Bow and Bromley (UK Parliament constituency)

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Bow and Bromley
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
BowandBromley1885.png
Bow and Bromley in London 1885-1918
BowBromley1918.png
Bow and Bromley in London 1918-50
18851950
SeatsOne
Created from Tower Hamlets
Replaced by Poplar

Bow and Bromley was a constituency in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Located in the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar in London, it was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act for the 1885 general election and returned one Member of Parliament (MP) until it was abolished for the 1950 general election.

Contents

History

Poplar Met. B Ward Map 1916.svg

The area had been part of the former two-seat Tower Hamlets constituency, which was divided at the 1885 general election.

The constituency was marginal before 1918. The party holding the seat changed in 1886, 1892, 1895, 1906, January 1910, December 1910 and 1912. After the extension of the franchise to all adult men and some women in 1918, the seat became a safe Labour seat from 1922.

George Lansbury was first elected in December 1910 as a Labour candidate. He was on the left-wing of the party and was known as a pacifist and supporter of votes for women. In November 1912, Lansbury resigned his seat so he could test public opinion on women's suffrage. He lost the subsequent by-election and did not regain the seat until 1922.

Lansbury was the only member of the cabinet of the Second Labour Ministry to both remain with the party and secure re-election at the 1931 general election. As the party leader Arthur Henderson was not in the House of Commons, Lansbury became Acting Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition. In 1932, Henderson resigned the leadership and Lansbury was elected leader in his place. He retained the leadership until 1935.

Boundaries

In 1885 the area was administered as part of The Metropolis. It was located in the Tower division, in the east of the county of Middlesex. The neighbourhoods of Bow and Bromley were combined to form a division of the parliamentary borough of Tower Hamlets. The parliamentary division was part of suburban East London. The Bromley in this seat is not the same place as Bromley in Kent after which the Bromley constituency, created in 1918, was named.

In 1889 the Tower division of Middlesex was severed from the county. It became part of the County of London. In 1900 the lower tier of local government in London was re-modelled. Bow and Bromley became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar.

When a re-distribution of parliamentary seats took place in 1918, the constituency became a division of Poplar. It comprised the wards of Bow Central, Bow North, Bow South, Bow West, Bromley North East, Bromley North West, and Bromley South West.

Members of Parliament

YearMemberParty
1885 William Robson Liberal
1886 Sir John Colomb Conservative
1892 John Macdonald Liberal
1895 Lionel Holland Conservative
1899 Walter Guthrie Conservative
1906 Stopford Brooke Liberal
1910 Jan. Alfred du Cros Conservative
1910 Dec. George Lansbury Labour
1912 Reginald Blair Unionist
1922 George Lansbury Labour
1940 Charles Key Labour

Election results

Elections in the 1880s

Robson 1895 William Robson.jpg
Robson
General election 1885: Tower Hamlets, Bow and Bromley [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal William Robson 3,419 55.5 N/A
Conservative John Colomb 2,73844.5N/A
Majority 68111.0N/A
Turnout 6,15769.3N/A
Registered electors 8,887
Liberal win (new seat)
General election 1886: Tower Hamlets, Bow and Bromley [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative John Colomb 2,967 55.3 +10.8
Liberal William Robson 2,39644.7−10.8
Majority 57110.6N/A
Turnout 5,36360.3−9.0
Registered electors 8,887
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +10.8

Elections in the 1890s

Macdonald John Archibald Murray Macdonald.jpg
Macdonald
General election 1892: Tower Hamlets, Bow and Bromley [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal John Macdonald 4,072 52.7 +8.0
Conservative John Colomb 3,64947.3−8.0
Majority 4235.4N/A
Turnout 7,72172.2+11.9
Registered electors 10,687
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +8.0
Holland Lionel Holland.jpg
Holland
General election 1895: Tower Hamlets, Bow and Bromley [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Lionel Holland 4,339 57.7 +10.4
Liberal John Macdonald 3,17842.3−10.4
Majority 1,16115.4N/A
Turnout 7,51771.0−1.2
Registered electors 10,588
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +10.4
Spender Harold Spender.jpg
Spender
1899 Bow and Bromley by-election [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Walter Guthrie 4,238 66.6 +8.9
Liberal Harold Spender 2,12333.4−8.9
Majority 2,11533.2+17.8
Turnout 6,36155.8−15.2
Registered electors 11,401
Conservative hold Swing +8.9

