1895 United Kingdom general election facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
1895 United Kingdom general election

← 1892 13 July – 7 August 1895 (1895-07-13 – 1895-08-07) 1900 →
← List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1892 List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1895 →
All 670 seats in the House of Commons 336 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	78.4%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Marquess of Salisbury Earl of Rosebery John Dillon Party Conservative and Liberal Unionist Liberal Irish National Federation Leader since April 1881 5 March 1894 1892 Leader's seat East Mayo Last election 313 seats, 47.0% 272 seats, 45.4% 72 seats, 5.2% Seats won 411 177 70 Seat change 97 94 2 Popular vote 1,759,484 1,628,405 92,556 Percentage 49.3% 45.6% 2.6% Swing 2.3% 0.2% 2.6%
Colours denote the winning party
Prime Minister before election Marquess of Salisbury Conservative Prime Minister after election Marquess of Salisbury Conservative

The 1895 United Kingdom general election was held from 13 July to 7 August 1895.

William Gladstone had retired as Prime Minister the previous year, and Queen Victoria, disregarding Gladstone's advice to name Lord Spencer as his successor, appointed the Earl of Rosebery as the new Prime Minister. Rosebery's government found itself largely in a state of paralysis due to a power struggle between him and William Harcourt, the Liberal leader in the Commons. The situation came to a head on 21 June, when Parliament voted to dismiss Secretary of State for War Henry Campbell-Bannerman; Rosebery, realising that the government would likely not survive a motion of no confidence were one to be brought, promptly resigned as Prime Minister. Conservative leader Lord Salisbury was subsequently re-appointed for a third spell as Prime Minister, and promptly called a new election.

The election was won by the Conservatives, who continued their alliance with the Liberal Unionist Party and won a large majority. The Liberals, in contrast, went down to what at the time was their worst result since the party's foundation, winning just 177 seats. The Irish Parliamentary Party was split at this time; most of its MPs (the "Anti-Parnellites") followed John Dillon, while a rump (the "Parnellites") followed John Redmond. The Independent Labour Party, having only previously existed as a loose grouping of left-wing politicians, formally organized into a party led by Keir Hardie in 1893 and contested their first election. They earned relatively little attention at this election, winning slightly less than one per cent of the popular vote and no seats, but would enjoy greater success five years later, when they ran under the banner of the Labour Representation Committee.

Results

Voting summary

Seats summary

See also

• List of MPs elected in the 1895 United Kingdom general election
• Parliamentary franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918
• 1895 United Kingdom general election in Ireland