Category: Elections

A colourful election poster produced by the Tariff Reform League. A farmer sits on a railway platform with crates and baskets of produce, watching a train called the Foreign Produce Express loaded with foreign produce, steaming past. He laments the need for tariff reform.
Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, 20th century history, Corruption, Elections, Legislative History, William Ewart Gladstone

A ‘revolution’ in electioneering? The impact of the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act

Concluding her series on the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act, Dr Kathryn Rix of our House of Commons, 1832-1945 project looks at the long-term consequences of this major reform. In the wake of the corruption and expense of the 1880 general election, Sir Henry James, attorney general in Gladstone’s Liberal government, oversaw a landmark piece of legislation which aimed to clean up Britain’s elections: the 1883 … Continue reading A ‘revolution’ in electioneering? The impact of the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Constituencies, Elections, Electoral Reform, Victorian

The 1872 Secret Ballot and Multiple Member Seats

In this post about the introduction of the ballot in UK elections, based on a seminar talk (click here to view), Dr Philip Salmon examines some of the problems secret voting initially caused and their unintended consequences. The Ballot Act of 1872 sits alongside the three major Reform Acts of the 19th century (and various Corrupt Practices Acts) in helping to transform British elections into … Continue reading The 1872 Secret Ballot and Multiple Member Seats

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19th Century history, Elections, Electoral Reform, Victorian, Victorian Commons

‘Damn the secret ballot’: the UK’s public voting system before 1872

Today (18 July) marks another anniversary of the 1872 Secret Ballot Act, a topic we examined in more detail in a seminar back in 2022 (click here to view). But secret voting is now so engrained in our political culture that it’s easy to lose sight of the way the public voting system that served Britain for so many centuries worked. We’ve touched on public … Continue reading ‘Damn the secret ballot’: the UK’s public voting system before 1872

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Corruption, Elections, Victorian

A ‘new Canterbury Tale’: George Smythe, Frederick Romilly and England’s ‘last political duel’

Drawing on her research into Canterbury for the House of Commons, 1832-1868 project, our research fellow Dr Naomi Lloyd-Jones looks at the 1852 pre-election duel between the city’s MPs, Frederick Romilly and George Smythe, a notorious would-be duellist, believed to be the last political duel fought in England. In the early hours of 20 May 1852, six weeks before polling in that summer’s general election, … Continue reading A ‘new Canterbury Tale’: George Smythe, Frederick Romilly and England’s ‘last political duel’

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Constituencies, Corruption, Elections, Georgian, Minority Ethnic History, Victorian

John Lewis: A Black Sailor at the 1828 Weymouth By-Election

In this guest article Dr Joe Cozens discusses his research into John Lewis, a Black sailor who was arrested during the 1828 Weymouth by-election. Dr Cozens is a Nineteenth Century Social and Political Records Researcher at The National Archives, Kew. On the eve of the February 1828 Weymouth and Melcombe Regis by-election, a Black seaman named John Lewis was arrested for being ‘at the head … Continue reading John Lewis: A Black Sailor at the 1828 Weymouth By-Election

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19th Century history, Corruption, Elections, Electoral Reform, Parties, Victorian, Victorian Commons

The evolving electoral system: the 1835 and 1865 general elections compared

This year marks the 190th anniversary of the 1835 general election and the 160th anniversary of the 1865 general election. Our assistant editor Dr Kathryn Rix looks at some of the ways in which the electoral system had evolved in the thirty years between them. The 1835 and 1865 general elections both took place under the electoral system established by the 1832 Reform Act, with … Continue reading The evolving electoral system: the 1835 and 1865 general elections compared

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Corruption, Elections, Victorian

‘Those dark little rooms’: Cecil Forester, the Carlton Club and electoral corruption

Drawing on her first biography for the House of Commons, 1832-1868 project, our new research fellow Dr Naomi Lloyd-Jones looks at the behind the scenes involvement of the long-serving Conservative MP Cecil Forester in the electioneering activities of the Carlton Club and the murky world of electoral corruption. George Cecil Weld Forester (1807-86), or Cecil Forester as he was known, was Conservative MP for the … Continue reading ‘Those dark little rooms’: Cecil Forester, the Carlton Club and electoral corruption

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portrait of a young man in 18th-century dress
Georgian Lords, 18th Century history, Constituencies, Elections, Factions, Frederick North, 2nd earl of Guilford, George III, Georgian, Local History, Parties, William Pitt the Younger

‘of all others most desirable’: Pitt the Younger and elections for Cambridge

From the onset of his lengthy political career, William Pitt the Younger had his eyes fixed on representing his alma mater, the University of Cambridge. Writing to his mother in July 1779, he observed that the University seat was ‘of all others most desirable, as being free from expense, perfectly independent, and I think in every respect extremely honourable’. In this latest guest post for … Continue reading ‘of all others most desirable’: Pitt the Younger and elections for Cambridge

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Elections, Victorian

Joseph Holdsworth (1789-1857): candidate or returning officer?

In this article Dr Kathryn Rix of our House of Commons 1832-1945 project looks at a very unusual case – the MP who lost his seat in Parliament because he had technically also been the returning officer for his constituency at the time of his election. In July 1841 Joseph Holdsworth (1789-1857), a prosperous local dyer, was elected as Liberal MP for his native town … Continue reading Joseph Holdsworth (1789-1857): candidate or returning officer?

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Elections, Victorian, Women and Parliament

‘A woman actually voted!’: Lily Maxwell and the Manchester by-election of November 1867

More than half a century before the partial enfranchisement of women in 1918, Lily Maxwell, a Manchester shopkeeper, cast a parliamentary vote. Dr Kathryn Rix explores her story. After decades of campaigning for ‘Votes for Women’, the 1918 Representation of the People Act gave the parliamentary vote to some (but not all) women. Yet more than fifty years earlier, on 26 November 1867, Lily Maxwell … Continue reading ‘A woman actually voted!’: Lily Maxwell and the Manchester by-election of November 1867

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