1900 United Kingdom general election

1900 United Kingdom general election

26 September – 24 October 1900 (1900-09-26 – 1900-10-24)
All 670 seats in the House of Commons 336 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   160x160px Leader Marquess of Salisbury Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman Party Conservative and Liberal Unionist Liberal Leader since April 1881 December 1898 Leader's seat House of Lords Stirling Burghs Last election 411 seats, 49.3% 177 seats, 45.6% Seats won 402 183 Seat change 9 6 Popular vote 1,637,683 1,469,500 Percentage 50.2% 45.1% Swing 0.9% 0.5%   Third party Fourth party   160x160px 160x160px Leader John Redmond Keir Hardie Party Irish Parliamentary Labour Leader since 6 February 1900 28 February 1900 Leader's seat Waterford City Merthyr Tydfil Last election 82 seats, 3.9% Did not stand Seats won 76 2 Seat change 6 2 Popular vote 57,576 41,900 Percentage 1.8% 1.3% Swing 2.1% New party
330px Colours denote the winning party
Prime Minister before election Marquess of Salisbury Conservative Appointed Prime Minister Marquess of Salisbury Conservative

The 1900 United Kingdom general election was held between 26 September and 24 October 1900, following the dissolution of Parliament on 25 September. Also referred to as the Khaki Election (the first of several elections to bear this sobriquet), it was held at a time when it was widely believed that the Second Boer War had effectively been won (though in fact it was to continue for another two years).

The Conservative Party, led by Lord Salisbury with their Liberal Unionist allies, secured a large majority of 130 seats, despite securing only 5.6% more votes than Henry Campbell-Bannerman's Liberals. This was largely owing to the Conservatives winning 163 seats that were uncontested by others. The Labour Representation Committee, later to become the Labour Party, participated in a general election for the first time. However, it had only been in existence for a few months; as a result, Keir Hardie and Richard Bell were the only LRC Members of Parliament elected in 1900.

This was the first occasion when Winston Churchill was elected to the House of Commons. He had stood in the same seat, Oldham, at a by-election held the previous year, but had lost. It was also the final general election of the Victorian era and the 19th century.

Results

↓ 

402	183	76	9
Conservative & Lib. Unionist	Liberal	IPP

UK General Election 1900
Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative and Liberal Unionist	402	32	41	−9	60.1	50.2	1,637,683	+1.0
	Liberal	183	38	32	+6	27.4	45.1	1,469,500	−0.5
	Irish Parliamentary	76	2	8	−6	11.3	1.8	57,576	−0.8
	Labour	2	2	0	+2	0.3	1.3	41,900	N/A
	Independent Nationalist	6	6	0	+6	0.9	0.7	23,706
	Independent Conservative	0	0	0	0	0	0.4	13,713
	Independent Liberal	1	1	0	+1	0.1	0.2	6,423	+0.1
	Independent	0	0	0	0	0	0.2	4,800	+0.2
	Scottish Workers	0	0	0	0	0	0.1	3,107	N/A
	Ind. Liberal Unionist	0	0	0	0	0	0.1	1,855	N/A
	Independent Labour	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	433	+0.0

Total votes cast: 3,260,696.

Voting summary

Popular vote
Conservative and Liberal Unionist			50.3%
Liberal			44.7%
Labour			1.8%
Irish Parliamentary			1.6%
Independent			1.5%
Others			0.99%

Seats summary

Parliamentary seats
Conservative and Liberal Unionist			60%
Liberal			27.3%
Labour			0.3%
Irish Parliamentary			11.5%
Independent Nationalist			0.8%
Independent Liberal			0.2%

See also

• List of MPs elected in the 1900 United Kingdom general election
• Parliamentary franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918

External links

• Spartacus: Political Parties and Election Results
• United Kingdom election results—summary results 1885–1979

Manifestos

• 1900 Conservative manifesto
• 1900 Labour manifesto
• 1900 Liberal manifesto