United Kingdom general election, 1868

17 November–7 December 1868

All 658 seats to the House of Commons 327 seats needed for a majority

	First party	Second party

Leader	William Ewart Gladstone	Benjamin Disraeli
Party	Liberal	Conservative
Leader since	3 December 1868	27 February 1868
Leader's seat	Greenwich	Buckinghamshire
Last election	369 seats, 59.5%	289 seats, 40.5%
Seats won	387	271
Seat change	18	18
Popular vote	1,428,776	903,318
Percentage	61.5%	38.4%
Swing	2.0%	2.1%

PM before election

Benjamin Disraeli
Conservative

Subsequent PM

William Ewart Gladstone
Liberal

1859 election • MPs
1865 election • MPs
1868 election • MPs
1874 election • MPs
1880 election • MPs

The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom. It was the first election held in the United Kingdom in which more than a million votes were cast; nearly triple the number of votes were cast compared to the previous election.

The result saw the Liberals, led by William Ewart Gladstone, again increase their large majority over Benjamin Disraeli's Conservatives to more than 100 seats.

This was the last election at which all the seats were taken by only the two leading parties, although the parties at the time were loose coalitions and party affiliation was not listed on ballot papers.

Results

↓
387	271
Liberal	Conservative

UK General Election 1868
		Candidates						Votes
Party		Standing	Elected	Gained	Unseated	Net	% of total	%	No.	Net %
	Liberal	600	387			+ 18	58.8	61.5	1,428,776	+ 2.0
	Conservative	436	271			- 18	41.2	38.4	903,318	- 2.1
	Others	3	0	0	0	0		0.1	1,157	N/A

Total votes cast: 2,333,251

References

F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987
British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher (Ashgate Publishing Ltd 2000)
Spartacus: Political Parties and Election Results

Elections and referendums in the United Kingdom

General elections	1801 co-option 1802 1806 1807 1812 1818 1820 1826 1830 1831 1832 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 1910 (Jan) 1910 (Dec) 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 1974 (Feb) 1974 (Oct) 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015

Local elections	1949 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

European elections	1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014

Referendums	1975 2011

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United Kingdom general election, 1868