1886 United Kingdom general election

{{Infobox election

| election_name = 1886 United Kingdom general election

| country = United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

| type = parliamentary

| ongoing = no

| previous_election = 1885 United Kingdom general election

| previous_year = 1885

| previous_mps = List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885

| next_election = 1892 United Kingdom general election

| next_year = 1892

| seats_for_election = All 670 seats in the House of Commons

| majority_seats = 336

| elected_mps = List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1886

| election_date = {{start and end dates|1886|7|1|1886|7|27|df=yes}}

| image1 = 150x150px

| leader1 = Marquess of Salisbury

| leader_since1 = April 1881

| party1 = Conservative and Liberal Unionist

| leaders_seat1 = House of Lords

| last_election1 = 247 seats, 43.4%

| seats1 = 393

| seat_change1 = {{increase}}146

| popular_vote1 = 1,417,627

| percentage1 = 51.4%

| swing1 = {{increase}}8.7 pp

| image2 = 150x150px

| leader2 = William Ewart Gladstone

| leader_since2 = April 1880

| party2 = Liberal Party (UK)

| leaders_seat2 = Midlothian

| last_election2 = 319 seats, 47.4%

| seats2 = 192{{efn|name=speaker}}

| seat_change2 = {{decrease}}127

| popular_vote2 = 1,244,683

| percentage2 = 45.1%

| swing2 = {{decrease}}2.2 pp

| image3 = 150x150px

| leader3 = Charles Stewart Parnell

| leader_since3 = 17 October 1882

| party3 = Irish Parliamentary Party

| leaders_seat3 = Cork City

| last_election3 = 86 seats, 6.9%

| seats3 = 85

| seat_change3 = {{decrease}}1

| popular_vote3 = 94,050

| percentage3 = 3.4%

| swing3 = {{decrease}}3.5 pp

| title = Prime Minister

| posttitle = Prime Minister after election

| before_election = William Ewart Gladstone

| before_party = Liberal Party (UK)

| after_election = Marquess of Salisbury

| after_party = Conservative Party (UK)

| map_image = United Kingdom general election 1886.svg

| map_size = 380px

| map_caption = Colours denote the winning party

| turnout = 2,758,151
74.2% ({{decrease}}7.0 pp)

| map2_image = File:1886 UK GE Composition diagram.svg

| map2_caption = Diagram displaying the composition of the House of Commons following the general election

}}

The 1886 United Kingdom general election took place from 1 to 27 July 1886, following the defeat of the Government of Ireland Bill 1886. It resulted in a major reversal of the results of the 1885 election as the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury, were joined in an electoral pact with the breakaway Unionist wing of the Liberals led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain. The new Liberal Unionist party elected 77 members and gave the Conservatives their parliamentary majority, but did not join them in a formal coalition.

William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals, who supported the Irish Home Rule movement, and their sometimes allies the Irish Parliamentary Party, led by Charles Stewart Parnell, were placed a distant second. The split in the Liberal Party ended the period of Liberal dominance. They had held power for 18 of the 27 years since 1859 and won five of the six elections held during that time, but would only be in power for three of the next nineteen years. The political realignment resulting from the Liberal Unionist split also meant that between this election and the end of the Second World War, only one election (in 1906) would result in a party other than the Conservatives forming a majority government (though the Liberals, and later the Labour Party, would form minority governments with support from smaller parties). This was also the first election since the 1841 election in which the Conservatives won a plurality or majority of the popular vote. They would ultimately win at least a plurality of the popular vote in every general election until 1945, again with the exception of the 1906 election.

{{UK general election navigation|clear=none|1880|1885|1886|1892|1895}}

Electoral system

Most of the MPs were elected through first-past-the-post voting in single-member district.

Conversely, 54 MPs were elected in two-seat districts by the use of plurality block voting, where each voter could cast up to two votes.

Results

File:1886 UK parliament.svg

{{Election summary begin with leaders| title = UK General Election 1886}}

{{Election summary party with leaders|

|party = Conservative and Liberal Unionist

|leader = Lord Salisbury

|candidates = 563

|seats = 393

|gain = 161

|loss = 14

|net = +146

|votes = 1,417,627

|votes % = 51.40

|seats % = 58.66

|plus/minus = +8.7

}}

{{Election summary party with leaders|

|party = Liberal Party (UK)

|leader = William Ewart Gladstone

|candidates = 449

|seats = 192{{efn|name=speaker|The seat and vote count figures for the Liberals given here include the Speaker of the House of Commons, Arthur Peel}}

|gain = 24

|loss = 152

|net = −127

|votes = 1,244,683

|votes % = 45.13

|seats % = 28.66

|plus/minus = −2.2

}}

{{Election summary party with leaders|

|party = Irish Parliamentary Party

|leader = Charles Stewart Parnell

|candidates = 100

|seats = 85

|gain = 1

|loss = 2

|net = −1

|votes = 94,050

|votes % = 3.41

|seats % = 12.69

|plus/minus = −3.4

}}

{{Election summary party with leaders|

|party = Independent Liberal

|leader = N/A

|candidates = 1

|seats = 0

|gain = 0

|loss = 0

|net = 0

|votes = 1,247

|votes % = 0.05

|seats % =0

|plus/minus =

|vps = N/A

}}

{{Election summary party with leaders|

|party = Independent Liberal Unionist

|leader = N/A

|candidates = 2

|seats = 0

|gain = 0

|loss = 0

|net = 0

|votes = 544

|votes % = 0.02

|seats % =0

|plus/minus =

|vps = N/A

}}

|}

{{hatnote|Total votes: 2,758,151
Electorate: 5,708,030 (3,734,832 in contested seats)
Turnout: 74.2%{{cite web |title=General Election Results 1885-1979 |url=http://www.election.demon.co.uk/geresults.html |access-date=14 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130011015/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/geresults.html |archive-date=30 January 2012}}

}}

=Vote summary=

{{bar box

|title=Popular vote

|titlebar=#ddd

|width=620px

|barwidth=350px

|bars=

{{bar percent|Conservative and Liberal Unionist|{{party color|Conservative and Liberal Unionist}}|51.40}}

{{bar percent|Liberal|{{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}|45.13}}

{{bar percent|Irish Parliamentary|{{party color|Irish Parliamentary Party}}|3.41}}

{{bar percent|Independent Liberal|{{party color|Independent Liberal}}|0.05}}

{{bar percent|Independent Liberal Unionist|{{party color|Independent Liberal Unionist}}|0.02}}

}}

=Seats summary=

{{bar box

|title=Parliamentary seats

|titlebar=#ddd

|width=620px

|barwidth=350px

|bars=

{{bar percent|Conservative and Liberal Unionist|{{party color|Conservative and Liberal Unionist}}|58.66}}

{{bar percent|Liberal|{{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}|28.66}}

{{bar percent|Irish Parliamentary|{{party color|Irish Parliamentary Party}}|12.69}}

}}

Notes

References

{{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 |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}}

References

External links

[http://www.spartacus-educational.com/politics.htm Spartacus: Political Parties and Election Results]
[http://www.election.demon.co.uk/geresults.html United Kingdom election results—summary results 1885–1979]
{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130011015/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/geresults.html |date=30 January 2012 }}

Category:1886 elections in the United Kingdom

General election

1886

Category:July 1886

Category:Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury

Category:William Ewart Gladstone