United Kingdom general election, 1918

December 1910 election

1918 election

1922 election

David Lloyd George

Andrew Bonar Law

William Adamson

Herbert Henry Asquith

Eamon de Valera

The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first UK general election in which women could vote. Polling was held on the 14 December 1918, although the count did not begin until the 28 December. The election was won by a coalition of the Conservatives under Andrew Bonar Law, most of the Liberals under David Lloyd George, and a few independent and former Labour MPs, and produced a government which retained Lloyd George as Prime Minister. Labour, led by William Adamson, vastly increased their share of the vote, but only slightly increased their number of seats. They were, however, the main parliamentary opposition. The anti-coalition Liberals under former Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith, won few seats.

In Ireland, the Irish Parliamentary Party lost almost all their seats, most of which were won by Sinn Féin under Eamon de Valera (see Irish (UK) general election, 1918). In was in this election that the UK's first ever woman MP was elected: Constance Georgine, Countess Markiewicz (Dublin St Patricks, Sinn Féin). In accordance with Sinn Féin policy, she declined to take her seat in the British House of Commons, sitting instead in the Irish revolutionary assembly, Dáil Éireann. On 17th May 1918 almost the entire leadership of Sinn Féin including Griffith and de Valera were arrested. In total 47 of the elected Sinn Féin MPs were elected from Jail.

Results

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