Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
Leeds elected 3 MPs at the 1880 general election: William Ewart Gladstone (Liberal) and John Barran (Liberal) and William Lawies Jackson (Conservative). This page covers every general election in Leeds 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
John Marshall (Whig); Thomas Babington Macaulay (Whig)
1,984
36.0% (top seat)
Michael Thomas Sadler (Conservative)
388 (6.9 pts)
67.0%
1835
John Beckett (Conservative); Edward Baines (Whig)
1,803
35.9% (top seat)
William Brougham (Whig)
138 (2.5 pts)
56.7%
1837
Edward Baines (Whig); William Molesworth (Radical)
1,880
35.8% (top seat)
John Beckett (Conservative)
121 (2.1 pts)
50.8%
1841
William Beckett (Conservative); William Aldam (Whig)
2,043
25.7% (top seat)
Joseph Hume (Radical)
10 (0.1 pts)
63.9%
1847
William Beckett (Conservative); James Garth Marshall (Whig)
2,172
37.9% (top seat)
Joseph Sturge (Radical)
194 (2.9 pts)
53.0%
1852
George Goodman (Whig); Matthew Talbot Baines (Whig)
2,311
34.1% (top seat)
Robert Hall (Conservative)
1,179 (17.2 pts)
53.7%
1857
George Goodman (Whig); Robert Hall (Conservative)
2,237
34.7% (top seat)
John Remington Mills (Radical)
94 (1.4 pts)
54.1%
1859
Edward Baines (Liberal); George Skirrow Beecroft (Conservative)
2,302
33.8% (top seat)
William Edward Forster (Liberal)
22 (0.3 pts)
55.8%
1865
George Skirrow Beecroft (Conservative); Edward Baines (Liberal)
3,045
35.1% (top seat)
John Russell (Liberal)
143 (1.6 pts)
63.5%
1868
Edward Baines (Liberal); Robert Meek Carter (Liberal); William St James Wheelhouse (Conservative)
9,437
30.8% (top seat)
Andrew Fairbairn (Liberal)
3,779 (7.3 pts)
44.0%
1874
Robert Meek Carter (Liberal); William St James Wheelhouse (Conservative); Robert Tennant (Conservative)
13,194
25.1% (top seat)
Edward Baines (Liberal)
1,344 (2.2 pts)
44.4%
1880
William Ewart Gladstone (Liberal); John Barran (Liberal); William Lawies Jackson (Conservative)
13,331
33.5% (top seat)
William St James Wheelhouse (Conservative)
1,366 (1.9 pts)
50.0%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Marshall
Whig
2,012
36.0%
Yes
Thomas Babington Macaulay
Whig
1,984
35.5%
Yes
Michael Thomas Sadler
Conservative
1,596
28.5%
No
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Beckett
Conservative
1,941
35.9%
Yes
Edward Baines
Whig
1,803
33.3%
Yes
William Brougham
Whig
1,665
30.8%
No
John Plumbe Tempest
Conservative
4
0.1%
No
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Edward Baines
Whig
2,028
35.8%
Yes
William Molesworth
Radical
1,880
33.2%
Yes
John Beckett
Conservative
1,759
31.0%
No
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Beckett
Conservative
2,076
25.7%
Yes
William Aldam
Whig
2,043
25.3%
Yes
Joseph Hume
Radical
2,033
25.2%
No
Robert Jocelyn
Conservative
1,926
23.8%
No
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Beckett
Conservative
2,529
37.9%
Yes
James Garth Marshall
Whig
2,172
32.5%
Yes
Joseph Sturge
Radical
1,978
29.6%
No
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Goodman
Whig
2,344
34.1%
Yes
Matthew Talbot Baines
Whig
2,311
33.6%
Yes
Robert Hall
Conservative
1,132
16.5%
No
Thomas Sidney
Conservative
1,089
15.8%
No
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Goodman
Whig
2,329
34.7%
Yes
Robert Hall
Conservative
2,237
33.3%
Yes
John Remington Mills
Radical
2,143
31.9%
No
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Edward Baines
Liberal
2,343
33.8%
Yes
George Skirrow Beecroft
Conservative
2,302
33.2%
Yes
William Edward Forster
Liberal
2,280
32.9%
No
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Skirrow Beecroft
Conservative
3,223
35.1%
Yes
Edward Baines
Liberal
3,045
33.2%
Yes
John Russell
Liberal
2,902
31.6%
No
1868 (3 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Edward Baines
Liberal
15,941
30.8%
Yes
Robert Meek Carter
Liberal
15,105
29.2%
Yes
William St James Wheelhouse
Conservative
9,437
18.2%
Yes
Andrew Fairbairn
Liberal
5,658
10.9%
No
Arthur Duncombe
Conservative
5,621
10.9%
No
1874 (3 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert Meek Carter
Liberal
15,390
25.1%
Yes
William St James Wheelhouse
Conservative
14,864
24.3%
Yes
Robert Tennant
Conservative
13,194
21.5%
Yes
Edward Baines
Liberal
11,850
19.3%
No
Frederic Richard Lees
Liberal
5,954
9.7%
No
1880 (3 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Ewart Gladstone
Liberal
24,622
33.5%
Yes
John Barran
Liberal
23,647
32.1%
Yes
William Lawies Jackson
Conservative
13,331
18.1%
Yes
William St James Wheelhouse
Conservative
11,965
16.3%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Leeds has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Whig, Conservative, Radical, Liberal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Leeds in the 1880 general election?
William Ewart Gladstone (Liberal), John Barran (Liberal), William Lawies Jackson (Conservative) won Leeds in 1880.
Which parties have won Leeds since 1832?
Since 1832, Leeds has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Radical, Whig.
What was the closest result in Leeds?
The closest result on record for Leeds was 1841, when Conservative beat Radical by just 10 votes (0.1 percentage points).
Did Leeds ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Leeds 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.