Summoned by Disraeli

The Conservatives’ cries of ‘no Popery’ and ‘Church and State’ had not carried the day with the electorate, and Gorst was now out of parliament. With his growing feel for the political scene, he may not have been surprised by the Liberals’ victory. However the size of its margin – they gained a majority of 112 – must have been unexpected by most people. Oddly enough, Gorst had told the electors of Cambridge that it would not be a ‘source of great mortification’ should he be rejected by them. ¹ Nonetheless he had become infected by the political bug and would make a come-back as soon as an opportunity arose; as it was he would have to wait over six years. Then he would sit continuously in the House of Commons for 30 years.