1754 British general election

← 1747 18 April – 20 May 1754 (1754-04-18 –1754-05-20) 1761 →
← outgoing members elected members →
All558 seats in theHouse of Commons 280 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Pat Leader Duke of Newcastle Edmund Isham — Party Whig Tory Patriot Whigs Leader's seat House of Lords Northamptonshire — Seats won 368 106 42 Seat change 30 11 52
Composition of theHouse of Commons after the election
Prime Minister before election Duke of Newcastle Whig Prime Minister after election Duke of Newcastle Whig

The1754 British general election returned members to serve in theHouse of Commons of the11th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of theParliament of England and theParliament of Scotland in 1707. Owing to the extensive corruption and theDuke of Newcastle's personal influence in thepocket boroughs, the government was returned to office with a working majority.

The old parties had disappeared almost completely by this stage; anyone with reasonable hopes of achieving office called himself a 'Whig', although the term had lost most of its original meaning. While 'Tory' and 'Whig' were still used to refer to particular political leanings and tendencies, parties in the old sense were no longer relevant except in a small minority of constituencies, such asOxfordshire, with most elections being fought on local issues and the holders of political power being determined by the shifting allegiance of factions and aristocratic families rather than the strength or popularity of any organised parties. A small group of members of parliament still considered themselves Tories, but they were almost totally irrelevant to practical politics and entirely excluded from holding public office. The 106 seats they held at this election is the fewest they have ever held in history. In seats percentage terms, the Tories held 19% of the seats - the lowest proportion ever until surpassed by its successorConservative Party's 18.62% (or 121 of 650 seats) won270 years later.

The resulting eleventhParliament of Great Britain was convened on 31 May 1754 and sat through eight sessions until its dissolution on 20 April 1761.

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 13 April 1754 and 20 May 1754.

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).

• List of parliaments of Great Britain
• 11th Parliament of Great Britain
• List of MPs elected in the 1754 British general election
• Oxfordshire in the 1754 British general election

• 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).

• 1754 in politics
• 1754 in Great Britain
• 18th-century elections
• Elections to the Parliament of Great Britain
• Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle

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