1818 United Kingdom general election

1818 United Kingdom general election

← 1812 17 June – 18 July 1818[1] 1820 →

All 658 seats in the House of Commons
330 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Earl of Liverpool Earl Grey
Party Pittite Tory Whig
Leader since 8 June 1812
Seats won 280 175

The UK parliament after the 1818 election

Prime Minister before election

Earl of Liverpool
Pittite Tory

Prime Minister after election

Earl of Liverpool
Pittite Tory

The 1818 United Kingdom general election saw the Whigs gain a few seats, but the Tories under the Earl of Liverpool retained a majority of around 90 seats. The Whigs were divided over their response to growing social unrest and the introduction of the Corn Laws.

The result of the election was known on 4 August 1818, and was the fifth general election.

The fifth United Kingdom Parliament was dissolved on 10 June 1818. The new Parliament was summoned to meet on 4 August 1818, for a maximum seven-year term from that date. The maximum term could be and normally was curtailed, by the monarch dissolving the Parliament, before its term expired. The sixth Parliament lasted only about a year and a half, as King George III's death on 29 January 1820 triggered a dissolution of Parliament.

  1. ^ Rix, Kathryn (18 June 2018). "The General Election of 1818".