1868 General Election

17 November – 7 December 1868 · The Mass Franchise · 658 seats, 330 for a majority

The first election under Disraeli's 1867 Reform Act, which had nearly doubled the electorate to include urban working men. Gladstone's Liberals won decisively on a promise to disestablish the Irish church.

Prime Minister before

Benjamin Disraeli

Conservative

Prime Minister after

William Gladstone

Liberal

Government formed

Liberal

Turnout

—

The result

Sort by

Liberal

William Gladstone · 61.2%

387

seats

Conservative

Benjamin Disraeli · 38.7%

271

seats

			Share of Commons
Liberal	William Gladstone	387		1,428,776	61.2%	+1.7
Conservative	Benjamin Disraeli	271		903,318	38.7%	-1.8

Before 1918, party labels were looser and many seats went uncontested, so vote totals and shares understate real support. Seat counts are the reliable measure.