British General Election 1918

← Dec 1910General election
19181922 →

(in %)

 %

40

30th

20th

10

0

38.4

25.6

21.2

4.6

10.2

Tories

Liberals

Labor

SF

Otherwise.

Gains and losses

compared to Dec. 1910

 % p

 16

 14th

 12

 10

   8th

   6th

   4th

   2

   0

  -2

  -4

  -6

  -8th

-10

-12

-14

-16

-18

-8.2

-17.6

+14.9

+4.6

+6.3

Tories

Liberals

Labor

SF

Otherwise.

61

163

73

7th

24

379

61 163 73 7th 24 379 

A total of 707 seats

• Labor : 61
• Liberals : 163
• SF : 73
• IP : 7
• Others: 24
• Tories : 379

Distribution of seats in the lower house (according to coalition membership)

4th

57

127

9

1

36

21st

73

47

332

4th 57 127 9 1 36 21st 73 47 332 

A total of 707 seats

• Labor Coalition : 4
• Non-Coalition Labor : 57
• Coalition Liberal : 127
• Coalition NDP : 9
• Coalition Independents : 1
• Non-Coalition Liberal : 36
• Otherwise: 21
• SF : 73
• Non-Coalition Conservative : 47
• Coalition Conservative : 332

The British general election in 1918 was held on 14 December 1918, to the Members of the House of Commons to determine new (House of Commons). A coalition recommended by the previous Lloyd George government, especially around the Conservative Party and parts of the Liberal Party , received 47.1% of the votes and 473 of the 707 seats in the lower house.

background

The last general election took place in December 1910 , the legislative period was extended because of the First World War . In November 1918 it was decided to dissolve the House of Commons on November 25th and to re-elect it on December 14th, 1918.

Electoral system and parties

Voting was based on the majority voting system, there was no threshold clause . For the first time, all men over the age of 21 were entitled to vote regardless of income and assets, and women were also allowed to vote with a minimum age of 30. The number of those entitled to vote rose so sharply.

In the summer of 1918, Prime Ministers agreed David Lloyd George ( Liberal Party ) and the leader of the Conservative Party , Andrew Bonar Law , on a list of MPs who should receive a letter of recommendation to the government for election at the next election. These letters, also known as the Coalition Coupon , received 159 Liberal Party candidates, 364 Conservative candidates, 20 National Democratic and Labor Party candidates and 2 Labor Party candidates .

In the case of the Liberal Party, this was an expression of the split into MPs who followed Prime Minister Lloyd George and those who stood behind the actual party leader and Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith , who resigned in 1916 . In the next election in 1922 , both wings then ran as independent parties. Of the 80 Conservative candidates who had not received a coupon, only 23 ran against a candidate with a coupon, 35 ran as Unionists in Ireland and 22 in constituencies without a coupon.

In Ireland, the Sinn Féin party stood up for the first time , advocating national self-determination for the Irish.

Outcome of the election

Due to the large number of votes cast by soldiers, the election was not counted until December 28, and the turnout was 57.2%. The coalition won a two-thirds majority of the seats, with the Conservative candidates doing particularly well. Although they had more MPs than the Liberals, Lloyd George remained Prime Minister.

With the Liberals, the wing around Asquith lost much of its importance and most of the seats, even Asquith could not win a mandate. Conservative MPs who won their seats without a coupon still generally voted with the government. The Labor Party was able to increase its share of the vote significantly, but received comparatively few mandates due to the majority vote.

Sinn Féin won 70% of the seats awarded in Ireland, despite a large number of candidates in prison at the time of the election. The MPs did not take up their mandates, however, but merged to form the Dáil Éireann . The first meeting of the Dáil on January 21, 1919 also marked the beginning of the Irish War of Independence .

With Constance Markiewicz woman was first elected to the House; like the other Sinn Féin MPs, she did not take up her mandate.

Election result

Constituency results map

Political party		be right			Seats
		number	%	+/-	number	+/-
	Conservative party	4,003,848	38.4	−8.2	379	+108
	Coalition Conservative	3,393,167	32.5		332
	Non-Coalition Conservative	610,681	5.9		47
	Liberal party	2,674,242	25.6	−17.6	163	−109
	Coalition Liberal	1,318,844	12.6		127
	Non-Coalition Liberal	1,355,398	13.0		36
	Labor Party	2,211,871	21.2	+14.9	61	+19
	Coalition Labor	40,641	0.4		4th
	Non-Coalition Labor	2,171,230	20.8		57
	Sinn Féin	476.458	4.6	+4.6	73	+73
	Irish Parliamentary Party	226,498	2.2	+0.3	7th	−67
	National Democratic and Labor Party	174,825	1.7	+1.7	9	+9
	Coalition National Democratic and Labor	156.834	1.5		9
	Non-Coalition National Democratic and Labor	17,991	0.2		0
	Independent Labor	116,322	1.1	+1.0	2	+2
	Independent	114,535	1.1	+1.1	3	+3
	Coalition Independents	9,274	0.1		1
	Non-Coalition Independents	105.261	1.0		2
	National Party	94,389	0.9	+0.9	2	+2
	Independent NFDSS / NADSS	66,451	0.6	+0.6	1	+1
	Co-operative party	57,785	0.6	+0.6	1	+1
	Independent Conservative	44,637	0.4	+0.3	1	± 0
	Ulster Unionist Labor Association	30,304	0.3	+0.3	3	+3
	Independent liberal	24,985	0.2	+0.2	0	± 0
	Agriculturalist	19,412	0.2	+0.2	0	± 0
	NFDSS	12,329	0.1	+0.1	0	± 0
	Belfast Labor Party	12.164	0.1	+0.1	0	± 0
	National Socialist Party	11.013	0.1	+0.1	1	+1
	Highland Land League	8,710	0.1	+0.1	0	± 0
	Women's party	8,614	0.1	+0.1	0	± 0
	British Socialist Party	8,394	0.1	+0.1	0	± 0
	Independent Democratic	8,351	0.1	+0.1	0	± 0
	Independent nationalist	8,183	0.1	+0.1	0	± 0
	Socialist Labor Party	7,567	0.1	+0.1	0	± 0
	Scottish Prohibition Party	5,212	0.0	± 0	0	± 0
	Independent progressives	5,077	0.0	± 0	0	± 0
	Independent Labor and Agriculturalist	1,972	0.0	± 0	0	± 0
	Christian socialist	597	0.0	± 0	0	± 0
	total	10,434,700	100.0		707
	Coalition	4,918,760	47.1		473
	Non-coalition	5,515,940	52.9		234
Source:

See also

• United Kingdom Political System

Individual evidence

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