28 April–18 May 1859 1865 → 42 48 11 2 Start date 1859 | July 1846 6 February 1855 53 50 35,258 57,409 | |
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Winner Henry John Temple - 3 | ||
The 1859 British general election in Ireland produced one of the last overall victories for the Tories in Ireland. Their win, however, did not mean that Ireland was supporting the Tories, though the party did have some strong pockets of support on the island. The win was a result of a restricted electoral franchise which saw voting restricted to the middle and upper classes, who were disproportionately supportive of the Tory Party in Ireland.
Electoral reform in subsequent decades saw a sharp decline in Tory fortunes in Ireland, with new voters, who had not been Tory supporters anyhow, supporting first of all the Liberal Party, notably in the 1868 general election in Ireland and later the Irish Parliamentary Party from the 1874 general election in Ireland onwards.