Huntingdonshire | |
---|---|
Former county constituency for the House of Commons | |
1918–1983 | |
Seats | One |
Created from | Huntingdon Ramsey |
Replaced by | Huntingdon SW Cambridgeshire Peterborough [1] |
1290–1885 | |
Seats | 2 (1290 – 1654) 3 (1654 – 1659) 2 (1659 – 1885) |
Type of constituency | County constituency |
Replaced by | Huntingdon Ramsey |
Huntingdonshire was a parliamentary constituency covering the county of Huntingdonshire in England. It was represented by two members of Parliament in the House of Commons of England until 1707, then in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and then in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was reconstituted as a single-member seat in 1918 and abolished once again in 1983.
Huntingdonshire returned two Knights of the Shire from 1290 to 1885 (apart from 1654 to 1659, when it returned three); when elections were contested, the bloc vote system was used.
Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, it was divided between the two single-seat county divisions of Huntingdon and Ramsey, with effect from the 1885 general election.
Under the Representation of the People Act 1918, Huntingdon and Ramsey were re-united and the constituency was reconstituted, returning a single Member of Parliament (MP). Subject to boundary changes for the 1983 general election, the constituency was succeeded by the re-established constituency of Huntingdon. Its MP at the time, John Major, continued to represent it.
In 1965 Huntingdonshire was merged into the new administrative county of Huntingdon and Peterborough and in the next redistribution of parliamentary seats, which took effect for the February 1974 general election, the constituency was defined as comprising:
Eaton Socon in Bedfordshire had been absorbed by the Urban District of St Neots and was transferred from the County Constituency of Mid Bedfordshire. There were other marginal adjustments due to changes in county borders.
As a result of the Local Government Act 1972, the two counties of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely, and Huntingdon and Peterborough were merged to form the non-metropolitan county of Cambridgeshire, with effect from 1 April 1974. However, the next redistribution did not come into effect until the 1983 general election, when the majority of the constituency, including Huntingdon, Godmanchester, Ramsey and St Ives, formed the bulk of the re-established onstituency of Huntingdon. Areas to the south of the River Nene, including Fletton and the Ortons, which were now part of the expanded City of Peterborough, were transferred to Peterborough, and southernmost areas, including St Neots, were transferred to the new constituency of South West Cambridgeshire.
![]() |
Year | Member | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
Huntingdon and Ramsey prior to 1918 | |||
1918 | Oliver Locker-Lampson | Conservative | |
1922 | Charles Murchison | ||
1923 | Leonard Costello | Liberal | |
1924 | Sir Charles Murchison | Conservative | |
1929 | Sidney Peters | Liberal | |
1931 | National Liberal | ||
1945 | David Renton | Liberal National | |
1950 | National Liberal and Conservative | ||
1964 | Conservative and National Liberal | ||
1970 | Conservative | ||
1979 | John Major | ||
1983 | constituency abolished, Huntingdon and parts of Peterborough and SW Cambs from 1983 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | George Montagu | 1,068 | 37.3 | ||
Tory | Charles Gordon | 990 | 34.6 | ||
Whig | John Bonfoy Rooper | 804 | 28.1 | ||
Majority | 186 | 6.5 | |||
Turnout | c. 1,431 | c. 75.3 | |||
Registered electors | c. 1,900 | ||||
Tory hold | Swing | ||||
Tory hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | John Bonfoy Rooper | 841 | 37.8 | +9.7 | |
Tory | George Montagu | 812 | 36.5 | −0.8 | |
Whig | Charles Gordon | 573 | 25.7 | −8.9 | |
Turnout | c. 1,113 | c. 58.6 | c. −16.7 | ||
Registered electors | c. 1,900 | ||||
Majority | 29 | 1.3 | N/A | ||
Whig gain from Tory | Swing | +5.1 | |||
Majority | 239 | 10.8 | +4.3 | ||
Tory hold | Swing | −0.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | John Bonfoy Rooper | Unopposed | |||
Tory | George Montagu | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 2,647 | ||||
Whig hold | |||||
Tory hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | John Bonfoy Rooper | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | George Montagu | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 2,653 | ||||
Whig hold | |||||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edward Fellowes | 1,392 | 37.5 | ||
Conservative | George Thornhill | 1,332 | 35.9 | ||
Whig | John Bonfoy Rooper | 990 | 26.7 | ||
Majority | 342 | 9.2 | |||
Turnout | 2,284 | 81.4 | |||
