United Kingdom general election, 1806
Encyclopedia
The United Kingdom general election, 1806 was the election of members to the 3rd Parliament of the United Kingdom
. This was the second general election to be held after the Union of Great Britain and Ireland.
The general election took place in a situation of considerable uncertainty about the future of British politics, following the death of William Pitt the younger
and the formation of the Ministry of all the Talents
.
The second United Kingdom Parliament was dissolved on 24 October 1806. The new Parliament was summoned to meet on 13 December 1806, for a maximum seven year term from that date. The maximum term could be and normally was curtailed, by the monarch dissolving the Parliament, before its term expired.
with France had resumed in 1803. Tory Prime Minister Henry Addington had resigned in 1804. William Pitt the Younger
formed a new coalition of pro-government Whig
and Tory politicians to prosecute the war.
The opposition Whigs, led by Charles James Fox
, continued to oppose the government. They were strengthened by a group of Pitt's former supporters (such as his cousin William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville
) who had aligned themselves with Fox in opposition to Addington after 1802 and who did not accompany Pitt and his other friends back to office in 1804.
When Pitt died on 23 January 1806 a new Ministry was formed by Grenville. It included Fox and Addington (now ennobled as the 1st Viscount Sidmouth) as well as other leading political figures of the day. However it did not include George Canning
, who had inherited the leadership of Pitt's faction in the House of Commons or the Duke of Portland
who led it in the House of Lords. This government was known as the Ministry of all the Talents
.
An attempt was made to end the Napoleonic Wars
by negotiation. As this hope failed the war continued. Grenville also tried to strengthen the government, but was unable to persuade the Pittites to join him either as a body or by detaching some leading figures. The Prime Minister was not prepared to exclude Fox and his friends as the Pittites wanted.
Lord Grenville then decided to hold a general election to strengthen his government. The King granted a dissolution.
The Talents were in office at the time of this election and continued after it, but the Ministry was weakened by the death of Fox on 13 September 1806. The election itself was a disappointment. In the eighteenth century a government with the King's backing could expect to make substantial gains at an election. However Pitt's economical reforms had weakened the ability of the Treasury to manipulate election results. Foord estimated that the Ministry only gained about thirty seats by the 1806 appeal to the country.
fixed the election timetable for the particular constituency or constituencies he was concerned with. Polling in seats with contested elections could continue for many days.
The time between the first and last contested elections was 29 October to 17 December 1806.
Monmouthshire
(1 County constituency with 2 MPs and one single member Borough constituency) is included in Wales in these tables. Sources for this period may include the county in England.
Table 1: Constituencies and MPs, by type and country
Table 2: Number of seats per constituency, by type and country
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. This was the second general election to be held after the Union of Great Britain and Ireland.
The general election took place in a situation of considerable uncertainty about the future of British politics, following the death of William Pitt the younger
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
and the formation of the Ministry of all the Talents
Ministry of All the Talents
The Ministry of All the Talents was a national unity government formed by William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville on his appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 11 February 1806 after the death of William Pitt the Younger...
.
The second United Kingdom Parliament was dissolved on 24 October 1806. The new Parliament was summoned to meet on 13 December 1806, for a maximum seven year term from that date. The maximum term could be and normally was curtailed, by the monarch dissolving the Parliament, before its term expired.
Political situation
Since the previous general election fighting in the Napoleonic WarsNapoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
with France had resumed in 1803. Tory Prime Minister Henry Addington had resigned in 1804. William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
formed a new coalition of pro-government Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
and Tory politicians to prosecute the war.
The opposition Whigs, led by Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox PC , styled The Honourable from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger...
, continued to oppose the government. They were strengthened by a group of Pitt's former supporters (such as his cousin William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville
William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville
William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville PC, PC was a British Whig statesman. He served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1806 to 1807 as head of the Ministry of All the Talents.-Background :...
) who had aligned themselves with Fox in opposition to Addington after 1802 and who did not accompany Pitt and his other friends back to office in 1804.
