Seats summary

Parties and leaders at 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...

 had been Prime Minister since 22 November 1830. His was the first predominantly Whig administration since the Ministry of all the Talents

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.

In addition to the Whigs themselves Grey was supported by Radical and other allied politicians. The Whigs and their allies were gradually coming to be referred to as Liberals, but no formal Liberal Party

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 had been established at the time of this election, so all the politicians supporting the ministry are referred to as Whig in the above results.

The government Leader of the House of Commons

Leader of the House of Commons

The Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons...

 since 1830, was 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...

 (the heir of the Earl Spencer), who also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer

Chancellor of the Exchequer

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...

.

The last Tory Prime Minister, at the time of the 1832 election, was the Duke of Wellington

Arthur 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...

. After leaving government office, Wellington continued to lead the Tory peers and was the overall Leader of the Opposition.

The Tory Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons, was Sir Robert Peel, Bt

Robert Peel

Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...

.

John Wilson Croker

John Wilson Croker

John Wilson Croker was an Irish statesman and author.He was born at Galway, the only son of John Croker, the surveyor-general of customs and excise in Ireland. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where he graduated in 1800...

 had used the term conservative in 1830, but the Tories at the time of this general election had not yet become generally known as the Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

.

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...

 was continuing his campaign for repeal of the Act of Union. He had founded the Irish Repeal Association

Repeal Association

The Repeal Association was an Irish mass membership political movement set up by Daniel O'Connell to campaign for a repeal of the Act of Union of 1800 between Great Britain and Ireland....

 and it presented candidates independent of the two principal parties.

Dates of election

Following the passage of the Reform Act 1832 and related legislation to reform the electoral system and redistribute constituencies, the tenth United Kingdom Parliament

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 was dissolved on 3 December 1832. The new Parliament was summoned to meet on 29 January 1833, 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.

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 officer

Returning 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 December 1832 and January 1833. The first nomination was on 8 December, with the first contest on 10 December and the last contest on 8 January 1833. It was usual for polling in the University constituencies and in Orkney and Shetland

Orkney and Shetland (UK Parliament constituency)

Orkney and Shetland is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...

 to take place about a week after other seats. Disregarding contests in the Universities and Orkney and Shetland, the last poll was on 1 January 1833.

Summary of the constituencies

For the distribution of constituencies in the Unreformed House of Commons

Unreformed House of Commons

The unreformed House of Commons is the name generally given to the British House of Commons as it existed before the Reform Act 1832.Until the Act of Union of 1707 joining the Kingdoms of Scotland and England , Scotland had its own Parliament, and the term refers to the House of Commons of England...

, before this general election, see the United Kingdom general election, 1831

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...

. Apart from the disenfranchisement of Grampound

Grampound (UK Parliament constituency)

Grampound in Cornwall, was a borough constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1821. It was represented by two Members of Parliament.-History:Grampound's...

 for corruption in 1821 and the transfer of its two seats as additional members for Yorkshire

Yorkshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Yorkshire was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from 1290, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...

 from 1826, there had been no change in the constituencies of England since the 1670s. In some cases the county and borough seats had remained unaltered since the thirteenth century. Welsh constituencies had been unchanged since the sixteenth century. Those in Scotland had remained the same since 1708 and in Ireland since 1801.

In 1832 politicians were facing an unfamiliar electoral map, as well as an electorate including those qualified under a new uniform householder franchise in the boroughs. However the reform legislation had not removed all the anomalies in the electoral system.

Table of Largest and Smallest Electorates 1832, by country, type and number of seats

