1837 United Kingdom general election

The 1837 United Kingdom general election was triggered by the death of King William IV and produced the first Parliament of the reign of his successor, Queen Victoria. It saw Robert Peel's Conservatives close further on the position of the Whigs, who won their fourth election of the decade.

1837 United Kingdom general election
24 July – 18 August 1837 (1837-07-24 – 1837-08-18)
All 658 seats in the House of Commons
330 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Viscount Melbourne Sir Robert Peel
Party Whig Conservative
Leader since 16 July 1834 19 December 1834
Leader's seat House of Lords Tamworth
Last election 385 seats, 57.2% 273 seats, 42.8%
Seats won 344 314
Seat change 41 41
Popular vote 418,331 379,694
Percentage 52.4% 47.6%
Swing 4.8% 4.8%
Colours denote the winning party
Prime Minister before election

Viscount Melbourne
Whig

 Prime Minister after
election

Viscount Melbourne
Whig

The election marked the last time that a Parliament was dissolved as a result of the demise of the Crown. The dissolution of Parliament six months after a demise of the Crown, as provided for by the Succession to the Crown Act 1707, was abolished by the Reform Act 1867.

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