The 1841 United Kingdom general election was held between 29 June and 22 July 1841. Following increasing government defeats, the

Conservatives 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 civilizati ...

under

Sir 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 ...

won a decisive victory against the governing Whigs. The Conservatives campaigned mainly on an 11-point programme modified from their previous electoral effort and designed by Peel, whilst the Whigs emphasised reforming the import duties on corn, replacing the existing sliding scale with a uniform rate. The Whig position lost them support amongst protectionists, and the Whigs saw heavy losses in constituencies like the

West Riding The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The lieutenancy at that time included the city of York a ...

, where aristocratic Whig families who held a strong tradition of unbroken representation in Parliament were rejected by the electorate. O'Connell, who had been governing with the Whigs through a

compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact, a type of agreement used by U.S. states * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a t ...

, felt the government's unpopularity rub off on him. His own party was shattered in the election. Barely a dozen Repealers retained their seats, and O'Connell himself lost in Dublin while his son was defeated in Carlow. The Chartists picked up only a few votes.

Results

Voting summary

Seats summary

Regional results

Great Britain

=England

=Scotland

=Wales

Ireland

Universities

Notable Whig MPs who lost their seats

* Viscount Morpeth,

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British Dublin Castle administration, administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretar ...

* Sir George Strickland, Bt *

Sir Henry Barron, 1st Baronet Sir Henry Winston Barron, 1st Baronet DL (15 October 1795 – 19 April 1872) was an Irish baronet and politician, who stood at nine different general elections. Background Born at Ballymil in County Waterford, he was the son of Pierce Barron a ...

Notes

References

External links

Spartacus: Political Parties and Election Results
{{British elections 1841 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 ...

1841 Events January–March * January 20 – Charles Elliot of the United Kingdom and Qishan of the Qing dynasty agree to the Convention of Chuenpi. * January 26 – Britain occupies Hong Kong. Later in the year, the first census of the ...

June 1841 July 1841 1840s elections in Ireland Robert Peel William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne