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The 1885 United Kingdom general election was held from 24 November to 18 December 1885. This was the first general election after an extension of the franchise and redistribution of seats. For the first time a majority of adult males could vote and most constituencies by law returned a single member to Parliament, fulfilling one of the ideals of Chartism to provide direct single-member, single-electorate accountability. It saw the Liberals, led by
William Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
, win the most seats, but not an overall majority. As the Irish Nationalists held the balance of power between them and the Conservatives who sat with an increasing number of allied Unionist MPs (referring to the Union of Great Britain and Ireland), this exacerbated divisions within the Liberals over
Irish Home Rule The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for Devolution, self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1 ...
and led to a Liberal split and another general election the following year. The 1885 election saw the first
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
party participate, with the
Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, Jame ...
led by H. M. Hyndman standing three candidates.


Results


Voting summary


Seats summary


See also

* List of MPs elected in the 1885 United Kingdom general election * Parliamentary franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918 * Representation of the People Act 1884 *
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equa ...
*
1885 United Kingdom general election in Ireland The 1885 general election in Ireland was the first election following the Representation of the People Act 1884 and the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, which redrew the Irish electoral landscape. The election saw the Irish Parliamentary Par ...
*
1885 United Kingdom general election in Scotland A general election was held in the United Kingdom between 24 November and 18 December 1885 and 70 constituency seats in Scotland were contested. One of the two university seats for Scotland was also contested. Scotland had gained 12 seats sinc ...
* Hawarden Kite, Gladstone announces for Home Rule and wins over the Irish


Notes


References

* *


Further reading

* Roberts, Matthew. "Election Cartoons and Political Communication In Victorian England.' ''Cultural & Social History'' (2013) 10#3 pp 369–395, covers 1860 to 1890. *


External links


Spartacus: Political Parties and Election Results


{{British elections 1885 elections in the United Kingdom 1885
General election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
November 1885 events December 1885 events