West Bromwich (UK Parliament constituency)
West Bromwich was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1974. It centred on West Bromwich, in the West Midlands. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post voting system.
West Bromwich | |
---|---|
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
1885–February 1974 | |
Number of members | One |
Replaced by | West Bromwich East, West Bromwich West |
Created from | Wednesbury |
History
The constituency was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election. It was abolished for the February 1974 general election, when it was divided into West Bromwich East and West Bromwich West. Most of the original West Bromwich constituency formed the new West Bromwich East constituency, while the new West Bromwich West constituency consisted largely of Tipton and Wednesbury - both of which had been added to an expanded West Bromwich borough in 1966. In 1974, just after the February general election, the borough of West Bromwich ceased to exist when it merged with the short-lived County Borough of Warley (which was centred on Oldbury, Smethwick and Rowley Regis) to form Sandwell.
Boundaries
1885–1918: The municipal borough of West Bromwich.[1]
Members of Parliament
Election | Member | Party | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1885 | John Horton Blades | Liberal | ||
1886 | Sir Ernest Spencer | Conservative | ||
1906 | Alfred Hazel | Liberal | ||
Jan 1910 | William Legge | Conservative | ||
1918 | Frederick Roberts | Labour | ||
1931 | Alexander Ramsay | Conservative | ||
1935 | Frederick Roberts | Labour | Resigned 1941 | |
1941 by-election | John Dugdale | Labour | Died March 1963 | |
1963 by-election | Maurice Foley | Labour | Resigned 1973 | |
1973 by-election | Betty Boothroyd | Labour | Subsequently MP for West Bromwich West; later Speaker of the House of Commons | |
Feb 1974 | constituency abolished: see West Bromwich East and West Bromwich West |
Elections
Elections in the 1880s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | John Horton Blades | 3,988 | 55.7 | ||
Conservative | Ernest Spencer | 3,171 | 44.3 | ||
Majority | 817 | 11.4 | |||
Turnout | 7,159 | 81.8 | |||
Registered electors | 8,749 | ||||
Liberal win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Ernest Spencer | 3,660 | 54.2 | +9.9 | |
Liberal | Thomas James Moore[3] | 3,091 | 45.8 | −9.9 | |
Majority | 569 | 8.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 6,751 | 77.2 | −4.6 | ||
Registered electors | 8,749 | ||||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +9.9 | |||
Elections in the 1890s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Ernest Spencer | 4,474 | 56.6 | +2.4 | |
Liberal | Thomas Lee Roberts[4] | 3,429 | 43.4 | −2.4 | |
Majority | 1,045 | 13.2 | +4.8 | ||
Turnout | 7,903 | 86.1 | +8.9 | ||
Registered electors | 9,174 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +2.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Ernest Spencer | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Elections in the 1900s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Ernest Spencer | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Alfred Hazel | 5,475 | 56.2 | New | |
Conservative | William Legge | 4,259 | 43.8 | N/A | |
Majority | 1,216 | 12.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 9,734 | 90.8 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 10,726 | ||||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |||
Elections in the 1910s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William Legge | 5,672 | 53.5 | +9.7 | |
Liberal | Alfred Hazel | 4,937 | 46.5 | −9.7 | |
Majority | 735 | 7.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 10,609 | 93.9 | +3.1 | ||
Registered electors | 11,299 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +9.7 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William Legge | 5,010 | 50.0 | −3.5 | |
Liberal | Alfred Hazel | 5,008 | 50.0 | +3.5 | |
Majority | 2 | 0.0 | −7.0 | ||
Turnout | 10,018 | 88.7 | −5.2 | ||
Registered electors | 11,299 | ||||
Unionist hold | Swing | −3.5 |
A petition was lodged regarding this election but was later dismissed. The first count had Legge on 5,046 votes, while Hazel had 5,041 votes. A recount put Legge on 5,029 votes, while Hazel had 4,987 votes. Further scrutiny led to the above results.
