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 a big event in British politics. It took place from July 13 to August 7, 1895. During this election, people across the United Kingdom voted for Members of Parliament (MPs) to represent them in the House of Commons. This election decided which political party would form the next government.

Why the Election Happened

The election happened because of changes in the government. The Prime Minister before this election was William Gladstone. He was a very famous leader, but he retired in 1894.

After Gladstone retired, Queen Victoria chose the Earl of Rosebery to be the new Prime Minister. However, Rosebery's government faced many challenges. There were disagreements between him and William Harcourt, who was a powerful leader in the Liberal Party.

These disagreements made it hard for the government to get things done. On June 21, Parliament voted against a decision made by the government. Because of this, Rosebery decided to resign as Prime Minister.

After Rosebery resigned, Lord Salisbury, the leader of the Conservative Party, became Prime Minister again. He then called for a new general election to let the public choose their leaders.

Election Results: Who Won?

A map showing the winning party in each area of the UK after the 1895 election.

The 1895 election was a big win for the Conservative Party. They worked together with the Liberal Unionist Party. This alliance won a large number of seats in Parliament.

The Liberal Party, led by Lord Rosebery, did not do well. They won only 177 seats, which was one of their worst results at that time.

There were also other important groups:

• The Irish Parliamentary Party was split into two main groups. Most of their MPs, called the "Anti-Parnellites," followed John Dillon. Another smaller group, the "Parnellites," followed John Redmond.
• The Independent Labour Party was a new political group. It was formally created in 1893 and this was its first election. Their leader was Keir Hardie. They didn't win any seats in 1895, but they became much more successful later on.

The election showed that many people wanted a change in leadership. Lord Salisbury and his allies formed the new government.

Voting Summary

This chart shows how many votes each main party received:

Seats Summary

This chart shows how many seats each main party won in Parliament:

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