Oldham (UK Parliament constituency)

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Oldham
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
1832 (1832)–1950 (1950)
Number of members two
Replaced by Oldham East and Oldham West
Created from Lancashire

Oldham was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Oldham, England. It returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency was created by the Great Reform Act of 1832 and was abolished for the 1950 general election when it was split into the Oldham East and Oldham West constituencies.

The Oldham constituency was perhaps most notable for being where Winston Churchill began his political career. Although taking two attempts to succeed, in the 1900 general election Churchill was elected as the member of Parliament for Oldham. He held the constituency for the Conservative Party until he defected from them in defence of free trade in 1904. He then represented the Liberal Party as MP for the seat until the 1906 general election.

Contents

[edit] Boundaries

Though centred on Oldham (the town), the constituency covered a much broader territory; Shaw and Crompton, Royton, Chadderton and Lees all formed part of this district, though these were each granted individual urban district status at a local government level in 1894.

[edit] Members of Parliament

Election 1st Member [1] 1st Party 2nd Member [1] 2nd Party
1832 John Fielden Liberal William Cobbett Liberal
1835 by-election John Frederick Lees Conservative
1837 William Augustus Johnson Liberal
1847 William Johnson Fox Liberal John Duncuft Conservative
1852 John Morgan Cobbett Liberal
1852 by-election William Johnson Fox Liberal
1857 James Platt Liberal
1857 by-election William Johnson Fox Liberal
1862 by-election J. T. Hibbert Liberal
1865 John Platt Liberal
1872 by-election John Morgan Cobbett a Conservative
1874 Frederick Lowten Spinks Conservative
1877 by-election J. T. Hibbert Liberal
1880 Hon. Edward Lyulph Stanley Liberal
1885 James Mackenzie Maclean Conservative
1886 Elliott Lees Conservative
1892 Joshua Milne Cheetham Liberal J. T. Hibbert Liberal
1895 Robert Ascroft Conservative James Francis Oswald Conservative
1899 by-election Rt Hon. Alfred Emmott Liberal Walter Runciman Liberal
1900 Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill b Conservative
1904 Liberal
1906 John Albert Bright Liberal
1910 (Jan) Sir Andrew William Barton Liberal
1911 by-election Edmund Robert Bartley Denniss c Conservative
1918 Coalition Conservative Coalition Liberal
1922 Sir Edward William Macleay Grigg National Liberal William John Tout Labour
1923 Liberal
1924 Duff Cooper Conservative
1925 by-election William Wiggins Liberal
1929 Rev. Gordon Lang Labour James Wilson Labour
1931 Anthony Crommelin Crossley Conservative Hamilton William Kerr Conservative
1935 John Samuel Dodd National Liberal
1945 Frank Fairhurst Labour Charles Leslie Hale Labour
1950 Multi member constituency abolished - see Oldham East and Oldham West

Notes:-

  • a Cobbett last contested the seat as a Liberal in 1865. He was a Conservative candidate from 1868.
  • b Churchill changed his party allegiance in April 1904.
  • c Denniss changed his surname to Bartley-Denniss, when he was knighted in 1922.

