Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
Bedfordshire elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: James Howard (Liberal) and George William Francis Sackville Russell (Liberal). This page covers every general election in Bedfordshire from 1832 to 1880.
This constituency elected more than one MP at once in some years. Before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (and in a shrinking number of boroughs through 1948), most UK constituencies elected two or more MPs together by "multi-member plurality" (block vote): each elector could cast one vote per available seat, and the top vote-getters overall were all elected. In those elections below, "Elected" lists every MP returned, "Votes" is the count that secured the last seat, and "Majority" is the gap between that seat and the first candidate who missed out.
Full Election History, 1832–1880
Election
Elected
Votes
Vote Share
Runner-up
Majority
Turnout
1832
Charles James Fox Russell (Whig); William Stuart (Conservative)
1,871
34.8% (top seat)
Peter Payne (Whig)
115 (2.1 pts)
70.1%
1835
Charles James Fox Russell (Whig); John Hume Egerton (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1837
Charles James Fox Russell (Whig); John Hume Egerton (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1841
William Astell (Conservative); John Hume Egerton (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1847
John Hume Egerton (Conservative); Francis Charles Hastings Russell (Whig)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1852
Francis Charles Hastings Russell (Whig); Richard Thomas Gilpin (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1857
Francis Charles Hastings Russell (Whig); Richard Thomas Gilpin (Conservative)
1,374
28.3% (top seat)
William Bartholomew Higgins (Whig)
31 (0.6 pts)
65.3%
1859
Richard Thomas Gilpin (Conservative); Francis Charles Hastings Russell (Liberal)
1,837
37.2% (top seat)
William Bartholomew Higgins (Liberal)
254 (4.7 pts)
57.9%
1865
Francis Charles Hastings Russell (Liberal); Richard Thomas Gilpin (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1868
Francis Charles Hastings Russell (Liberal); Richard Thomas Gilpin (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1874
Francis Bassett (Liberal); Richard Thomas Gilpin (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1880
James Howard (Liberal); George William Francis Sackville Russell (Liberal)
3,088
36.0% (top seat)
William Stuart (Conservative)
588 (6.7 pts)
61.2%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles James Fox Russell
Whig
1,937
34.8%
Yes
William Stuart
Conservative
1,871
33.6%
Yes
Peter Payne
Whig
1,756
31.6%
No
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles James Fox Russell
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
John Hume Egerton
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles James Fox Russell
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
John Hume Egerton
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Astell
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
John Hume Egerton
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Hume Egerton
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Francis Charles Hastings Russell
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Francis Charles Hastings Russell
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
Richard Thomas Gilpin
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Francis Charles Hastings Russell
Whig
1,564
28.3%
Yes
Richard Thomas Gilpin
Conservative
1,374
24.9%
Yes
William Bartholomew Higgins
Whig
1,343
24.3%
No
William Stuart
Conservative
1,246
22.5%
No
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Richard Thomas Gilpin
Conservative
2,027
37.2%
Yes
Francis Charles Hastings Russell
Liberal
1,837
33.7%
Yes
William Bartholomew Higgins
Liberal
1,583
29.1%
No
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Francis Charles Hastings Russell
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
Richard Thomas Gilpin
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1868 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Francis Charles Hastings Russell
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
Richard Thomas Gilpin
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1874 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Francis Bassett
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
Richard Thomas Gilpin
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1880 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
James Howard
Liberal
3,143
36.0%
Yes
George William Francis Sackville Russell
Liberal
3,088
35.4%
Yes
William Stuart
Conservative
2,500
28.6%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Bedfordshire has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Whig, Conservative, Liberal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Bedfordshire in the 1880 general election?
James Howard (Liberal), George William Francis Sackville Russell (Liberal) won Bedfordshire in 1880.
Which parties have won Bedfordshire since 1832?
Since 1832, Bedfordshire has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Whig.
What was the closest result in Bedfordshire?
The closest result on record for Bedfordshire was 1857, when Whig beat Whig by just 31 votes (0.6 percentage points).
Did Bedfordshire ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Bedfordshire elected multiple MPs at once in some elections on this page (a system called multi-member plurality, or 'block vote'), each voter casting one vote per available seat.