3–19 December 1910 1918 → 274 seats, 43.1% 272 seats, 46.7% 2 1 Dates 3 Dec 1910 – 19 Dec 1910 | 30 April 1908 11 June 1902 272 271 2,293,869 2,420,169 | |
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Winner H H Asquith | ||
The United Kingdom general election of December 1910 was held from 3 to 19 December. It was the last UK general election to be held over several days and the last to be held prior to the First World War (1914–18).
The political context was the effort of the new Liberal Government to pass its budget, with higher taxes on the rich. It was blocked by the House of Lords. Government called an election to get a mandate for the Parliament Act 1911, which would prevent the House of Lords from permanently blocking legislation. After the Liberals won a narrow majority, the House of Lords gave way and the budget was passed.
The Conservatives, led by Arthur Balfour with their Liberal Unionist allies, and the Liberals, led by H. H. Asquith, could not break the deadlock produced in the January general election, with the Conservatives again winning the largest number of votes. The Liberal Party under Asquith formed a government with the support of the Irish Nationalists. This was the last election in which the Liberals won the highest number of seats in the House of Commons. It was also the last United Kingdom national election in which a party other than Labour or the Conservatives won the most seats until the 2014 European Parliament elections.