1780 British general election

1780 British general election

6 September – 18 October 1780 (1780-09-06 – 1780-10-18)
All 558 seats in the House of Commons 280 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Lord North Henry Seymour Conway Party Northite Rockinghamite Leader's seat Banbury Thetford Seats won 260 254 Seat change 83 39
Prime Minister before election Lord North Northite Prime Minister after election Lord North Northite

The 1780 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 15th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was held during the American War of Independence and returned Lord North to form a new government with a small and rocky majority. The opposition consisted largely of the Rockingham Whigs, the Whig faction led by the Marquess of Rockingham. North's opponents referred to his supporters as Tories, but no Tory party existed at the time and his supporters rejected the label.

Summary of the constituencies

See 1796 British general election for details. The constituencies used were the same throughout the existence of the Parliament of Great Britain.

Dates of election

The general election was held between 6 September 1780 and 18 October 1780.

At this period elections did not take place at the same time in every constituency. The returning officer in each county or parliamentary borough fixed the precise date (see hustings for details of the conduct of the elections).

Results

Seats summary

Parliamentary seats Tory   50.6% Rockinghamite   49.4%

See also

• List of parliaments of Great Britain
• List of MPs elected in the British general election, 1780

References

• British Electoral Facts 1832–1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher (Ashgate Publishing Ltd 2000). (For dates of elections before 1832, see the footnote to Table 5.02).
• Namier, L. B., & Brooke, J. (1964). The House of Commons, 1754–1790. New York, Published for the History of Parliament Trust by Oxford University Press