Southwark West (UK Parliament constituency)

Southwark West was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Southwark district of South London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Southwark West
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Southwark West in London
1885–1918
Number of members	one
Replaced by	Southwark North
Created from	Southwark

The constituency was created for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1918 general election.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Arthur Cohen	Liberal
	1888 by-election	Richard Causton	Liberal
	1910	William Dunn	Conservative
	1910	Edward Strauss	Liberal
	1918	constituency abolished

Elections

Decades:

1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Southwark West[1][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Cohen	2,851	52.2
	Conservative	Augustus Beddall	2,611	47.8
Majority			240	4.4
Turnout			5,462	70.2
Registered electors			7,776
	Liberal win (new seat)

General election 1886: Southwark West[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Cohen	2,566	51.1	-1.1
	Conservative	Augustus Beddall	2,453	48.9	+1.1
Majority			113	2.2	-2.2
Turnout			5,019	64.5	-5.7
Registered electors			7,776
	Liberal hold		Swing	-1.1

Cohen resigned, causing a by-election.

Causton

By-election, 17 Feb 1888: Southwark West[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Richard Causton	3,638	59.8	+8.7
	Conservative	Augustus Beddall	2,444	40.2	-8.7
Majority			1,194	19.6	+17.4
Turnout			6,082	73.3	+8.8
Registered electors			8,296
	Liberal hold		Swing	+8.7

Elections in the 1890s

Bond

General election 1892: Southwark West[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Richard Causton	3,534	60.6	+9.5
	Conservative	Edward Bond	2,295	39.4	−9.5
Majority			1,239	21.2	+19.0
Turnout			5,829	72.4	+7.9
Registered electors			8,048
	Liberal hold		Swing	+9.5

Causton was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 23 Aug 1892: Southwark West[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Richard Causton	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

General election 1895: Southwark West[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Richard Causton	2,989	51.0	-9.6
	Conservative	Frederick William Horner	2,870	49.0	+9.6
Majority			119	2.0	-19.2
Turnout			5,859	72.2	-0.2
Registered electors			8,113
	Liberal hold		Swing	-9.6

Elections in the 1900s

Causton

General election 1900: Southwark West[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Richard Causton	2,893	51.1	+0.1
	Conservative	Alfred Newton	2,763	48.9	-0.1
Majority			130	2.2	+0.2
Turnout			5,656	71.2	-1.0
Registered electors			7,945
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.1

General election 1906: Southwark West[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Richard Causton	3,057	54.1	+3.0
	Conservative	Arthur Salter	2,592	45.9	-3.0
Majority			465	8.2	+6.0
Turnout			5,649	79.9	+8.7
Registered electors			7,066
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.0

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Southwark West[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Dunn	3,387	51.2	+5.3
	Liberal	Richard Causton	3,223	48.8	-5.3
Majority			161	2.4	N/A
Turnout			6,610
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+5.3

Strauss

General election December 1910: Southwark West[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Strauss	3,028	50.1	+1.3
	Conservative	William Dunn	3,010	49.9	-1.3
Majority			18	0.2	N/A
Turnout			6,038	74.9
	Liberal gain from Conservative		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 and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Liberal: Edward Strauss
• Unionist:

References

1. Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. p. 49. ISBN 9781349022984.
2. Debrett's House of Commons, 1886

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 4)