Registered electors | 2,805 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative gain from Whig |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edward Fellowes | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | George Thornhill | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 3,054 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edward Fellowes | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | George Thornhill | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 3,074 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative hold |
Thornhill's death caused a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William Montagu | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edward Fellowes | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | William Montagu | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 2,852 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative hold |
Montagu succeeded to the peerage, becoming 7th Duke of Manchester and causing a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | James Rust | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | James Rust | 1,192 | 35.0 | N/A | |
Conservative | Edward Fellowes | 1,106 | 32.5 | N/A | |
Whig | John Heathcote | 1,106 | 32.5 | New | |
Majority | 0 | 0.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 2,255 (est) | 77.3 (est) | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 2,918 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Whig win |
Securing the same number of votes, both Fellowes and Heathcote were returned alongside Rust as Members of Parliament. However, after scrutiny, Rust and Fellowes lost one vote, while Heathcote lost two, causing Heathcote to be declared unduly elected on 31 July 1857.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edward Fellowes | 1,404 | 37.1 | +4.6 | |
Conservative | Robert Montagu | 1,314 | 34.7 | −0.3 | |
Liberal | John Heathcote | 1,068 | 28.2 | −4.3 | |
Majority | 246 | 6.5 | +6.5 | ||
Turnout | 2,427 (est) | 80.3 (est) | +3.0 | ||
Registered electors | 3,024 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +3.4 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | +0.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edward Fellowes | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | Robert Montagu | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 2,999 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative hold |
Montagu's appointment as Vice-President of the Committee of the Council on Education required a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Montagu | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edward Fellowes | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | Robert Montagu | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 3,748 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edward Fellowes | 1,648 | 38.1 | N/A | |
Conservative | Henry Pelly | 1,482 | 34.3 | N/A | |
Liberal | Douglas Gordon | 1,192 | 27.6 | New | |
Majority | 290 | 6.7 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 2,757 (est) | 76.8 (est) | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 3,592 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |
Pelly's death caused a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | George Montagu | 1,468 | 51.0 | −21.4 | |
Liberal | Henry Wentworth-FitzWilliam [13] | 1,410 | 49.0 | +21.4 | |
Majority | 58 | 2.0 | −4.7 | ||
Turnout | 2,878 | 76.8 | 0.0 | ||
Registered electors | 3,748 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | −21.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William Fellowes | 1,786 | 35.7 | −2.4 | |
Liberal | Douglas Gordon | 1,617 | 32.3 | +4.7 | |
Conservative | George Montagu | 1,596 | 31.9 | −2.4 | |
Turnout | 3,403 (est) | 86.0 (est) | +9.2 | ||
Registered electors | 3,955 | ||||
Majority | 169 | 3.4 | −3.3 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | −2.4 | |||
Majority | 21 | 0.4 | N/A | ||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | −2.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Unionist | Oliver Locker-Lampson | 10,760 | 62.6 | |
Liberal | Robert Christopher Grey | 6,416 | 37.4 | ||
Majority | 4,344 | 25.2 | |||
Turnout | 17,176 | 62.8 | |||
Unionist win (new seat) | |||||
Cindicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Charles Murchison | 10,079 | 50.7 | −11.9 | |
Liberal | Lina Scott Gatty | 5,123 | 25.7 | −11.7 | |
Labour | Dermot Freyer | 4,697 | 23.6 | New | |
Majority | 4,956 | 25.0 | −0.2 | ||
Turnout | 19,899 | 70.7 | +7.9 | ||
Unionist hold | Swing | −0.1 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Leonard Costello | 10,465 | 52.7 | +27.0 | |
Unionist | Charles Murchison | 9,404 | 47.3 | −3.4 | |
Majority | 1,061 | 5.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 19,869 | 69.6 | −1.1 | ||
Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +15.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Charles Murchison | 12,827 | 56.9 | +9.6 | |
Liberal | Leonard Costello | 9,703 | 43.1 | −9.6 | |
