Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
East Cumberland elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: Richard Courtenay Musgrave (Conservative) and Edward Stafford Howard (Liberal). This page covers every general election in East Cumberland 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
William Blamire (Whig); James Robert George Graham (Whig)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1835
William Blamire (Whig); James Robert George Graham (Whig)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1837
Francis Aglionby (Radical); William James (Radical)
2,124
38.1% (top seat)
James Robert George Graham (Conservative)
519 (8.6 pts)
64.9%
1841
Charles Wentworth George Howard (Whig); William James (Radical)
1,988
34.9% (top seat)
William W Stephenson (Conservative)
82 (1.4 pts)
61.8%
1847
Charles Wentworth George Howard (Whig); William Marshall (Whig)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1852
Charles Wentworth George Howard (Whig); William Marshall (Whig)
2,255
36.0% (top seat)
Thomas Salkeld (Conservative)
291 (4.4 pts)
61.6%
1857
Charles Wentworth George Howard (Whig); William Marshall (Whig)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1859
Charles Wentworth George Howard (Liberal); William Marshall (Liberal)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1865
Charles Wentworth George Howard (Liberal); William Marshall (Liberal)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1868
William Nicholson Hodgson (Conservative); Charles Wentworth George Howard (Liberal)
2,546
34.7% (top seat)
William Marshall (Liberal)
149 (2.0 pts)
56.5%
1874
Charles Wentworth George Howard (Liberal); William Nicholson Hodgson (Conservative)
2,629
35.9% (top seat)
Richard Courtenay Musgrave (Conservative)
7 (0.1 pts)
56.7%
1880
Richard Courtenay Musgrave (Conservative); Edward Stafford Howard (Liberal)
3,083
34.1% (top seat)
George James Howard (Liberal)
44 (0.5 pts)
59.5%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Blamire
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
James Robert George Graham
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Blamire
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
James Robert George Graham
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Francis Aglionby
Radical
2,294
38.1%
Yes
William James
Radical
2,124
35.3%
Yes
James Robert George Graham
Conservative
1,605
26.6%
No
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Wentworth George Howard
Whig
2,086
34.9%
Yes
William James
Radical
1,988
33.2%
Yes
William W Stephenson
Conservative
1,906
31.9%
No
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Wentworth George Howard
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
William Marshall
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Wentworth George Howard
Whig
2,375
36.0%
Yes
William Marshall
Whig
2,255
34.2%
Yes
Thomas Salkeld
Conservative
1,964
29.8%
No
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Wentworth George Howard
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
William Marshall
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Wentworth George Howard
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
William Marshall
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Wentworth George Howard
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
William Marshall
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
1868 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Nicholson Hodgson
Conservative
2,626
34.7%
Yes
Charles Wentworth George Howard
Liberal
2,546
33.6%
Yes
William Marshall
Liberal
2,397
31.7%
No
1874 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Wentworth George Howard
Liberal
2,943
35.9%
Yes
William Nicholson Hodgson
Conservative
2,629
32.1%
Yes
Richard Courtenay Musgrave
Conservative
2,622
32.0%
No
1880 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Richard Courtenay Musgrave
Conservative
3,161
34.1%
Yes
Edward Stafford Howard
Liberal
3,083
33.2%
Yes
George James Howard
Liberal
3,039
32.7%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
East Cumberland has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Whig, Radical, Liberal, Conservative.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won East Cumberland in the 1880 general election?
Richard Courtenay Musgrave (Conservative), Edward Stafford Howard (Liberal) won East Cumberland in 1880.
Which parties have won East Cumberland since 1832?
Since 1832, East Cumberland has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Radical, Whig.
What was the closest result in East Cumberland?
The closest result on record for East Cumberland was 1874, when Liberal beat Conservative by just 7 votes (0.1 percentage points).
Did East Cumberland ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, East Cumberland 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.