United Kingdom general election, 1885

United Kingdom general election, 1885

← 1880 24 November–18 December 1885 1886 →
← outgoing members Members elected →
All 670 seats in the House of Commons 336 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader William Ewart Gladstone Lord Salisbury Charles Stewart Parnell Party Liberal Conservative Irish Parliamentary Leader since April 1880 April 1881 17 October 1882 Leader's seat Midlothian Marquess of Salisbury Cork City Last election 352 seats, 54.7% 237 seats, 42.5% 63 seats, 2.8% Seats won 319 247 86 Seat change 33 10 23 Popular vote 2,199,198 2,020,927 310,608 Percentage 47.4% 43.5% 6.9% Swing 7.3% 1.0% 4.1%
PM before election Lord Salisbury Conservative Subsequent PM William Ewart Gladstone Liberal

1874 election • MPs

1880 election • MPs

1885 election • MPs

1886 election • MPs

1892 election • MPs

Lord Salisbury
Conservative

William Ewart Gladstone
Liberal

The 1885 United Kingdom general election was from 24 November to 18 December 1885. This was the first general election after an extension of the franchise and redistribution of seats. For the first time a majority of adult males could vote and most constituencies returned a single-member to Parliament. It saw the Liberals, led by William Ewart Gladstone, win the most seats, but not an overall majority. As the Irish Nationalists held the balance of power between them and the Conservatives, this exacerbated divisions within the Liberals over Irish Home Rule and led to a split and another general election the following year.

Total votes cast: 4,638,235. All parties shown.

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