When Pitt died on 23 January 1806 a new Ministry was formed by Grenville. It included Fox and Addington (now ennobled as the 1st Viscount Sidmouth) as well as other leading political figures of the day. However it did not include George Canning
George Canning
George Canning PC, FRS was a British statesman and politician who served as Foreign Secretary and briefly Prime Minister.-Early life: 1770–1793:...
, who had inherited the leadership of Pitt's faction in the House of Commons or the Duke of Portland
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, KG, PC was a British Whig and Tory statesman, Chancellor of the University of Oxford and Prime Minister. He was known before 1762 by the courtesy title Marquess of Titchfield. He held a title of every degree of British nobility—Duke,...
who led it in the House of Lords. This government was known as the Ministry of all the Talents
Ministry of All the Talents
The Ministry of All the Talents was a national unity government formed by William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville on his appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 11 February 1806 after the death of William Pitt the Younger...
.
An attempt was made to end the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
by negotiation. As this hope failed the war continued. Grenville also tried to strengthen the government, but was unable to persuade the Pittites to join him either as a body or by detaching some leading figures. The Prime Minister was not prepared to exclude Fox and his friends as the Pittites wanted.
Lord Grenville then decided to hold a general election to strengthen his government. The King granted a dissolution.
The Talents were in office at the time of this election and continued after it, but the Ministry was weakened by the death of Fox on 13 September 1806. The election itself was a disappointment. In the eighteenth century a government with the King's backing could expect to make substantial gains at an election. However Pitt's economical reforms had weakened the ability of the Treasury to manipulate election results. Foord estimated that the Ministry only gained about thirty seats by the 1806 appeal to the country.
Dates of election
At this period there was not one election day. After receiving a writ (a royal command) for the election to be held, the local returning officerReturning Officer
In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies.-Australia:In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a State Electoral Commission who heads the local divisional office...
fixed the election timetable for the particular constituency or constituencies he was concerned with. Polling in seats with contested elections could continue for many days.
The time between the first and last contested elections was 29 October to 17 December 1806.
Summary of the constituencies
Key to categories in the following tables: BC - Borough/Burgh constituencies, CC - County constituencies, UC - University constituencies, Total C - Total constituencies, BMP - Borough/Burgh Members of Parliament, CMP - County Members of Parliament, UMP - University Members of Parliament.Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire (historic)
Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
(1 County constituency with 2 MPs and one single member Borough constituency) is included in Wales in these tables. Sources for this period may include the county in England.
Table 1: Constituencies and MPs, by type and country
| Country | BC | CC | UC | Total C | BMP | CMP | UMP | Total MPs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 202 | 39 | 2 | 243 | 404 | 78 | 4 | 486 |
| Wales | 13 | 13 | 0 | 26 | 13 | 14 | 0 | 27 |
| Scotland | 15 | 30 | 0 | 45 | 15 | 30 | 0 | 45 |
| Ireland | 33 | 32 | 1 | 66 | 35 | 64 | 1 | 100 |
| Total | 263 | 114 | 3 | 380 | 467 | 176 | 5 | 658 |
Table 2: Number of seats per constituency, by type and country
| Country | BCx1 | BCx2 | BCx4 | CCx1 | CCx2 | UCx1 | UCx2 | Total C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 4 | 196 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 2 | 243 |
| Wales | 13 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
| Scotland | 15 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 |
| Ireland | 31 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 66 |
| Total | 63 | 198 | 2 | 42 | 72 | 1 | 2 | 380 |
See also
- United Kingdom general electionsUnited Kingdom general electionsThis is a list of United Kingdom general elections since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801–1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliament of Ireland, before being co-opted to serve in the first Parliament of the United Kingdom, so that Parliament...
- MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1806
- Members of the 3rd UK Parliament from IrelandMembers of the 3rd UK Parliament from IrelandThis is a list of the MPs for Irish constituencies, who were elected at the United Kingdom general election, 1806, to serve as Members of the 3rd UK Parliament from Ireland, or who were elected at subsequent by-elections...