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{{Short description|none}}{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}{{Use British English|date=May 2014}}{{More sources needed|date=November 2021}}

factoids

53| popular_vote1 = 306,314| percentage1 =51.6%| swing1 = {{increase}}4.0%150x150px)William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne>Viscount Melbourne| leader_since2 = 16 July 1834| party2 = Whigs (British political party)| leaders_seat2 = House of Lords| last_election2 = 344 seats, 52.4%| seats_before2 = 314| seats2 = 271| seat_change2 = {{decrease}}43| popular_vote2 = 273,902| percentage2 = 46.2%| swing2 = {{decrease}}6.2%150x150px) | leader3 = Daniel O'Connell| leader_since3 = 15 April 1840| party3 = Repeal AssociationDublin City (UK Parliament constituency)>Dublin City (defeated)County Cork| last_election3 = Compact with Whigs| seats_before3 = 30| seats3 = 20| seat_change3 = {{decrease}}10| popular_vote3 = 12,537| percentage3 = 2.1%| swing3 = New party| map_image = United Kingdom general election 1841.svg| map_size = 380px| map_caption = Colours denote the winning party|map2_image = House of Commons - United Kingdom general election, 1841.svg|map2_size = 380px|map2_caption = Composition of the Commons after the electionPrime Minister of the United Kingdom>Prime Minister| posttitle = Prime Minister after electionWilliam Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne>Viscount Melbourne| before_party = Whigs (British political party)Robert Peel>Sir Robert Peel| after_party = Conservative Party (UK)}}{{UK general election navigation|1835|1837|1841|1847|1852}}In the 1841 United Kingdom general election, there was a big swing as Sir Robert Peel's Conservatives took control of the House of Commons. Melbourne's Whigs had seen their support in the Commons erode over the previous years. Whilst Melbourne enjoyed the firm support of the young Queen Victoria, his ministry had seen increasing defeats in the Commons, culminating in the defeat of the government's budget in May 1841 by 36 votes, and by 1 vote in a 4 June 1841 vote of no confidence put forward by Peel. According to precedent, Melbourne's defeat required his resignation. However, the cabinet decided to ask for a dissolution, which was opposed by Melbourne personally (he wished to resign, as he had attempted in 1839), but he came to accept the wishes of the ministers. Melbourne requested the Queen dissolve Parliament, leading to an election.{{citation |last1=Kemp |first1=Betty |author-link=Betty Kemp |date=June 1952 |title=The General Election of 1841 |jstor=24402876|journal=History |volume=37 |issue=130 |pages=146–157 |doi= 10.1111/j.1468-229X.1952.tb00231.x}} The Queen thus prorogued Parliament on 22 June.Saint James's Chronicle Tuesday 22 June 1841, p.2.The Conservatives campaigned mainly on an 11-point programme modified from their previous electoral effort and designed by Peel, whilst the Whigs emphasised reforming the import duties on corn, replacing the existing sliding scale with a uniform rate. The Whig position lost them support amongst protectionists, and the Whigs saw heavy losses in constituencies like the West Riding, where aristocratic Whig families who held a strong tradition of unbroken representation in Parliament were rejected by the electorate.O'Connell, who had been governing with the Whigs through a compact, felt the government's unpopularity rub off on him. His own party was shattered in the election. Barely a dozen Repealers retained their seats, and O'Connell himself lost in Dublin while his son was defeated in Carlow.BOOK, Marriott, John, England since Waterloo, 1913, 143,weblink 13 November 2021, The Chartists picked up only a few votes.

Results

(File:1841 UK parliament.svg|center|300px){{Election summary begin with candidates| title = UK General Election 1841}}{{Election summary party with candidates| }}{{Election summary party with candidates| }}{{Election summary party with candidates| }}{{Election summary with candidates| }}{{hatnote|Total votes cast: 593,445.British Electoral Facts 1832–2006, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher (Parliamentary Research Services, 2007)}}

Voting summary

{{bar box|title=Popular vote|titlebar=#ddd|width=600px|barwidth=380px|bars={{bar percent|Conservative|{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}|51.62}}{{bar percent|Whig|{{party color|Whigs (British political party)}}|46.15}}{{bar percent|Irish Repeal|{{party color|Repeal Association}}|2.11}}{{bar percent|Chartist|#dddddd|0.12}}}}

Seats summary

{{bar box|title=Parliamentary seats|titlebar=#ddd|width=600px|barwidth=380px|bars={{bar percent|Conservative|{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}|55.78}}{{bar percent|Whig|{{party color|Whigs (British political party)}}|41.19}}{{bar percent|Irish Repeal|{{party color|Repeal Association}}|3.04}}}}

