United Kingdom general election, 1830
Encyclopedia
The 1830 United Kingdom general election, was triggered by the death of King George IV
and produced the first parliament of the reign of his successor, William IV
. Fought in the aftermath of the Swing Riots
, it saw electoral reform
become a major election issue. Polling took place in July and August and the Tories
won a majority over the Whig
s, but division among Tory MPs allowed Earl Grey
to form an effective government and take the question of electoral reform to the country the following year
.
The eighth United Kingdom Parliament was dissolved on 24 July 1830. The new Parliament was summoned to meet on 14 September 1830, for a maximum seven year term from that date. The maximum term could be and normally was curtailed, by the monarch dissolving the Parliament, before its term expired. This election was the first since 1708 that caused the collapse of the government.
. He had been Prime Minister since 1828.
The previous Parliament had been unstable, with both principal parties fractured. During the 1826-1830 Parliament, there had been four Tory Prime Ministers. The Earl of Liverpool
, who had been Prime Minister since 1812, was forced by ill health to retire in 1827.
George Canning
, who had been Leader of the House of Commons under Liverpool, became Prime Minister in early 1827. The High Tories, led by the Duke of Wellington and Robert Peel, refused to serve in his government. Canning invited a section of the Whigs, including Lansdowne to join a coalition ministry with the Canningite
faction of the Tory Party. Other Whigs, like Earl Grey, remained in opposition. Some Whigs like Viscount Althorp adopted a neutral attitude to the government.
After Canning's death in August 1827, the premiership passed to the Viscount Goderich for a few more months, until Wellington took over on 22 January 1828. Those Whigs who had
been in both Canning's and Goderich's governments returned to the opposition .
For a short while a band of M.P.s and Peers who had been supporters of Canning (hence the Canningites) were in included in Wellington's government but left on the issue of the re-distribution of seats from the corrupt parliamentary borough of East Retford in May 1828.
There was a further split in the Tory administration in 1829 on the issue of Catholic emancipation when Daniel O'Connell
and his Catholic Association
won a parliamentary seat. Legally barred from taking his seat in the House of Commons because he was a catholic, Wellington's government was forced to bring about a change but led to another split in their party - this time with the creation of the 'Ultra-Tory' group led by M.P. Edward Knatchbull and supported by a number of influential peers in the House of Lords.
There had not been a predominantly Whig administration since the Ministry of all the Talents
in 1806-1807. The Whig Party had had weak leadership, particularly in the House of Commons, for many years. However during the 1826-1830 Parliament the situation improved.
At the time of the general election, the Earl Grey
was the leading figure amongst the Whig peers. However Grey had given up the formal leadership in 1824. The Marquess of Lansdowne
was acting as leader, but had not taken up the title. The animosity which King George IV had to Earl Grey had barred him from government, but in the new reign his chances of office had improved.
There had been no official Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons since 1821, but in 1830 the Whigs selected Viscount Althorp
to fill the vacancy.
In Irish politics, Daniel O'Connell
and his Catholic Association
had succeeded in obtaining Catholic Emancipation
in 1829. However this measure was accompanied with an increase in the property qualification for Irish county voters, from a £2 freehold to a £20 one. For the first time since the penal laws were enacted in the seventeenth century Catholics in Ireland could serve in Parliament. With emancipation achieved, Daniel O'Connell was free to pursue his other aim with a campaign for repeal of the Act of Union.
fixed the election timetable for the particular constituency or constituencies he was concerned with. Polling in seats with contested elections could continue for many days.
The general election took place between the first contest on 29 July and the last contest on 1 September 1830.
Monmouthshire
(1 County constituency with 2 MPs and one single member Borough constituency) is included in Wales in these tables. Sources for this period may include the county in England.
Table 1: Constituencies and MPs, by type and country
Table 2: Number of seats per constituency, by type and country
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
and produced the first parliament of the reign of his successor, William IV
William IV of the United Kingdom
William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...
. Fought in the aftermath of the Swing Riots
Swing Riots
The Swing Riots were a widespread uprising by agricultural workers; it began with the destruction of threshing machines in the Elham Valley area of East Kent in the summer of 1830, and by early December had spread throughout the whole of southern England and East Anglia.As well as the attacks on...
, it saw electoral reform
Electoral reform
Electoral reform is change in electoral systems to improve how public desires are expressed in election results. That can include reforms of:...
become a major election issue. Polling took place in July and August and the Tories
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
won a majority over the Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
s, but division among Tory MPs allowed Earl Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, KG, PC , known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 22 November 1830 to 16 July 1834. A member of the Whig Party, he backed significant reform of the British government and was among the...
to form an effective government and take the question of electoral reform to the country the following year
United Kingdom general election, 1831
The 1831 general election in the United Kingdom saw a landslide win by supporters of electoral reform, which was the major election issue. As a result it was the last unreformed election, as the Parliament which resulted ensured the passage of the Reform Act 1832. Polling was held from 28 April to...
.
The eighth United Kingdom Parliament was dissolved on 24 July 1830. The new Parliament was summoned to meet on 14 September 1830, for a maximum seven year term from that date. The maximum term could be and normally was curtailed, by the monarch dissolving the Parliament, before its term expired. This election was the first since 1708 that caused the collapse of the government.
Political situation
The Tory leader, at the time of the 1830 election, was the Duke of WellingtonArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
. He had been Prime Minister since 1828.
The previous Parliament had been unstable, with both principal parties fractured. During the 1826-1830 Parliament, there had been four Tory Prime Ministers. The Earl of Liverpool
Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool
Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool KG PC was a British politician and the longest-serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since the Union with Ireland in 1801. He was 42 years old when he became premier in 1812 which made him younger than all of his successors to date...
