| Election Name: | 1868 United Kingdom general election |
| Country: | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1865 United Kingdom general election |
| Previous Year: | 1865 |
| Previous Mps: | outgoing members |
| Next Election: | 1874 United Kingdom general election |
| Next Year: | 1874 |
| Seats For Election: | All 658 seats in the House of Commons |
| Majority Seats: | 327 |
| Elected Mps: | List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1868 |
| Leader1: | William Gladstone |
| Leader Since1: | 3 December 1868 |
| Party1: | Liberal Party (UK) |
| Leaders Seat1: | Greenwich (Defeated at South West Lancashire) |
| Last Election1: | 369 seats, 59.5% |
| Seats1: | 387 |
| Seat Change1: | 18 |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,428,776 |
| Percentage1: | 61.2% |
| Swing1: | 1.7% |
| Leader2: | Benjamin Disraeli |
| Leader Since2: | 27 February 1868 |
| Party2: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Leaders Seat2: | Buckinghamshire |
| Last Election2: | 289 seats, 40.5% |
| Seats2: | 271 |
| Seat Change2: | 18 |
| Popular Vote2: | 903,318 |
| Percentage2: | 38.7% |
| Swing2: | 1.8% |
| Map Size: | 330px |
| Prime Minister | |
| Posttitle: | Prime Minister after election |
| Before Election: | Benjamin Disraeli |
| Before Party: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| After Election: | William Gladstone |
| After Party: | Liberal Party (UK) |
| Map2 Caption: | Composition of the House of Commons after the election |
| Map2 Image: | File:1868 UK GE Composition diagram.svg |
The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom. It was the first election held in the United Kingdom in which more than a million votes were cast; nearly triple the number of votes were cast compared to the previous election in 1865.
The Liberals, led by William Gladstone, increased their majority over Benjamin Disraeli's Conservatives again to more than 100 seats.
This was the last general election at which all seats were taken by only the two leading parties, although the parties at the time were loose coalitions and party affiliation was not listed on registration papers.
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| Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 515 | 80 | 321 | 7 | 1,374,315 | 61.4 | ||||
| 383 | 65 | 234 | 10 | 864,551 | 38.6 | ||||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 969 | 0.0 | |||||
| Total | 899 | 145 | 555 | 3 | 2,239,835 | 100 | |||
| Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 412 | 46 | 244 | 7 | 1,192,098 | 59.7 | ||||
| 334 | 54 | 211 | 2 | 803,637 | 40.2 | ||||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 969 | 0.1 | |||||
| Total | 747 | 100 | 455 | 9 | 1,996,704 | 100 | |||
| Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | 23 | 51 | 9 | 125,356 | 82.5 | ||||
| 20 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 23,985 | 17.5 | ||||
| Total | 90 | 26 | 58 | 5 | 149,341 | 100 | |||
| Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 10 | 23 | 5 | 52,256 | 62.1 | ||||
| 20 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 29,866 | 37.9 | ||||
| Total | 49 | 14 | 33 | 1 | 82,122 | 100 | |||
See main article: 1868 United Kingdom general election in Ireland.
| Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | 41 | 66 | 8 | 54,461 | 57.9 | +2.3 | |||
| 53 | 26 | 37 | 8 | 38,765 | 41.9 | 2.5 | |||
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 188 | 0.2 | +0.2 | ||||
| Total | 140 | 67 | 103 | 149,341 | 100 | ||||
| Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 4 | 6 | 7,063 | 55.4 | |||||
| 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4,605 | 44.6 | ||||
| Total | 13 | 5 | 9 | 11,668 | 100 | ||||