1727 British general election explained

Country:Kingdom of Great Britain
Type:parliamentary
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1722 British general election
Previous Year:1722
Previous Mps:elected members
Next Election:1734 British general election
Next Year:1734
Majority Seats:280
Elected Mps:elected members
Image1:Robert-Walpole-1st-Earl-of-Orford.jpg
Leader1:Sir Robert Walpole
Party1:Whigs (British political party)
Leaders Seat1:King's Lynn
Seats1:415
Seat Change1:26
Leader2:Viscount Bolingbroke
Party2:Tories (British political party)
Leaders Seat2:House of Lords
Seats2:128
Seat Change2:41
Image3:1stEarlOfBath.jpg
Leader3:William Pulteney
Colour3:FFFF00
Party3:Opposition / Patriot Whigs
Leaders Seat3:Hedon
Seats3:15
Seat Change3:15
Prime Minister
Posttitle:Prime Minister after election
Before Election:Sir Robert Walpole
Before Party:Whigs (British political party)
After Election:Sir Robert Walpole
After Party:Whigs (British political party)

The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was triggered by the death of King George I; at the time, it was the convention to hold new elections following the succession of a new monarch. The Tories, led in the House of Commons by William Wyndham, and under the direction of Bolingbroke, who had returned to the country in 1723 after being pardoned for his role in the Jacobite rising of 1715, lost further ground to the Whigs, rendering them ineffectual and largely irrelevant to practical politics. A group known as the Patriot Whigs, led by William Pulteney, who were disenchanted with Walpole's government and believed he was betraying Whig principles, had been formed prior to the election. Bolingbroke and Pulteney had not expected the next election to occur until 1729, and were consequently caught unprepared and failed to make any gains against the government party.

Summary of the constituencies

See 1796 British general election for details. The constituencies used were the same throughout the existence of the Parliament of Great Britain.

Dates of election

The general election was held between 14 August 1727 and 17 October 1727.

At this period, elections did not take place at the same time in every constituency. The returning officer in each county or parliamentary borough fixed the precise date (see hustings for details of the conduct of the elections).

Results

Seats summary

See also

References