Regional results

Great Britain{| class"wikitable sortable"

! colspan=2 |Party ! Candidates! Unopposed! Seats! Seats change! Votes! %! % changeConservative Party (UK)}} 439 185 326 +42 286,650 52.7 +4.5Whigs (British political party)}} 333 83 229 −42 256,774 47.2 −4.6Chartism>Chartist 8 0 0 {{same position}} 692 0.1 {{new entry}} class="sortbottom" style="font-weight: bold; text-align: right; background: #f2f2f2;"! colspan="2" style="padding-left: 1.5em; text-align: left;" | Total 780 268 555 {{same position}} 544,116 100

England{| class"wikitable sortable"

! colspan=2 |Party ! Candidates! Unopposed! Seats! Seats change! Votes! %! % changeConservative Party (UK)}} 374 147 277 272,755 53.1 Whigs (British political party)}} 277 62 187 236,813 46.8 Chartism>Chartist 4 0 0 {{same position}} 307 0.1 {{new entry}} class="sortbottom" style="font-weight: bold; text-align: right; background: #f2f2f2;"! colspan="2" style="padding-left: 1.5em; text-align: left;" | Total 655 209 464 {{same position}} 509,875 100

Scotland{| class"wikitable sortable"

! colspan=2 |Party ! Candidates! Unopposed! Seats! Seats change! Votes! %! % changeWhigs (British political party)}} 40 13 31 -2 16,356 60.8 Conservative Party (UK)}} 35 16 22 +2 9,793 38.3 Chartism>Chartist 3 0 0 {{same position}} 385 0.9 {{new entry}} class="sortbottom" style="font-weight: bold; text-align: right; background: #f2f2f2;"! colspan="2" style="padding-left: 1.5em; text-align: left;" | Total 78 29 53 {{same position}} 26,534 100

Wales{| class"wikitable sortable"

! colspan=2 |Party ! Candidates! Unopposed! Seats! Seats change! Votes! %! % changeConservative Party (UK)}} 24 16 21 4,102 53.2 Whigs (British political party)}} 16 8 11 3,605 46.8 Chartism>Chartist 1 0 0 {{same position}} 0 0.0 {{new entry}} class="sortbottom" style="font-weight: bold; text-align: right; background: #f2f2f2;"! colspan="2" style="padding-left: 1.5em; text-align: left;" | Total 41 24 32 {{same position}} 7,707 100

Ireland{| class"wikitable sortable"

! colspan=2 |Party ! Candidates! Unopposed! Seats! Seats change! Votes! %! % changeWhigs (British political party)}} 55 30 42 17,128 35.1 Irish Conservative Party}} 59 27 41 19,664 40.1 Repeal Association}} 22 12 20 12,537 24.8 class="sortbottom" style="font-weight: bold; text-align: right; background: #f2f2f2;"! colspan="2" style="padding-left: 1.5em; text-align: left;" | Total 136 69 103 49,329 100

Universities{| class"wikitable"

! colspan=2 |Party ! Candidates! Unopposed! Seats! Seats change! Votes! %! % changeConservative Party (UK)}} 6 6 6 {{same position}} Uncontested Uncontested class="sortbottom" style="font-weight: bold; text-align: right; background: #f2f2f2;"! colspan="2" style="padding-left: 1.5em; text-align: left;" | Total 6 6 6 {{same position}} Uncontested Uncontested

Notable Whig MPs who lost their seats

• Viscount Morpeth, Chief Secretary for Ireland
• Sir George Strickland, Bt
• Sir Henry Barron, 1st Baronet

References

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

• {{citation |author-link=F. W. S. Craig |first=F. W. S. |last=Craig |title=British Electoral Facts: 1832–1987 |year=1989 |location=Dartmouth |publisher=Gower |isbn=0900178302 }}
• {{citation |first=Norman |last=Gash |author-link=Norman Gash |title=Sir Robert Peel: The life of Sir Robert Peel after 1830 |year=1972 |pages=234–72}}{{publisher missing}}
• {{citation |title=British Electoral Facts 1832–1999 |editor1-first=Colin |editor1-last=Rallings |editor1-link=Colin Rallings |editor2-first=Michael |editor2-last=Thrasher |editor2-link=Michael Thrasher |publisher=Ashgate Publishing Ltd |year=2000}}

External links

• Spartacus: Political Parties and Election Results

{{British elections}}