The 1859 United Kingdom general election in Ireland produced the last overall victory for the Conservatives in Ireland. They won a majority of seats on the island despite the Liberals receiving over 60% of the vote; this was partly due to a disproportionately large number of Conservative candidates standing unopposed. The franchise was restricted to the middle and upper classes.
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105 of the 670 seats to the House of Commons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results of the 1859 election in Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Electoral reform in subsequent decades saw something of a rise in the Tory vote in Ireland accompanied by a diminution in the number of seats the party won. This was again due in some degree to the relative numbers of candidates standing unopposed for the two parties.
Results
| Party | Candidates | Unopposed | Seats | Seats change | Votes | % | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irish Conservative | 67 | 36 | 55 |  11 | 35,258 | 38.9 |  4.7 | |
| Whig | 73 | 26 | 50 | 2 | 57,409 | 61.1 | 13.3 | |
| Total | 140 | 62 | 105 |  | 92,667 | 100 | ||