{"id":17073,"date":"2025-05-15T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T07:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/?p=17073"},"modified":"2025-05-15T09:24:03","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T08:24:03","slug":"1835-and-1865-general-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/2025\/05\/15\/1835-and-1865-general-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"The evolving electoral system: the 1835 and 1865 general elections compared"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This year marks the 190th anniversary of the 1835 general election and the 160th anniversary of the 1865 general election. Our assistant editor Dr Kathryn Rix<\/a> looks at some of the ways in which the electoral system had evolved in the thirty years between them.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 1835 and 1865 general elections both took place under the electoral system established by the 1832 Reform Act, with 1865 being the last general election before the 1867 Reform Act made significant changes to the representative system. There were, however, many ways in which electioneering had evolved in the thirty years which separated them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These two elections happened in rather different circumstances. The 1865 contest \u2013 one of five July general elections<\/a> during the period between 1832 and 1867 \u2013 took place because the Parliament elected in 1859 was approaching the end of its maximum seven year term. The elderly Viscount Palmerston and the Liberals retained office after slightly increasing their majority, although Palmerston\u2019s premiership ended with his death in October 1865, meaning that it was Earl Russell who was prime minister when the new Parliament met for the first time in February 1866.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Black
Photograph: view of The\u00a0Hustings, taking place at Plough Meadow; \u00a9 Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In contrast the general election of 1835 \u2013 which took place across January and February and was one of only two winter elections in this period \u2013 had been called by a minority Conservative government. Sir Robert Peel<\/a> had taken office in December 1834 at the end of a turbulent year that had seen the resignation of four Cabinet ministers from Earl Grey\u2019s Whig government over proposals to reform the Anglican Church in Ireland, including the future Conservative prime minister Edward Smith Stanley (later Lord Derby<\/a>). This had precipitated Grey\u2019s resignation in July 1834. He was succeeded as Whig prime minister by Viscount Melbourne. In November 1834, however, King William IV dismissed Melbourne’s ministry, the last time in British history that a monarch used their power to remove a government.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"A<\/a>
‘HB’ (John Doyle); ‘Feeding the Great Boa’; 12 June 1834; \u00a9 National Portrait Gallery<\/a>, London. This cartoon depicts the Irish leader Daniel O’Connell as a snake, ready to consume the church being offered to him by Lord John Russell and Viscount Althorp. The four Whig Cabinet ministers who resigned over the issue are shown on the left (Duke of Richmond, Lord Ripon, Sir James Graham and Edward Stanley).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Peel, who sought to present a moderate reforming Conservatism<\/a> in his \u2018Tamworth manifesto\u2019, improved his party\u2019s position at the 1835 election, and scuppered Stanley\u2019s hopes of forming his own \u2018third\u2019 or \u2018centre\u2019 party, the so-called \u2018Derby dilly\u2019. However, the Conservatives failed to secure a majority of seats. Although some members of the \u2018Derby dilly\u2019 gave him their support in the division lobby, Peel was forced to resign in April 1835 after a series of Commons defeats, with Melbourne returning to lead another Whig ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As this summary suggests, one difference between the 1835 and 1865 elections was the role played by party. Party labels were much less clear-cut and party affiliation far more fluid in 1835 than in 1865, which had an impact on electioneering and the ways in which candidates presented themselves and their political message. Statistics<\/a> compiled by our research fellow Dr Martin Spychal indicate the range of party labels used by non-Conservative MPs in 1835, including Whigs, Reformers, Radicals, moderate Whigs, moderate Reformers and Repealers. In contrast, in 1865 the vast majority of non-Conservative MPs were listed as Liberals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside this, the presence of the \u2018Derby dilly\u2019 and other \u2018independent\u2019 MPs who were willing to give Peel\u2019s minority government \u2018a fair trial\u2019 meant that the party system in operation in 1835 looked rather different from the more obvious Liberal\/Conservative distinctions in 1865. In an article published in February 1835, The Examiner<\/em> analysed the likely voting patterns of 71 MPs it considered to be \u2018doubtful men\u2019 when it came to their party affiliation. However, party allegiances were by no means set in stone in 1865. There were around 50 MPs \u2013 mainly Conservatives wishing to indicate their moderate views and willingness to give general support to Palmerston\u2019s ministry \u2013 who termed themselves \u2018Liberal Conservatives\u2019. Meanwhile, not all Liberals could be relied upon to support their party leaders, as the \u2018Adullamite\u2019 rebellion against the Russell ministry\u2019s 1866 reform bill made plain.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Bar
Party Labels of English MPs at general elections, 1832-1868 (for more details on sources see here<\/a>)
\u00a9 Martin Spychal 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The evolving complexities of party were not the only ways in which the 1835 and 1865 contests differed. Although no major Reform Act was passed until 1867, other legislation had altered the framework of electioneering. At both contests, 658 MPs were elected, but the constituencies for which they were chosen were not identical. In 1835 Sudbury and St Albans each returned two MPs. However, persistent corruption in these constituencies meant they were stripped of their representation in 1844 and 1852 respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Photograph<\/a>
