1830 United Kingdom general election

1830 United Kingdom general election

← 1826 29 July – 1 September 1830 (1830-07-29 – 1830-09-01) 1831 →
← outgoing members elected members →
All 658 seats in the House of Commons 330 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Duke of Wellington Marquess of Lansdowne Sir Edward Knatchbull Party Tory Whig Ultra-Tories Leader since 22 January 1828 1824[1] 1829 Leader's seat House of Lords House of Lords Kent Seats won 250 196 60 Seat change 178 2 60 Popular vote 62,554 96,536 2,305 Percentage 38.4% 59.3% 1.4%
Colours denote the winning party[2]
The UK parliament after the 1830 election
Prime Minister before election Duke of Wellington Tory Prime Minister after vote of no confidence Earl Grey Whig

The 1830 United Kingdom general election was triggered by the death of King George IV and produced the first parliament of the reign of his successor, King William IV. Fought in the aftermath of the Swing Riots, it saw electoral reform become a major election issue. Polling took place in July and August^[3] and the Tories won a plurality over the Whigs, but division among Tory MPs allowed Earl Grey to form an effective government and take the question of electoral reform to the country the following year.

The eighth United Kingdom Parliament was dissolved on 24 July 1830. The new Parliament was summoned to meet on 14 September 1830, for a maximum seven-year term from that date. The maximum term could be and normally was curtailed, by the monarch dissolving the Parliament, before its term expired. This election was the first since 1708 to cause the collapse of the government.^[4]