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All 658 seats in the House of Commons 330 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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The 1865 United Kingdom general election saw the Liberals, led by Lord Palmerston, increase their large majority over the Earl of Derby's Conservatives to 80. The Whig Party changed its name to the Liberal Party between the previous election and this one.
Palmerston died in October the same year and was succeeded by Lord John Russell as Prime Minister.[1] Despite the Liberal majority, the party was divided by the issue of further parliamentary reform, and Russell resigned after being defeated in a vote in the House of Commons in 1866, leading to minority Conservative governments under Derby and then Benjamin Disraeli.
This was the last United Kingdom general election until 2019 where a party increased its majority after having been returned to office at the previous election with a reduced majority.
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