John & Charles Watkins; John Laird, Liberal MP for Birkenhead; 1861-74; \u00a9 National Portrait Gallery, London<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Their four seats were redistributed in 1861. One went to the new borough of Birkenhead, whose voters chose the shipbuilder John Laird as MP at a by-election that year, and re-elected him in 1865. There was also a by-election in 1861 to select a new third MP for the previously double-member constituency of South Lancashire. Voters for the final two new seats had to wait until the 1865 election, when the double-member West Riding of Yorkshire was split into two double-member constituencies. Lancashire South\u2019s third seat took on an added significance in 1865 when it was won by William Gladstone, then Liberal chancellor of the exchequer, who needed a new berth after being rejected by Oxford University\u2019s voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other reforms had a nationwide impact. In 1835 polling in most constituencies lasted two days, the exception being Irish counties where the polls could be kept open for up to five days. For borough constituencies in England, Scotland and Wales, 1835 was the last general election at which two day polls took place. Legislation later that year cut the length of the poll in these seats to just one day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was hoped that this would help to curb the expense and corruption of elections, by reducing the window of opportunity for bribery, treating, intimidation and disorder. It had not been uncommon for electors to delay casting their votes until the second day of polling, in the hopes of securing larger bribes as the close of the contest approached. Praising the shift to a one day poll, the Radical MP Richard Potter noted that \u2018the mischief under the old system was generally done in the night\u2019. Successive reforms \u2013 for Irish boroughs in 1847, English, Scottish and Welsh counties in 1853, and Irish counties in 1850 and 1862 \u2013 meant that at the 1865 election, the only constituency where the poll was allowed to last for two days was Orkney and Shetland, although in the event its Liberal MP was re-elected unopposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most significant corrupt practices legislation in the 1832-68 period was the 1854 Corrupt Practices Prevention Act, which provided detailed definitions for the existing offences of bribery and treating and created the new offence of \u2018undue influence\u2019 or intimidation. Its stipulation that payments for \u2018chairing\u2019<\/a> victorious candidates after the poll would be considered illegal had the effect of curbing one of the most colourful aspects of election ritual. Chairings were relatively common in 1835, as at Swansea, where the newly re-elected MP John Vivian was carried through the town by sixteen men \u2018with shirts decorated in blue and yellow\u2019, in a chair bearing the slogan \u2018Vivian and independence\u2019, accompanied by a procession with a band of music. Although some MPs took part in informal victory processions in 1865, we have not yet found any examples of the traditional chairing ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Colourful
Unknown artist; The Chairing of Thomas Hawkes (1778-1858); 1834; \u00a9 Dudley Museums Service via Art UK<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

When it came to the prevalence of bribery, however, 1835 and 1865 had much in common. In terms of the number of successful election petitions, which unseated MPs for electoral malpractice, the latter contest was in fact worse than its predecessor. In 1835 there were 12 cases in which the election result was overturned, while in 1865 there were 16. The most shocking examples of corruption in 1865 included Lancaster, where an astounding 64% of voters took or gave a bribe, and Totnes, where as much as \u00a3200 was offered for a single vote. These two boroughs, together with Great Yarmouth and Reigate, suffered the same fate as St Albans and Sudbury, being disfranchised for corruption under a special clause in the 1867 Reform Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

KR<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more on changes in electioneering during the nineteenth century, see Dr Philip Salmon\u2019s article on developments in transport to the poll<\/a> and Dr Kathryn Rix\u2019s article on elections under the secret ballot<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year marks the 190th anniversary of the 1835 general election and the 160th anniversary of the 1865 general election. Our assistant editor Dr Kathryn Rix looks at some of the ways in which the electoral system had evolved in the thirty years between them. The 1835 and 1865 general elections both took place under the electoral system established by the 1832 Reform Act, with … Continue reading The evolving electoral system: the 1835 and 1865 general elections compared<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37726181,"featured_media":17076,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[4706867,774276112,34931755,126553,94605313,774275561,124494893],"tags":[729093404,774276115,774276116,19807,35890],"class_list":["post-17073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-19th-century-history","category-corruption","category-elections-2","category-electoral-reform","category-political-parties","category-victorian","category-victorian-commons","tag-1835-election","tag-1865-election","tag-derby-dilly","tag-electioneering","tag-featured"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/hertfordshire-election-alt.jpg?fit=2126%2C743&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2QYNW-4rn","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4749,"url":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/2020\/05\/27\/parliamentary-reform-and-its-impact-on-exeter-1820-1868\/","url_meta":{"origin":17073,"position":0},"title":"\u2018The power of returning our members will henceforth be in our own hands\u2019: parliamentary reform and its impact on Exeter, 1820-1868","author":"Martin Spychal","date":"May 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Dr Martin Spychal, research fellow for the Commons 1832-68, uses polling and voter registration data to explore the 1832 Reform Act\u2019s impact on elections in Exeter.","rel":"","context":"In "Victorian Commons"","block_context":{"text":"Victorian