1868 United Kingdom general election

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 in 1865.

1868 United Kingdom general election
17 November – 7 December 1868 (1868-11-17 – 1868-12-07)
All 658 seats in the House of Commons
327 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader William Gladstone Benjamin Disraeli
Party Liberal Conservative
Leader since 3 December 1868 27 February 1868
Leader's seat Greenwich
(Defeated at South West Lancashire)		 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 61.2% 38.7%
Swing 1.7% 1.8%
Colours denote the winning party
Prime Minister before election

Benjamin Disraeli
Conservative

 Prime Minister after
election

William Gladstone
Liberal

The Liberals, led by William Gladstone, increased their majority over Benjamin Disraeli's Conservatives again to more than 100 seats.

This was the last general election at which all 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 registration papers.

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