East Staffordshire — UK General Election Results
East Staffordshire elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: Michael Arthur Bass (Liberal) and Henry Samuel Wiggin (Liberal). This page covers every general election in East Staffordshire from 1868 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, 1868–1880
| Election | Elected | Votes | Vote Share | Runner-up | Majority | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1868 | Michael Arthur Bass (Liberal); John Robinson McClean (Liberal) | 3,675 | 36.9% (top seat) | John Hartley (Conservative) | 703 (6.7 pts) | 54.5% |
| 1874 | Michael Arthur Bass (Liberal); Samuel Charles Allsopp (Conservative) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1880 | Michael Arthur Bass (Liberal); Henry Samuel Wiggin (Liberal) | 4,617 | 29.5% (top seat) | Samuel Charles Allsopp (Conservative) | 1,065 (6.5 pts) | 75.4% |
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1868 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Arthur Bass | Liberal | 3,885 | 36.9% | Yes |
| John Robinson McClean | Liberal | 3,675 | 34.9% | Yes |
| John Hartley | Conservative | 2,972 | 28.2% | No |
1874 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Arthur Bass | Liberal | Unopposed | Yes | |
| Samuel Charles Allsopp | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
1880 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Arthur Bass | Liberal | 4,809 | 29.5% | Yes |
| Henry Samuel Wiggin | Liberal | 4,617 | 28.4% | Yes |
| Samuel Charles Allsopp | Conservative | 3,552 | 21.8% | No |
| John Hardy | Conservative | 3,306 | 20.3% | No |
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
East Staffordshire has been contested at 3 general elections on record since 1868. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Liberal, Conservative.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won East Staffordshire in the 1880 general election?
Michael Arthur Bass (Liberal), Henry Samuel Wiggin (Liberal) won East Staffordshire in 1880.
Which parties have won East Staffordshire since 1868?
Since 1868, East Staffordshire has been won by: Conservative, Liberal.
What was the closest result in East Staffordshire?
The closest result on record for East Staffordshire was 1880, when Liberal beat Conservative by just 1,065 votes (6.5 percentage points).
Did East Staffordshire ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, East Staffordshire 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.