Commons","link":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/category\/sections\/victorian-commons\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/exeter-1831-pro-reform-poster-sepia.jpg?fit=745%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/exeter-1831-pro-reform-poster-sepia.jpg?fit=745%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/exeter-1831-pro-reform-poster-sepia.jpg?fit=745%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/exeter-1831-pro-reform-poster-sepia.jpg?fit=745%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9674,"url":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/2022\/07\/19\/the-secret-ballot\/","url_meta":{"origin":17073,"position":1},"title":"The Secret Ballot: The Secret to Reducing Electoral Violence?","author":"History of Parliament","date":"July 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"In July 1872, 150 years ago this month, the Ballot Act introduced the secret ballot to all UK parliamentary and local elections. Here guest blogger Dr Gary Hutchison, of the Causes and Consequences of Electoral Violence project, discusses how the secret ballot affected violence at elections. An Interactive Map of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Victorian"","block_context":{"text":"Victorian","link":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/category\/periods\/victorian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/guest-gh-market-square-19th-c-1.png?fit=434%2C317&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5130,"url":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/2020\/07\/23\/york-victorian-constituency\/","url_meta":{"origin":17073,"position":2},"title":"York: exploring the local history of a Victorian constituency","author":"Kathryn Rix","date":"July 23, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Alongside biographies of 2,591 MPs, our House of Commons 1832-68 project is also researching and writing articles on the 401 English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh constituencies in existence during this period. Following on from this month\u2019s earlier local history post on York, this blog takes this constituency as an example\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Victorian Commons"","block_context":{"text":"Victorian Commons","link":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/category\/sections\/victorian-commons\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/york.jpg?fit=914%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/york.jpg?fit=914%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/york.jpg?fit=914%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/york.jpg?fit=914%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17712,"url":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/2025\/07\/18\/public-voting-before-1872\/","url_meta":{"origin":17073,"position":3},"title":"‘Damn the secret ballot’: the UK’s public voting system before 1872","author":"Philip Salmon","date":"July 18, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Today (18 July) marks another anniversary of the 1872 Secret Ballot Act, a topic we examined in more detail in a seminar back in 2022 (click here to view). But secret voting is now so engrained in our political culture that it's easy to lose sight of the way the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "19th Century history"","block_context":{"text":"19th Century history","link":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/category\/centuries\/19th-century-history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ballot-bill-1871-detail003.webp?fit=797%2C822&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ballot-bill-1871-detail003.webp?fit=797%2C822&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ballot-bill-1871-detail003.webp?fit=797%2C822&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ballot-bill-1871-detail003.webp?fit=797%2C822&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11532,"url":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/2023\/07\/11\/harriet-grote-1835-parliament-and-the-failed-attempt-to-establish-a-radical-party\/","url_meta":{"origin":17073,"position":4},"title":"\u2018Another of my female politicians\u2019 epistles\u2019: Harriet Grote (1792-1878), the 1835 Parliament and the failed attempt to establish a radical party","author":"Martin Spychal","date":"July 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"In the fourth of his articles on Harriet Grote (1792-1878), our research fellow Dr Martin Spychal looks at Harriet\u2019s involvement in the abortive attempt to establish a radical party at Westminster in the wake of the 1835 election. In November 1834 four years of Whig government came to an end\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Victorian Commons"","block_context":{"text":"Victorian Commons","link":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/category\/sections\/victorian-commons\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/political-drama-77-SM.jpeg?fit=1016%2C529&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/political-drama-77-SM.jpeg?fit=1016%2C529&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/political-drama-77-SM.jpeg?fit=1016%2C529&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/political-drama-77-SM.jpeg?fit=1016%2C529&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9238,"url":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/2022\/05\/03\/local-polls-19th-century\/","url_meta":{"origin":17073,"position":5},"title":"Local polls and national politics: a 19th century perspective","author":"Philip Salmon","date":"May 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"As much of the UK prepares to vote in local elections this week, in this blog (adapted from our Victorian Commons site), Dr Philip Salmon discusses the origins of 19th century council elections and how they quickly became guides to national polls. As barometers of political opinion, local elections have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Victorian Commons"","block_context":{"text":"Victorian Commons","link":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/category\/sections\/victorian-commons\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/municipal-ballot-blount.jpg?fit=966%2C680&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/municipal-ballot-blount.jpg?fit=966%2C680&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/municipal-ballot-blount.jpg?fit=966%2C680&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/municipal-ballot-blount.jpg?fit=966%2C680&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37726181"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17073"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17073\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17102,"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17073\/revisions\/17102"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}