West Somerset — UK General Election Results
West Somerset elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: Vaughan Hanning Vaughan-Lee (Conservative) and Mordaunt Fenwick Bisset (Conservative). This page covers every general election in West Somerset 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 | Edward Ayshford Sanford (Whig); Charles John Kemeys-Tynte (Whig) | 4,299 | 45.6% (top seat) | Bickham Escott (Conservative) | 2,850 (27.0 pts) | 67.0% |
| 1835 | Edward Ayshford Sanford (Whig); Charles John Kemeys-Tynte (Whig) | 3,586 | 37.2% (top seat) | Bickham Escott (Conservative) | 820 (8.1 pts) | 66.1% |
| 1837 | Thomas Dyke Acland (Conservative); Edward Ayshford Sanford (Whig) | 3,556 | 26.9% (top seat) | Francis Henry Dickinson (Conservative) | 32 (0.2 pts) | 81.4% |
| 1841 | Thomas Dyke Acland (Conservative); Francis Henry Dickinson (Conservative) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1847 | Charles Aaron Moody (Conservative); Alexander Hood (Conservative) | 3,311 | 29.2% (top seat) | Philip Pleydell-Bouverie (Whig) | 528 (4.3 pts) | 73.1% |
| 1852 | William Henry Powell Gore-Langton (Conservative); Charles Moody (Conservative) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1857 | William Henry Powell Gore-Langton (Conservative); Charles Aaron Moody (Conservative) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1859 | Alexander Fuller-Acland-Hood (Conservative); Charles Aaron Moody (Conservative) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1865 | William Henry Powell Gore-Langton (Conservative); Alexander Fuller Acland-Hood (Conservative) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1868 | William Henry Powell Gore-Langton (Conservative); Arthur Wellington Alexander Nelson Hood (Conservative) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1874 | Vaughan Hanning Lee (Conservative); Arthur Wellington Alexander Nelson Hood (Conservative) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1880 | Vaughan Hanning Vaughan-Lee (Conservative); Mordaunt Fenwick Bisset (Conservative) | 3,136 | 34.3% (top seat) | Charles Thomas Dyke Acland (Liberal) | 169 (1.8 pts) | 56.0% |
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edward Ayshford Sanford | Whig | 4,815 | 45.6% | Yes |
| Charles John Kemeys-Tynte | Whig | 4,299 | 40.7% | Yes |
| Bickham Escott | Conservative | 1,449 | 13.7% | No |
1835 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edward Ayshford Sanford | Whig | 3,770 | 37.2% | Yes |
| Charles John Kemeys-Tynte | Whig | 3,586 | 35.4% | Yes |
| Bickham Escott | Conservative | 2,766 | 27.3% | No |
1837 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Dyke Acland | Conservative | 3,883 | 26.9% | Yes |
| Edward Ayshford Sanford | Whig | 3,556 | 24.7% | Yes |
| Francis Henry Dickinson | Conservative | 3,524 | 24.4% | No |
| Charles John Kemeys-Tynte | Whig | 3,458 | 24.0% | No |
1841 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Dyke Acland | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
| Francis Henry Dickinson | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
1847 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Aaron Moody | Conservative | 3,603 | 29.2% | Yes |
| Alexander Hood | Conservative | 3,311 | 26.9% | Yes |
| Philip Pleydell-Bouverie | Whig | 2,783 | 22.6% | No |
| Bickham Escott | Radical | 2,624 | 21.3% | No |
1852 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Henry Powell Gore-Langton | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
| Charles Moody | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
1857 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Henry Powell Gore-Langton | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
| Charles Aaron Moody | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
1859 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Fuller-Acland-Hood | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
| Charles Aaron Moody | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
1865 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Henry Powell Gore-Langton | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
| Alexander Fuller Acland-Hood | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
1868 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Henry Powell Gore-Langton | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
| Arthur Wellington Alexander Nelson Hood | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
1874 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vaughan Hanning Lee | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
| Arthur Wellington Alexander Nelson Hood | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
1880 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vaughan Hanning Vaughan-Lee | Conservative | 3,186 | 34.3% | Yes |
| Mordaunt Fenwick Bisset | Conservative | 3,136 | 33.8% | Yes |
| Charles Thomas Dyke Acland | Liberal | 2,967 | 31.9% | No |
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
West Somerset has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Whig, Conservative.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won West Somerset in the 1880 general election?
Vaughan Hanning Vaughan-Lee (Conservative), Mordaunt Fenwick Bisset (Conservative) won West Somerset in 1880.
Which parties have won West Somerset since 1832?
Since 1832, West Somerset has been won by: Conservative, Whig.
What was the closest result in West Somerset?
The closest result on record for West Somerset was 1837, when Conservative beat Conservative by just 32 votes (0.2 percentage points).
Did West Somerset ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, West Somerset 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.