Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
West Cumberland elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: David Ainsworth (Liberal) and Percy Scawen Wyndham (Conservative). This page covers every general election in West Cumberland 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 Lowther (Conservative); Edward Stanley (Conservative)
1,693
36.9% (top seat)
Henry Curwen (Whig)
183 (3.6 pts)
66.0%
1835
Edward Stanley (Conservative); Samuel Irton (Conservative)
1,883
35.4% (top seat)
Francis Aglionby (Radical)
302 (5.6 pts)
64.6%
1837
Edward Stanley (Conservative); Samuel Irton (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1841
Samuel Irton (Conservative); Edward Stanley (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1847
Edward Stanley (Conservative); Henry Lowther (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1852
Samuel Irton (Conservative); Henry Lowther (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1857
Henry Lowther (Conservative); Wilfrid Lawson (Radical)
1,554
52.5% (top seat)
Henry Wyndham (Conservative)
1,554 (44.7 pts)
39.6%
1859
Henry Wyndham (Conservative); Henry Lowther (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1865
Percy Scawen Wyndham (Conservative); Henry Lowther (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1868
Percy Scawen Wyndham (Conservative); Henry Lowther (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1874
Percy Scawen Wyndham (Conservative); Josslyn Francis Pennington (Conservative)
2,520
29.4% (top seat)
James William Ballantine Dykes (Liberal)
734 (8.5 pts)
71.3%
1880
David Ainsworth (Liberal); Percy Scawen Wyndham (Conservative)
2,686
37.4% (top seat)
Josslyn Francis Pennington (Conservative)
62 (0.7 pts)
56.6%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Lowther
Conservative
1,875
36.9%
Yes
Edward Stanley
Conservative
1,693
33.3%
Yes
Henry Curwen
Whig
1,510
29.7%
No
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Edward Stanley
Conservative
1,899
35.4%
Yes
Samuel Irton
Conservative
1,883
35.1%
Yes
Francis Aglionby
Radical
1,581
29.5%
No
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Edward Stanley
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Samuel Irton
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Samuel Irton
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Edward Stanley
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Edward Stanley
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Henry Lowther
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Samuel Irton
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Henry Lowther
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Henry Lowther
Conservative
1,825
52.5%
Yes
Wilfrid Lawson
Radical
1,554
44.7%
Yes
Henry Wyndham
Conservative
0
0.0%
No
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Henry Wyndham
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Henry Lowther
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Percy Scawen Wyndham
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Henry Lowther
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1868 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Percy Scawen Wyndham
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Henry Lowther
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1874 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Percy Scawen Wyndham
Conservative
2,532
29.4%
Yes
Josslyn Francis Pennington
Conservative
2,520
29.3%
Yes
James William Ballantine Dykes
Liberal
1,786
20.7%
No
David Ainsworth
Liberal
1,771
20.6%
No
1880 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
David Ainsworth
Liberal
3,178
37.4%
Yes
Percy Scawen Wyndham
Conservative
2,686
31.6%
Yes
Josslyn Francis Pennington
Conservative
2,624
30.9%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
West Cumberland has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Conservative, Radical, Liberal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won West Cumberland in the 1880 general election?
David Ainsworth (Liberal), Percy Scawen Wyndham (Conservative) won West Cumberland in 1880.
Which parties have won West Cumberland since 1832?
Since 1832, West Cumberland has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Radical.
What was the closest result in West Cumberland?
The closest result on record for West Cumberland was 1880, when Liberal beat Conservative by just 62 votes (0.7 percentage points).
Did West Cumberland ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, West Cumberland 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.