The 1835 United Kingdom general election was called when
Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
was dissolved on 29 December 1834. Polling took place between 6 January and 6 February 1835, and the results saw
Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850), was a British Conservative statesman who twice was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835, 1841–1846), and simultaneously was Chancellor of the Exchequer (1834–183 ...
's
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
s make large gains from their low of the
1832 election, but the
Whigs maintained a large majority.
Under the terms of the
Lichfield House Compact
The Lichfield House Compact was an 1835 agreement between the Whig government, the Irish Repeal Party (led by Daniel O'Connell) and the Radicals to act as one body against the Conservative Party. It allowed O'Connell to push for further ref ...
the Whigs had entered into an electoral pact with the Irish
Repeal Association
The Repeal Association was an Irish mass membership political movement set up by Daniel O'Connell in 1830 to campaign for a repeal of the Acts of Union of 1800 between Great Britain and Ireland.
The Association's aim was to revert Ireland to ...
of
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel(I) O’Connell (; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilisation of Catholic Irelan ...
, which had contested the previous election as a separate party. The
Radicals
Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to:
Politics and ideology Politics
*Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century
*Radical politics ...
were also included in this alliance.
Dates of election
The eleventh United Kingdom Parliament was dissolved on 29 December 1834. The new Parliament was summoned to meet on 19 February 1835, 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.
At this period there was not one election day. After receiving a
writ
In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrant (legal), Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, and ''certiorari'' are commo ...
(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 January and February 1835. The first nomination was on 5 January, with the first contest on 6 January and the last contest on 6 February 1835. It was usual for polling in the University constituencies and in
Orkney and Shetland to take place about a week after other seats. Disregarding contests in the Universities and Orkney and Shetland, the last poll was on 27 January 1835.
Peel ran a minority Conservative government until 8 April 1835, after being unable to form a majority. Melbourne subsequently became
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
forming a Whig government.
Results
Voting summary
Seats summary
Regional results
Great Britain
= England
=
= Scotland
=
= Wales
=
Ireland
Universities
Notes
References
*
*
*
External links
Spartacus: Political Parties and Election Results
{{British elections
1835 elections in the United Kingdom
General election
A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
1835
Events
January–March
* January 7 – anchors off the Chonos Archipelago on her second voyage, with Charles Darwin on board as naturalist.
* January 8 – The United States public debt contracts to zero, for the only time in history. ...
January 1835
February 1835
Robert Peel
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne