Newport (Isle of Wight) — UK General Election Results
Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
Newport (Isle of Wight) was won by Liberal at the 1880 general election, with a majority of 58 votes over Conservative. This page covers every general election in Newport (Isle of Wight) 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 Heywood Hawkins (Whig); William Henry Ord (Whig)
216
36.4% (top seat)
James Willoughby Gordon (Conservative)
55 (9.3 pts)
70.4%
1835
William Henry Ord (Whig); John Heywood Hawkins (Whig)
230
26.0% (top seat)
James Willoughby Gordon (Conservative)
1 (0.1 pts)
89.7%
1837
John Heywood Hawkins (Whig); William John Blake (Whig)
263
26.3% (top seat)
Charles Wykeham Martin (Conservative)
19 (1.9 pts)
79.6%
1841
Charles Wykeham-Martin (Conservative); William John Hamilton (Conservative)
252
26.4% (top seat)
Thomas Gisborne (Whig)
23 (2.4 pts)
64.1%
1847
William Henry Chicheley Plowden (Peelite); Charles Wykeham-Martin (Peelite)
252
26.1% (top seat)
William John Blake (Whig)
2 (0.2 pts)
77.6%
1852
William Biggs (Radical); William Nathaniel Massey (Radical)
306
27.4% (top seat)
Charles Wykeham Martin (Peelite)
49 (4.3 pts)
79.9%
1857
Charles Edward Mangles (Whig); Charles Buxton (Whig)
294
26.8% (top seat)
Robert William Kennard (Conservative)
11 (1.0 pts)
87.1%
1859
Robert William Kennard (Conservative); Philip Lybbe Powys (Conservative)
312
37.1% (top seat)
Robert Charles (Liberal)
84 (9.8 pts)
66.4%
1865
Charles Wykeham-Martin (Liberal); Robert William Kennard (Conservative)
307
36.5% (top seat)
Auberon Edward William Molyneux Herbert (Conservative)
77 (9.1 pts)
65.8%
1868
Charles Wykeham Martin (Liberal)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1874
Charles Cavendish Clifford (Liberal)
522
52.4%
Henry Robert Twyford (Conservative)
47 (4.7 pts)
85.5%
1880
Charles Cavendish Clifford (Liberal)
618
52.5%
Henry Robert Twyford (Conservative)
58 (4.9 pts)
86.5%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Heywood Hawkins
Whig
216
36.4%
Yes
William Henry Ord
Whig
216
36.4%
Yes
James Willoughby Gordon
Conservative
161
27.2%
No
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Henry Ord
Whig
233
26.0%
Yes
John Heywood Hawkins
Whig
230
25.6%
Yes
James Willoughby Gordon
Conservative
229
25.5%
No
William John Hamilton
Conservative
205
22.9%
No
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Heywood Hawkins
Whig
265
26.3%
Yes
William John Blake
Whig
263
26.1%
Yes
Charles Wykeham Martin
Conservative
244
24.2%
No
William John Hamilton
Conservative
236
23.4%
No
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Wykeham-Martin
Conservative
254
26.4%
Yes
William John Hamilton
Conservative
252
26.2%
Yes
Thomas Gisborne
Whig
229
23.8%
No
William John Blake
Whig
226
23.5%
No
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Henry Chicheley Plowden
Peelite
262
26.1%
Yes
Charles Wykeham-Martin
Peelite
252
25.1%
Yes
William John Blake
Whig
250
25.0%
No
Charles Crompton
Whig
238
23.8%
No
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Biggs
Radical
310
27.4%
Yes
William Nathaniel Massey
Radical
306
27.1%
Yes
Charles Wykeham Martin
Peelite
257
22.7%
No
William Henry Chicheley Plowden
Peelite
257
22.7%
No
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Edward Mangles
Whig
305
26.8%
Yes
Charles Buxton
Whig
294
25.8%
Yes
Robert William Kennard
Conservative
283
24.8%
No
William Anderson Rose
Conservative
257
22.6%
No
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert William Kennard
Conservative
319
37.1%
Yes
Philip Lybbe Powys
Conservative
312
36.3%
Yes
Robert Charles
Liberal
228
26.5%
No
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Wykeham-Martin
Liberal
309
36.5%
Yes
Robert William Kennard
Conservative
307
36.3%
Yes
Auberon Edward William Molyneux Herbert
Conservative
230
27.2%
No
1868
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Wykeham Martin
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
1874
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Cavendish Clifford
Liberal
522
52.4%
Yes
Henry Robert Twyford
Conservative
475
47.6%
No
1880
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Cavendish Clifford
Liberal
618
52.5%
Yes
Henry Robert Twyford
Conservative
560
47.5%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Newport (Isle of Wight) has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Whig, Conservative, Peelite, Radical, Liberal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Newport (Isle of Wight) in the 1880 general election?
Liberal won Newport (Isle of Wight) in 1880 with 618 votes (52.5%), a majority of 58 votes over Conservative in second place.
Which parties have won Newport (Isle of Wight) since 1832?
Since 1832, Newport (Isle of Wight) has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Peelite, Radical, Whig.
What was the closest result in Newport (Isle of Wight)?
The closest result on record for Newport (Isle of Wight) was 1835, when Whig beat Conservative by just 1 votes (0.1 percentage points).
Did Newport (Isle of Wight) ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Newport (Isle of Wight) 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.