United Kingdom general election, 1868

17 November–7 December 1868

All 658 seats to the House of Commons 327 seats needed for a majority

	First party	Second party

Leader	William Ewart Gladstone	Benjamin Disraeli
Party	Liberal	Conservative
Leader since	3 December 1868	27 February 1868
Leader's seat	Greenwich	Buckinghamshire
Last election	369 seats, 59.5%	289 seats, 40.5%
Seats won	387	271
Seat change	18	18
Popular vote	1,428,776	903,318
Percentage	61.5%	38.4%
Swing	2.0%	2.1%

PM before election

Benjamin Disraeli
Conservative

Subsequent PM

William Ewart Gladstone
Liberal

1859 election • MPs
1865 election • MPs
1868 election • MPs
1874 election • MPs
1880 election • MPs

The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom. It was the first election held in the United Kingdom in which more than a million votes were cast; nearly triple the number of votes were cast compared to the previous election.

The result saw the Liberals, led by William Ewart Gladstone, again increase their large majority over Benjamin Disraeli's Conservatives to more than 100 seats.

This was the last election at which all the seats were taken by only the two leading parties, although the parties at the time were loose coalitions and party affiliation was not listed on ballot papers.

Results

↓
387	271
Liberal	Conservative

UK General Election 1868
		Candidates						Votes
Party		Standing	Elected	Gained	Unseated	Net	% of total	%	No.	Net %
	Liberal	600	387			+ 18	58.8	61.5	1,428,776	+ 2.0
	Conservative	436	271			- 18	41.2	38.4	903,318	- 2.1
	Others	3	0	0	0	0		0.1	1,157	N/A

Total votes cast: 2,333,251

References

F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987
British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher (Ashgate Publishing Ltd 2000)
Spartacus: Political Parties and Election Results

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