1830 Liverpool by-election: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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==Background==

[[Liverpool (UK Parliament constituency)|The constituency of Liverpool]] was entitled to two Members of Parliament (MPs). Since 1729, franchise in the constituency had been restricted to the [[Lord Mayor of Liverpool|Mayor]], bailiffs, and freemen who were not receiving alms. This gave an electorate size contemporaneously estimated to be around 3,000,<ref name="Background">{{cite news |title=Representation of Liverpool |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116219765/representation-of-liverpool/ |access-date=11 January 2023 |work=Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser |volume=6 |issue=301 |page=4 |date=2 October 1830 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> although more modern estimates{{clarify}} give more than 5,000 eligible voters in the early 1830s.<ref name="hop1820-1832"/>

[[Isaac Gascoyne]] and [[George Canning]] heavily defeated two other candidates to receive the seats [[1820 United Kingdom general election|in 1820]].<ref name="Background"/> Canning became prime minister in 1823, whereupon his protege, [[William Huskisson]], succeeded him in the constituency. Gascoyne and Huskisson would continue as MPs until Huskisson died in an accident while attending the [[opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway]] on 15 September, necessitating a by-election to determine his successor.<ref name="hop1820-1832"/>