United Kingdom general election, 1831
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The 1831 UK general election, the last before the Reform Act of 1832, saw electoral reform as the major election issue. It was held from 28 April to 1 June 1831. The Whigs won a majority of 136 over the Tories, which allowed the passage of the Reform Bill, and led to an election the following year.
The ninth United Kingdom Parliament was dissolved on 23 April 1831. The new Parliament was summoned to meet on 14 June 1831, for a maximum seven year term from that date. The maximum term could be and normally was curtailed, by the monarch dissolving the Parliament, before its term expired.
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[edit] Political Situation
The Earl Grey had been appointed Prime Minister on 22 November 1830. His was the first predominantly Whig administration since the Ministry of all the Talents in 1806-1807.
The government Leader of the House of Commons since 1830, was Viscount Althorp, who also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
The Tory Prime Minister, at the time of the 1830 election, had been the Duke of Wellington. After leaving government office Wellington continued to lead the Tory peers. He was the overall Leader of the Opposition.
The Tory Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons was Sir Robert Peel, Bt.
In Irish politics, Daniel O'Connell was continuing his campaign for repeal of the Act of Union.
[edit] Dates of Election
At this period there was not one election day. After receiving a writ (a royal command) for the election to be held, the local returning officer fixed the election timetable for the particular constituency or constituencies he was concerned with. Polling in seats with contested elections could continue for many days.
The general election took place between the first contest on 28 April and the last contest on 1 June 1831.
[edit] Summary of the Constituencies
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 (1 County constituency with 2 MPs 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 MPs, by type and country
| Country | BC | CC | UC | Total C | BMP | CMP | UMP | Total MPs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 201 | 39 | 2 | 242 | 402 | 80 | 4 | 486 |
| Wales | 13 | 13 | 0 | 26 | 13 | 14 | 0 | 27 |
| Scotland | 15 | 30 | 0 | 45 | 15 | 30 | 0 | 45 |
| Ireland | 33 | 32 | 1 | 66 | 35 | 64 | 1 | 100 |
| Total | 262 | 114 | 3 | 379 | 465 | 178 | 5 | 658 |
Table 2: Number of seats per constituency, by type and country
| Country | BCx1 | BCx2 | BCx4 | CCx1 | CCx2 | CCx4 | UCx1 | UCx2 | Total C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 4 | 195 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 242 |
| Wales | 13 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
| Scotland | 15 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 |
| Ireland | 31 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 66 |
| Total | 63 | 197 | 2 | 42 | 71 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 379 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher (Ashgate Publishing Ltd 2000). Source: Dates of Elections - Footnote to Table 5.02
- British Historical Facts 1760-1830, by Chris Cook and John Stevenson (The Macmillan Press 1980). Source: Types of constituencies - Great Britain
- His Majesty's Opposition 1714-1830, by Archibald S. Foord (Oxford University Press 1964)
- Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland 1801-1922, edited by B.M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978). Source: Types of constituencies - Ireland)
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