| Election Name: | 1841 United Kingdom general election |
| Country: | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1837 United Kingdom general election |
| Previous Year: | 1837 |
| Previous Mps: | outgoing members |
| Next Election: | 1847 United Kingdom general election |
| Next Year: | 1847 |
| Majority Seats: | 330 |
| Elected Mps: | elected members |
| Leader1: | Sir Robert Peel |
| Leader Since1: | 19 December 1834 |
| Party1: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Leaders Seat1: | Tamworth |
| Last Election1: | 314 seats, 47.6% |
| Seats Before1: | 314 |
| Seats1: | 367 |
| Seat Change1: | 53 |
| Popular Vote1: | 306,314 |
| Percentage1: | 51.6% |
| Swing1: | 4.0% |
| Leader2: | Viscount Melbourne |
| Leader Since2: | 16 July 1834 |
| Party2: | Whigs (British political party) |
| Leaders Seat2: | House of Lords |
| Last Election2: | 344 seats, 52.4% |
| Seats Before2: | 314 |
| Seats2: | 271 |
| Seat Change2: | 43 |
| Popular Vote2: | 273,902 |
| Percentage2: | 46.2% |
| Swing2: | 6.2% |
| Leader3: | Daniel O'Connell |
| Leader Since3: | 15 April 1840 |
| Party3: | Repeal Association |
| Leaders Seat3: | Dublin City (defeated) County Cork |
| Last Election3: | Compact with Whigs |
| Seats Before3: | 30 |
| Seats3: | 20 |
| Seat Change3: | 10 |
| Popular Vote3: | 12,537 |
| Percentage3: | 2.1% |
| Swing3: | New party |
| Map Size: | 380px |
| Map2 Image: | House of Commons - United Kingdom general election, 1841.svg |
| Map2 Size: | 380px |
| Map2 Caption: | Composition of the Commons after the election |
| Prime Minister | |
| Posttitle: | Prime Minister after election |
| Before Election: | Viscount Melbourne |
| Before Party: | Whigs (British political party) |
| After Election: | Sir Robert Peel |
| After Party: | Conservative Party (UK) |
The 1841 United Kingdom general election, was held between 29 June and 22 July 1841 to elect the new Parliament of the United Kingdom. In this election, there was a large swing as Sir Robert Peel's Conservatives took control of the House of Commons. Melbourne's Whigs had seen their support in the Commons erode over the previous years. Whilst Melbourne enjoyed the firm support of the young Queen Victoria, his ministry had seen increasing defeats in the Commons, culminating in the defeat of the government's budget in May 1841 by 36 votes, and by 1 vote in a 4 June 1841 vote of no confidence put forward by Peel. According to precedent, Melbourne's defeat required his resignation. However, the cabinet decided to ask for a dissolution, which was opposed by Melbourne personally (he wished to resign, as he had attempted in 1839), but he came to accept the wishes of the ministers. Melbourne requested the Queen dissolve Parliament, leading to an election. The Queen thus prorogued Parliament on 22 June.[1]
The Conservatives campaigned mainly on an 11-point programme modified from their previous electoral effort and designed by Peel, whilst the Whigs emphasised reforming the import duties on corn, replacing the existing sliding scale with a uniform rate. The Whig position lost them support amongst protectionists, and the Whigs saw heavy losses in constituencies like the West Riding, where aristocratic Whig families who held a strong tradition of unbroken representation in Parliament were rejected by the electorate.
O'Connell, who had been governing with the Whigs through a compact, felt the government's unpopularity rub off on him. His own party was shattered in the election. Barely a dozen Repealers retained their seats, and O'Connell himself lost in Dublin while his son was defeated in Carlow.[2] The Chartists picked up only a few votes.
|}
| Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 439 | 185 | 326 | +42 | 286,650 | 52.7 | +4.5 | |||
| 333 | 83 | 229 | -42 | 256,774 | 47.2 | -4.6 | |||
| Chartist | 8 | 0 | 0 | 692 | 0.1 | ||||
| Total | 780 | 268 | 555 | 544,116 | 100 | ||||
| Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 374 | 147 | 277 | 272,755 | 53.1 | |||||
| 277 | 62 | 187 | 236,813 | 46.8 | |||||
| Chartist | 4 | 0 | 0 | 307 | 0.1 | ||||
| Total | 655 | 209 | 464 | 509,875 | 100 | ||||
| Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 13 | 31 | -2 | 16,356 | 60.8 | ||||
| 35 | 16 | 22 | +2 | 9,793 | 38.3 | ||||
| Chartist | 3 | 0 | 0 | 385 | 0.9 | ||||
| Total | 78 | 29 | 53 | 26,534 | 100 | ||||
| Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | 16 | 21 | 4,102 | 53.2 | |||||
| 16 | 8 | 11 | 3,605 | 46.8 | |||||
| Chartist | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | ||||
| Total | 41 | 24 | 32 | 7,707 | 100 | ||||
| Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | 30 | 42 | 17,128 | 35.1 | |||||
| 59 | 27 | 41 | 19,664 | 40.1 | |||||
| 22 | 12 | 20 | 12,537 | 24.8 | |||||
| Total | 136 | 69 | 103 | 49,329 | 100 | ||||
| Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 6 | 6 | Uncontested | Uncontested | |||||
| Total | 6 | 6 | 6 | Uncontested | Uncontested | ||||