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Bristol — UK General Election Results

Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30

Bristol elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: Samuel Morley (Liberal) and Lewis Fry (Liberal). This page covers every general election in Bristol 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 Richard Rawlinson Vyvyan (Conservative); James Evan Baillie (Whig) 3,159 29.3% (top seat) Edward Protheroe (Whig) 129 (1.0 pts) 61.2%
1835 Philip John Miles (Conservative); Richard Rawlinson Vyvyan (Conservative) 3,313 32.7% (top seat) James Evan Baillie (Whig) 795 (7.0 pts) 56.2%
1837 Philip William Skinner Miles (Conservative); Francis Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley (Radical) 3,212 37.6% (top seat) William Fripp (Conservative) 56 (0.5 pts) 51.1%
1841 Philip William Skinner Miles (Conservative); Francis Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley (Radical) 3,739 36.1% (top seat) William Fripp (Conservative) 55 (0.5 pts) 52.1%
1847 Francis Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley (Radical); Philip William Skinner Miles (Conservative) 2,595 45.5% (top seat) William Fripp (Conservative) 119 (1.2 pts) 43.6%
1852 Francis Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley (Radical); William Henry Gore-Langton (Whig) 4,531 36.4% (top seat) Foster Alleyne McGeachy (Conservative) 899 (7.0 pts) 51.2%
1857 Francis Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley (Radical); William Henry Gore-Langton (Whig) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1859 Francis Henry FitzHardinge-Berkeley (Liberal); William Henry Gore-Langton (Liberal) 4,285 34.3% (top seat) Frederick William Slade (Conservative) 80 (0.6 pts) 50.0%
1865 Francis Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley (Liberal); Samuel Morton Peto (Liberal) 5,228 35.8% (top seat) Thomas Francis Fremantle (Conservative) 959 (6.5 pts) 65.4%
1868 Francis Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley (Liberal); Samuel Morley (Liberal) 8,714 36.2% (top seat) John William Miles (Conservative) 2,020 (8.4 pts) 57.1%
1874 Kirkman Daniel Hodgson (Liberal); Samuel Morley (Liberal) 8,732 26.3% (top seat) Sholto Vere Hare (Conservative) 180 (0.5 pts) 73.9%
1880 Samuel Morley (Liberal); Lewis Fry (Liberal) 10,070 31.2% (top seat) Ivor Bertie Guest (Conservative) 675 (2.0 pts) 73.8%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1832 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Richard Rawlinson Vyvyan Conservative 3,69729.3% Yes
James Evan Baillie Whig 3,15925.0% Yes
Edward Protheroe Whig 3,03024.0% No
John Williams Whig 2,74121.7% No

1835 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Philip John Miles Conservative 3,70932.7% Yes
Richard Rawlinson Vyvyan Conservative 3,31329.2% Yes
James Evan Baillie Whig 2,51822.2% No
John Cam Hobhouse Radical 1,80815.9% No

1837 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Philip William Skinner Miles Conservative 3,83937.6% Yes
Francis Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley Radical 3,21231.5% Yes
William Fripp Conservative 3,15630.9% No

1841 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Philip William Skinner Miles Conservative 4,19336.1% Yes
Francis Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley Radical 3,73932.2% Yes
William Fripp Conservative 3,68431.7% No

1847 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Francis Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley Radical 4,38145.5% Yes
Philip William Skinner Miles Conservative 2,59527.0% Yes
William Fripp Conservative 2,47625.7% No
Apsley Pellatt Radical 1711.8% No

1852 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Francis Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley Radical 4,68136.4% Yes
William Henry Gore-Langton Whig 4,53135.3% Yes
Foster Alleyne McGeachy Conservative 3,63228.3% No

1857 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Francis Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley Radical Unopposed Yes
William Henry Gore-Langton Whig Unopposed Yes

1859 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Francis Henry FitzHardinge-Berkeley Liberal 4,43234.3% Yes
William Henry Gore-Langton Liberal 4,28533.2% Yes
Frederick William Slade Conservative 4,20532.5% No

1865 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Francis Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley Liberal 5,29635.8% Yes
Samuel Morton Peto Liberal 5,22835.3% Yes
Thomas Francis Fremantle Conservative 4,26928.9% No

1868 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Francis Henry FitzHardinge Berkeley Liberal 8,75936.2% Yes
Samuel Morley Liberal 8,71436.1% Yes
John William Miles Conservative 6,69427.7% No

1874 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Kirkman Daniel Hodgson Liberal 8,88826.3% Yes
Samuel Morley Liberal 8,73225.8% Yes
Sholto Vere Hare Conservative 8,55225.3% No
George Henry Chambers Conservative 7,62622.6% No

1880 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Samuel Morley Liberal 10,70431.2% Yes
Lewis Fry Liberal 10,07029.4% Yes
Ivor Bertie Guest Conservative 9,39527.4% No
Elisha Smith Robinson Liberal 4,10012.0% No

Margin Over Time

Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.

1832: Conservative margin 1.0 pts 1835: Conservative margin 7.0 pts 1837: Conservative margin 0.5 pts 1841: Conservative margin 0.5 pts 1847: Radical margin 1.2 pts 1852: Radical margin 7.0 pts 1859: Liberal margin 0.6 pts 1865: Liberal margin 6.5 pts 1868: Liberal margin 8.4 pts 1874: Liberal margin 0.5 pts 1880: Liberal margin 2.0 pts 1832 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880

Trend

Bristol has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Conservative, Whig, Radical, Liberal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Bristol in the 1880 general election?

Samuel Morley (Liberal), Lewis Fry (Liberal) won Bristol in 1880.

Which parties have won Bristol since 1832?

Since 1832, Bristol has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Radical, Whig.

What was the closest result in Bristol?

The closest result on record for Bristol was 1837, when Conservative beat Conservative by just 56 votes (0.5 percentage points).

Did Bristol ever elect more than one MP at a time?

Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Bristol 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.

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