Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
Nottingham elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: Charles Seely (Liberal) and John Skirrow Wright (Liberal). This page covers every general election in Nottingham 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
Ronald Craufurd Ferguson (Whig); John William Ponsonby (Whig)
2,349
41.9% (top seat)
James Edward Gordon (Conservative)
1,373 (24.0 pts)
54.8%
1835
Ronald Craufurd Ferguson (Whig); John Cam Hobhouse (Radical)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1837
Ronald Craufurd Ferguson (Whig); John Cam Hobhouse (Radical)
2,052
29.8% (top seat)
William Henry Chicheley Plowden (Conservative)
655 (9.5 pts)
63.0%
1841
George Gerard de Hochepied Larpent (Whig); John Cam Hobhouse (Radical)
527
39.4% (top seat)
John Walter (Conservative)
383 (28.5 pts)
12.8%
1847
John Walter (Conservative); Feargus Edward O'Connor (Chartist)
1,257
34.8% (top seat)
Thomas Gisborne (Whig)
258 (5.3 pts)
46.9%
1852
Edward Strutt (Whig); John Walter (Peelite)
1,863
45.2% (top seat)
Charles Sturgeon (Chartist)
1,351 (31.2 pts)
41.2%
1857
Charles Paget (Radical); John Walter (Peelite)
1,836
49.4% (top seat)
Ernest Charles Jones (Chartist)
1,222 (25.2 pts)
42.9%
1859
Charles Paget (Liberal); John Mellor (Liberal)
2,181
37.1% (top seat)
Thomas Bromley (Conservative)
345 (5.2 pts)
55.1%
1865
Samuel Morley (Liberal); Robert Juckes Clifton (Independent Liberal)
2,352
25.7% (top seat)
Charles Paget (Liberal)
25 (0.3 pts)
78.5%
1868
Robert Juckes Clifton (Independent Liberal); Charles Ichabod Wright (Conservative)
4,591
28.4% (top seat)
Charles Seely (Liberal)
587 (3.1 pts)
65.7%
1874
William Evelyn Denison (Conservative); Saul Isaac (Conservative)
4,790
24.9% (top seat)
Robert Laycock (Liberal)
1,058 (5.0 pts)
65.5%
1880
Charles Seely (Liberal); John Skirrow Wright (Liberal)
8,055
31.3% (top seat)
Saul Isaac (Conservative)
2,480 (9.1 pts)
72.7%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Ronald Craufurd Ferguson
Whig
2,399
41.9%
Yes
John William Ponsonby
Whig
2,349
41.0%
Yes
James Edward Gordon
Conservative
976
17.1%
No
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Ronald Craufurd Ferguson
Whig
Unopposed
Yes
John Cam Hobhouse
Radical
Unopposed
Yes
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Ronald Craufurd Ferguson
Whig
2,056
29.8%
Yes
John Cam Hobhouse
Radical
2,052
29.7%
Yes
William Henry Chicheley Plowden
Conservative
1,397
20.2%
No
Horace Twiss
Conservative
1,396
20.2%
No
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Gerard de Hochepied Larpent
Whig
529
39.4%
Yes
John Cam Hobhouse
Radical
527
39.3%
Yes
John Walter
Conservative
144
10.7%
No
Thomas Broughton Charlton
Conservative
142
10.6%
No
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Walter
Conservative
1,683
34.8%
Yes
Feargus Edward O'Connor
Chartist
1,257
26.0%
Yes
Thomas Gisborne
Whig
999
20.7%
No
John Cam Hobhouse
Radical
893
18.5%
No
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Edward Strutt
Whig
1,960
45.2%
Yes
John Walter
Peelite
1,863
43.0%
Yes
Charles Sturgeon
Chartist
512
11.8%
No
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Paget
Radical
2,393
49.4%
Yes
John Walter
Peelite
1,836
37.9%
Yes
Ernest Charles Jones
Chartist
614
12.7%
No
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Paget
Liberal
2,456
37.1%
Yes
John Mellor
Liberal
2,181
32.9%
Yes
Thomas Bromley
Conservative
1,836
27.7%
No
Ernest Charles Jones
Chartist
151
2.3%
No
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Samuel Morley
Liberal
2,393
25.7%
Yes
Robert Juckes Clifton
Independent Liberal
2,352
25.3%
Yes
Charles Paget
Liberal
2,327
25.0%
No
Alfred George Marten
Conservative
2,242
24.1%
No
1868 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert Juckes Clifton
Independent Liberal
5,285
28.4%
Yes
Charles Ichabod Wright
Conservative
4,591
24.6%
Yes
Charles Seely
Liberal
4,004
21.5%
No
Peter William Clayden
Liberal
2,716
14.6%
No
Ralph Bernal Osborne
Independent Liberal
2,031
10.9%
No
1874 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Evelyn Denison
Conservative
5,268
24.9%
Yes
Saul Isaac
Conservative
4,790
22.6%
Yes
Robert Laycock
Liberal
3,732
17.6%
No
Henry Du Pré Labouchère
Liberal
3,545
16.8%
No
David William Heath
Liberal-Labour
2,752
13.0%
No
Richard Birkin
Independent Liberal
1,074
5.1%
No
1880 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Seely
Liberal
8,499
31.3%
Yes
John Skirrow Wright
Liberal
8,055
29.6%
Yes
Saul Isaac
Conservative
5,575
20.5%
No
William John Gill
Conservative
5,052
18.6%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Nottingham has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Whig, Radical, Conservative, Chartist, Peelite, Liberal, Independent Liberal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Nottingham in the 1880 general election?
Charles Seely (Liberal), John Skirrow Wright (Liberal) won Nottingham in 1880.
Which parties have won Nottingham since 1832?
Since 1832, Nottingham has been won by: Chartist, Conservative, Independent Liberal, Liberal, Peelite, Radical, Whig.
What was the closest result in Nottingham?
The closest result on record for Nottingham was 1865, when Liberal beat Liberal by just 25 votes (0.3 percentage points).
Did Nottingham ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Nottingham 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.