British general election, 1722

The British general election of 1722 elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This event took place following the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was fiercely fought, with contests taking place in more than half the constituencies, unusually for the time. Despite the level of public involvement, however, with the Whigs having consolidated their control over virtually every branch of government, Walpole's party commanded almost a monopoly of electoral patronage, and was therefore able to increase its majority in Parliament even as its popular support fell.

Whereas previously election results had broadly reflected the opinion of at least the minority of adult males who had the vote, though the system had always been subject to the influence of corruption and patronage; now that one-party government had been established, that influence could be used systematically to ensure the government's victory. This election set the pattern for much of the rest of the eighteenth century; as partisan feeling began to decline during the years of Whig oligarchy, the rigging of elections became ever easier, so that British governments could almost always guarantee victory.

Summary of the Constituencies

See British general election, 1796 for details. The constituencies used were the same throughout the existence of the Parliament of Great Britain.

Dates of Election

The general election was held between 19 March 1722 and 9 May 1722.

At this period elections did not take place at the same time in every constituency. The returning officer in each county or parliamentary borough fixed the precise date (see hustings for details of the conduct of the elections).

See also

• List of Parliaments of Great Britain
• MPs elected in the British general election, 1722

References

• British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher (Ashgate Publishing Ltd 2000). (For dates of elections before 1832, see the footnote to Table 5.02).