Luton (UK Parliament constituency)
Luton | |
---|---|
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
County | Bedfordshire |
Major settlements | Luton |
1950–1974 | |
Seats | One |
Replaced by | Luton East and Luton West |
1885–1950 | |
Seats | One |
Type of constituency | County constituency |
Created from | Bedfordshire |
Luton was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Luton in Bedfordshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.
The Bedfordshire Southern or Luton constituency[1] was created for the 1885 general election as a county division of Bedfordshire, when the former Bedfordshire county constituency was abolished.
Luton became a borough constituency in 1950 ([1]).
At the February 1974 general election the Borough constituency was abolished, and replaced by two new borough constituencies: Luton East and Luton West.
Boundaries
1885-1918: The Municipal Boroughs of Dunstable and Luton, the Sessional Divisions of Leighton Buzzard, Luton, and Woburn, and part of the Sessional Division of Ampthill.
1918-1950: The Municipal Boroughs of Dunstable and Luton, and the Rural District of Luton.
1950-1974: The Municipal Borough of Luton wards of Central, Crawley, Dallow, High Town, Icknield, Lewsey, South, Stopsley, Sundon Park, and Wardown.
The 1885 county constituency was created under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, when the former two-seat constituency of Bedfordshire was divided into two single-member seats of Biggleswade and Luton.
Members of Parliament
Election results
Elections in the 1910s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Thomas Gair Ashton | 7,601 | 53.4 | +0.5 | |
Conservative | John Owen Hickman | 6,623 | 46.6 | -0.5 | |
Majority | 6.8 | ||||
Turnout | 85.9 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | +0.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Cecil Bisshopp Harmsworth | 7,619 | 52.1 | -1.3 | |
Conservative | John Owen Hickman | 7,006 | 47.9 | +1.3 | |
Majority | 613 | 4.2 | |||
Turnout | 85.1 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | -1.3 |
General Election 1914/15: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1914 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;
- Liberal: Cecil Harmsworth
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Cecil Bisshopp Harmsworth | 13,501 | 69.4 | ||
Labour | Willet Ball | 5,964 | 30.6 | ||
Majority | 7,537 | 38.8 | |||
Turnout | 62.5 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing |
Harmsworth was endorsed by the Coalition Government.
Elections in the 1920s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Sir John Prescott Hewett | 13,301 | 43.5 | n/a | |
Liberal | Harry Arnold | 10,137 | 33.2 | -36.2 | |
Labour | Percy Alden | 7,107 | 23.3 | -7.3 | |
Majority | 3,164 | 10.3 | 49.1 | ||
Turnout | 81.0 | +18.5 | |||
Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | n/a |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Hon. Geoffrey William Algernon Howard | 15,569 | 51.4 | +18.2 | |
Unionist | Sir John Prescott Hewett | 11,738 | 38.7 | -4.8 | |
Labour | Willet Ball | 2,998 | 9.9 | -13.4 | |
Majority | 3,831 | 12.7 | 23.0 | ||
Turnout | 78.1 | ||||
Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +11.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Terence James O'Connor | 15,443 | 47.1 | ||
Liberal | Hon. Geoffrey William Algernon Howard | 11,495 | 35.1 | ||
Labour | Philip L Millwood | 5,850 | 17.8 | ||
Majority | 3,948 | 12.0 | |||
Turnout | 82.6 | ||||
Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Edward Leslie Burgin | 20,248 | 45.5 | +10.4 | |
Unionist | Terence James O'Connor | 16,930 | 38.0 | -9.1 | |
Labour | Florence Nightingale Harrison Bell | 7,351 | 16.5 | -1.3 | |
Majority | 3,318 | 7.5 | 19.5 | ||
Turnout | 81.5 | -1.1 | |||
Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +9.8 |
Elections in the 1930s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Liberal | Edward Leslie Burgin | 32,015 | 80.2 | ||
Labour | James H MacDonnell | 7,897 | 19.8 | ||
Majority | 24,118 | 60.4 | |||
Turnout | 39,912 | 67.8 | |||
National Liberal hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Liberal | Edward Leslie Burgin | 28,809 | 65.5 | ||
Labour | Ferdinand Louis Kerran | 15,181 | 34.5 | ||
Majority | 13,628 | 31.0 | |||
Turnout | 43,990 | 63.2 | |||
National Liberal hold | Swing |
Elections in the 1940s
General Election 1939/40: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;
- Liberal National: Rt Hon. Leslie Burgin
- Labour: Ferdinand Louis Kerran
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | William Noble Warbey | 39,335 | 55.2 | ||
National Liberal | Leonard Graham Brown | 31,914 | 44.8 | ||
Majority | 7,421 | 10.4 | |||
Turnout | 74.9 | ||||
Labour gain from National Liberal | Swing |
Elections in the 1950s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Liberal | Dr. Charles Hill | 22,946 | 46.59 | ||
Labour | William Noble Warbey | 21,860 | 44.38 | ||
Liberal | Wilfred G Matthews | 4,447 | 9.03 | ||
Majority | 1,086 | 2.20 | |||
Turnout | 87.07 | ||||
National Liberal gain from Labour | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Liberal | Dr. Charles Hill | 26,554 | 52.69 | ||
Labour | William Noble Warbey | 23,842 | 47.31 | ||
Majority | 2,712 | 5.38 | |||
Turnout | 87.59 | ||||
National Liberal hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Liberal | Dr. Charles Hill | 24,722 | 51.33 | ||
Labour | Morris Janis | 20,304 | 42.15 | ||
Liberal | Jean Mary Henderson | 3,140 | 6.52 | ||
Majority | 4,418 | 9.17 | |||
Turnout | 83.14 | ||||
National Liberal hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Liberal | Dr. Charles Hill | 27,153 | 55.09 | ||
Labour | Cyril Rawlett Fenton | 22,134 | 44.91 | ||
Majority | 5,019 | 10.18 | |||
Turnout | 82.46 | ||||
National Liberal hold | Swing |
Elections in the 1960s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | William Howie | 21,108 | 48.02 | ||
Conservative | Sir John Fletcher-Cooke | 17,359 | 39.49 | ||
Liberal | M A Benjamin | 5,001 | 11.38 | ||
Communist | Anthony P J Chater | 490 | 1.11 | ||
Majority | 3,749 | 8.53 | |||
Turnout | 43,958 | ||||
Labour gain from National Liberal | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | William Howie | 23,751 | 50.16 | ||
Conservative | Charles Fitzmaurice Creighton Simeons | 23,028 | 48.64 | ||
Communist | Anthony P J Chater | 567 | 1.20 | ||
Majority | 723 | 1.53 | |||
Turnout | 79.84 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | William Howie | 23,069 | 48.76 | ||
Conservative | Charles Fitzmaurice Creighton Simeons | 20,605 | 43.55 | ||
Liberal | Thomas H Daniels | 3,049 | 6.44 | ||
Communist | Anthony P J Chater | 586 | 1.24 | ||
Majority | 2,464 | 5.21 | |||
Turnout | 79.21 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing |
Elections in the 1970s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Charles Fitzmaurice Creighton Simeons | 23,308 | 50.99 | ||
Labour | William Howie | 21,959 | 48.04 | ||
Communist | Anthony P J Chater | 447 | 0.98 | ||
Majority | 1,349 | 2.95 | |||
Turnout | 73.17 | ||||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing |
See also
References
- Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 4)