]

The new Parliament was summoned to meet on 14 June 1831, for a maximum seven-year term from that date.[ citation needed ]

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 general election took place between the first contest on 28 April and the last contest on 1 June 1831.

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.[ citation needed ]

Table 1: Constituencies and MPs, by type and country

CountryBCCCUCTotal CBMPCMPUMPTotal MPs
Flag of England.svg  England 201392242402804486
Flag of Wales (1807-1953).svg  Wales 13130261314027
Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland 15300451530045
  Ireland 333216635641100
 Total26211433794651785658

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

CountryBCx1BCx2BCx4CCx1CCx2CCx4UCx1UCx2Total C
Flag of England.svg  England 41952038102242
Flag of Wales (1807-1953).svg  Wales 130012100026
Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland 150030000045
  Ireland 312003201066
 Total6319724271112379

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reform Act 1832</span> UK law reforming the electoral system

The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that introduced major changes to the electoral system of England and Wales. It reapportioned constituencies to address the unequal distribution of seats and expanded franchise by broadening and standardising the property qualifications to vote. Only qualifying men were able to vote; the Act introduced the first explicit statutory bar to women voting by defining a voter as a male person.

<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 a large majority, with the Tories winning less than 30% of the vote.

<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">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">1802 United Kingdom general election</span> 1st election after the union of the United Kingdom and Ireland

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.

<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.

Bedfordshire was a United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England from 1295 until 1707, then the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1801 and the House of Commons of the United Kingdom until 1885 when it was divided into two constituencies under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.

Derbyshire 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 1832. It was represented by two Knights of the Shire.

Cornwall is a former county constituency covering the county of Cornwall, in the South West of England. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of England then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Knights of the Shire, elected by the bloc vote system.

<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).

The 1790 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 17th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1710 British general election</span> Election in Great Britain

The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto.

The Ultra-Tories were an Anglican faction of British and Irish politics that appeared in the 1820s in opposition to Catholic emancipation. The faction was later called the "extreme right-wing" of British and Irish politics.

William Blair was a Scottish landowner and Tory politician. He was the Laird of Blair in Ayrshire in Scotland from 1782 to 1841. He was also the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ayrshire constituency from 1829 to 32.

References

  1. "Elections and the electorate in the Eighteenth Century". The Age of George III. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  2. D.R. Fisher, History of Parliament 1820–1832, vol. 1, Cambridge University Press 2009, p. 349.
  3. D.R. Fisher, History of Parliament 1820–1832, vol. 1, Cambridge University Press 2009, p. 351–360 passim.

Sources