Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
Middlesex elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: George Francis Hamilton (Conservative) and Octavius Edward Coope (Conservative). This page covers every general election in Middlesex 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
Joseph Hume (Radical); George Byng (Whig)
3,033
36.9% (top seat)
Charles Forbes (Conservative)
1,539 (17.5 pts)
63.2%
1835
George Byng (Whig); Joseph Hume (Radical)
3,096
37.7% (top seat)
Thomas Wood (Conservative)
389 (4.2 pts)
58.1%
1837
George Byng (Whig); Thomas Wood (Conservative)
4,582
26.6% (top seat)
Joseph Hume (Radical)
202 (1.1 pts)
70.3%
1841
George Byng (Whig); Thomas Wood (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1847
Robert Grosvenor (Whig); Ralph Bernal Osborne (Radical)
4,175
39.3% (top seat)
Thomas Wood (Conservative)
717 (5.7 pts)
45.6%
1852
Robert Grosvenor (Whig); Ralph Bernal Osborne (Radical)
4,390
37.7% (top seat)
John Winston Spencer-Churchill (Conservative)
132 (0.9 pts)
47.5%
1857
Robert Culling Hanbury (Whig); Robert Grosvenor (Whig)
5,327
39.7% (top seat)
Henry Charles Cadogan (Conservative)
2,399 (17.5 pts)
45.7%
1859
Robert Culling Hanbury (Liberal); George Henry Charles Byng (Liberal)
3,618
43.6% (top seat)
James Haig (Conservative)
2,471 (29.3 pts)
27.8%
1865
George Henry Charles Byng (Liberal); Robert Culling Hanbury (Liberal)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1868
George Francis Hamilton (Conservative); George Henry Charles Byng (Liberal)
6,487
37.9% (top seat)
Henry Du Pré Labouchère (Liberal)
90 (0.4 pts)
41.1%
1874
George Francis Hamilton (Conservative); Octavius Edward Coope (Conservative)
9,867
33.3% (top seat)
George Henry Charles Byng (Liberal)
4,244 (13.7 pts)
61.9%
1880
George Francis Hamilton (Conservative); Octavius Edward Coope (Conservative)
12,328
37.8% (top seat)
Herbert John Gladstone (Liberal)
3,452 (10.1 pts)
55.5%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Joseph Hume
Radical
3,238
36.9%
Yes
George Byng
Whig
3,033
34.6%
Yes
Charles Forbes
Conservative
1,494
17.0%
No
John Scott Lillie
Radical
1,004
11.4%
No
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Byng
Whig
3,505
37.7%
Yes
Joseph Hume
Radical
3,096
33.3%
Yes
Thomas Wood
Conservative
2,707
29.1%
No
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Byng
Whig
4,796
26.6%
Yes
Thomas Wood
Conservative
4,582
25.4%
Yes
Joseph Hume
Radical
4,380
24.3%
No
Henry Royds Pownall
Conservative
4,273
23.7%
No
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Byng
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
Thomas Wood
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert Grosvenor
Whig
4,944
39.3%
Yes
Ralph Bernal Osborne
Radical
4,175
33.2%
Yes
Thomas Wood
Conservative
3,458
27.5%
No
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert Grosvenor
Whig
5,241
37.7%
Yes
Ralph Bernal Osborne
Radical
4,390
31.6%
Yes
John Winston Spencer-Churchill
Conservative
4,258
30.7%
No
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert Culling Hanbury
Whig
5,426
39.7%
Yes
Robert Grosvenor
Whig
5,327
38.9%
Yes
Henry Charles Cadogan
Conservative
2,928
21.4%
No
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert Culling Hanbury
Liberal
3,678
43.6%
Yes
George Henry Charles Byng
Liberal
3,618
42.9%
Yes
James Haig
Conservative
1,147
13.6%
No
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Henry Charles Byng
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
Robert Culling Hanbury
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
1868 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Francis Hamilton
Conservative
7,850
37.9%
Yes
George Henry Charles Byng
Liberal
6,487
31.3%
Yes
Henry Du Pré Labouchère
Liberal
6,397
30.9%
No
1874 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Francis Hamilton
Conservative
10,343
33.3%
Yes
Octavius Edward Coope
Conservative
9,867
31.8%
Yes
George Henry Charles Byng
Liberal
5,623
18.1%
No
Augustus Frederick Lehmann
Liberal
5,192
16.7%
No
1880 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Francis Hamilton
Conservative
12,904
37.8%
Yes
Octavius Edward Coope
Conservative
12,328
36.1%
Yes
Herbert John Gladstone
Liberal
8,876
26.0%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Middlesex has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Radical, Whig, Conservative, Liberal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Middlesex in the 1880 general election?
George Francis Hamilton (Conservative), Octavius Edward Coope (Conservative) won Middlesex in 1880.
Which parties have won Middlesex since 1832?
Since 1832, Middlesex has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Radical, Whig.
What was the closest result in Middlesex?
The closest result on record for Middlesex was 1868, when Conservative beat Liberal by just 90 votes (0.4 percentage points).
Did Middlesex ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Middlesex 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.