South West Lancashire — UK General Election Results
South West Lancashire elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: Richard Assheton Cross (Conservative) and John Ireland Blackburne (Conservative). This page covers every general election in South West Lancashire from 1868 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, 1868–1880
| Election | Elected | Votes | Vote Share | Runner-up | Majority | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1868 | Richard Assheton Cross (Conservative); Charles Turner (Conservative) | 7,676 | 26.0% (top seat) | William Ewart Gladstone (Liberal) | 261 (0.9 pts) | 70.0% |
| 1874 | Richard Assheton Cross (Conservative); Charles Turner (Conservative) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1880 | Richard Assheton Cross (Conservative); John Ireland Blackburne (Conservative) | 10,905 | 27.7% (top seat) | William Rathbone (Liberal) | 1,239 (3.0 pts) | 79.1% |
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1868 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Assheton Cross | Conservative | 7,729 | 26.0% | Yes |
| Charles Turner | Conservative | 7,676 | 25.8% | Yes |
| William Ewart Gladstone | Liberal | 7,415 | 24.9% | No |
| Henry Riversdale Grenfell | Liberal | 6,939 | 23.3% | No |
1874 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Assheton Cross | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
| Charles Turner | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
1880 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Assheton Cross | Conservative | 11,420 | 27.7% | Yes |
| John Ireland Blackburne | Conservative | 10,905 | 26.5% | Yes |
| William Rathbone | Liberal | 9,666 | 23.5% | No |
| Henry Molyneux | Liberal | 9,207 | 22.3% | No |
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
South West Lancashire has been contested at 3 general elections on record since 1868. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Conservative.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won South West Lancashire in the 1880 general election?
Richard Assheton Cross (Conservative), John Ireland Blackburne (Conservative) won South West Lancashire in 1880.
Which parties have won South West Lancashire since 1868?
Since 1868, South West Lancashire has been won by: Conservative.
What was the closest result in South West Lancashire?
The closest result on record for South West Lancashire was 1868, when Conservative beat Liberal by just 261 votes (0.9 percentage points).
Did South West Lancashire ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, South West Lancashire 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.