The 1859 United Kingdom general election was held from 28 April to 18 May 1859 following the defeat of Prime Minister the Earl of Derby's Conservative government in a vote of confidence. The newly formed Liberal Party, led by Viscount Palmerston, secured victory despite winning fewer seats than in the previous election.

There is no separate tally of votes or seats for the Peelites. They did not contest elections as an organised party but more as independent Free trade Conservatives with varying degrees of distance from the two main parties.

It was also the last general election entered by the Chartists, before their organisation was dissolved. , this is the last election in which the Conservatives won the most seats in Wales.

The election was the quietest and least competitive between 1832 and 1885, with most county elections being uncontested. The election also saw the lowest number of candidates between 1832 and 1885, with Tory gains potentially being the result of a lack of opposition as much as a change in public opinion. According to A. J. P. Taylor: the government which Palmerston organized in June 1859 was a coalition of a different kind: not a coalition of groups which looked back to the past, but a coalition which anticipated the future. Had it not been for Palmerston himself—too individual, too full of personality to be fitted into a party-pattern—it would have been the first Liberal government in our history. Everything that was important in it was Liberal—finance, administrative reform, its very composition: the first government with unmistakable middle-class Free Traders as members.A. J. P. Taylor "Lord Palmerston", History Today (1951) 1#7 pp 35-41 at p. 39

Results

Voting summary

Seats summary

Regional results

Great Britain Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes % % change 392 157 306 314,708 66.6 & Peelites 327 160 245 157,974 33.4 1 0 0 151 0.0 Total 720 317 551 472,833 100

England Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes % % change 330 109 251 307,949 67.1 & Peelite 286 129 209 152,591 32.9 1 0 0 151 0.0 Total 617 238 460 460,691 100

Scotland Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes % % change 44 34 40 5,174 66.4 & Peelite 17 11 13 2,616 33.6 Total 61 45 53 7,790 100

Wales Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes % % change & Peelite 18 14 17 2,767 63.6 18 14 15 1,585 36.4 Total 36 28 32 4,352 100

Ireland

Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes % % change & Peelite 67 36 53 35,258 38.9 73 26 50 57,409 61.1 Total 140 62 103 92,667 100

Universities Party Candidates Unopposed Seats Seats change Votes % % change & Peelite 6 6 6 Total 6 6 6 100

See also List of MPs elected in the 1859 United Kingdom general election 1859 United Kingdom general election in Ireland

Notes

References

Sources

External links Spartacus: Political Parties and Election Results