United Kingdom general election, 1874

In the 1874 United Kingdom general election, the Liberals, led by William Gladstone, won a majority of the votes cast, but Benjamin Disraeli's Conservatives won the majority of seats in the House of Commons, largely because they won a number of uncontested seats.

The election also saw Irish Nationalists in the Home Rule League become the first significant third party in Parliament.

This was the first General Election that used a secret ballot following the 1872 Secret Ballot Act. The Irish Nationalist gains could well be attributed to the effects of the secret ballot as tenants faced less of a threat of eviction if they voted against the wishes of their landlords.

Results

Election Summary Party with Candidates
party = Liberal Party (UK)
candidates = 489
seats = 242
gain =
loss =
net = - 145
votes = 1,281,159
votes % = 52.0
seats % =
plus/minus = - 9.5Election Summary Party with Candidates
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidates = 507
seats = 350
gain =
loss =
net = + 79
votes = 1,091,708
votes % = 44.3
seats % =
plus/minus = + 5.9
government = yesElection Summary Party with Candidates
party = Home Rule League
candidates = 80
seats = 60
gain = 60
loss = 0
net = + 60
votes = 90,234
votes % = 3.7
seats % =
plus/minus = "N/A"Election Summary with Candidates
party = Others
candidates = 4
seats = 0
gain = 0
loss = 0
net = 0
votes = 2,936
votes % = 0.0
seats % =
plus/minus = 0.0

"Total votes cast: 2,466,037. "Others" include the Catholic Union."

Voting summary

bar box
title=Popular vote
titlebar=#ddd
width=600px
barwidth=380px
bars=

eats summary

bar box
title=Parliamentary seats
titlebar=#ddd
width=600px
barwidth=380px
bars=

References

*F. W. S. Craig, "British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987"
* "British Electoral Facts 1832-1999", compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher (Ashgate Publishing Ltd 2000)
* [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/politics.htm Spartacus: Political Parties and Election Results]