Newport (Isle of Wight) (UK Parliament constituency)
Newport was a parliamentary borough located in Newport (Isle of Wight), which was abolished in for the 1885 general election. It was occasionally referred to by the alternative name of Medina.
Newport | |
---|---|
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
County | Isle of Wight |
Major settlements | Newport |
1584–1885 | |
Number of members | 1584–1868: Two 1868–1885: One |
Replaced by | Isle of Wight |
Created from | Hampshire |
1295–1298 | |
Number of members | Two |
Type of constituency | Borough constituency |
Replaced by | Hampshire |
(Prior to the Great Reform Act of 1832 there was also a separate Newport parliamentary borough in Cornwall.)
History
The borough was first represented in the parliament of 1295, and returned two members of parliament (MPs) from 1584 to 1868. At the 1868 election the Second Reform Act reduced its representation to a single seat, and under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 the constituency was abolished altogether with effect from the 1885 general election. Newport's re-enfranchisement in 1584, like that of the other Isle of Wight boroughs (Newtown and Yarmouth) seems to have been at the urging of the new Governor of the island, Sir George Carey, a relative of the Queen. In token of thanks, the borough granted him for life the right to nominate one of the two MPs – which seems to have been the reward he expected and the motive for his petition to the Queen in the first place.
Between 1807 and 1811 its two seats were held by two future Prime Ministers: Arthur Wellesley, later to become the Duke of Wellington (who also found himself elected to two other seats at the same time), and Henry Temple (later Lord Palmerston), who would go on to become one of the United Kingdom's most notable Prime Ministers. Palmerston's late father had been unable to convert his Irish title into a United Kingdom peerage, therefore the young politician was able to enter the Commons. The local patron arranging the deal was Sir Leonard Holmes, who made it a condition that they never visited the borough!
The borough was also represented by two other future Prime Ministers in the 1820s. George Canning was MP for Newport when appointed Prime Minister in 1827; however, under the law as it then stood a minister accepting office automatically vacated his seat and had to stand for re-election to the Commons, and Canning chose to stand at Seaford, a government pocket borough in Sussex, rather than fight Newport again. In the by-election that followed at Newport, the vacancy was filled by the election of the Honourable William Lamb, later 2nd Viscount Melbourne, whose father had also represented the borough in the 1790s. However, Lamb remained MP for Newport for only two weeks before also being elected for Bletchingley, which he preferred to represent.
Before the Great Reform Act of 1832, the right to vote was vested in the Mayor and Corporation (consisting of 11 aldermen and 12 burgesses). For much of the previous century the borough was "managed" for the government by the Holmes family, meaning that ministers could generally secure the election of their favoured candidates, but often only at the expense of considerable "gratuities" to the voters – in 1754, this apparently amounted to a payment of £600 for each candidate. The borough consisted of the parish of Newport and of Castle Hold in the parish of St Nicholas, thereby excluding that part of the town which extended over the boundary into Carisbrooke parish; this gave the borough a population of 4,398 in 1831. The 1832 reforms extended the borough to take in the rest of the town, raising the population to 6,700, though the electorate was still only 421.
Newport's representation was reduced from two members to one by the second Reform Act for the 1868 general election, and abolished altogether in 1885, leaving the town represented as part of the Isle of Wight county constituency.
