1868 United Kingdom general election

(Defeated at South West Lancashire)

election The 1868 United Kingdom general election was held between 17 November to 7 December 1868. The Liberal Party, under William Ewart Gladstone, defeated the governing Conservative minority government, led by Benjamin Disraeli.

This was the first general election to be held after the passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom. It was the first election held in the United Kingdom in which more than a million votes were cast; nearly triple the number of votes were cast compared to the previous election in 1865.

The establishment of the Church of Ireland was a dominant issue in the 1868 general election. Earlier that year, the House of Lords blocked the Established Church (Ireland) Bill, which would have imposed restrictions on the Irish Church. Gladstone's Liberal government, which favored disestablishment, used its parliamentary majority to pass the Irish Church Act the following year.

This was the last general election at which all seats were taken by only the two leading parties, although the parties at the time were loose coalitions and party affiliation was not listed on registration papers.

Results

|votes % = 61.24 |seats % = 58.81 |plus/minus = +2.0 |votes % = 38.71 |seats % = 41.19 |plus/minus = −2.1 |votes % = 0.05 |seats % =0 |plus/minus = N/A |}

Voting summary

Seats summary

Regional results

Great Britain

Party	Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change	Total
	515	80	321	7	1,374,315	61.4
	383	65	234	10	864,551	38.6
	1	0	0		969	0.0
899	145	555	3	2,239,835	100

England

Party	Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change	Total
	412	46	244	7	1,192,098	59.7
	334	54	211	2	803,637	40.2
	1	0	0		969	0.1
747	100	455	9	1,996,704	100

Scotland

Party	Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change	Total
	70	23	51	9	125,356	82.5
	20	3	7	4	23,985	17.5
90	26	58	5	149,341	100

Wales

Party	Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change	Total
	29	10	23	5	52,256	62.1
	20	4	10	4	29,866	37.9
49	14	33	1	82,122	100

Ireland

Main article: 1868 United Kingdom general election in Ireland

Party	Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change	Total
	85	41	66	8	54,461	57.9	+2.3
	53	26	37	8	38,765	41.9	-2.5
	2	0	0		188	0.2	+0.2
140	67	103		149,341	100

Universities

Party	Candidates	Unopposed	Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% change	Total
	9	4	6		7,063	55.4
	4	1	3	3	4,605	44.6
13	5	9		11,668	100