# 1847 United Kingdom general election

The 1847 United Kingdom general election was held from 29 July to 26 August 1847. It saw the Conservatives win the most seats but remain divided between Protectionists and Peelites. This allowed the Whigs, led by Prime Minister Lord John Russell, to retain power.
The Irish Repeal group won more seats than in the previous general election, while the Chartists gained the only seat they were ever to hold, Nottingham's second seat, held by Chartist leader Feargus O'Connor.
The election also witnessed the election of Britain's first Jewish MP, the Liberal Lionel de Rothschild in the City of London. Members being sworn in were however required to swear the Christian Oath of Allegiance, meaning Rothschild was unable actually to take his seat until the passage of the Jews Relief Act in 1858. The constituency of Sudbury, which elected two members, was disfranchised for this election. This accounts there being two fewer seats in the House of Commons as compared to the previous election, though no redistribution took place.

## Results

UK General Election 1847 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Whig | 292 | | | +21 | 44.51 | 53.75 | 259,311 | +6.9 |
| Conservative | 325 | | | −42 | 49.54 | 42.59 | 205,481 | −8.2 |
| Irish Repeal | 36 | | | +16 | 5.49 | 2.93 | 14,128 | +1.0 |
| Chartist | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 0.15 | 0.59 | 2,848 | 0 |
| Irish Confederation | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 0.30 | 0.14 | 661 | N/A |

### Voting summary

Popular vote
Whig
53.75%
Conservative
42.59%
Irish Repeal
2.93%
Chartist
0.59%
Others
0.14% :

### Seats summary

Parliamentary seats
Whig
44.51%
Conservative
49.54%
Irish Repeal
5.49%
Chartist
0.15%
Others
0.3% :

### Regional results
#### Great Britain

| Party | Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % |
| | Conservative & Liberal Conservatives | 373 | 180 | 285 | | 194,223 | 43.1 |
| | Whig | 360 | 125 | 267 | | 253,376 | 56.2 |
| | Chartist | 9 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 2,848 | 0.6 |
| Total | Total | 742 | 305 | 553 | | 450,447 | 100 |

##### England

| Party | Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % |
| | Conservative & Liberal Conservatives | 319 | 149 | 239 | | 170,407 | 42.1 |
| | Whig | 297 | 92 | 222 | | 230,656 | 57.2 |
| | Chartist | 9 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 2,848 | 0.7 |
| Total | Total | 625 | 241 | 462 | | 403,911 | 100 |

##### Scotland

| Party | Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change |
| | Whig | 48 | 21 | 33 | +2 | 20,092 | 81.7 | +20.9 |
| | Conservative & Liberal Conservatives | 23 | 16 | 20 | −2 | 3,509 | 18.3 | −20.0 |
| Total | Total | 71 | 37 | 53 | | 23,601 | 100 | |

##### Wales

| Party | Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Votes | % |
| | Conservative & Liberal Conservatives | 22 | 15 | 20 | 11,114 | 89.5 |
| | Whig | 13 | 12 | 12 | 1,394 | 10.5 |
| Total | Total | 35 | 27 | 32 | 12,508 | 100 |

#### Ireland

| Party | Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change |
| | Irish Conservative | 38 | 24 | 29 | −1 | 10,294 | 31.0 | −6.1 |
| | Peelite | 11 | 9 | 11 | −1 | 964 | 3.0 | −6.1 |
| | Irish Repeal | 51 | 18 | 36 | | 14,128 | 43.6 | |
| | Whig | 33 | 11 | 25 | | 5,935 | 20.2 | |
| | Irish Confederate | 3 | 0 | 2 | | 629 | 2.0 | |
| | independent politician | 1 | 0 | 0 | | 32 | 0.2 | |
| Total | Total | 137 | 62 | 103 | | 31,982 | 100 | |

#### Universities

| Party | Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Votes | % |
| | Conservative & Liberal Conservatives | 9 | 0 | 6 | 9,193 | 88.2 |
| | Whig | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1,234 | 11.8 |
| Total | Total | 11 | 0 | 6 | 10,427 | 100 |