1868 United Kingdom General Election

United Kingdom general election, 1868

← 1865 17 November – 7 December 1868 (1868-11-17 – 1868-12-07) 1874 →
← outgoing members elected members →
All 658 seats in the House of Commons 327 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader William Ewart Gladstone Benjamin Disraeli Party Liberal Conservative Leader since 3 December 1868 27 February 1868 Leader's seat Greenwich Buckinghamshire Last election 369 seats, 59.5% 289 seats, 40.5% Seats won 387 271 Seat change 18 18 Popular vote 1,428,776 903,318 Percentage 61.5% 38.4% Swing 2.0% 2.1%
Colours denote the winning party
Prime Minister before election Benjamin Disraeli Conservative Appointed Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone Liberal

Benjamin Disraeli
Conservative

William Ewart Gladstone
Liberal

The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom. It was the first election held in the United Kingdom in which more than a million votes were cast; nearly triple the number of votes were cast compared to the previous election of 1865.

The result saw the Liberals, led by William Ewart Gladstone, again increase their large majority over Benjamin Disraeli's Conservatives to more than 100 seats.

This was the last general election at which all the seats were taken by only the two leading parties, although the parties at the time were loose coalitions and party affiliation was not listed on registration papers.