Surbiton (UK Parliament constituency)

Surbiton was a borough constituency created for the 1955 general election and abolished for the 1997 general election, in Surrey until 1965 and thereafter in outer south-west London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the first past the post system of election.

Surbiton
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
CountyGreater London
1955–1997
Number of membersOne
Replaced byKingston and Surbiton
Created fromKingston-upon-Thames
Esher
Epsom

History

This was in the safe/marginal seat spectrum irrefutably a safe Conservative seat during its 32-year lifetime. The party positioned in second position was also unchanged until it changed once in the course of the seat's history. The election when this change took place was the 1983 United Kingdom general election. The narrowest majority was the General Election 1966 at 15.7%.

Boundaries

1955–1974: The Municipal Borough of Surbiton.

1974–1983: The London Borough of Kingston upon Thames wards of Berrylands, Chessington, Hook and Southborough, St Mark's and Seething Wells, Surbiton Hill, Tolworth East, Tolworth South, and Tolworth West.

1983–1997: The London Borough of Kingston upon Thames wards of Berrylands, Chessington North, Chessington South, Hook, St Mark's, Surbiton Hill, Tolworth East, Tolworth South, and Tolworth West.

The constituency was made up of the eastern part of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in south-west London, centred on the area of Surbiton. In 1997, it was absorbed into the new and larger Kingston and Surbiton constituency after the Boundary Commission for England recommended that a seat be lost in the twinned boroughs of Kingston and Richmond.[1]

Members of Parliament
ElectionMember[2]Party
1955Sir Nigel FisherConservative
1983Richard TraceyConservative
1997 constituency abolished: see Kingston and Surbiton

Elections

Elections in the 1950s
General election 1955: Surbiton[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nigel Fisher 22,863 64.9
Labour S Gordon Richards 12,380 35.1
Majority 10,483 29.8
Turnout 35,243 79.6
Conservative win (new seat)
General election 1959: Surbiton[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nigel Fisher 24,058 67.4 +2.5
Labour Arthur Imisson 11,633 32.6 -2.5
Majority 12,425 34.8 +5.0
Turnout 35,691 79.0 -0.6
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s
General election 1964: Surbiton[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nigel Fisher 20,499 60.6 -6.8
Labour D Eric Heather 13,337 39.4 +6.8
Majority 7,162 21.2 -13.6
Turnout 33,836 75.4 -3.6
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1966: Surbiton[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nigel Fisher 19,989 57.9 -2.7
Labour D Eric Heather 14,561 42.1 +2.7
Majority 5,428 15.8 -5.4
Turnout 34,550 77.0 +1.6
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1970s
General election 1970: Surbiton[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nigel Fisher 17,359 51.7 -6.2
Labour Rusi D Kerr-Walter 10,469 31.2 -10.9
Liberal Christopher F Green 4,027 12.0 New
Independent Powell Conservative Edgar Scruby 1,706 5.1 New
Majority 6,890 20.5 +4.7
Turnout 33,561 70.3 -6.7
Conservative hold Swing
General election February 1974: Surbiton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nigel Fisher 17,176 45.60
Liberal D Brooke 10,676 28.34
Labour Andrew MacKinlay 9,813 26.05
Majority 6,500 17.26
Turnout 37,665 82.26
Conservative hold Swing
General election October 1974: Surbiton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nigel Fisher 15,330 45.7 +0.1
Labour Andrew MacKinlay 9,309 27.7 +1.6
Liberal D Brooke 8,931 26.6 -1.7
Majority 6,021 17.9 +0.6
Turnout 33,570 72.9 -9.4
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1979: Surbiton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nigel Fisher 20,063 56.7 +11.0
Labour CP Moore 9,261 26.1 -1.6
Liberal CJ Tilley 6,093 17.2 -9.4
Majority 10,802 30.5 +12.6
Turnout 35,417 75.5 +2.6
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1980s
General election 1983: Surbiton[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Tracey 18,245 54.5
SDP C Nowakowski 9,496 28.4
Labour N.D. Waskett 5,173 15.5
Ecology Jim Macellan 551 1.6
Majority 8,749 26.1
Turnout 33,395
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1987: Surbiton[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Tracey 19,861 55.9 +1.4
SDP David Burke 10,120 28.5 +0.1
Labour Allister McGowan 5,111 14.4 -1.1
Green Jean Vidler 465 1.3 -0.3
Majority 9,741 27.4 +1.3
Turnout 35,557 78.2
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s
General election 1992: Surbiton[10][11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Tracey 19,033 54.4 −1.5
Liberal Democrats Barbara Janke 9,394 26.9 −1.6
Labour Robin T. Hutchinson 6,384 18.3 +3.9
Natural Law W Parker 161 0.5 New
Majority 9,639 27.5 +0.1
Turnout 34,972 82.4 +4.2
Conservative hold Swing +0.1

See also

References
  1. C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.12 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995).
  2. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 6)
  3. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1955.
  4. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1959.
  5. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1964.
  6. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1966.
  7. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1970.
  8. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  9. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  10. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  11. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.

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