A general election had been called on 10 June 1818. Sir Francis Burdett (1770–1844) and Sir Samuel Romilly (1757–1818) were elected, Burdett having been elected there first in May 1807 following his failure in the Middlesex election in the summer of 1806. Sir Murray Maxwell came a close third, and Henry Hunt received barely double figures in votes.

See The Times, 6 July 1818 and Godwin's entry for 2 July 1818.