The Marylebone and City By-Elections of 1861 and the Persistence of Metropolitan Conservatism

This article examines the Marylebone and City of London by-elections of 1861, using them as a prism through which to examine the persistence of Conservatism in London during the mid-Victorian period. It notes that historians have tended to dismiss Conservatism in London in this era; and, while accepting that London was a predominantly Liberal city, it suggests we should not overlook the bedrock of Conservative support in the capital on which the party would build. Its general election triumph of 1874, securing nearly half of London’s seats, did not come out of the blue. As the 1861 by-elections indicated, Conservatism in London—while eclipsed—was by no means extinguished or irrelevant.