The1841 United Kingdom general election was held between 29 June and 22 July 1841. Following increasing government defeats, theConservatives underSir Robert Peel won a decisive victory against the governingWhigs.[2]
The Conservatives campaigned mainly on an11-point programme modified from their previous electoral effort and designed by Peel, whilst the Whigs emphasised reforming theimport duties on corn, replacing the existing sliding scale with a uniform rate. The Whig position lost them support amongst protectionists, and the Whigs saw heavy losses in constituencies like theWest Riding, where aristocratic Whig families who held a strong tradition of unbroken representation in Parliament were rejected by the electorate.
O'Connell, who had been governing with the Whigs through acompact, felt the government's unpopularity rub off on him. His own party was shattered in the election. Barely a dozen Repealers retained their seats, and O'Connell himself lost in Dublin while his son was defeated in Carlow.[3] The Chartists picked up only a few votes.
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