Ross (UK Parliament constituency)

For the 1708–1832 constituency in Scotland, see Ross-shire (UK Parliament constituency). For the 1801–1885 constituency in Ireland, see New Ross (UK Parliament constituency).

Ross
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
County	Herefordshire
Major settlements	Ross-on-Wye
1885–1918
Seats	One
Created from	Herefordshire
Replaced by	Hereford

Ross, or the Southern division of Herefordshire was a county constituency centred on the town of Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire. 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 voting system.

The constituency was created under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election, when the three-seat Herefordshire constituency was replaced by two single-member county divisions: the Leominster (or Northern) division, and the Ross (or Southern) division.

Ross was abolished for the 1918 general election.

Boundaries

The Sessional Divisions of Dore, Harewood's Ends, Hereford, Ledbury and Ross and the Municipal Borough of Hereford. ^[1]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member [2] [3]	Party
	1885	Michael Biddulph	Liberal
	1886		Liberal Unionist
	1900	Percy Clive	Liberal Unionist
	1906	Alan Coulston Gardner	Liberal
	1908 by-election	Percy Clive	Liberal Unionist
	1912		Unionist
	May 1918 by-election	Charles Pulley	Unionist
	Dec. 1918	constituency abolished

Elections

Decades:

1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Ross ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Michael Biddulph	4,415	54.8
	Conservative	Joseph Bailey	3,643	45.2
Majority			772	9.6
Turnout			8,058	79.2
Registered electors			10,179
	Liberal win (new seat)

General election 1886: Ross ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Michael Biddulph	3,968	70.4	+25.2
	Liberal	Thomas Duckham	1,670	29.6	−25.2
Majority			2,298	40.8	N/A
Turnout			5,638	55.4	−23.8
Registered electors			10,179
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+25.2

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Ross ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Michael Biddulph	4,326	52.8	−17.6
	Liberal	Joseph Pulley	3,869	47.2	+17.6
Majority			457	5.6	−35.2
Turnout			8,195	74.7	+19.3
Registered electors			10,968
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	+17.6

General election 1895: Ross ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Michael Biddulph	4,573	61.8	+9.0
	Liberal	Arthur Withy	2,828	38.2	−9.0
Majority			1,745	23.6	+18.0
Turnout			7,401	65.8	−8.9
Registered electors			11,249
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	+9.0

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Ross ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Percy Clive	Unopposed
	Liberal Unionist hold

General election 1906: Ross ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Alan Coulston Gardner	4,497	51.8	New
	Liberal Unionist	Percy Clive	4,185	48.2	N/A
Majority			312	3.6	N/A
Turnout			8,682	83.5	N/A
Registered electors			10,394
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing	N/A

1908 Ross by-election ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Percy Clive	4,947	55.7	+7.5
	Liberal	Frederick Whitley-Thomson	3,928	44.3	−7.5
Majority			1,019	11.4	N/A
Turnout			8,875	84.6	+1.1
Registered electors			10,486
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+7.5

Elections in the 1910s

Webb

General election January 1910: Ross ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Percy Clive	5,073	52.0	+3.8
	Liberal	Henry Webb	4,678	48.0	−3.8
Majority			395	4.0	N/A
Turnout			9,751	89.1	+5.6
Registered electors			10,946
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	-3.7

General election December 1910: Ross ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Percy Clive	4,748	50.6	−1.4
	Liberal	Henry Webb	4,627	49.4	+1.4
Majority			121	1.2	−2.8
Turnout			9,375	85.6	−3.5
Registered electors			10,946
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	-1.4

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: Percy Clive
• Liberal: Clement Woodbine Parish

1918 Ross by-election ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Charles Pulley	3,260	64.6	+14.0
	NFU	T. Percy Preece	1,784	35.4	New
Majority			1,476	29.2	+28.0
Turnout			5,044	44.2	−41.4
	Unionist hold		Swing	-1.4

References

1. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
2. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 2)
3. Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 294. ISBN   0-900178-27-2.
4. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
5. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918