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Liverpool — UK General Election Results

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

John William Maule Ramsay (Liberal) and Dudley Francis Stuart Ryder (Conservative) and Edward Ewart Whitley (Conservative) were elected unopposed for Liverpool at the 1880 general election. This page covers every general election in Liverpool 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 Ewart (Radical); Dudley Ryder (Conservative) 4,260 29.8% (top seat) Thomas Thornely (Radical) 164 (1.0 pts) 73.3%
1835 Dudley Ryder (Conservative); William Ewart (Radical) 4,075 27.6% (top seat) Howard Douglas (Conservative) 206 (1.3 pts) 64.0%
1837 Dudley Ryder (Conservative); Cresswell Cresswell (Conservative) 4,652 26.6% (top seat) William Ewart (Radical) 271 (1.5 pts) 80.6%
1841 Dudley Ryder (Conservative); Cresswell Cresswell (Conservative) 5,792 28.7% (top seat) Joshua Walmsley (Whig) 1,145 (5.5 pts) 67.1%
1847 Edward Cardwell (Peelite); Thomas Bernard Birch (Whig) 4,882 32.9% (top seat) Digby Mackworth (Conservative) 793 (4.7 pts) 49.9%
1852 Charles Turner (Conservative); William Forbes Mackenzie (Conservative) 6,367 28.8% (top seat) Edward Cardwell (Peelite) 1,120 (4.8 pts) 66.6%
1857 Thomas Berry Horsfall (Conservative); Joseph Christopher Ewart (Whig) 7,121 36.0% (top seat) Charles Turner (Conservative) 805 (3.8 pts) 57.3%
1859 Joseph Christopher Ewart (Liberal); Thomas Berry Horsfall (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1865 Thomas Berry Horsfall (Conservative); Samuel Robert Graves (Conservative); Joseph Christopher Ewart (Liberal) 7,160 34.9% (top seat) None (None) None (None pts) 54.6%
1868 Samuel Robert Graves (Conservative); Dudley Francis Stuart Ryder (Conservative); William Rathbone (Liberal) 15,337 26.5% (top seat) William Nathaniel Massey (Liberal) 320 (0.5 pts) 53.3%
1874 Dudley Francis Stuart Ryder (Conservative); John Torr (Conservative); William Rathbone (Liberal) 16,706 27.0% (top seat) William Sproston Caine (Liberal) 905 (1.2 pts) 45.4%
1880 John William Maule Ramsay (Liberal); Dudley Francis Stuart Ryder (Conservative); Edward Ewart Whitley (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1832 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Ewart Radical 4,93129.8% Yes
Dudley Ryder Conservative 4,26025.8% Yes
Thomas Thornely Radical 4,09624.8% No
Howard Douglas Conservative 3,24919.6% No

1835 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Dudley Ryder Conservative 4,40727.6% Yes
William Ewart Radical 4,07525.5% Yes
Howard Douglas Conservative 3,86924.2% No
James Morris Whig 3,62722.7% No

1837 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Dudley Ryder Conservative 4,78626.6% Yes
Cresswell Cresswell Conservative 4,65225.8% Yes
William Ewart Radical 4,38124.3% No
Howard Elphinstone Radical 4,20623.3% No

1841 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Dudley Ryder Conservative 5,97928.7% Yes
Cresswell Cresswell Conservative 5,79227.8% Yes
Joshua Walmsley Whig 4,64722.3% No
Henry John Temple Whig 4,43121.3% No

1847 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Edward Cardwell Peelite 5,58132.9% Yes
Thomas Bernard Birch Whig 4,88228.8% Yes
Digby Mackworth Conservative 4,08924.1% No
John James Robert Manners Conservative 2,41314.2% No

1852 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charles Turner Conservative 6,69328.8% Yes
William Forbes Mackenzie Conservative 6,36727.4% Yes
Edward Cardwell Peelite 5,24722.6% No
Joseph Christopher Ewart Whig 4,91021.1% No

1857 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Berry Horsfall Conservative 7,56636.0% Yes
Joseph Christopher Ewart Whig 7,12133.9% Yes
Charles Turner Conservative 6,31630.1% No

1859 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Joseph Christopher Ewart Liberal Unopposed Yes
Thomas Berry Horsfall Conservative Unopposed Yes

1865 (3 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Berry Horsfall Conservative 7,86634.9% Yes
Samuel Robert Graves Conservative 7,50033.3% Yes
Joseph Christopher Ewart Liberal 7,16031.8% Yes

1868 (3 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Samuel Robert Graves Conservative 16,76626.5% Yes
Dudley Francis Stuart Ryder Conservative 16,22225.6% Yes
William Rathbone Liberal 15,33724.2% Yes
William Nathaniel Massey Liberal 15,01723.7% No

1874 (3 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Dudley Francis Stuart Ryder Conservative 20,20627.0% Yes
John Torr Conservative 19,76326.4% Yes
William Rathbone Liberal 16,70622.3% Yes
William Sproston Caine Liberal 15,80121.1% No
William Shaw Simpson Liberal-Labour 2,4353.3% No

1880 (3 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John William Maule Ramsay Liberal Unopposed Yes
Dudley Francis Stuart Ryder Conservative Unopposed Yes
Edward Ewart Whitley Conservative Unopposed Yes

Margin Over Time

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

1832: Radical margin 1.0 pts 1835: Conservative margin 1.3 pts 1837: Conservative margin 1.5 pts 1841: Conservative margin 5.5 pts 1847: Peelite margin 4.7 pts 1852: Conservative margin 4.8 pts 1857: Conservative margin 3.8 pts 1868: Conservative margin 0.5 pts 1874: Conservative margin 1.2 pts 1832 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1868 1874

Trend

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Liverpool in the 1880 general election?

John William Maule Ramsay (Liberal), Dudley Francis Stuart Ryder (Conservative), Edward Ewart Whitley (Conservative) were elected unopposed for Liverpool in 1880 -- no other candidate stood.

Which parties have won Liverpool since 1832?

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

What was the closest result in Liverpool?

The closest result on record for Liverpool was 1868, when Conservative beat Liberal by just 320 votes (0.5 percentage points).

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

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