1900 United Kingdom general election

1900 United Kingdom general election

← 1895 26 September – 24 October 1900 (1900-09-26 – 1900-10-24) 1906 →
← outgoing members elected members →
All 670 seats in the House of Commons 336 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	75.1% (3.3 pp)
First party Second party   Leader Marquess of Salisbury Henry Campbell-Bannerman Party Conservative and Liberal Unionist Liberal Leader since April 1881 December 1898 Leader's seat House of Lords Stirling Burghs Last election 411 seats, 49.3% 177 seats, 45.6% Seats won 402 183[a] Seat change 9 6 Popular vote 1,637,683 1,469,500 Percentage 50.2% 45.1% Swing 0.9% 0.5%   Third party Fourth party   Leader John Redmond Keir Hardie Party Irish Parliamentary Labour Repr. Cmte. Leader since 6 February 1900 28 February 1900 Leader's seat Waterford City Merthyr Tydfil Last election 82 seats, 3.9%[1] Did not contest Seats won 76 2 Seat change 6 2 Popular vote 57,576 41,900 Percentage 1.8% 1.3% Swing 2.1% New party
Colours denote the winning party
Diagram displaying the composition of the House of Commons following the election
Prime Minister before election Marquess of Salisbury Conservative Prime Minister after election Marquess of Salisbury Conservative

The 1900 United Kingdom general election was held between 26 September and 24 October 1900, following the dissolution of Parliament on 25 September. Also referred to as the Khaki Election (the first of several elections to bear this sobriquet), it was held at a time when it was widely believed that the Second Boer War had effectively been won (though in fact it was to continue for another two years).

The Conservative Party, led by Lord Salisbury with their Liberal Unionist allies, secured a large majority of 134 seats, despite securing only 5.6% more votes than Henry Campbell-Bannerman's Liberals. This was largely owing to the Conservatives winning 163 seats that were uncontested by others. The Labour Representation Committee, later to become the Labour Party, participated in a general election for the first time. However, it had only been in existence for a few months; as a result, Keir Hardie and Richard Bell were the only LRC Members of Parliament elected in 1900.

This was the first occasion when Winston Churchill was elected to the House of Commons. He had stood in the same seat, Oldham, at a by-election held the previous year, but had lost. It was also the final general election of the Victorian era, as well as the last one where the leader of either of the two largest parties (and by extension, the incumbent Prime Minister) sat in the House of Lords rather than the House of Commons.

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