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Tower Hamlets, Bow and Bromley [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Walter Guthrie 4,403 63.3 +5.6
Labour Repr. Cmte. George Lansbury 2,55836.7New
Majority 1,84526.6+11.2
Turnout 6,96161.79.3
Registered electors 11,278
Conservative hold Swing N/A
du Cros Arthur du Cros.jpg
du Cros
General election 1906: Tower Hamlets, Bow and Bromley [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Stopford Brooke 4,596 53.6 N/A
Conservative Arthur du Cros 3,97446.416.9
Majority 6227.2N/A
Turnout 8,57081.3+19.6
Registered electors 10,545
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing N/A

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Tower Hamlets, Bow and Bromley
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Alfred du Cros 3,695 41.9 −4.5
Labour George Lansbury 2,95533.5New
Liberal Stopford Brooke 2,16724.6−29.0
Majority 7408.4N/A
Turnout 8,817
Conservative gain from Liberal
General election December 1910: Tower Hamlets, Bow and Bromley
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour George Lansbury 4,315 55.6 +22.1
Liberal Unionist Leo Amery 3,45244.4+2.5
Majority 68311.2N/A
Turnout 7,767
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +9.8
1912 Bow and Bromley by-election
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Unionist Reginald Blair 4,042 55.1 +10.7
Independent Labour George Lansbury 3,29144.9−10.7
Majority 75110.2N/A
Turnout 7,333
Unionist gain from Labour Swing +10.7
General election 1918: Poplar, Bow and Bromley
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
C Unionist Reginald Blair 8,10949.7−5.9
Labour George Lansbury 7,24844.3−0.1
Liberal Mark Dalton9886.0New
Majority 8615.4N/A
Turnout 33,43648.9
Unionist gain from Labour Swing -2.4
Cindicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

Lansbury George Lansbury.jpg
Lansbury
General election 1922: Poplar, Bow and Bromley
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour George Lansbury 15,402 64.1 +19.8
Unionist Geoffrey Duveen8,62635.913.8
Majority 6,77628.2N/A
Turnout 34,38369.9+21.0
Registered electors 34,383
Labour gain from Unionist Swing +16.8
General election 1923: Bow and Bromley
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour George Lansbury 15,336 68.8 +4.7
Unionist Irving Albery 6,94131.24.7
Majority 8,39537.6+9.4
Turnout 34,97563.76.2
Registered electors 34,975
Labour hold Swing +4.7
General election 1924: Bow and Bromley
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour George Lansbury 15,740 61.6 7.2
Unionist H.A. Hill9,80638.4+7.2
Majority 5,93423.214.4
Turnout 35,44672.1+8.4
Registered electors 35,446
Labour hold Swing 7.2
General election 1929: Bow and Bromley [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour George Lansbury 20,119 69.4 +7.8
Unionist Albert Goodman 8,85230.67.8
Majority 11,26738.8+15.6
Turnout 43,83466.16.0
Registered electors 43,834
Labour hold Swing +7.8

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Poplar, Bow and Bromley
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour George Lansbury 16,306 58.3 −11.1
Conservative D.L.R. Guthrie11,64241.7+11.1
Majority 4,66416.6−22.2
Turnout 43,77963.8−2.3
Labour hold Swing -11.1
General election 1935: Poplar, Bow and Bromley
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour George Lansbury 19,064 77.0 +18.7
Conservative Harold Ernest Weber5,70723.0−18.7
Majority 13,35754.0+37.4
Turnout 41,65359.5−4.3
Labour hold Swing +18.7

Elections in the 1940s

1940 Bow and Bromley by-election
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Charles Key 11,594 95.8 +18.8
Communist Isabel Brown 5064.2new
Majority 11,08891.6+37.6
Turnout 37,32432.4−27.1
Labour hold
General election 1945: Poplar, Bow and Bromley
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Charles Key 10,982 84.1 +7.1
Conservative Charles Kenneth Duthie2,07515.9−7.1
Majority 8,90768.2+14.2
Turnout 13,05762.7+3.2
Labour hold

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN   9781349022984.
  2. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig