office_contested united kingdom general election
The 1874 United Kingdom general election saw the Liberals , led by William Ewart Gladstone , win a majority of the votes cast , but Benjamin Disraeli ' s Conservatives won the majority of seats in the House of Commons , largely because they won a number of uncontested seats . It was the first Conservative victory in a General Election since 1841 . The election also saw Irish nationalists in the Home Rule League become the first significant third party in Parliament . This had been the first General Election that used a secret ballot following the 1872 Secret Ballot Act . The Irish Nationalist gains could well be attributed to the effects of the secret ballot as tenants faced less of a threat of eviction if they voted against the wishes of their landlords . This is the only time since the introduction of the secret ballot that a party has been defeated despite receiving an absolute majority of the popular vote . This was primarily because over 100 Conservative candidates were elected unopposed . This meant that there was no contest in many constituencies where the Conservatives were popular . An earl is a ___MASK22___ of the nobility . The title is Anglo - Saxon in origin , akin to the Scandinavian form jarl , and meant " chieftain ", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king ' s stead . In Scandinavia , it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced by duke (" hertig "/" hertug "/" hertog "). In later medieval Britain , it became the equivalent of the continental count ( in England in the earlier period , it was more akin to a duke ; in Scotland it assimilated the concept of mormaer ). However , earlier in Scandinavia , " jarl " could also mean a sovereign prince . For example , the rulers of several of the petty kingdoms of Norway had the title of " jarl " and in many cases they had no less power than their neighbours who had the title of king . Alternative names for the " Earl / Count " rank in the nobility structure are used in other countries , such as Hakushaku during the Japanese Imperial era . The ___MASK66___ and Under - Treasurer of Her Majesty ' s Exchequer , commonly known as the ___MASK66___ of the Exchequer , is a senior official within the Government of the United Kingdom and head of Her Majesty ' s Treasury . The office is a British Cabinet - level position . Benjamin Disraeli , 1st Earl of Beaconsfield , ( 21 December 1804  19 April 1881 ) was a British politician and writer who twice served as ___MASK51___ . He played a central role in the creation of the modern Conservative Party , defining its policies and its broad outreach . Disraeli is remembered for his influential voice in world affairs , his political battles with the Liberal Party leader William Ewart Gladstone , and his one - nation conservatism or " Tory democracy ". He made the Conservatives the party most identified with the glory and power of the British Empire . He is the only British Prime Minister of Jewish birth . William Ewart Gladstone , ( 29 December 1809  19 May 1898 ) was a British Liberal and earlier conservative politician . In a career lasting over sixty years , he served as ___MASK56___ four separate times ( 1868  74 , 1880  85 , February  July 1886 and 1892  94 ), more than any other person , and served as ___MASK66___ of the Exchequer four times . Gladstone was also Britain ' s oldest ___MASK56___ ; he resigned for the final time when he was 84 years old . One - nation conservatism ( also known as one - nationism , or Tory democracy ) is a form of British political conservatism that views society as organic and values paternalism and pragmatism . The phrase " One - nation Tory " originated with Benjamin Disraeli ( 1804  1881 ), who served as the chief Conservative spokesman and became ___MASK56___ in February 1868 . He devised it to appeal to working - class men as a solution to worsening divisions in society through introducing factory and health Acts , as well as greater protection for workers . Earl of Beaconsfield , of Hughenden in the County of Buckingham , was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom . It was created in 1876 for ___MASK56___ Benjamin Disraeli , a favourite of Queen Victoria . Victoria favoured Disraeli ' s Tory policies over those of his Liberal rival , William Ewart Gladstone . Disraeli had also promoted the Royal Titles Act 1876 that had given Victoria the title of " Empress of India ". The subsidiary title of the earldom was Viscount Hughenden , of Hughenden in the County of Buckingham , also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom . The ___MASK51___ is the head of Her Majesty ' s Government in the United Kingdom . The prime minister ( informal abbreviation : PM ) and Cabinet ( consisting of all the most senior ministers , most of whom are government department heads ) are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Monarch , to Parliament , to their political party and ultimately to the electorate . The office is one of the Great Offices of State . The , Theresa May , leader of the Conservative Party , was appointed by the Queen on 13 July 2016 .