Since the previous general election fighting in the Napoleonic Wars with France had resumed in 1803. ToryPrime Minister Henry Addington had resigned in 1804. William Pitt the Younger formed a new coalition of pro-government Whig and Tory politicians to prosecute the war. The opposition Whigs, led by Charles James Fox, continued to oppose the government. They were strengthened by a group of Pitt's former supporters who had aligned themselves with Fox in opposition to Addington after 1802 and who did not accompany Pitt and his other friends back to office in 1804. When Pitt died on 23 January 1806 a new ministry was formed by Grenville. It included Fox and Addington as well as other leading political figures of the day. However it did not include George Canning, who had inherited the leadership of Pitt's faction in the House of Commons or the Duke of Portland who led it in the House of Lords. This government was known as the Ministry of all the Talents. An attempt was made to end the Napoleonic Wars by negotiation. As this hope failed the war continued. Grenville also tried to strengthen the government, but was unable to persuade the Pittites to join him either as a body or by detaching some leading figures. The Prime Minister was not prepared to exclude Fox and his friends as the Pittites wanted. Lord Grenville then decided to hold a general election to strengthen his government. The King granted a dissolution. The Talents were in office at the time of this election and continued after it, but the Ministry was weakened by the death of Fox on 13 September 1806. The election itself was a disappointment. In the eighteenth century a government with the King's backing could expect to make substantial gains at an election. However Pitt's financial reforms had weakened the ability of the Treasury to manipulate election results. Foord estimated that the Ministry only gained about thirty seats by the 1806 appeal to the country.
Dates of election
At this period there was not one election day. After receiving a writ for the election to be held, the localreturning officer fixed the election timetable for the particular constituency or constituencies he was concerned with. Polling in seats with contested elections could continue for many days. The time between the first and last contested elections was 29 October to 17 December 1806.
Summary of the constituencies
is included in Wales in these tables. Sources for this period may include the county in England. Table 1: Constituencies and MPs, by type and country
Country
BC
CC
UC
Total C
BMP
CMP
UMP
Total MPs
202
39
2
243
404
78
4
486
13
13
0
26
13
14
0
27
15
30
0
45
15
30
0
45
33
32
1
66
35
64
1
100
263
114
3
380
467
176
5
658
Table 2: Number of seats per constituency, by type and country
