Constituencies in 1801–1832 | 1832 MPs | 1835 MPs | 1837 MPs | 1841 MPs | 1847 MPs | 1852 MPs | 1857 MPs | 1859 MPs | 1865 MPs | Constituencies in 1865–1868
This is a list of parliamentary constituencies which were used for elections to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1865.
These constituencies were defined by the Representation of the People Act 1832 (commonly known as the Reform Act 1832), and with the exception of the changes listed below they remained in effect until the next round of revisions in 1867 and 1868, when three pieces of legislation restructured the constituencies:
- Representation of the People Act 1867, known as the Reform Act 1867, which redistributed seats in England and Wales
- Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868, created seven additional Scottish seats to replace seven disenfranchised English boroughs
- Representation of the People (Ireland) Act 1868, which did not create or abolish any constituencies, but changed some boundaries
Types of constituency
There were three types of constituency, each with different arrangements for the franchise:
- Counties, which covered the whole of a county. In some cases they were divided into two or more divisions
- University constituencies, which had no geographical basis. Their electorate comprised the graduates of the university
- Parliamentary boroughs, known in Scotland as burghs, which comprised a town and in some cases some areas outside the town boundaries.
- Districts of burghs (in Scotland) and districts of boroughs (in Wales) were a type of borough constituency in which several boroughs jointly elected one Member of Parliament. The areas were not geographically contiguous, and in some cases the boroughs were in different counties
Numbers by type
This table lists the number of each type of constituency in use in 1832, in the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom:
| Country | Borough constituencies |
County constituencies |
University constituencies |
Total constituencies |
Borough MPs |
County MPs |
University MP |
Total MPs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 186 | 68 | 2 | 256 | 322 | 142 | 4 | 468 |
| Wales | 15 | 13 | 0 | 28 | 15 | 17 | 0 | 32 |
| Scotland | 21 | 30 | 0 | 51 | 23 | 30 | 0 | 53 |
| Ireland | 33 | 32 | 1 | 66 | 39 | 64 | 2 | 105 |
| Total | 255 | 143 | 3 | 401 | 399 | 253 | 6 | 658 |
Changes
| Year | Change | New total constituencies |
New total MPs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1844 | Sudbury (2 seats) disenfranchised for corruption | 400 | 656 |
| 1852 | St Albans (2 seats) disenfranchised for corruption | 399 | 654 |
| 1861 | Birkenhead (1 seats) enfranchised | 400 | 656 |
| South Lancashire (2 seats) awarded 1 extra seat for a total of 3 | |||
| 1865 | West Riding of Yorkshire (2 seats) divided into: Northern West Riding of Yorkshire (2 seats) Southern West Riding of Yorkshire (2 seats) |
400 | 658 |
List of constituencies
See also
References
Sources
- Craig, F. W. S. (1989) . British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.