Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
Birmingham elected 3 MPs at the 1880 general election: Philip Henry Muntz (Liberal) and John Bright (Liberal) and Joseph Chamberlain (Liberal). This page covers every general election in Birmingham 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
Thomas Attwood (Radical); Joshua Scholefield (Radical)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1835
Thomas Attwood (Radical); Joshua Scholefield (Radical)
1,660
40.0% (top seat)
Richard Spooner (Conservative)
745 (17.3 pts)
58.3%
1837
Thomas Attwood (Radical); Joshua Scholefield (Radical)
2,114
40.4% (top seat)
Augustus Granville Stapleton (Conservative)
1,068 (20.1 pts)
50.7%
1841
George Frederick Muntz (Radical); Joshua Scholefield (Radical)
1,963
36.5% (top seat)
Richard Spooner (Conservative)
138 (2.3 pts)
50.8%
1847
George Frederick Muntz (Radical); William Scholefield (Radical)
2,824
35.2% (top seat)
Richard Spooner (Conservative)
522 (6.5 pts)
56.8%
1852
George Frederick Muntz (Radical); William Scholefield (Radical)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1857
George Frederick Muntz (Radical); William Scholefield (Radical)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1859
William Scholefield (Liberal); John Bright (Liberal)
4,282
43.2% (top seat)
Thomas Dyke Acland (Conservative)
2,738 (26.7 pts)
55.6%
1865
John Bright (Liberal); William Scholefield (Liberal)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1868
George Dixon (Liberal); Philip Henry Muntz (Liberal); John Bright (Liberal)
14,601
25.3% (top seat)
Sampson Samuel Lloyd (Conservative)
5,901 (9.8 pts)
47.7%
1874
John Bright (Liberal); George Dixon (Liberal); Philip Henry Muntz (Liberal)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1880
Philip Henry Muntz (Liberal); John Bright (Liberal); Joseph Chamberlain (Liberal)
19,544
24.3% (top seat)
Frederick Gustavus Burnaby (Conservative)
3,809 (4.0 pts)
49.8%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Thomas Attwood
Radical
Unopposed
Yes
Joshua Scholefield
Radical
Unopposed
Yes
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Thomas Attwood
Radical
1,718
40.0%
Yes
Joshua Scholefield
Radical
1,660
38.7%
Yes
Richard Spooner
Conservative
915
21.3%
No
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Thomas Attwood
Radical
2,145
40.4%
Yes
Joshua Scholefield
Radical
2,114
39.8%
Yes
Augustus Granville Stapleton
Conservative
1,046
19.7%
No
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Frederick Muntz
Radical
2,176
36.5%
Yes
Joshua Scholefield
Radical
1,963
32.9%
Yes
Richard Spooner
Conservative
1,825
30.6%
No
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Frederick Muntz
Radical
2,830
35.2%
Yes
William Scholefield
Radical
2,824
35.1%
Yes
Richard Spooner
Conservative
2,302
28.6%
No
Robert Allen
Radical
89
1.1%
No
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Frederick Muntz
Radical
Unopposed
Yes
William Scholefield
Radical
Unopposed
Yes
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Frederick Muntz
Radical
Unopposed
Yes
William Scholefield
Radical
Unopposed
Yes
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Scholefield
Liberal
4,425
43.2%
Yes
John Bright
Liberal
4,282
41.8%
Yes
Thomas Dyke Acland
Conservative
1,544
15.1%
No
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Bright
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
William Scholefield
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
1868 (3 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Dixon
Liberal
15,198
25.3%
Yes
Philip Henry Muntz
Liberal
14,614
24.3%
Yes
John Bright
Liberal
14,601
24.3%
Yes
Sampson Samuel Lloyd
Conservative
8,700
14.5%
No
Sebastian Evans
Conservative
7,061
11.7%
No
1874 (3 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Bright
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
George Dixon
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
Philip Henry Muntz
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
1880 (3 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Philip Henry Muntz
Liberal
22,969
24.3%
Yes
John Bright
Liberal
22,079
23.3%
Yes
Joseph Chamberlain
Liberal
19,544
20.7%
Yes
Frederick Gustavus Burnaby
Conservative
15,735
16.6%
No
Augustus Cholmondeley Gough-Calthorpe
Conservative
14,308
15.1%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Birmingham has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Radical, Liberal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Birmingham in the 1880 general election?
Philip Henry Muntz (Liberal), John Bright (Liberal), Joseph Chamberlain (Liberal) won Birmingham in 1880.
Which parties have won Birmingham since 1832?
Since 1832, Birmingham has been won by: Liberal, Radical.
What was the closest result in Birmingham?
The closest result on record for Birmingham was 1841, when Radical beat Conservative by just 138 votes (2.3 percentage points).
Did Birmingham ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Birmingham 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.