# 1841 United Kingdom general election

The 1841 United Kingdom general election was held between 29 June and 22 July 1841. Following increasing government defeats, the Conservatives under Sir Robert Peel won a decisive victory against the governing Whigs.
The Conservatives campaigned mainly on an 11-point programme modified from their previous electoral effort and designed by Peel, whilst the Whigs emphasised reforming the import duties on corn, replacing the existing sliding scale with a uniform rate. The Whig position lost them support amongst protectionists, and the Whigs saw heavy losses in constituencies like the West Riding, where aristocratic Whig families who held a strong tradition of unbroken representation in Parliament were rejected by the electorate.
O'Connell, who had been governing with the Whigs through a compact, felt the government's unpopularity rub off on him. His own party was shattered in the election. Barely a dozen Repealers retained their seats, and O'Connell himself lost in Dublin while his son was defeated in Carlow. The Chartists picked up only a few votes.

## Results

UK General Election 1841 :
| Party | Party | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Votes | Votes | Votes |
| Party | Party | Stood | Elected | Gained | Unseated | Net | % of total | % | No. | Net % |
| | Conservative | 498 | 367 | | | +53 | 55.78 | 51.62 | 306,314 | +2.6 |
| | Whig | 388 | 271 | | | −73 | 41.19 | 46.15 | 273,902 | −4.8 |
| | Irish Repeal | 22 | 20 | 20 | 0 | +20 | 3.04 | 2.11 | 12,537 | N/A |
| | Chartist | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.12 | 692 | N/A |

### Voting summary

Popular vote
Conservative
51.62%
Whig
46.15%
Irish Repeal
2.11%
Chartist
0.12% :

### Seats summary

Parliamentary seats
Conservative
55.78%
Whig
41.19%
Irish Repeal
3.04% :

### Regional results
#### Great Britain

| Party | Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change |
| | Conservative | 439 | 185 | 326 | +42 | 286,650 | 52.7 | +4.5 |
| | Whig | 333 | 83 | 229 | −42 | 256,774 | 47.2 | −4.6 |
| | Chartist | 8 | 0 | 0 | | 692 | 0.1 | |
| Total | Total | 780 | 268 | 555 | | 544,116 | 100 | |

##### England

| Party | Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | 374 | 147 | 277 | 272,755 | 53.1 |
| | Whig | 277 | 62 | 187 | 236,813 | 46.8 |
| | Chartist | 4 | 0 | 0 | 307 | 0.1 |
| Total | Total | 655 | 209 | 464 | 509,875 | 100 |

##### Scotland

| Party | Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % |
| | Whig | 40 | 13 | 31 | -2 | 16,356 | 60.8 |
| | Conservative | 35 | 16 | 22 | +2 | 9,793 | 38.3 |
| | Chartist | 3 | 0 | 0 | | 385 | 0.9 |
| Total | Total | 78 | 29 | 53 | | 26,534 | 100 |

##### Wales

| Party | Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | 24 | 16 | 21 | 4,102 | 53.2 |
| | Whig | 16 | 8 | 11 | 3,605 | 46.8 |
| | Chartist | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Total | Total | 41 | 24 | 32 | 7,707 | 100 |

#### Ireland

| Party | Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Votes | % |
| | Whig | 55 | 30 | 42 | 17,128 | 35.1 |
| | Irish Conservative | 59 | 27 | 41 | 19,664 | 40.1 |
| | Irish Repeal | 22 | 12 | 20 | 12,537 | 24.8 |
| Total | Total | 136 | 69 | 103 | 49,329 | 100 |

#### Universities

| Party | Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change |
| | Conservative | 6 | 6 | 6 | | Uncontested | Uncontested | |
| Total | Total | 6 | 6 | 6 | | Uncontested | Uncontested | |

## Notable Whig MPs who lost their seats

* Viscount Morpeth, Chief Secretary for Ireland
* Sir George Strickland, Bt
* Sir Henry Barron, 1st Baronet