North Derbyshire — UK General Election Results

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

North Derbyshire elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: Edward Cavendish (Liberal) and John Frederick Cheetham (Liberal). This page covers every general election in North Derbyshire 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 Cavendish (Whig); Thomas Gisborne (Whig)	2,385	48.7% (top seat)	George Sitwell (Conservative)	1,202 (17.3 pts)	79.6%
1835	George Henry Cavendish (Whig); Thomas Gisborne (Whig)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1837	George Henry Cavendish (Whig); William Evans (Whig)	2,422	39.0% (top seat)	George Arkwright (Conservative)	439 (6.1 pts)	65.3%
1841	George Henry Cavendish (Whig); William Evans (Whig)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1847	George Henry Cavendish (Whig); William Evans (Whig)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1852	George Henry Cavendish (Whig); William Evans (Whig)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1857	George Henry Cavendish (Whig); William Pole Thornhill (Independent Liberal)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1859	George Henry Cavendish (Liberal); William Pole Thornhill (Liberal)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1865	George Henry Cavendish (Liberal); William Jackson (Liberal)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1868	George Henry Cavendish (Liberal); Augustus Peter Arkwright (Conservative)	2,698	35.2% (top seat)	William Jackson (Liberal)	61 (0.7 pts)	66.1%
1874	George Henry Cavendish (Liberal); Augustus Peter Arkwright (Conservative)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1880	Edward Cavendish (Liberal); John Frederick Cheetham (Liberal)	3,183	27.9% (top seat)	Augustus Peter Arkwright (Conservative)	247 (2.0 pts)	87.7%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1832 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
William Cavendish	Whig	3,388	48.7%	Yes
Thomas Gisborne	Whig	2,385	34.3%	Yes
George Sitwell	Conservative	1,183	17.0%	No

1835 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
George Henry Cavendish	Whig	Unopposed		Yes
Thomas Gisborne	Whig	Unopposed		Yes

1837 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
George Henry Cavendish	Whig	2,816	39.0%	Yes
William Evans	Whig	2,422	33.5%	Yes
George Arkwright	Conservative	1,983	27.5%	No

1841 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
George Henry Cavendish	Whig	Unopposed		Yes
William Evans	Whig	Unopposed		Yes

1847 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
George Henry Cavendish	Whig	Unopposed		Yes
William Evans	Whig	Unopposed		Yes

1852 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
George Henry Cavendish	Whig	Unopposed		Yes
William Evans	Whig	Unopposed		Yes

1857 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
George Henry Cavendish	Whig	Unopposed		Yes
William Pole Thornhill	Independent Liberal	Unopposed		Yes

1859 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
George Henry Cavendish	Liberal	Unopposed		Yes
William Pole Thornhill	Liberal	Unopposed		Yes

1865 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
George Henry Cavendish	Liberal	Unopposed		Yes
William Jackson	Liberal	Unopposed		Yes

1868 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
George Henry Cavendish	Liberal	2,903	35.2%	Yes
Augustus Peter Arkwright	Conservative	2,698	32.8%	Yes
William Jackson	Liberal	2,637	32.0%	No

1874 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
George Henry Cavendish	Liberal	Unopposed		Yes
Augustus Peter Arkwright	Conservative	Unopposed		Yes

1880 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Edward Cavendish	Liberal	3,416	27.9%	Yes
John Frederick Cheetham	Liberal	3,183	26.0%	Yes
Augustus Peter Arkwright	Conservative	2,936	24.0%	No
William Sidebottom	Conservative	2,718	22.2%	No

Margin Over Time

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

Trend

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won North Derbyshire in the 1880 general election?

Edward Cavendish (Liberal), John Frederick Cheetham (Liberal) won North Derbyshire in 1880.

Which parties have won North Derbyshire since 1832?

Since 1832, North Derbyshire has been won by: Conservative, Independent Liberal, Liberal, Whig.

What was the closest result in North Derbyshire?

The closest result on record for North Derbyshire was 1868, when Liberal beat Liberal by just 61 votes (0.7 percentage points).

Did North Derbyshire ever elect more than one MP at a time?

Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, North Derbyshire 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.