Lichfield and Tamworth (UK Parliament constituency)

Lichfield and Tamworth
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
1950–1983
Seats	one
Created from	Lichfield
Replaced by	Staffordshire South East, Mid Staffordshire and Cannock & Burntwood [1]

Lichfield and Tamworth was a parliamentary constituency centred on the towns of Lichfield and Tamworth in Staffordshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.

History

The constituency was created for the 1950 general election, and abolished for the 1983 general election, when it was partly replaced by the new Mid Staffordshire constituency.

Boundaries

1950–1955: The Boroughs of Lichfield and Tamworth, the Urban Districts of Aldridge and Rugeley, and the Rural District of Lichfield.

1955–1974: The Boroughs of Lichfield and Tamworth, the Urban District of Rugeley, and the Rural District of Lichfield.

1974–1983: The Boroughs of Lichfield and Tamworth, and the Rural District of Lichfield except the parish of Brindley Heath.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1950	Julian Snow	Labour
	1970	Jack d'Avigdor-Goldsmid	Conservative
	Oct 1974	Bruce Grocott	Labour
	1979	John Heddle	Conservative
1983		constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Lichfield and Tamworth ^{[2] [3]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Julian Snow	29,199	54.2
	Conservative	Sarah Ward	24,681	45.8
Majority			4,518	8.4
Turnout			53,880	86.3
	Labour win (new seat)

General election 1951: Lichfield and Tamworth ^{[2] [3]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Julian Snow	28,826	52.6	−1.6
	Conservative	George Hampson	25,941	47.4	+1.6
Majority			2,885	5.2	−3.2
Turnout			54,767	85.5	−0.8
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1955: Lichfield and Tamworth ^{[2] [3]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Julian Snow	21,071	54.0	+1.4
	Conservative	Jonathan Oliver Tollemache Blow	17,966	46.0	−1.4
Majority			3,105	8.0	+2.8
Turnout			39,037	80.9	−4.6
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1959: Lichfield and Tamworth ^{[2] [3]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Julian Snow	21,341	51.9	−2.1
	Conservative	Francis Roberts	19,791	48.1	+2.1
Majority			1,550	3.8	−4.2
Turnout			41,132	81.9	+1.0
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Lichfield and Tamworth ^{[2] [3]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Julian Snow	22,644	48.5	−3.4
	Conservative	Kenneth Dunkley	18,828	40.3	−7.8
	Liberal	Anthony Extance	5,206	11.2	New
Majority			3,816	8.2	+4.4
Turnout			46,678	80.9	−1.0
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1966: Lichfield and Tamworth ^{[2] [3]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Julian Snow	27,971	54.0	+5.5
	Conservative	Bruce A Webb	23,837	46.0	+5.7
Majority			4,134	8.0	−0.2
Turnout			51,808	78.8	−2.1
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Lichfield and Tamworth ^{[2] [3]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James d'Avigdor-Goldsmid	31,274	51.6	+5.6
	Labour	Terry Pitt	29,298	48.4	−5.6
Majority			1,976	3.2	N/A
Turnout			60,572	74.2	−4.6
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

General election February 1974: Lichfield and Tamworth ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James d'Avigdor-Goldsmid	30,659	41.6	−10.0
	Labour	Bruce Grocott	28,852	39.2	−9.2
	Liberal	Doreen Elliott	14,151	19.2	New
Majority			1,807	2.4	−0.8
Turnout			73,662	82.8	+8.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Lichfield and Tamworth ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bruce Grocott	29,872	42.6	+3.4
	Conservative	James d'Avigdor-Goldsmid	29,541	42.1	+0.5
	Liberal	Philip Rule	10,741	15.3	−4.9
Majority			331	0.5	N/A
Turnout			70,154	78.2	−4.6
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Heddle

General election 1979: Lichfield and Tamworth ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Heddle	41,454	50.3	+8.2
	Labour	Bruce Grocott	33,006	40.1	−2.5
	Liberal	Philip Rule	7,408	9.0	−6.3
	National Front	P Wallace	475	0.6	New
Majority			8,448	10.2	N/A
Turnout			82,343	81.2	+3.0
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

References

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 3)

1. "'Lichfield and Tamworth', Feb 1974 - May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
2. British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973, FWS Craig
3. The Times House of Commons, 1950-70
4. British Parliamentary Election Results, 1974-1983, FWS Craig