| Election Name: | 1847 United Kingdom general election |
| Country: | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1841 United Kingdom general election |
| Previous Year: | 1841 |
| Previous Mps: | outgoing members |
| Next Election: | 1852 United Kingdom general election |
| Next Year: | 1852 |
| Seats For Election: | All 656 seats in the House of Commons |
| Majority Seats: | 329 |
| Elected Mps: | elected members |
| Leader1: | Lord Stanley |
| Leader Since1: | July 1846 |
| Party1: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Leaders Seat1: | House of Lords |
| Last Election1: | 367 seats, 51.6% |
| Seats1: | 325[1] |
| Seat Change1: | 42 |
| Popular Vote1: | 205,481 |
| Percentage1: | 42.6% |
| Swing1: | 9.0% |
| Leader2: | Lord John Russell |
| Leader Since2: | October 1842 |
| Party2: | Whigs (British political party) |
| Leaders Seat2: | City of London |
| Last Election2: | 271 seats, 46.2% |
| Seats2: | 292 |
| Seat Change2: | 21 |
| Popular Vote2: | 259,311 |
| Percentage2: | 53.8% |
| Swing2: | 7.6% |
| Image3: | No image.svg |
| Leader3: | John O'Connell |
| Leader Since3: | 15 May 1847 |
| Party3: | Repeal Association |
| Leaders Seat3: | Limerick City |
| Last Election3: | 20 seats, 1.9% |
| Seats3: | 36 |
| Seat Change3: | 16 |
| Popular Vote3: | 14,128 |
| Percentage3: | 2.9% |
| Swing3: | 1.0% |
| Prime Minister | |
| Posttitle: | Prime Minister after election |
| Before Election: | Lord John Russell |
| Before Party: | Whigs (British political party) |
| After Election: | Lord John Russell |
| After Party: | Whigs (British political party) |
| Map2 Image: | File:1847 UK GE Composition diagram.svg |
| Map2 Caption: | Composition of the House of Commons after the election |
The 1847 United Kingdom general election was conducted between 29 July 1847 and 26 August 1847 and resulted in the Whigs in control of government despite candidates calling themselves Conservatives winning the most seats. The Conservatives were divided between Protectionists, led by Lord Stanley, and a minority of free-trade Tories, known also as Liberal Conservatives or the Peelites for their leader, former prime minister Sir Robert Peel. This left the Whigs, led by Prime Minister Lord John Russell, in a position to continue in government.[2]
The Irish Repeal group won more seats than in the previous general election, while the Chartists gained the only seat they were ever to hold, Nottingham's second seat, held by Chartist leader Feargus O'Connor.
The election also witnessed the election of Britain's first Jewish MP, the Liberal Lionel de Rothschild in the City of London. Members being sworn in were however required to swear the Christian Oath of Allegiance, meaning Rothschild was unable actually to take his seat until the passage of the Jews Relief Act in 1858. The constituency of Sudbury, which elected two members, was disfranchised for this election. This accounts there being two fewer seats in the House of Commons as compared to the previous election, though no redistribution took place.
|}
| Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| & Liberal Conservatives | 373 | 180 | 285 | 194,223 | 43.1 | ||||
| 360 | 125 | 267 | 253,376 | 56.2 | |||||
| Chartist | 9 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 2,848 | 0.6 | |||
| Total | 742 | 305 | 553 | 450,447 | 100 | ||||
| Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| & Liberal Conservatives | 319 | 149 | 239 | 170,407 | 42.1 | ||||
| 297 | 92 | 222 | 230,656 | 57.2 | |||||
| Chartist | 9 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 2,848 | 0.7 | |||
| Total | 625 | 241 | 462 | 403,911 | 100 | ||||
| Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 | 21 | 33 | +2 | 20,092 | 81.7 | +20.9 | |||
| & Liberal Conservatives | 23 | 16 | 20 | -2 | 3,509 | 18.3 | -20.0 | ||
| Total | 71 | 37 | 53 | 23,601 | 100 | ||||
| Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| & Liberal Conservatives | 22 | 15 | 20 | 11,114 | 89.5 | ||||
| 13 | 12 | 12 | 1,394 | 10.5 | |||||
| Total | 35 | 27 | 32 | 12,508 | 100 | ||||
| Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | 24 | 29 | align=right rowspan=2 | -1 | 10,294 | 31.0 | align=right rowspan=2 | -6.1 | |
| 11 | 9 | 11 | 964 | 3.0 | |||||
| 51 | 18 | 36 | 14,128 | 43.6 | |||||
| 33 | 11 | 25 | 5,935 | 20.2 | |||||
| 3 | 0 | 2 | 629 | 2.0 | |||||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0.2 | |||||
| Total | 137 | 62 | 103 | 31,982 | 100 | ||||
| Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| & Liberal Conservatives | 9 | 0 | 6 | 9,193 | 88.2 | ||||
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 1,234 | 11.8 | |||||
| Total | 11 | 0 | 6 | 10,427 | 100 | ||||