United Kingdom general election, 1918

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The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which women could vote. Polling was held on the 14 December 1918, although the count did not begin until the 28 December. The election was won by a coalition of the Conservatives under Andrew Bonar Law, most of the Liberals under David Lloyd George, and a few independent and former Labour MPs, and produced a government which retained Lloyd George as Prime Minister. Labour, led by William Adamson, vastly increased their share of the vote, but only slightly increased their number of seats. They were, however, the main parliamentary opposition. The anti-coalition Liberals under former Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith, won few seats.

In Ireland, the Irish Parliamentary Party lost almost all their seats, most of which were won by Sinn Féin under Eamon de Valera (see Irish (UK) general election, 1918). It was in this election that the UK's first ever woman MP was elected: Constance Georgine, Countess Markiewicz (Dublin St Patricks, Sinn Féin). In accordance with Sinn Féin policy, she declined to take her seat in the British House of Commons, sitting instead in the Irish revolutionary assembly, Dáil Éireann. On 17 May 1918 almost the entire leadership of Sinn Féin, including Arthur Griffith and Eamon de Valera were arrested. In total 47 of the elected Sinn Féin MPs were elected from jail.

Contents

[edit] Results

UK General Election 1918
Party Seats Gains Losses Net Gain/Loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/-
  Coalition Conservative 332 N/A N/A + 61 47.0 33.3 3,472,738 2.9
  Labour 57 N/A N/A + 15 8.1 21.5 2,245,777 16.7
  Coalition Liberal 127 127 0 + 127 18.0 13.4 1,396,590 N/A
  Liberal 36 N/A N/A - 236 5.1 13.3 1,388,784 -16.5
  Conservative 50 50 0 + 50 7.1 6.4 671,454 N/A
  Sinn Féin 73 73 0 + 73 10.3 4.8 497,107 N/A
  Irish Parliamentary 7 2 69 - 67 1.0 2.3 238,197 0.6
  National Democratic 9 9 0 + 9 1.3 1.5 156,834 N/A
  Independent Labour 2 2 0 + 2 0.3 1.1 116,322
  Independent 2 2 0 + 2 0.3 1.0 105,261
  National 2 2 0 + 2 0.3 0.9 94,389 N/A
  Independent NFDSS 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.6 58,164 N/A
  Co-operative 1 1 0 + 1 0.1 0.6 57,785 N/A
  Independent Conservative 1 1 1 0 0.1 0.4 44,637
  Coalition Labour 4 4 0 + 4 0.6 53,962 N/A
  Independent Liberal 1 1 0 + 1 0.1 0.2 24,985
  National Democratic and Labour 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.2 24,497 N/A
  Agriculturalist 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.2 19,412 N/A
  NFDSS 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.1 12,329 N/A
  Belfast Labour 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.1 12,164 N/A
  National Socialist 1 1 0 + 1 0.1 0.1 11,013 N/A
  Independent Coalition 1 1 0 + 1 0.1 0.1 9,274 N/A
  Highland Land League 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.1 8,710
  Women's 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.1 8,614 N/A
  British Socialist 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.1 8,394
  Independent Democratic 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.1 8,351 N/A
  Independent NADSS 1 1 0 + 1 0.1 0.1 8,287 N/A
  Independent Nationalist 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.1 8,183
  Socialist Labour 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.1 7,567
  Scottish Prohibition 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 5,212
  Independent Progressive 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 5,077
  Independent Labour and Agriculturalist 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 1,927
  Christian Socialist 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 597

Total votes cast: 10,434,700. All parties shown. Coalition Conservative vote is compared with Conservative vote in previous election. In each other case, the non-coalition vote is compared with the party's previous vote.

[edit] Ireland

Main article: Irish (UK) general election, 1918

The 1918 United Kingdom general election is seen as a key defining moment in modern Irish history. This is because it saw the overwhelming defeat of the moderate nationalist Irish Parliamentary Party, which had dominated the Irish political landscape since the 1880s, and a landslide victory for the radical Sinn Féin party, which had never previously enjoyed significant electoral success.

The aftermath of the elections saw the convention of an extra-legal parliament, the First Dáil, by the elected Sinn Féin candidates, and the outbreak of the Irish War of Independence.

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[edit] External links

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