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All 654 seats in the House of Commons 328 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Colours denote the winning party—as shown in § Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() Composition of the House of Commons after the election | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In the 1857 United Kingdom general election, the Whigs, led by Lord Palmerston, won a majority in the House of Commons as the Conservative vote fell significantly. The election had been provoked by a vote of censure in Palmerston's government over his approach to the Arrow affair which led to the Second Opium War.
There is no separate tally of votes or seats for the Peelites. They did not contest elections as an organised party but more as independent Free trade Conservatives with varying degrees of distance from the two main parties.
According to A. J. P. Taylor:
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