The 1852 UK general election was close in terms of both the popular vote and number of seats won by the main two parties. As in the previous election, Lord John Russell's Whigs won the popular vote, but the Conservative party won a very slight majority of the seats. The split between Protectionist Tories, led by the Earl of Derby and the Peelites made the formation of a majority government very difficult. Lord Derby's minority Protectionist government soon collapsed, bringing about a Peelite-Whig coalition government under Lord Aberdeen, one of the leading Peelites, which collapsed during the Crimean War.
Results
| UK General Election 1852 |
|
Candidates |
Votes |
| Party |
Standing |
Elected |
Gained |
Unseated |
Net |
% of total |
% |
No. |
Net % |
| |
Conservative |
461 |
330 |
|
|
+ 5 |
|
41.9 |
311,481 |
- 0.5 |
| |
Whig |
488 |
324 |
|
|
+ 32 |
|
57.9 |
430,882 |
+ 4.1 |
| |
Chartist |
4 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
- 1 |
|
0.2 |
1,541 |
+ 0.1 |
Note that while the Conservatives had, in theory, a slim majority over the Whigs, the party was divided between Protectionist and Peelite wings, of which the former numbered about 290 and the latter 35-40. The Whigs themselves represented a coalition of Whigs, Liberals, Radicals, and Irish nationalists. The above numbers should not, therefore, do not represent the true balance of support in parliament. Total votes cast: 743,904
Voting summary
| Popular vote |
|
|
|
|
|
| Whig and allies |
|
57.92% |
| Conservative |
|
41.87% |
| Chartist |
|
0.21% |
|
Seats summary
| Parliamentary seats |
|
|
|
|
|
| Whig and allies |
|
49.54% |
| Conservative |
|
50.46% |
|
See also
References
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
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