English general election, 1695

October–November 1695

All 513 seats of the House of Commons 257 seats were needed for a majority

	First party	Second party

Party	Whig	Tory
Seats won	257	203
Popular vote	-	-
Percentage	-	-

The English general election, 1695 was the first to be held under the terms of the Triennial Act of 1694, which required parliament to be dissolved and fresh elections called at least every three years. This measure helped to fuel partisan rivalry over the coming decades, with the electorate in a constant state of excitement and the Whigs and Tories continually trying to gain the upper hand. Despite the potential for manipulation of the electorate, as was seen under Robert Walpole and his successors, with general elections held an average of every other year, and local and central government positions frequently changing hands between parties, it was impossible for any party or government to be certain of electoral success in the period after 1694, and election results were consequently genuinely representative of the views of at least the section of the population able to vote.

The election of 1695, however, was comparatively quiet, being fought mainly on local issues. The new government led by the Whig junto made gains in most contested constituencies, and their party was returned with a narrow majority. The junto's support was not certain, however, as their policies increasingly alienated backbench 'country' Whigs, who were willing to co-operate with the Tories, and the government frequently ran into trouble in the House of Commons. Eighty-five constituencies were contested, 31% of the total.

Party strengths are an approximation, with many MPs' allegiances being unknown.

Summary of the Constituencies

See British general election, 1796 for details. The constituencies used in England and Wales were the same throughout the period. In 1707 alone the 45 Scottish members were not elected from the constituencies, but were returned by co-option of a part of the membership of the last Parliament of Scotland elected before the Union.

References

Cruickshanks, Eveline; Handley, Stuart; Hayton, David, eds. (2002). The House of Commons, 1690-1715. The History of Parliament. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

External links

Elections in England

General elections	1264–65 1275 1275 1290 1290 1290–91 1291–92 1293? 1293? 1293 1295 1296 1297 1298 1298 1299–1300 1300–01 1302 1304–05 1306 1306–07 1307 1308 1311 1312 1313 1314 1314–15 1315–16 1318 1319 1320 1321 1322 1322 1323–24 1325 1325 1326–27 1327 1327–28 1328 1328 1330 1330 1331 1332 1332 1332 1334 1334 1335 1336 1336–37 1337–38 1338–39 1339 1339–40 1340 1340 1341 1343 1344 1346 1347–48 1348 1350–51 1351–52 1354 1355 1357 1357–58 1360 1360–61 1362 1363 1364–65 1366 1368 1369 1371 1372 1373 1375–76 1376–77 1377 1378 1379 1379–80 1380 1381 1382 1382 1383 1383 1384 1384 1385 1386 1387–88 1388 1389–90 1390 1391 1392–93 1393–94 1394–95 1396–97 1397 1389 1399 1400–01 1402 1403–04 1404 1405–06 1407 1409–10 1411 1412–13 1413 1413–14 1414 1415 1416 (Mar) 1416 (Oct) 1417 1419 1420 1421 1421 1422 1423 1425 1426 1427 1429 1430–31 1432 1433 1435 1436-37 1439 1441–42 1445 1446–47 1449 1449 1450 1453 1455 1459 1460 1470 1461 1462–63 1467 1472 1477–78 1482–83 1483–84 1485 1487 1488–89 1491 1495 1496–97 1503–04 1509–10 1511–12 1514–15 1523 1529 1536 1539 1541–42 1544–45 1547 1553 (Mar) 1553 (Oct) 1554 (Apr) 1554 (Nov) 1555 1557–58 1558–59 1562–63 1571 1572 1584 1586 1588–89 1593 1597 1601 1604 1614 1620–21 1623–24 1625 1626 1628 1640 1640 1654 1656 1658–59 1660 1661 1679 (Mar) 1679 (Oct) 1681 1685 1689 1690 1695 1698 1701 (Jan-Feb) 1701 (Dec) 1702 1705

See also: Elections in Great Britain Elections and referendums in the United Kingdom

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