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The 1852 UK general election was very close, Lord John Russell's Whigs again winning the popular vote, but once again Conservative candidates won a very slight majority. Again the split between Protectionist Tories, led by the Earl of Derby and the Peelites made the formation of a majority government very difficult. Lord Derby's minority Protectionist government soon collapsed, bringing about a Peelite-Whig coalition government under Lord Aberdeen, one of the leading Peelites, which collapsed during the Crimean War.
[edit] Results
| UK General Election 1852 |
| Party |
Seats |
Gains |
Losses |
Net Gain/Loss |
Seats % |
Votes % |
Votes |
+/- |
| |
Whig |
324 |
|
|
+ 32 |
|
57.9 |
430,882 |
+ 4.1 |
| |
Conservative |
330 |
|
|
+ 5 |
|
41.9 |
311,481 |
- 0.5 |
| |
Chartist |
0 |
0 |
1 |
- 1 |
|
0.2 |
1,541 |
+ 0.1 |
Note that while the Conservatives had, in theory, a slim majority over the Whigs, the party was divided between protectionist and Peelite wings, of which the former numbered about 290 and the latter 35-40. The Whigs themselves represented a coalition of Whigs, Liberals, Radicals, and Irish nationalists. The above numbers are therefore highly misleading.
[edit] References