Country	Type	Seats	Largest Constituency	Largest Electorate	Smallest Constituency	Smallest Electorate
England	Borough	1	Salford Salford (UK Parliament constituency) Salford was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. The borough constituency dated from 1997 and was abolished in 2010.A parliamentary borough of the same...	1,497	Reigate Reigate (UK Parliament constituency) Reigate is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...	153
		2	Westminster Westminster (UK Parliament constituency) Westminster was a parliamentary constituency in the Parliament of England to 1707, the Parliament of Great Britain 1707-1800 and the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801. It returned two members to 1885 and one thereafter....	11,576	Thetford Thetford (UK Parliament constituency) Thetford was a constituency of the British House of Commons. It elected two Members of Parliament by the bloc vote system of election until it was disenfranchised in 1868...	146
		4	City of London City of London (UK Parliament constituency) The City of London was a United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950.-Boundaries and boundary...	18,584	...	...
	County	1	Isle of Wight Isle of Wight (UK Parliament constituency) Isle of Wight is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Created by the Great Reform Act for the 1832 general election, it covers the whole of the Isle of Wight and elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system.-...	1,167	...	...
		2	West Riding of Yorkshire West Riding of Yorkshire (UK Parliament constituency) West Riding of Yorkshire was a parliamentary constituency in England from 1832 to 1865. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-Boundaries and History:...	18,056	Rutland Rutland (UK Parliament constituency) Rutland was a parliamentary constituency covering the county of Rutland. It was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1918, when it became part of the Rutland and Stamford constituency, along with Stamford in Lincolnshire...	1,296
		3	Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency) Cambridgeshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represented by two Knights...	6,435	Oxfordshire Oxfordshire (UK Parliament constituency) Oxfordshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represented by two Members of Parliament. In 1832 this was increased to three...	4,721
	University	2	Oxford University Oxford University (UK Parliament constituency) Oxford University was a university constituency electing two members to the British House of Commons, from 1603 to 1950.-Boundaries, Electorate and Electoral System:...	2,496	Cambridge University Cambridge University (UK Parliament constituency) Cambridge University was a university constituency electing two members to the British House of Commons, from 1603 to 1950.-Boundaries, Electorate and Election Systems:...	2,319
Wales	Borough	1	Flint Boroughs Flint Boroughs (UK Parliament constituency) Flint Boroughs was a parliamentary constituency in north-east Wales which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and its predecessors, from 1542 until it was abolished for the 1918 general election.-Boundaries:From its first known general...	1,359	Brecon Brecon (UK Parliament constituency) Brecon was a parliamentary constituency in Wales which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and its predecessors, from 1542 until it was abolished for the 1885 general election.-Boundaries:...	242
	County	1	Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire (UK Parliament constituency) Pembrokeshire was a parliamentary constituency based on the county of Pembrokeshire in Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.- History :...	3,700	Merionethshire	580
		2	Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (UK Parliament constituency) Carmarthenshire was a parliamentary constituency in Wales which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until its representation was increased to two members for the 1832 general election....	3,887	Denbighshire Denbighshire (UK Parliament constituency) Denbighshire was a county constituency in Denbighshire, in north Wales, from 1542 to 1885.- History :From 1542, it returned one Member of Parliament , traditionally known as the knight of the shire, to the House of Commons of the Parliament of England until 1707, then to the Parliament of Great...	3,401
Scotland	Burgh	1	Aberdeen Aberdeen (UK Parliament constituency) Aberdeen was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 until 1885. It was represented by one Member of Parliament , elected by the first past the post voting system.- 1832 to 1868 :...	2,024	Wigtown Burghs	316
		2	Glasgow Glasgow (UK Parliament constituency) Glasgow was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1885. It returned two Member of Parliament until 1868, and then three from 1868 to 1885...	6,989	Edinburgh Edinburgh (UK Parliament constituency) Edinburgh was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1885. Originally a single member constituency, representation was increased to two members in 1832...	6,048
	County	1	Perthshire Perthshire (UK Parliament constituency) Perthshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1885, representing a seat for one Member of Parliament .-Boundaries:...	3,180	Sutherland Sutherland (UK Parliament constituency) Sutherland was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918. It represented essentially the traditional county of Sutherland, electing one Member of Parliament...	84
Ireland	Borough	1	Carrickfergus Carrickfergus (UK Parliament constituency) Carrickfergus is a 19th century United Kingdom Parliament constituency, in Northern Ireland, represented, between 1801 and 1885, by one MP.-Boundaries:This constituency was the Parliamentary borough of Carrickfergus in County Antrim....	1,024	Lisburn Lisburn (UK Parliament constituency) Lisburn was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency, in Ireland, returning one MP. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.-Boundaries:...	91
		2	Dublin Dublin City (UK Parliament constituency) Dublin City was an Irish Borough constituency in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It comprised the city of Dublin in the county of Dublin, and was represented by two Members of Parliament from its creation in 1801 until 1885.In 1885, Dublin City was split...	7,008	Waterford Waterford City (UK Parliament constituency) Waterford City was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency, in Ireland.-Boundaries and boundary changes:This constituency was the Parliamentary borough of Waterford in County Waterford.It returned one MP 1801–1832, two MPs 1832–1885 and one 1885–1922...	1,241
	County	2	County Cork Cork County (UK Parliament constituency) Cork County was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1801 to 1885 it returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland....	3,835	County Kildare Kildare (UK Parliament constituency) A former UK Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning two Members of Parliament.-Members of Parliament:-References:*The Parliaments of England by Henry Stooks Smith , 2nd edition edited by F.W.S. Craig *Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922, edited by B.M...	1,112
	University	2	Dublin University	2,073	...	...

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	186	68	2	256	322	142	4	468
Wales	15	13	0	28	15	17	0	32
Scotland	21	30	0	51	23	30	0	53
Ireland	33	32	1	66	39	64	2	105
Total	255	143	3	401	399	253	6	658

Table 2: Number of seats per constituency, by type and country

Country	BCx1	BCx2	BCx4	CCx1	CCx2	CCx3	UCx2	Total C
England	52	133	1	1	60	7	2	256
Wales	15	0	0	9	4	0	0	28
Scotland	19	2	0	30	0	0	0	51
Ireland	27	6	0	0	32	0	1	66
Total	113	141	1	40	96	7	3	401