1832 United Kingdom general election

1832 United Kingdom general election
← 1831 8 December 1832 – 8 January 1833 (1832-12-08 – 1833-01-08) 1835 →
All 658 seats in the House of Commons
330 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Earl Grey Duke of Wellington Daniel O'Connell
Party Whig Tory Irish Repeal
Leader since 22 November 1830 22 January 1828 1830
Leader's seat House of Lords House of Lords Dublin City
Seats won 441 175 42
Seat change Increase71 Decrease60 Increase42
Popular vote 554,719 241,284 31,773
Percentage 67% 29% 4%
Colours denote the winning party.
Strength of colour indicates number of candidates returned.
Composition of the House of Commons after the election
Prime Minister before election

Earl Grey
Whig

Prime Minister after election

Earl Grey
Whig

The 1832 United Kingdom general election was the first United Kingdom general election held in the Reformed House of Commons following the Reform Act, which introduced significant changes to the electoral system.

Earl Grey, Prime Minister since November 1830, led the first predominantly Whig administration since 1806–07, supported by Radicals and allied politicians, though no formal Liberal Party existed yet. Viscount Althorp led the House of Commons and served as Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Tories, led by the Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel, had not fully adopted the Conservative label. In Ireland, Daniel O'Connell's Irish Repeal Association campaigned for the repeal of the Act of Union, presenting independent candidates.

The election took place from December 1832 to January 1833, with polling staggered across constituencies. The Whigs won an overall majority of 224 seats, 67%, the Tories 27%, and the Repeal Association 6%. The Whigs won 67% of the vote, the Tories 29%, and the Repeal Association 4%. The results varied by region, with the Whigs dominant in Great Britain, but facing stronger Tory opposition in Wales and Ireland.

This was the last election before the Tories formally reconstituted themselves into the Conservatives, and the last time until 1906 that they won fewer than 200 seats.