1796 British general election

Great Britain had been at war with France since 1793. The Prime Minister since 1783, William Pitt the Younger, led a broad wartime coalition of Whig and Tory politicians.

The principal opposition to Pitt was a relatively weak faction of Whigs, led by Charles James Fox. For four years after 1797 opposition attendance at Westminster was sporadic as Fox pursued a strategy of secession from Parliament. Only a small group, led by George Tierney, had attended frequently to oppose the ministers. As Foord observes "only once did the minority reach seventy-five, and it was often less than ten".His Majesty's Opposition 1714–1830, by Archibald S. Foord (Oxford University Press 1964)

The period between the first and last returns was 25 May to 29 June 1796.Footnote to Table 5.02 British Electoral Facts 1832–1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher (Ashgate Publishing Ltd 2000).

{{Hatnote|Key to categories in the following tables: BC – Borough/Burgh constituencies, CC – County constituencies, UC – University constituencies, Total C – Total constituencies, BMP – Borough/Burgh Members of Parliament, CMP – County Members of Parliament, UMP – University Members of Parliament.}}

Monmouthshire (One County constituency with two members and one single member Borough constituency) is included in Wales in these tables. Sources for this period may include the county in England.

Table 1: Constituencies and Members, by type and countryBritish Historical Facts 1760–1830, by Chris Cook and John Stevenson (The Macmillan Press 1980).

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Table 2: Number of seats per constituency, by type and country

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{{bar percent|Tory/Pittite|#3333CC|81.7}}

{{bar percent|Whig/Foxite|{{party color|Whigs (British political party)}}|18.3}}

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• List of parliaments of Great Britain
• List of MPs elected in the 1796 British general election

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{{British elections (1707-1800)}}

Category:1796 elections

General election

1796

Category:William Pitt the Younger