Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
Manchester elected 3 MPs at the 1880 general election: John Slagg (Liberal) and Jacob Bright (Liberal) and Hugh Birley (Conservative). This page covers every general election in Manchester 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
Mark Philips (Whig); Charles Poulett Thomson (Whig)
2,068
30.2% (top seat)
Samuel Jones-Loyd (Whig)
236 (2.4 pts)
72.0%
1835
Charles Poulett Thomson (Whig); Mark Philips (Whig)
3,163
34.8% (top seat)
Benjamin Braidley (Conservative)
628 (6.5 pts)
57.1%
1837
Charles Poulett Thomson (Whig); Mark Philips (Whig)
3,750
40.8% (top seat)
William Ewart Gladstone (Conservative)
1,469 (14.4 pts)
45.5%
1841
Mark Philips (Whig); Thomas Milner Gibson (Radical)
3,575
28.3% (top seat)
George Murray (Conservative)
460 (3.5 pts)
60.4%
1847
John Bright (Radical); Thomas Milner Gibson (Radical)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1852
Thomas Milner Gibson (Radical); John Bright (Radical)
5,475
29.4% (top seat)
George Loch (Conservative)
1,111 (5.7 pts)
70.3%
1857
John Potter (Whig); James Aspinall Turner (Whig)
7,854
30.7% (top seat)
Thomas Milner Gibson (Radical)
2,266 (8.3 pts)
75.6%
1859
Thomas Bazley (Liberal); James Aspinall Turner (Liberal)
7,300
29.6% (top seat)
Abel Heywood (Liberal)
1,852 (7.3 pts)
69.5%
1865
Thomas Bazley (Liberal); Edward James (Liberal)
6,698
32.4% (top seat)
Jacob Bright (Liberal)
1,136 (4.7 pts)
56.7%
1868
Hugh Birley (Conservative); Thomas Bazley (Liberal); Jacob Bright (Liberal)
13,154
21.7% (top seat)
Joseph Hoare (Conservative)
470 (0.7 pts)
49.3%
1874
Hugh Birley (Conservative); William Romaine Callender (Conservative); Thomas Bazley (Liberal)
19,325
25.7% (top seat)
Jacob Bright (Liberal)
598 (0.8 pts)
43.0%
1880
John Slagg (Liberal); Jacob Bright (Liberal); Hugh Birley (Conservative)
20,594
27.5% (top seat)
William Henry Houldsworth (Conservative)
326 (0.4 pts)
49.3%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Mark Philips
Whig
2,923
30.2%
Yes
Charles Poulett Thomson
Whig
2,068
21.3%
Yes
Samuel Jones-Loyd
Whig
1,832
18.9%
No
John Thomas Hope
Conservative
1,560
16.1%
No
William Cobbett
Radical
1,305
13.5%
No
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Poulett Thomson
Whig
3,355
34.8%
Yes
Mark Philips
Whig
3,163
32.8%
Yes
Benjamin Braidley
Conservative
2,535
26.3%
No
Charles Wolseley
Radical
583
6.1%
No
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Poulett Thomson
Whig
4,158
40.8%
Yes
Mark Philips
Whig
3,750
36.8%
Yes
William Ewart Gladstone
Conservative
2,281
22.4%
No
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Mark Philips
Whig
3,695
28.3%
Yes
Thomas Milner Gibson
Radical
3,575
27.3%
Yes
George Murray
Conservative
3,115
23.8%
No
William Entwisle
Conservative
2,692
20.6%
No
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Bright
Radical
Unopposed
Yes
Thomas Milner Gibson
Radical
Unopposed
Yes
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Thomas Milner Gibson
Radical
5,762
29.4%
Yes
John Bright
Radical
5,475
28.0%
Yes
George Loch
Conservative
4,364
22.3%
No
Joseph Denman
Conservative
3,969
20.3%
No
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Potter
Whig
8,368
30.7%
Yes
James Aspinall Turner
Whig
7,854
28.8%
Yes
Thomas Milner Gibson
Radical
5,588
20.5%
No
John Bright
Radical
5,458
20.0%
No
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Thomas Bazley
Liberal
7,545
29.6%
Yes
James Aspinall Turner
Liberal
7,300
28.6%
Yes
Abel Heywood
Liberal
5,448
21.4%
No
Joseph Denman
Conservative
5,201
20.4%
No
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Thomas Bazley
Liberal
7,909
32.4%
Yes
Edward James
Liberal
6,698
27.4%
Yes
Jacob Bright
Liberal
5,562
22.8%
No
Abel Heywood
Liberal
4,242
17.4%
No
1868 (3 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Hugh Birley
Conservative
15,486
21.7%
Yes
Thomas Bazley
Liberal
14,192
19.9%
Yes
Jacob Bright
Liberal
13,154
18.4%
Yes
Joseph Hoare
Conservative
12,684
17.8%
No
Ernest Charles Jones
Liberal
10,662
14.9%
No
Mitchell Henry
Liberal
5,236
7.3%
No
1874 (3 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Hugh Birley
Conservative
19,984
25.7%
Yes
William Romaine Callender
Conservative
19,649
25.3%
Yes
Thomas Bazley
Liberal
19,325
24.9%
Yes
Jacob Bright
Liberal
18,727
24.1%
No
1880 (3 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Slagg
Liberal
24,959
27.5%
Yes
Jacob Bright
Liberal
24,789
27.4%
Yes
Hugh Birley
Conservative
20,594
22.7%
Yes
William Henry Houldsworth
Conservative
20,268
22.4%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Manchester 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 Manchester in the 1880 general election?
John Slagg (Liberal), Jacob Bright (Liberal), Hugh Birley (Conservative) won Manchester in 1880.
Which parties have won Manchester since 1832?
Since 1832, Manchester has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Radical, Whig.
What was the closest result in Manchester?
The closest result on record for Manchester was 1880, when Liberal beat Conservative by just 326 votes (0.4 percentage points).
Did Manchester ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Manchester 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.