Majority | 3,124 | 13.8 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 22,530 | 77.8 | +8.2 | ||
Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | +9.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Sidney Peters | 12,889 | 45.6 | +2.5 | |
Unionist | Charles Murchison | 11,935 | 42.1 | −14.8 | |
Labour | C S Giddins | 3,493 | 12.3 | New | |
Majority | 954 | 3.5 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 28,317 | 77.2 | −0.6 | ||
Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +8.7 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Liberal | Sidney Peters | 23,102 | 83.3 | +37.7 | |
Labour | Maurice Orbach | 4,624 | 16.7 | +4.4 | |
Majority | 18,478 | 66.6 | +63.1 | ||
Turnout | 27,726 | 74.2 | −3.0 | ||
National Liberal hold | Swing | +16.7 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Liberal | Sidney Peters | 17,287 | 68.7 | −14.6 | |
Labour | James Lievsley George | 7,861 | 31.3 | +14.6 | |
Majority | 9,426 | 37.4 | −29.2 | ||
Turnout | 25,148 | 66.2 | −8.0 | ||
National Liberal hold | Swing | −14.6 |
General Election 1939–40
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Liberal | David Renton | 15,389 | 50.1 | −18.6 | |
Labour | W A Waters | 9,458 | 30.8 | −0.5 | |
Liberal | Henry Walston | 5,869 | 19.1 | N/A | |
Majority | 5,931 | 19.3 | −18.1 | ||
Turnout | 30,716 | 65.7 | −0.5 | ||
National Liberal hold | Swing | −9.1 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Liberal | David Renton | 18,551 | 51.4 | +1.3 | |
Labour | Francis Robert Macdonald | 13,096 | 36.3 | +5.5 | |
Liberal | William George F Thompson | 4,442 | 12.3 | −6.8 | |
Majority | 5,455 | 15.1 | −4.2 | ||
Turnout | 36,089 | 82.6 | +16.9 | ||
National Liberal hold | Swing | −2.1 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Liberal | David Renton | 20,845 | 57.4 | +6.0 | |
Labour | Francis Robert Macdonald | 15,487 | 42.6 | +6.3 | |
Majority | 5,358 | 14.8 | −0.3 | ||
Turnout | 36,332 | 80.8 | −1.8 | ||
National Liberal hold | Swing | −0.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Liberal | David Renton | 20,609 | 58.4 | +1.0 | |
Labour | John Albert Franks | 14,670 | 41.6 | −1.0 | |
Majority | 5,939 | 16.8 | +2.0 | ||
Turnout | 35,279 | 77.1 | −3.7 | ||
National Liberal hold | Swing | +1.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Liberal | David Renton | 20,254 | 53.9 | −4.5 | |
Labour | John Wilson Fear | 11,983 | 31.8 | −9.8 | |
Liberal | Richard Edward Walter Vanderplank | 5,389 | 14.3 | N/A | |
Majority | 8,271 | 22.1 | +5.3 | ||
Turnout | 37,626 | 80.4 | +3.3 | ||
National Liberal hold | Swing | +2.7 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Liberal | David Renton | 20,320 | 51.1 | −2.8 | |
Labour | Leslie J Potter | 12,456 | 31.3 | −0.5 | |
Liberal | Peter G H Thorold | 6,992 | 17.6 | +3.3 | |
Majority | 7,864 | 19.8 | −2.3 | ||
Turnout | 39,768 | 78.8 | −1.6 | ||
National Liberal hold | Swing | −1.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Liberal | David Renton | 20,504 | 49.1 | −2.0 | |
Labour | Martin Lawn | 15,276 | 36.7 | +5.4 | |
Liberal | David Ralph Antony Spreckley | 5,900 | 14.2 | −3.4 | |
Majority | 5,228 | 12.4 | −7.4 | ||
Turnout | 41,680 | 77.6 | −1.2 | ||
National Liberal hold | Swing | −3.7 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | David Renton | 27,398 | 54.7 | +5.6 | |
Labour | James P P Curran | 17,588 | 35.1 | −1.6 | |
Liberal | Michael Wilfrid B O'Loughlin | 5,082 | 10.2 | −4.0 | |
Majority | 9,810 | 19.6 | +7.2 | ||
Turnout | 50,068 | 75.3 | −2.3 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +3.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | David Renton | 29,042 | 44.6 | −10.1 | |
Liberal | Dennis Graham Rowe | 19,040 | 29.2 | +19.0 | |
Labour | Paul Andrew Ormerod | 17,066 | 26.2 | −8.9 | |
Majority | 10,002 | 15.4 | −4.2 | ||
Turnout | 65,148 | 82.4 | +7.1 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | −14.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | David Renton | 26,989 | 45.1 | +0.5 | |
Labour | Alan G Dowson | 17,745 | 29.6 | +3.4 | |
Liberal | Dennis Graham Rowe | 15,152 | 25.3 | −3.9 | |
Majority | 9,244 | 15.5 | +0.1 | ||
Turnout | 59,886 | 75.1 | −7.3 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | −2.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Major | 40,193 | 55.3 | +10.2 | |
Labour | Julian G H Fulbrook | 18,630 | 25.7 | −3.9 | |
Liberal | Dennis Graham Rowe | 12,812 | 17.6 | −7.7 | |
National Front | K T Robinson | 983 | 1.4 | New | |
Majority | 21,563 | 29.6 | +14.1 | ||
Turnout | 72.618 | 77.4 | +2.3 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +7.1 |
Notes
References
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Huntingdonshire is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the east, South Cambridgeshire to the south-east, Central Bedfordshire and Bedford to the south-west, and North Northamptonshire to the west.
Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there in 1599 and became one of its Members of Parliament (MP) in 1628. The former Conservative Prime Minister (1990–1997) John Major served as its MP from 1979 until his retirement in 2001.
A civil parish is a country subdivision, forming the lowest unit of local government in England. There are 264 civil parishes in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, most of the county being parished; Cambridge is completely unparished; Fenland, East Cambridgeshire, South Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire are entirely parished. At the 2001 census, there were 497,820 people living in the parishes, accounting for 70.2 per cent of the county's population.
North West Cambridgeshire is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2024 by Sam Carling of the Labour Party. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Cambridge is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Daniel Zeichner of the Labour Party.
Huntingdon is a constituency west of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire and including its namesake town of Huntingdon. It has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Ben Obese-Jecty of the Conservative Party.
Peterborough is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since July 2024 by Andrew Pakes of the Labour Party.
Harwich was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until its abolition for the 2010 general election.
The ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire is divided into eight parliamentary constituencies. There is one borough constituency and seven county constituencies, which each elect one Member of Parliament to represent it in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Cambridgeshire is a former Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom. It was a constituency represented by two Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then in the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and in the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832, when its representation was increased to three until it was abolished in 1885.
South West Cambridgeshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. Created in 1983 upon the abolition of the Cambridgeshire constituency, it was abolished in 1997 and succeeded by the constituencies of South Cambridgeshire and Huntingdon.
Peterborough City Council is the local authority for Peterborough, a local government district with city status in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. Peterborough has had a council since 1874, which has been reformed several times. Since 1998 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. Since 2017 the council has been a member of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.
King's Lynn was a constituency in Norfolk which was represented continuously in the House of Commons of England from 1298 to 1707, in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 until it was abolished for the February 1974 general election.
Hornsey was a constituency that returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the UK Parliament, 1885 — 1983. It was then largely replaced by Hornsey & Wood Green. Its voters using the first-past-the-post system elected the Conservative Party candidate at each election. Its closest result was a 1.29% majority at the 1966 election which saw the start of the Second Wilson Ministry. From 1945 onwards the runners-up in the seat were the Labour Party candidates.
The historic county of Cambridgeshire, located in the modern-day East of England region, has been represented in Parliament since the 13th century. This article provides the list of constituencies which have formed the parliamentary representation from Cambridgeshire.
The historic county of Huntingdonshire, located in the modern-day East of England region, has been represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom since the 13th century. This article provides the list of constituencies which have formed the parliamentary representation from Huntingdonshire.
Ramsey was a parliamentary constituency in Huntingdonshire, which elected one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was also known as North Huntingdonshire.
Cambridgeshire was a constituency of the European Parliament located in the United Kingdom, electing one Member of the European Parliament by the first-past-the-post electoral system. It was first created in 1979 for the first elections to the European Parliament, but was abolished in 1984 election.
Huntingdonshire District Council is the local authority for the district of Huntingdonshire in Cambridgeshire, England. The council is based in the town of Huntingdon. The district also includes the towns of Godmanchester, Ramsey, St Ives and St Neots and surrounding rural areas. The district covers almost the same area as the historic county of Huntingdonshire, which had been abolished for administrative purposes in 1965, with some differences to the northern boundary with Peterborough.