[edit] Elections

[edit] Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Oldham[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Frank Fairhurst 31,704 23.9
Labour Leslie Hale 31,327 23.6
Conservative Hamilton William Kerr 26,911 20.3
Liberal National John Samuel Dodd 24,199 18.2
Liberal J. T. Middleton 10,365 7.8
Liberal T. D. F. Powell 8,264 6.2
Majority 4,416 5.4
Turnout 74.6
Labour gain from Conservative Swing
Labour gain from Liberal National Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1935: Oldham[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Hamilton William Kerr 36,738
Liberal National John Samuel Dodd 34,755
Labour Gordon Lang 34,316
Labour M. B. Farr 29,647
Liberal W. G. Ward 8,534
Majority
Turnout
Conservative hold Swing
Liberal National gain from Conservative Swing
General Election 1931: Oldham[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Anthony Crossley 50,693
Conservative Hamilton William Kerr 50,395
Labour Gordon Lang 28,629
Labour James Wilson 26,631
Majority
Turnout
Conservative gain from Labour Swing
Conservative gain from Labour Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1929: Oldham[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Gordon Lang 34,223
Labour James Wilson 32,727
Conservative Duff Cooper 29,424
Liberal John Samuel Dodd 20,810
Liberal Rev. L. Jenkins 13,528
Majority
Turnout
Labour gain from Conservative Swing
Labour gain from Liberal Swing
Oldham by-election, 1925[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Wiggins 26,325 54.8
Labour William Tout 21,702 45.2
Majority 4,623 9.6
Liberal hold Swing
General Election 1924: Oldham[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Duff Cooper 37,419
Liberal Edward Grigg 36,761
Labour William Tout 23,623
Labour James Wilson 22,081
Majority
Turnout
Liberal hold Swing
Conservative gain from Labour Swing
General Election 1923: Oldham[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William Tout 20,939
Liberal Edward Grigg 20,681
Liberal William Wiggins 17,990
Conservative W. E. Freeman 15,819
Conservative Samuel Smethurst 13,894
Majority
Turnout
Labour hold Swing
Liberal hold Swing
General Election 1922: Oldham[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Liberal Edward Grigg 24,762
Labour William Tout 24,434
Conservative Samuel Smethurst 23,200
Liberal W. Tudor Davies 9,812
Liberal Mary Emmott 6,186
Majority
Turnout
National Liberal hold Swing
Labour gain from Coalition Conservative Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1918: Oldham[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Coalition Conservative Edmund Bartley Denniss 26,568
Coalition Liberal Andrew William Barton 26,254
Labour William Cornforth Robinson 15,178
Liberal Walter Rea 9,323
Majority
Turnout
Coalition Conservative gain from Liberal Swing
Coalition Liberal hold Swing
Oldham by-election, 1911[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Edmund Bartley Denniss 12,255
Liberal Arthur Stanley 10,623
Labour William Cornforth Robinson 7,448
Majority 1,632
Turnout
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing
General Election December 1910: Oldham[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Alfred Emmott 17,108
Liberal Andrew William Barton 16,941
Conservative J. Wrigley 13,440
Conservative Edmund Bartley Denniss 13,281
Majority
Turnout
Liberal hold Swing
Liberal hold Swing
General Election January 1910: Oldham[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Alfred Emmott 19,252
Liberal Andrew William Barton 18,840
Conservative J. Hilton 13,462
Conservative P. S. Stott 12,577
Majority
Turnout
Liberal hold Swing
Liberal hold Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1900s

General Election 1906: Oldham[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Alfred Emmott 17,397
Liberal John Albert Bright 16,672
Conservative Charles Crisp 11,989
Conservative E. L. Hartley 11,391
Majority
Turnout
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing
Liberal hold Swing
General Election 1900: Oldham[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Alfred Emmott 12,947
Conservative Winston Churchill 12,931
Liberal Walter Runciman 12,709
Conservative Charles Crisp 12,522
Majority
Turnout
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing
Conservative hold Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1890s

Oldham by-election, 1899
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Alfred Emmott 12,976 26.7
Liberal Walter Runciman 12,770 26.2
Conservative Winston Churchill 11,477 23.6
Conservative James Mawdsley 11,449 23.5
Majority 1,410
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing
General Election 1895: Oldham[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Ascroft 13,085
Conservative James Francis Oswald 12,465
Liberal Adam Lee 12,249
Liberal J. T. Hibbert 12,092
Majority
Turnout
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing
General Election 1892: Oldham[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Joshua Milne Cheetham 12,619
Liberal J. T. Hibbert 12,541
Conservative Elliot Lees 12,205
Conservative James Mackenzie Maclean 11,952
Majority
Turnout
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1880s

General Election 1886: Oldham[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Mackenzie Maclean 11,606
Conservative Elliot Lees 11,484
Liberal J. T. Hibbert 10,921
Liberal Joshua Milne Cheetham 10,891
Majority
Turnout
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing
Conservative hold Swing
General Election 1885: Oldham[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal J. T. Hibbert 12,259
Conservative James Mackenzie Maclean 11,992
Liberal Edward Stanley 11,847
Conservative S. T. Whitehead 11,491
Majority
Turnout
Liberal hold Swing
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "O"
  2. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1945. Politics Resources. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge45/i15.htm. Retrieved 6 January 2011. 
  3. ^ a b c d The Constitutional Year Book (1938), p.220
  4. ^ F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results, 1918–1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow, 1949 p211
  5. ^ The Constitutional Year Book (1933), p.202
  6. ^ a b The Liberal Year Book (1923), p.261
  7. ^ Manchester Guardian, 14 November 1911, p.9
  8. ^ a b c d P. F. Clarke, Lancashire and the New Liberalism, pp.435-436
  9. ^ a b The Liberal Yearbook (1917), p.316
  10. ^ a b Liberal Year Book (1889), p.217

[edit] Sources

  • Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F. W. S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
  • British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (The Macmillan Press 1977)
  • British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1974)
  • British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press, revised edition 1977)
  • Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume I 1832-1885, edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976)
  • Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume II 1886-1918, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1978)
  • Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume III 1919-1945, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1979)
  • Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume IV 1945-1979, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1981)
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