United Kingdom general election, 1885

The 1885 United Kingdom general election took place between 24 November-18 December 1885. The largest party was the Liberal Party, led by William Gladstone with 319 seats. The Conservative Party of Lord Salisbury came second with 247, with the Irish Parliamentary Party of Charles Stewart Parnell the third party with 86. The election took place after changes to voter laws which enfranchised the majority of adult males for the first time, and saw a redistribution of constituencies in response to that. Normanton was one of the constituencies newly created for the election, electing Liberal Party member.

Normanton election
Benjamin Pickard announced himself as the Liberal candidate for the election. As an influential trade unionist in the area, he represented the "Lib-Lab" wing of the party which focused on labour relations. Pickard expressed support for Irish Home Rule in par with W.H. Gladstone's ideals. James Walshe, President of the Normanton branch of the Irish National League, questioned Pickard as to his particular views, asking if Pickard agreed in the re-opening of the Irish Parliament; that his views ran alongside Gladstone's views; that he would vote against coercion laws, and if he would support an inquiry into the handling of the 1882 Maamtrasna Murders in County Mayo (the case was held in English despite the suspect, Maolra Seioghe, only knowing Irish Gaelic). He answered positively to three of those questions, though turned down supporting an inquiry on the grounds one was already underway. Satisfied, the INL decided not to participate in the election and encouraged Irish voters to side with Pickard.