Members of Parliament
MPs 1584–1660
MPs 1660–1868
MPs 1868–1885
Election | Member | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1868 | Charles Wykeham Martin | Liberal | |
1870 | Charles Clifford | Liberal | |
1885 | constituency abolished |
Election results
Elections in the 1830s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Spencer Perceval | Unopposed | |||
Tory | Horace Twiss | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 24 | ||||
Tory hold | |||||
Tory hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | William Mount | Unopposed | |||
Tory | James Joseph Hope-Vere | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 24 | ||||
Tory hold | |||||
Tory hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | John Heywood Hawkins | 216 | 36.4 | ||
Whig | William Henry Ord (1803–1838) | 216 | 36.4 | ||
Tory | James Willoughby Gordon | 161 | 27.2 | ||
Majority | 55 | 9.2 | |||
Turnout | 365 | 86.7 | |||
Registered electors | 421 | ||||
Whig gain from Tory | |||||
Whig gain from Tory |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | William Henry Ord (1803–1838) | 233 | 26.0 | −10.4 | |
Whig | John Heywood Hawkins | 230 | 25.6 | −10.8 | |
Conservative | James Willoughby Gordon | 229 | 25.5 | +11.9 | |
Conservative | William John Hamilton | 205 | 22.9 | +9.3 | |
Majority | 1 | 0.1 | −9.1 | ||
Turnout | c. 449 | c. 89.7 | c. +3.0 | ||
Registered electors | 500 | ||||
Whig hold | Swing | −10.5 | |||
Whig hold | Swing | −10.7 |
Ord was appointed as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | William Henry Ord (1803–1838) | Unopposed | |||
Whig hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | John Heywood Hawkins | 265 | 26.3 | +0.7 | |
Whig | William John Blake | 263 | 26.1 | +0.1 | |
Conservative | Charles Wykeham Martin | 244 | 24.2 | −1.3 | |
Conservative | William John Hamilton | 236 | 23.4 | +0.5 | |
Majority | 19 | 1.9 | +1.8 | ||
Turnout | 506 | 79.9 | c. −9.8 | ||
Registered electors | 633 | ||||
Whig hold | Swing | +0.6 | |||
Whig hold | Swing | +0.3 |
Elections in the 1840s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Charles Wykeham Martin | 254 | 26.4 | +2.2 | |
Conservative | William John Hamilton | 252 | 26.2 | +2.8 | |
Whig | Thomas Gisborne | 229 | 23.8 | −2.5 | |
Whig | William John Blake | 226 | 23.5 | −2.6 | |
Majority | 23 | 2.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 485 | 64.7 | −15.2 | ||
Registered electors | 750 | ||||
Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | +2.4 | |||
Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | +2.7 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Peelite | William Plowden | 262 | 26.1 | −0.1 | |
Peelite | Charles Wykeham Martin | 252 | 25.1 | −1.3 | |
Whig | William John Blake | 250 | 25.0 | +1.5 | |
Whig | Charles Crompton[22][23] | 238 | 23.8 | — | |
Majority | 2 | 0.2 | −2.2 | ||
Turnout | 501 (est) | 77.6 (est) | +12.9 | ||
Registered electors | 646 | ||||
Peelite gain from Conservative | Swing | −0.4 | |||
Peelite gain from Conservative | Swing | −1.0 | |||
Elections in the 1850s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | William Biggs | 310 | 27.4 | +2.4 | |
Radical | William Nathaniel Massey | 306 | 27.1 | +3.3 | |
Peelite | Charles Wykeham Martin | 257 | 22.7 | −2.4 | |
Peelite | William Plowden | 257 | 22.7 | −3.4 | |
Majority | 49 | 4.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 565 (est) | 79.9 (est) | +2.3 | ||
Registered electors | 707 | ||||
Radical gain from Peelite | Swing | +2.7 | |||
Radical gain from Peelite | Swing | +3.1 | |||
Biggs resigned, causing a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Kennard | 289 | 54.3 | +8.9 | |
Radical | Charles Seely[24][25][26][27][28] | 243 | 45.7 | −8.8 | |
Majority | 46 | 8.6 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 532 | 81.3 | +1.4 | ||
Registered electors | 654 | ||||
Conservative gain from Radical | Swing | +8.9 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Charles Edward Mangles | 305 | 26.8 | −0.6 | |
Whig | Charles Buxton | 294 | 25.8 | −1.3 | |
Conservative | Robert Kennard | 283 | 24.8 | +2.1 | |
Conservative | William Anderson Rose[29] | 257 | 22.6 | −0.1 | |
Majority | 11 | 1.0 | −3.3 | ||
Turnout | 570 (est) | 87.1 (est) | +7.2 | ||
Registered electors | 654 | ||||
Whig gain from Radical | Swing | −0.8 | |||
Whig gain from Radical | Swing | −1.2 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Kennard | 319 | 37.1 | +12.3 | |
Conservative | Philip Lybbe Powys | 312 | 36.3 | +13.7 | |
Liberal | Robert Charles[30] | 228 | 26.5 | −26.1 | |
Majority | 84 | 9.8 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 544 (est) | 84.0 (est) | −3.1 | ||
Registered electors | 647 | ||||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +12.7 | |||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +13.4 | |||
Elections in the 1860s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Charles Wykeham Martin | 309 | 36.5 | +10.0 | |
Conservative | Robert Kennard | 307 | 36.3 | −0.8 | |
Conservative | Auberon Herbert | 230 | 27.2 | −9.1 | |
Majority | 2 | 0.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 578 (est) | 89.8 (est) | +5.8 | ||
Registered electors | 643 | ||||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +10.0 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | −2.9 |
Seat reduced to one member
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Charles Wykeham Martin | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 965 | ||||
Liberal hold |
Elections in the 1870s
Martin's death caused a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Charles Clifford | 437 | 55.5 | N/A | |
Conservative | Henry Martyn Kennard[31] | 351 | 44.5 | New | |
Majority | 86 | 11.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 788 | 81.7 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 965 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Charles Clifford | 522 | 52.4 | N/A | |
Conservative | Henry Robert Twyford | 475 | 47.6 | N/A | |
