View source for 1741 British general election

{{Infobox Election
| election_name = Great Britain general election, 1741
| country = Kingdom of Great Britain
| type = parliamentary
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = British general election, 1734
| previous_year = 1734
| previous_mps = 
| next_election = British general election, 1747
| next_year = 1747
| next_mps = <!--Members elected in the Great Britain general election, 1747-->
| seats_for_election = All 558 seats of the [[House of Commons of Great Britain|House of Commons]] <br> 280 seats were needed for a majority
| elected_mps = [[MPs elected in the British general election, 1741|Members elected]]
| election_date = 30 April to 11 June 
<!--      Whig      -->
| image1 = [[File:Retuched Painting of Robert Walpole.jpg|150x150px]]
| leader1 = [[Robert Walpole]]
| leader_since1 = 
| party1 = Whig (British political party)
| leaders_seat1 = [[King's Lynn (UK Parliament constituency)|King's Lynn]]
| seats1 = 286
| seat_change1 = {{decrease}} 44
| popular_vote1 = -
| percentage1 = -
<!--      Tory     -->
| image2 = [[File:Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, 3rd Bt by Michael Dahl.jpg|150x150px]]
| leader2 = [[Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 3rd Baronet|Watkin Williams-Wynn]]
| leader_since2 = 
| party2 = Tories (British political party)
| leaders_seat2 = [[Montgomeryshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Montgomeryshire]]
| seats2 = 136
| seat_change2 = {{decrease}} 9
| popular_vote2 = -
| percentage2 = -
<!--      Opposition Whig     -->
| image3 = [[File:1stEarlOfBath.jpg|150x150px]]
| leader3 = [[William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath|William Pulteney]]
| leader_since3 = 
| colour3 = FFFF00
| party3 = [[Patriot Whigs|Opposition/Patriot Whigs]]
| leaders_seat3 = [[Middlesex (UK Parliament constituency)|Middlesex]]
| seats3 = 131
| seat_change3 = {{increase}} 48
| popular_vote3 = -
| percentage3 = -
| title = [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]]
| posttitle = Appointed Prime Minister
| before_election = [[Robert Walpole]]
| before_party = Whig (British political party)
| after_election = [[Robert Walpole]]
| after_party = Whig (British political party)
}}

The '''British general election, 1741''', returned members to serve in the [[House of Commons of Great Britain|House of Commons]] of the 9th [[Parliament of Great Britain]] to be summoned, after the merger of the [[Parliament of England]] and the [[Parliament of Scotland]] in 1707. The election saw support for the government party increase in the quasi-democratic constituencies which were decided by popular vote, but the Whigs lost control of a number of rotten and pocket boroughs, partly as a result of the influence of the [[Frederick, Prince of Wales|Prince of Wales]], and were consequently re-elected with the barest of majorities in the Commons, Walpole's supporters only narrowly outnumbering his opponents.

Partly as a result of the election, and also due to the crisis created by naval defeats in the war with Spain, Walpole was finally forced out of office on 11 February 1742, after his government was defeated in a [[motion of no confidence]] concerning a supposedly rigged by-election. His supporters were then able to reconcile partially with the [[Patriot Whigs]] to form a new government, and the Tories remained excluded from any realistic hope of forming a government.

==Summary of the Constituencies==
See [[British general election, 1796]] for details. The constituencies used were the same throughout the existence of the Parliament of Great Britain.

==Dates of Election==
The general election was held between 30 April 1741 and 11 June 1741.

At this period elections did not take place at the same time in every constituency. The returning officer in each county or [[parliamentary borough]] fixed the precise date (see [[hustings]] for details of the conduct of the elections).

==See also==
*[[List of Parliaments of Great Britain]]
*[[MPs elected in the British general election, 1741]]

==References==
* ''British Electoral Facts 1832-1999'', compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher (Ashgate Publishing Ltd 2000). (For dates of elections before 1832, see the footnote to Table 5.02).

{{British elections (1707-1800)}}

[[Category:1741 in politics]]
[[Category:1741 in Great Britain|General election]]
[[Category:Elections to the Parliament of Great Britain|1741]]