1837 United Kingdom general election

1837 United Kingdom general election

← 1835 24 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
Turnout798,025
  First party Second party
 
Leader Viscount Melbourne Sir Robert Peel
Party Whig Conservative
Leader since 16 July 1834 19 December 1834
Leader's seat House of Lords Tamworth
Last election 385 seats, 57.2% 273 seats, 42.8%
Seats won 344[a] 314
Seat change Decrease41 Increase41
Popular vote 418,331 379,694
Percentage 52.4% 47.6%
Swing Decrease4.8 pp Increase4.8 pp

Colours denote the winning party

Composition of the House of Commons after the election

Prime Minister before election

Viscount Melbourne
Whig

Prime Minister after
election

Viscount Melbourne
Whig

The 1837 United Kingdom general election was held from 24 July to 18 August 1837, following the death of King William IV and the accession of Queen Victoria. The election saw the Whigs secure their fourth consecutive victory, though the Conservatives, led by Robert Peel, continued to gain ground.

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.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · View on Wikipedia

Developed by Nelliwinne