British General Election January 1910

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January 1910Dec 1910 →

(in %)

 %

50

40

30th

20th

10

0

46.8

43.5

7.0

1.2

1.5

Tories

Liberals

Labor

IP

Otherwise.

Gains and losses

compared to 1906

 % p

   4th

   2

   0

  -2

  -4

  -6

+3.4

-5.4

+2.2

+0.6

-0.8

Tories

Liberals

Labor

IP

Otherwise.

40

274

71

13

272

40 274 71 13 272 

A total of 670 seats

• Labor : 40
• Liberals : 274
• IP : 71
• Otherwise: 13
• Tories : 272

The British general election in January 1910 took place from 15 January to 10 February 1910 to the Members of the House of Commons to determine new (House of Commons).

background

Chancellor of the Exchequer Herbert Henry Asquith had taken over the presidency of the Liberals and the office of Prime Minister in 1908 from the sick Henry Campbell-Bannerman . In 1909, Asquith submitted a budget that provided for higher spending on social benefits for which both direct and indirect taxes should be increased. The budget was approved by the House of Commons on November 9, but prevented by a veto by the House of Lords on November 30. In order to break this blockade, the Asquith government hoped to get a clear mandate for its budget through a new election.

Electoral system and parties

Voting was based on the majority voting system, there was no threshold clause . A total of 1,315 candidates competed, 75 of whom were unopposed. Most of them, 55, ran for the Irish Parliamentary Party , 19 for the Conservatives and Liberal Unionists and one candidate for the Liberals.

Outcome of the election

The election resulted in a hung parliament with a stalemate between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party. Asquith then formed a government with the support of the Irish Parliamentary Party . The blockade of the budget by the House of Lords could not be overcome and so Asquith asked King George V in November 1910 for the House of Commons to be dissolved and new elections in December .

Election result

Constituency results

A total of 7,694,741 people were eligible to vote; the turnout was 86.8%.

Political party		be right			Seats
		number	%	+/-	number	+/-
	Conservative Party and Liberal Unionists	2,919,236	46.8	+3.4	272	+116
	Liberal party	2,712,511	43.5	−5.4	274	−123
	Labor Party	435.770	7.0	+2.1	40	+11
	Irish Parliamentary Party	74,047	1.2	+0.6	71	−11
	All-for-Ireland League	23,605	0.4	+0.4	8th	+8
	Independent nationalists	16,533	0.3	+0.3	3	+2
	Social Democratic Federation	13,479	0.2	−0.1	0	± 0
	Independent Conservatives	11,772	0.2	−0.1	1	± 0
	Free traders	11,553	0.2	+0.2	0	± 0
	Independent Labor	9,936	0.1	± 0.0	0	± 0
	Independent liberals	5,237	0.1	+0.1	1	+1
	Scottish Prohibition Party	756	0.0	± 0.0	0	± 0
	Independent	57	0.0		0
	total	6,234,435	100.0		670
Source:

See also

• United Kingdom Political System

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} General Election Results 1885-1979 United Kingdom Election Results (English)