Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
Berkshire elected 3 MPs at the 1880 general election: Robert James Loyd-Lindsay (Conservative) and Philip Wroughton (Conservative) and John Walter (Liberal). This page covers every general election in Berkshire 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
Robert Palmer (Conservative); Robert George Throckmorton (Whig); John Walter (Whig)
2,479
27.7% (top seat)
Philip Pusey (Conservative)
39 (0.4 pts)
63.5%
1835
Robert Palmer (Conservative); Philip Pusey (Conservative); John Walter (Whig)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1837
Robert Palmer (Conservative); William Keppel Barrington (Conservative); Philip Pusey (Conservative)
2,312
30.0% (top seat)
East George Clayton-East (Whig)
1,010 (11.8 pts)
50.8%
1841
William Keppel Barrington (Conservative); Robert Palmer (Conservative); Philip Pusey (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1847
William Keppel Barrington (Conservative); Robert Palmer (Conservative); Philip Pusey (Peelite)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1852
George Henry Vansittart (Conservative); Robert Palmer (Conservative); William Keppel Barrington (Conservative)
1,636
33.2% (top seat)
John Walter (Peelite)
1,481 (28.3 pts)
34.0%
1857
Robert Palmer (Conservative); Philip Pleydell-Bouverie (Whig); George Henry Vansittart (Conservative)
1,494
29.2% (top seat)
Leicester Viney Vernon (Conservative)
134 (2.2 pts)
42.2%
1859
Philip Pleydell-Bouverie (Liberal); Leicester Viney Vernon (Conservative); John Walter (Liberal)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1865
Robert James Loyd-Lindsay (Conservative); Richard Fellowes Benyon (Conservative); Charles Russell (Conservative)
2,117
19.0% (top seat)
John Walter (Liberal)
304 (2.6 pts)
77.3%
1868
Robert James Loyd-Lindsay (Conservative); Richard Fellowes Benyon (Conservative); John Walter (Liberal)
2,747
27.9% (top seat)
Auberon Edward William Molyneux Herbert (Liberal)
297 (2.6 pts)
50.6%
1874
Richard Fellowes Benyon (Conservative); Robert James Loyd-Lindsay (Conservative); John Walter (Liberal)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1880
Robert James Loyd-Lindsay (Conservative); Philip Wroughton (Conservative); John Walter (Liberal)
1,794
32.8% (top seat)
Thomas Rogers (Liberal)
98 (1.0 pts)
41.6%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (3 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert Palmer
Conservative
2,942
27.7%
Yes
Robert George Throckmorton
Whig
2,774
26.1%
Yes
John Walter
Whig
2,479
23.3%
Yes
Philip Pusey
Conservative
2,440
22.9%
No
1835 (3 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert Palmer
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Philip Pusey
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
John Walter
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
1837 (3 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert Palmer
Conservative
2,556
30.0%
Yes
William Keppel Barrington
Conservative
2,360
27.7%
Yes
Philip Pusey
Conservative
2,312
27.1%
Yes
East George Clayton-East
Whig
1,302
15.3%
No
1841 (3 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Keppel Barrington
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Robert Palmer
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Philip Pusey
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1847 (3 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Keppel Barrington
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Robert Palmer
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Philip Pusey
Peelite
Unopposed
Yes
1852 (3 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Henry Vansittart
Conservative
1,741
33.2%
Yes
Robert Palmer
Conservative
1,705
32.6%
Yes
William Keppel Barrington
Conservative
1,636
31.2%
Yes
John Walter
Peelite
155
3.0%
No
1857 (3 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert Palmer
Conservative
1,802
29.2%
Yes
Philip Pleydell-Bouverie
Whig
1,524
24.7%
Yes
George Henry Vansittart
Conservative
1,494
24.2%
Yes
Leicester Viney Vernon
Conservative
1,360
22.0%
No
1859 (3 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Philip Pleydell-Bouverie
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
Leicester Viney Vernon
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
John Walter
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
1865 (3 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert James Loyd-Lindsay
Conservative
2,227
19.0%
Yes
Richard Fellowes Benyon
Conservative
2,192
18.7%
Yes
Charles Russell
Conservative
2,117
18.0%
Yes
John Walter
Liberal
1,813
15.4%
No
George Grimston Craven
Liberal
1,809
15.4%
No
Philip Pleydell-Bouverie
Liberal
1,583
13.5%
No
1868 (3 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert James Loyd-Lindsay
Conservative
3,231
27.9%
Yes
Richard Fellowes Benyon
Conservative
3,171
27.3%
Yes
John Walter
Liberal
2,747
23.7%
Yes
Auberon Edward William Molyneux Herbert
Liberal
2,450
21.1%
No
1874 (3 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Richard Fellowes Benyon
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Robert James Loyd-Lindsay
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
John Walter
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
1880 (3 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert James Loyd-Lindsay
Conservative
3,294
32.8%
Yes
Philip Wroughton
Conservative
3,272
32.5%
Yes
John Walter
Liberal
1,794
17.8%
Yes
Thomas Rogers
Liberal
1,696
16.9%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Berkshire has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Conservative, Whig, Peelite, Liberal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Berkshire in the 1880 general election?
Robert James Loyd-Lindsay (Conservative), Philip Wroughton (Conservative), John Walter (Liberal) won Berkshire in 1880.
Which parties have won Berkshire since 1832?
Since 1832, Berkshire has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Peelite, Whig.
What was the closest result in Berkshire?
The closest result on record for Berkshire was 1832, when Conservative beat Conservative by just 39 votes (0.4 percentage points).
Did Berkshire ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Berkshire 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.