1837 United Kingdom general election

The 1837 United Kingdom general election was triggered by the death of King William IV and produced the first Parliament of the reign of his successor, Queen Victoria. It saw Robert Peel's Conservatives close further on the position of the Whigs, who won their fourth election of the decade.

1837 United Kingdom general election

← 183524 July – 18 August 1837 (1837-07-24 – 1837-08-18)1841 →

All 658 seats in the House of Commons
330 seats needed for a majority
 First partySecond party
 
LeaderViscount MelbourneSir Robert Peel
PartyWhigConservative
Leader since16 July 183419 December 1834
Leader's seatHouse of LordsTamworth
Last election385 seats, 57.2%273 seats, 42.8%
Seats won344314
Seat changeDecrease41Increase41
Popular vote418,331379,694
Percentage52.4%47.6%
SwingDecrease4.8%Increase4.8%

Colours denote the winning party

Prime Minister before election

Viscount Melbourne
Whig

Prime Minister after
election

Viscount Melbourne
Whig

The election marked the last time that a Parliament was dissolved as a result of the demise of the Crown. The dissolution of Parliament six months after a demise of the Crown, as provided for by the Succession to the Crown Act 1707, was abolished by the Reform Act 1867.

Results

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UK General Election 1837
PartyCandidatesVotes
StoodElectedGainedUnseatedNet% of total%No.Net %
 Whig510344−4152.2852.42418,331−4.8
 Conservative484314+4147.7247.58379,694+4.8

Voting summary

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Popular vote
Whig
52.42%
Conservative
47.58%

Seats summary

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Parliamentary seats
Whig
52.28%
Conservative
47.72%

Regional results

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Great Britain

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PartyCandidatesUnopposedSeatsSeats changeVotes%% change
Conservative414102284+46353,00048.2+5.4
Whig42281271−46379,96151.8−5.4
Total836183555 732,961100
England
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PartyCandidatesUnopposedSeatsSeats changeVotes%% change
Conservative34880239+39321,12448.9+6.3
Whig35260225−39347,54951.1−6.3
Total658177464 491,540100
Scotland
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PartyCandidatesUnopposedSeatsSeats changeVotes%% change
Whig491533−522,08254.0−8.8
Conservative35720+518,56946.0+8.8
Total842253 40,651100
Wales
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PartyCandidatesUnopposedSeatsSeats changeVotes%% change
Conservative251119+211,61652.8−11.1
Whig20613−210,14447.2+11.1
Total451732 21,760100

Ireland

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PartyCandidatesUnopposedSeatsSeats changeVotes%% change
Whig/Repeal Coalition883473+538,37058.5+9.9
Irish Conservative701930−526,69441.5−9.9
Total1585310365,064100

Universities

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PartyCandidatesUnopposedSeatsSeats changeVotes%% change
Conservative646 1,69190.1
Whig100 1869.9
Total666 1,877100

References

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  • 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
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