Marquess of Salisbury Conservative William Gladstone Liberal The 1885 United Kingdom general election was held from 24 November to 18 December 1885.

For the first time a majority of adult males could vote and most constituencies by law returned a single member to Parliament, fulfilling one of the ideals of Chartism to provide direct single-member, single-electorate accountability.

The Irish Nationalists held the balance of power between the Liberals and the Conservatives who sat with a large number of allied Unionist MPs (their name referred to their support for the Union of Great Britain and Ireland).

The pressure of minority government status exacerbated divisions within the Liberals over Irish Home Rule.

The 1885 election saw the first socialist party participate, with the Social Democratic Federation led by H. M. Hyndman standing three candidates.