Majority | 47 | 4.8 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 997 | 85.5 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 1,166 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | N/A |
Elections in the 1880s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Charles Clifford | 618 | 52.5 | +0.1 | |
Conservative | Henry Robert Twyford | 560 | 47.5 | −0.1 | |
Majority | 58 | 5.0 | +0.2 | ||
Turnout | 1,178 | 86.5 | +1.0 | ||
Registered electors | 1,362 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | +0.1 |
See also
Notes and references
- "History of Parliament". History of Parliament trust. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- Created a baronet as Sir William Oglander, December 1665
- Lieutenant-General from 1703
- Webb was also elected for Ludgershall, which he chose to represent, and did not sit for Newport in this Parliament
- Morgan was also a candidate for Yarmouth, but the election result there was disputed. He sat for Newport until the Yarmouth election was decided in his favour, then chose to represent Yarmouth for the remainder of the Parliament
- March was also elected for Chichester, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Newport
- Jervoise was also elected for Yarmouth, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Newport
- Rushworth was also elected for Yarmouth, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Newport
- Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 153–156. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
- Lamb was elected at a by-election for Bletchingley two weeks after his election for Newport. He chose to represent Bletchingley.
- Mosse, Richard Bartholomew (1838). The Parliamentary Guide: a concise history of the Members of both Houses, etc. pp. 137, 175.
- "John Bull". 14 August 1837. pp. 4–5. Retrieved 26 November 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- Dickens, Charles (2015) [1843]. Caswall, Edward (ed.). Sketches of Young Ladies, Young Gentleman and Young Couples. Richmond: Alma Books. p. 196. ISBN 978-1-84749-491-7.
- "Newport". Portsmouth Times and Naval Gazette. 3 July 1852. p. 4. Retrieved 10 June 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "The Elections". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 28 July 1852. p. 8. Retrieved 10 June 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- Wigley, John (1980). The Rise and Fall of the Victorian Sunday. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 94. ISBN 0-7190-0794-1. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
- "Newport Borough Election". Hampshire Advertiser. 10 July 1852. p. 7. Retrieved 10 June 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Shipping and Mercantile Gazette". 9 July 1852. p. 8. Retrieved 10 June 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Glasgow Sentinel". 21 March 1857. p. 2. Retrieved 10 June 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- Salmon, Philip; Spencer, Howard. "Newport I.o.W." The History of Parliament. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
- Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book)
|format=
requires|url=
(help) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 221–222. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3. - "The General Election". Morning Post. 24 July 1847. p. 3. Retrieved 26 November 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "General Election". London Evening Standard. 30 July 1847. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 26 November 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Election Intelligence". Kentish Independent. 14 February 1857. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 10 June 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- Dod, Charles Roger; Dod, Robert Phipps (1847). Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Volume 15. Dod's Parliamentary Companion. p. 232. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
- Hill, Francis (1974). Victorian Lincoln. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 17, 74. ISBN 0-521-20334-1. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
- Seely, Bob. "About Bob Seely". Bob Seely MP. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
- "Pratt to Seely". It's About Lincoln. Angelic Aromas. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
- "Newport Election". Hampshire Advertiser. 4 April 1857. pp. 1, 2, 4, 5, 8. Retrieved 10 June 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Newport (Isle of Wight)". Morning Advertiser. 26 April 1859. p. 2. Retrieved 10 June 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Press Association Telegrams". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 2 November 1870. p. 5. Retrieved 11 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807)
- D Brunton & D H Pennington, "Members of the Long Parliament" (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
- Michael Brock, The Great Reform Act (London: Hutchinson, 1973)
- F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (2nd Ed) (Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
- D Englefield, J Seaton & I White, Facts About the British Prime Ministers (London: Mansell, 1995)
- Lewis Namier, The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd edition, London: Macmillan, 1961)
- J E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
- J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 – England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
- Henry Stooks Smith, "The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847" (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig – Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973)
- Robert Walcott, English Politics in the Early Eighteenth Century (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1956)
- Frederic A Youngs, Jr, Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Volume I (London: Offices of the Royal Historical Society, 1979)
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "N" (part 1)