27 March–24 April 1857 1859 → 324 seats, 57.9% 330 seats, 41.9% 464,127 239,712 | 6 February 1855 July 1846 53 66 Start date 1857 | |
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377 264 (including Peelites) Winner Henry John Temple - 3 | ||
In the 1857 United Kingdom general election, the Whigs, led by Lord Palmerston, finally won a majority in the House of Commons as the Conservative vote fell significantly. The election had been provoked by a vote of censure in Palmerston's government over his approach to the Arrow affair which led to the Second Opium War.
Results
Total votes cast: 716,552. "Others" are mostly Irish Independent Opposition. The Conservative total votes cast and MPs includes around 26 Peelites - some reference works claim it was as few as 18.
References
United Kingdom general election, 1857 Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA