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All558 seats in theHouse of Commons 280 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Composition of theHouse of Commons after election | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The1715 British general election was held on 22 January 1715 to 9 March 1715, to elect members of theHouse of Commons, the lower house of theParliament of Great Britain. It returned members to serve in theHouse of Commons of the5th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the 1707 merger of theParliament of England and theParliament of Scotland.
In October 1714, soon afterGeorge I had arrived in London after ascending to the throne, he dismissed the Tory cabinet and replaced it with one almost entirely composed of Whigs, as they were responsible for securing his succession.
The election of 1715 saw the Whigs win an overwhelming majority in the House of Commons, and afterwards virtually all Tories in central or local government were purged, leading to a period of Whig ascendancy lasting almost fifty years during which Tories were almost entirely excluded from office. The Whigs then moved toimpeach Robert Harley, the former Tory first minister. After he was imprisoned in theTower of London for two years, the case ultimately ended with his acquittal in 1717.
See1796 British general election for details. The constituencies used were the same throughout the existence of the Parliament of Great Britain.
The general election was held between 22 January 1715 and 9 March 1715. At this period elections did not take place at the same time in every constituency. The returning officer in each county orparliamentary borough fixed the precise date (seehustings for details of the conduct of the elections).
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