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 July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
- Unionist: William Legge
- Liberal: Alfred Hazel[5]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Frederick Roberts | 11,572 | 54.0 | New | |
C | Unionist | William Legge | 9,863 | 46.0 | −4.0 |
Majority | 1,709 | 8.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 21,435 | 65.4 | −23.3 | ||
Registered electors | 32,777 | ||||
Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | N/A | |||
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. |
Liberal candidate Alfred Hazel withdrew at the last minute
Elections in the 1920s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Frederick Roberts | 14,210 | 50.6 | −3.4 | |
Unionist | Herbert Edgar Parkes | 11,263 | 40.1 | −4.9 | |
Liberal | Aneurin Edwards | 2,622 | 9.3 | New | |
Majority | 2,947 | 10.5 | +2.5 | ||
Turnout | 28,095 | 85.7 | +20.3 | ||
Registered electors | 32,768 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | +0.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Frederick Roberts | 12,910 | 44.8 | −5.8 | |
Unionist | Herbert Edgar Parkes | 11,146 | 38.7 | −1.4 | |
Liberal | Aneurin Edwards | 4,749 | 16.5 | +7.2 | |
Majority | 1,764 | 6.1 | −4.4 | ||
Turnout | 28,805 | 85.0 | −0.7 | ||
Registered electors | 33,898 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | −2.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Frederick Roberts | 15,384 | 51.6 | +6.8 | |
Unionist | Henry Archibald Roger Graham | 14,413 | 48.4 | +9.7 | |
Majority | 971 | 3.2 | −2.9 | ||
Turnout | 29,797 | 86.5 | +1.5 | ||
Registered electors | 34,503 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | −1.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Frederick Roberts | 19,621 | 52.1 | +0.5 | |
Unionist | J I Chesshire | 10,943 | 29.0 | −19.4 | |
Liberal | William Ramage | 7,119 | 18.9 | New | |
Majority | 8,678 | 23.1 | +19.9 | ||
Turnout | 37,683 | 83.1 | −3.4 | ||
Registered electors | 45,371 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | +10.0 |
Elections in the 1930s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Alexander Ramsay | 17,729 | 45.71 | ||
Labour | Frederick Roberts | 17,204 | 44.36 | ||
Liberal | William Ramage | 3,851 | 9.93 | ||
Majority | 525 | 1.35 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 38,784 | 81.66 | |||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Frederick Roberts | 19,113 | 51.26 | ||
Conservative | Robert Ashton | 18,175 | 48.74 | ||
Majority | 938 | 2.52 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 37,288 | 74.80 | |||
Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1940s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Dugdale | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Labour hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Dugdale | 27,979 | 69.9 | +18.6 | |
Conservative | Gerald Nabarro | 12,028 | 30.1 | −18.6 | |
Majority | 15,951 | 39.8 | +37.3 | ||
Turnout | 40,007 | 72.5 | −2.3 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +18.6 |
- Changes are calculated against the results of the 1935 general election, rather than the uncontested 1941 by-election
Elections in the 1950s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Dugdale | 31,564 | 65.40 | ||
Conservative | William Ward | 16,697 | 34.60 | ||
Majority | 14,867 | 30.80 | |||
Turnout | 48,261 | 82.84 | |||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Dugdale | 30,845 | 64.22 | ||
Conservative | Gordon D Johnstone | 17,186 | 35.78 | ||
Majority | 13,659 | 28.44 | |||
Turnout | 48,031 | 80.51 | |||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Dugdale | 26,242 | 61.80 | ||
Conservative | Francis John Vernon Hereward Dashwood, 11th Baronet | 16,222 | 38.20 | ||
Majority | 10,020 | 23.60 | |||
Turnout | 42,464 | 70.21 | |||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Dugdale | 26,702 | 57.4 | −4.4 | |
Conservative | Anthony Hubert Windrum | 19,809 | 42.6 | +4.4 | |
Majority | 6,893 | 14.8 | −8.8 | ||
Turnout | 46,511 | 72.6 | +2.4 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | −4.2 |
Elections in the 1960s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Maurice Foley | 20,510 | 58.7 | +1.3 | |
Conservative | George Hawkins | 8,246 | 26.5 | −16.1 | |
Liberal | N. R. W. Mawle | 6,161 | 17.6 | New | |
Majority | 12,264 | 35.2 | +20.4 | ||
Turnout | 34,917 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Maurice Foley | 22,942 | 55.1 | -2.3 | |
Conservative | George Hawkins | 18,664 | 44.9 | +2.3 | |
Majority | 4,278 | 10.2 | -4.6 | ||
Turnout | 41,606 | 64.7 | -7.9 | ||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Maurice Foley | 25,287 | 57.9 | +2.8 | |
Conservative | George Hawkins | 18,413 | 42.1 | −2.8 | |
Majority | 6,874 | 15.8 | +5.6 | ||
Turnout | 43,700 | 68.8 | +4.1 | ||
Labour hold | Swing |
Elections in the 1970s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Maurice Foley | 23,412 | 55.2 | −2.7 | |
Conservative | George Hawkins | 18,976 | 44.8 | +2.7 | |
Majority | 4,436 | 10.4 | -5.4 | ||
Turnout | 42,388 | 62.07 | -6.7 | ||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Betty Boothroyd | 15,907 | 53.21 | −2.0 | |
Conservative | David Bell | 7,582 | 25.36 | −19.4 | |
National Front | Martin Webster | 4,789 | 16.02 | New | |
Independent | Joshua Churchman | 1,616 | 5.41 | New | |
Majority | 8,325 | 27.85 | |||
Turnout | 29,894 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing |
References
- "Chap. 23. Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885". The Public General Acts of the United Kingdom passed in the forty-eighth and forty-ninth years of the reign of Queen Victoria. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode. 1885. pp. 111–198.
- Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. p. 205. ISBN 9781349022984.
- "The Parliamentary Election". Birmingham Daily Post. 2 July 1886. p. 7. Retrieved 14 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Mr T. Lee Roberts". Greenock Telegraph and Clyde Shipping Gazette. 26 December 1891. p. 2. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
- Evening Despatch 16 Feb 1914
- British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig