Osgoldcross (UK Parliament constituency)

Osgoldcross
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
1885–1918
Number of members	one
Replaced by	Barkston Ash, Hemsworth and Pontefract
Created from	Eastern West Riding of Yorkshire

Osgoldcross was a parliamentary constituency in the Osgoldcross Rural District of West Yorkshire. 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 when the two-member Eastern West Riding of Yorkshire was divided by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election. It was abolished for the 1918 general election.

Boundaries

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 provided that the constituency should consist of

• the municipal borough of Pontefract,
• the wapentake of Osgoldcross,
• the Parishes in the Sessional Division of Upper Barkston Ash of Brotherton, Fairburn, Ledsham and Ledstone, and
• the Parishes in the Sessional Division of Skyrack of Allerton Bywater and Kippax. ^[1]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Sir John Ramsden, Bt	Independent Liberal
	1886		Liberal Unionist
	1886	Sir John Austin, Bt	Liberal
	1899		Independent Liberal
	1906	Sir Joseph Compton-Rickett	Liberal
1918		constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Osgoldcross ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Ramsden	5,153	62.8
	Conservative	Reginald Hardy [3]	3,053	37.2
Majority			2,100	25.6
Turnout			8,206	79.5
Registered electors			10,322
	Liberal win (new seat)

John Austin

General election 1886: Osgoldcross ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Austin	4,008	57.1	-5.7
	Liberal Unionist	John Ramsden	3,010	42.9	+5.7
Majority			998	14.2	-11.4
Turnout			7,018	68.0	−11.5
Registered electors			10,322
	Liberal hold		Swing	−5.7

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Osgoldcross ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Austin	5,160	61.1	+4.0
	Conservative	Charles Brook Dobson [6]	3,284	38.9	-4.0
Majority			1,876	22.2	+8.0
Turnout			8,444	66.9	-1.1
Registered electors			12,615
	Liberal hold		Swing	+4.0

General election 1895: Osgoldcross ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Austin	5,119	55.8	-5.3
	Conservative	John Harling	4,054	44.2	+5.3
Majority			1,065	11.6	-10.6
Turnout			9,173	70.1	+3.2
Registered electors			13,083
	Liberal hold		Swing	-5.3

Austin left the Liberal Party and sought re-election as an independent candidate.

Charles Roberts

1899 Osgoldcross by-election ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Liberal	John Austin	5,818	66.8	New
	Liberal	Charles Henry Roberts	2,893	33.2	−22.6
Majority			2,925	33.6	N/A
Turnout			8,711	62.2	−7.9
Registered electors			14,009
	Independent Liberal gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1900s

Rutherford

General election 1900: Osgoldcross ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Liberal	John Austin	5,609	65.0	N/A
	Liberal	Vickerman Rutherford	3,025	35.0	−20.8
Majority			2,584	30.0	N/A
Turnout			8,634	58.8	−11.3
Registered electors			14,689
	Independent Liberal gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

Joseph Rickett

General election 1906: Osgoldcross ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Joseph Compton-Rickett	8,482	66.1	+31.1
	Conservative	Granville Wheler	4,358	33.9	New
Majority			4,124	32.2	N/A
Turnout			12,840	75.8	+17.0
Registered electors			16,935
	Liberal gain from Independent Liberal		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Osgoldcross ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Joseph Compton-Rickett	9,517	66.3	+0.2
	Conservative	Gerald Hargreaves	4,840	33.7	−0.2
Majority			4,677	32.6	+0.4
Turnout			14,357	78.5	+2.7
Registered electors			18,286
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.2

General election December 1910: Osgoldcross ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Joseph Compton-Rickett	8,518	66.2	-0.1
	Conservative	Malcolm Campbell-Johnston	4,347	33.8	+0.1
Majority			4,171	32.4	-0.2
Turnout			12,865	70.4	−8.1
Registered electors			18,286
	Liberal hold		Swing	-0.1

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 the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Liberal: Joseph Compton-Rickett
• Unionist:
• Labour: John Potts ^[13]

See also

• Osgoldcross Rural District

References

1. Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
2. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
3. "The Elections" . Edinburgh Evening News . 30 November 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 6 December 2017– via British Newspaper Archive.
4. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
5. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
6. "Administrative papers rel to the candidate of Charles Brook Dobson in the Osgoldcross division". The National Archives . Retrieved 12 November 2017.
7. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
8. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
9. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
10. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
11. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
12. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
13. The miners and British politics 1906-1914

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "O"