, who had been Prime Minister since 1812, was forced by ill health to retire in 1827.
George Canning
George Canning
George Canning PC, FRS was a British statesman and politician who served as Foreign Secretary and briefly Prime Minister.-Early life: 1770–1793:...
, who had been Leader of the House of Commons under Liverpool, became Prime Minister in early 1827. The High Tories, led by the Duke of Wellington and Robert Peel, refused to serve in his government. Canning invited a section of the Whigs, including Lansdowne to join a coalition ministry with the Canningite
Canningite
Canningites was the name used for a faction of British Tories in the first decade of the 19th century through the 1820s who were led by George Canning. The Canningites were distinct within the Tory party because they favoured Catholic emancipation and freer trade.After the incapacity of Lord...
faction of the Tory Party. Other Whigs, like Earl Grey, remained in opposition. Some Whigs like Viscount Althorp adopted a neutral attitude to the government.
After Canning's death in August 1827, the premiership passed to the Viscount Goderich for a few more months, until Wellington took over on 22 January 1828. Those Whigs who had
been in both Canning's and Goderich's governments returned to the opposition .
For a short while a band of M.P.s and Peers who had been supporters of Canning (hence the Canningites) were in included in Wellington's government but left on the issue of the re-distribution of seats from the corrupt parliamentary borough of East Retford in May 1828.
There was a further split in the Tory administration in 1829 on the issue of Catholic emancipation when Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...
and his Catholic Association
Catholic Association
The Catholic Association was an Irish Roman Catholic political organisation set up by Daniel O'Connell in the early nineteenth century to campaign for Catholic emancipation within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was one of the first mass-membership political movements in...
won a parliamentary seat. Legally barred from taking his seat in the House of Commons because he was a catholic, Wellington's government was forced to bring about a change but led to another split in their party - this time with the creation of the 'Ultra-Tory' group led by M.P. Edward Knatchbull and supported by a number of influential peers in the House of Lords.
Ministry of All the Talents
The Ministry of All the Talents was a national unity government formed by William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville on his appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 11 February 1806 after the death of William Pitt the Younger...
in 1806-1807. The Whig Party had had weak leadership, particularly in the House of Commons, for many years. However during the 1826-1830 Parliament the situation improved.
At the time of the general election, the Earl Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, KG, PC , known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 22 November 1830 to 16 July 1834. A member of the Whig Party, he backed significant reform of the British government and was among the...
was the leading figure amongst the Whig peers. However Grey had given up the formal leadership in 1824. The Marquess of Lansdowne
Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne KG, PC, FRS , known as Lord Henry Petty from 1784 to 1809 and then as The Earl of Kerry to 1818, was a British statesman...
was acting as leader, but had not taken up the title. The animosity which King George IV had to Earl Grey had barred him from government, but in the new reign his chances of office had improved.
There had been no official Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons since 1821, but in 1830 the Whigs selected Viscount Althorp
John Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer
John Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer PC, FRS , styled Viscount Althorp from 1783 to 1834, was a British statesman...
to fill the vacancy.
In Irish politics, Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...
and his Catholic Association
Catholic Association
The Catholic Association was an Irish Roman Catholic political organisation set up by Daniel O'Connell in the early nineteenth century to campaign for Catholic emancipation within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was one of the first mass-membership political movements in...
had succeeded in obtaining Catholic Emancipation
Catholic Emancipation
Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the penal laws...
in 1829. However this measure was accompanied with an increase in the property qualification for Irish county voters, from a £2 freehold to a £20 one. For the first time since the penal laws were enacted in the seventeenth century Catholics in Ireland could serve in Parliament. With emancipation achieved, Daniel O'Connell was free to pursue his other aim with a campaign for repeal of the Act of Union.
Dates of election
At this period there was not one election day. After receiving a writ (a royal command) for the election to be held, the local returning officerReturning Officer
In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies.-Australia:In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a State Electoral Commission who heads the local divisional office...
fixed the election timetable for the particular constituency or constituencies he was concerned with. Polling in seats with contested elections could continue for many days.
The general election took place between the first contest on 29 July and the last contest on 1 September 1830.
Summary of the constituencies
Key to categories in the following tables: BC - Borough/Burgh constituencies, CC - County constituencies, UC - University constituencies, Total C - Total constituencies, BMP - Borough/Burgh Members of Parliament, CMP - County Members of Parliament, UMP - University Members of Parliament.Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire (historic)
Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
(1 County constituency with 2 MPs and one single member Borough constituency) is included in Wales in these tables. Sources for this period may include the county in England.
Table 1: Constituencies and MPs, by type and country
| Country | BC | CC | UC | Total C | BMP | CMP | UMP | Total MPs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 201 | 39 | 2 | 242 | 402 | 80 | 4 | 486 |
| Wales | 13 | 13 | 0 | 26 | 13 | 14 | 0 | 27 |
| Scotland | 15 | 30 | 0 | 45 | 15 | 30 | 0 | 45 |
| Ireland | 33 | 32 | 1 | 66 | 35 | 64 | 1 | 100 |
| Total | 262 | 114 | 3 | 379 | 465 | 178 | 5 | 658 |
Table 2: Number of seats per constituency, by type and country
| Country | BCx1 | BCx2 | BCx4 | CCx1 | CCx2 | CCx4 | UCx1 | UCx2 | Total C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 4 | 195 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 242 |
| Wales | 13 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
| Scotland | 15 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 |
| Ireland | 31 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 66 |
| Total | 63 | 197 | 2 | 42 | 71 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 379 |