1857 United Kingdom general election

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1857 United Kingdom general election

← 1852 27 March – 24 April 1857 (1857-03-27 – 1857-04-24) 1859 →
← outgoing members elected members →
All 654 seats in the House of Commons 328 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Viscount Palmerston Earl of Derby Party Whig Conservative Leader since 6 February 1855 July 1846 Leader's seat Tiverton House of Lords Last election 324 seats, 57.9% 330 seats, 41.9% Seats won 377[a] 264[c] Seat change 53 66 Popular vote 464,127 239,712 Percentage 64.8%[b] 33.5%[b] Swing 6.9% 8.4%
Colours denote the winning party—as shown in § Results
Composition of the House of Commons after the election
Prime Minister before election Viscount Palmerston Whig Prime Minister after election Viscount Palmerston Whig

In the 1857 United Kingdom general election, the Whigs, led by Lord Palmerston, won a majority in the House of Commons as the Conservative vote fell significantly. The election had been provoked by a vote of censure in Palmerston's government over his approach to the Arrow affair which led to the Second Opium War.

There is no separate tally of votes or seats for the Peelites. They did not contest elections as an organised party but more as independent Free trade Conservatives with varying degrees of distance from the two main parties.

According to A. J. P. Taylor:

The general election of 1857 is unique in our history: the only election ever conducted as a simple plebiscite in favour of an individual. Even the "coupon" election of 1918 claimed to be more than a plebiscite for Lloyd George; even Disraeli and Gladstone offered a clash of policies as well as of personalities. In 1857 there was no issue before the electorate except whether Palmerston should be Prime Minister; and no one could pretend that Palmerston had any policy except to be himself.^[1]

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