The 1841 United Kingdom general election was held between 29 June and 22 July 1841. Following increasing government defeats, the Conservatives under Sir Robert Peel won a decisive victory against the governing Whigs.
The Conservatives campaigned mainly on an 11-point programme modified from their previous electoral effort and designed by Peel, whilst the Whigs emphasised reforming the import duties on corn, replacing the existing sliding scale with a uniform rate. The Whig position lost them support amongst protectionists, and the Whigs saw heavy losses in constituencies like the West Riding, where aristocratic Whig families who held a strong tradition of unbroken representation in Parliament were rejected by the electorate.
O'Connell, who had been governing with the Whigs through a compact, felt the government's unpopularity rub off on him. His own party was shattered in the election. Barely a dozen Repealers retained their seats, and O'Connell himself lost in Dublin while his son was defeated in Carlow. The Chartists picked up only a few votes.
Results
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Voting summary
Seats summary
Regional results
Great Britain
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! colspan=2 |Party
! Candidates
! Unopposed
! Seats
! Seats change
! Votes
! %
! % change
|-
|
| align=right| 439
| align=right| 185
| align=right| 326
| align=right| +42
| align=right| 286,650
| align=right| 52.7
| align=right| +4.5
|-
|
| align=right| 333
| align=right| 83
| align=right| 229
| align=right| −42
| align=right| 256,774
| align=right| 47.2
| align=right| −4.6
|-
|
| align=right| 8
| align=right| 0
| align=right| 0
| align=right|
| align=right| 692
| align=right| 0.1
| align=right|
|- class="sortbottom" style="font-weight: bold; text-align: right; background: #f2f2f2;"
! colspan="2" style="padding-left: 1.5em; text-align: left;" | Total
| align=right| 780
| align=right| 268
| align=right| 555
| align=right|
| align=right| 544,116
| align=right| 100
| align=right|
|}
England
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! colspan=2 |Party
! Candidates
! Unopposed
! Seats
! Seats change
! Votes
! %
! % change
|-
|
| align=right| 374
| align=right| 147
| align=right| 277
| align=right|
| align=right| 272,755
| align=right| 53.1
| align=right|
|-
|
| align=right| 277
| align=right| 62
| align=right| 187
| align=right|
| align=right| 236,813
| align=right| 46.8
| align=right|
|-
|
| align=right| 4
| align=right| 0
| align=right| 0
| align=right|
| align=right| 307
| align=right| 0.1
| align=right|
|- class="sortbottom" style="font-weight: bold; text-align: right; background: #f2f2f2;"
! colspan="2" style="padding-left: 1.5em; text-align: left;" | Total
| align=right| 655
| align=right| 209
| align=right| 464
| align=right|
| align=right| 509,875
| align=right| 100
| align=right|
|}
Scotland
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! colspan=2 |Party
! Candidates
! Unopposed
! Seats
! Seats change
! Votes
! %
! % change
|-
|
| align=right| 40
| align=right| 13
| align=right| 31
| align=right| -2
| align=right| 16,356
| align=right| 60.8
| align=right|
|-
|
| align=right| 35
| align=right| 16
| align=right| 22
| align=right| +2
| align=right| 9,793
| align=right| 38.3
| align=right|
|-
|
| align=right| 3
| align=right| 0
| align=right| 0
| align=right|
| align=right| 385
| align=right| 0.9
| align=right|
|- class="sortbottom" style="font-weight: bold; text-align: right; background: #f2f2f2;"
! colspan="2" style="padding-left: 1.5em; text-align: left;" | Total
| align=right| 78
| align=right| 29
| align=right| 53
| align=right|
| align=right| 26,534
| align=right| 100
| align=right|
|}
Wales
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! colspan=2 |Party
! Candidates
! Unopposed
! Seats
! Seats change
! Votes
! %
! % change
|-
|
| align=right| 24
| align=right| 16
| align=right| 21
| align=right|
| align=right| 4,102
| align=right| 53.2
| align=right|
|-
|
| align=right| 16
| align=right| 8
| align=right| 11
| align=right|
| align=right| 3,605
| align=right| 46.8
| align=right|
|-
|
| align=right| 1
| align=right| 0
| align=right| 0
| align=right|
| align=right| 0
| align=right| 0.0
| align=right|
|- class="sortbottom" style="font-weight: bold; text-align: right; background: #f2f2f2;"
! colspan="2" style="padding-left: 1.5em; text-align: left;" | Total
| align=right| 41
| align=right| 24
| align=right| 32
| align=right|
| align=right| 7,707
| align=right| 100
| align=right|
|}
Ireland
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! colspan=2 |Party
! Candidates
! Unopposed
! Seats
! Seats change
! Votes
! %
! % change
|-
|
| align=right| 55
| align=right| 30
| align=right| 42
| align=right|
| align=right| 17,128
| align=right| 35.1
| align=right|
|-
|
| align=right| 59
| align=right| 27
| align=right| 41
| align=right|
| align=right| 19,664
| align=right| 40.1
| align=right|
|-
|
| align=right| 22
| align=right| 12
| align=right| 20
| align=right|
| align=right| 12,537
| align=right| 24.8
| align=right|
|- class="sortbottom" style="font-weight: bold; text-align: right; background: #f2f2f2;"
! colspan="2" style="padding-left: 1.5em; text-align: left;" | Total
| align=right| 136
| align=right| 69
| align=right| 103
| align=right|
| align=right| 49,329
| align=right| 100
| align=right|
|}
Universities
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan=2 |Party
! Candidates
! Unopposed
! Seats
! Seats change
! Votes
! %
! % change
|-
|
| align=right| 6
| align=right| 6
| align=right| 6
| align=right|
| align=right| Uncontested
| align=right| Uncontested
| align=right|
|- class="sortbottom" style="font-weight: bold; text-align: right; background: #f2f2f2;"
! colspan="2" style="padding-left: 1.5em; text-align: left;" | Total
| align=right| 6
| align=right| 6
| align=right| 6
| align=right|
| align=right| Uncontested
| align=right| Uncontested
| align=right|
|}
Notable Whig MPs who lost their seats
- Viscount Morpeth, Chief Secretary for Ireland
- Sir George Strickland, Bt
- Sir Henry Barron, 1st Baronet
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
- Spartacus: Political Parties and Election Results