| Scarborough | |
|---|---|
| Former county constituency for the House of Commons | |
| Scarborough in Yorkshire, 1885–1918 | |
| County | North Yorkshire |
| Major settlements | Scarborough, Whitby |
| February 1974–1997 | |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Scarborough and Whitby |
| Replaced by | Scarborough and Whitby |
| 1295–1918 | |
| Seats | Two (1295–1885) One (1885–1918) |
| Type of constituency | Borough constituency |
Scarborough was the name of a constituency in Yorkshire, electing Members of Parliament to the House of Commons, at two periods. From 1295 until 1918 it was a parliamentary borough consisting only of the town of Scarborough, electing two MPs until 1885 and one from 1885 until 1918. In 1974 the name was revived for a county constituency, covering a much wider area; this constituency was abolished in 1997.
1974–1983: The Borough of Scarborough, the Urban Districts of Pickering and Scalby, and the Rural Districts of Pickering and Scarborough.
1983–1997: The Borough of Scarborough wards of Ayton, Castle, Cayton, Central, Danby, Derwent, Eastfield, Eskdaleside, Falsgrave, Fylingdales, Lindhead, Mayfield, Mulgrave, Newby, Northstead, Scalby, Seamer, Streonshalh, Weaponness, and Woodlands.
Scarborough was first represented in a Parliament held at Shrewsbury in 1282, and was one of the boroughs sending 2 MPs to the Model Parliament of 1295 which is now generally considered to be the first parliament in the modern sense.
Until the Great Reform Act 1832 Scarborough was a corporation borough, the right of election resting solely with the 44-member corporation or "common council". At an earlier period, it seems to have been a matter of some dispute whether the freemen of the borough could also vote, but at an election in 1736 the corporation and the (much more numerous) freemen backed different candidates. The candidate of the freemen was returned to Parliament, but on petition from his defeated opponent the House of Commons decided that only the corporation votes should stand, and overturned the result. In later days the corporation was entirely under the influence of the Duke of Rutland and Earl of Mulgrave, who each nominated one of the Members of Parliament; by 1832, Scarborough had continuously been represented by junior members of their respective families for more than half a century. The restriction on the franchise was challenged in 1791, and Parliament declared in favour of "the ancient right of inhabitant householders" in the borough to vote, but the decision seems to have been a dead-letter for at the election of 1802, the last to be contested before the Reform Act 1832, only 33 voters cast their votes.
At the time of the Reform Act 1832, the borough had a population of about 8,760 in just over 2,000 houses, and the act left its boundaries and two members intact, though widening the franchise. (There were 431 electors registered at the 1832 election.) The constituency remained broadly unchanged until 1918, though from 1885 its representation was reduced from two MPs to one.
Following abolition in 1918, the constituency was absorbed into the new Scarborough and Whitby county constituency. However, the boundary changes which came into effect at the February 1974 general election created a new constituency named Scarborough. This was a county constituency including, in addition to Scarborough itself and its suburb Scalby, the town of Pickering and the Scarborough and Pickering rural districts.
There were further boundary changes at the 1983 general election, which brought in Whitby and its surrounding area in place of the Pickering district. The constituency was abolished once more for the 1997 general election, when it was again largely replaced by a new Scarborough and Whitby constituency.
| Election | Member [4] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1885 | Sir George Sitwell | Conservative | |
| 1886 | Joshua Rowntree | Liberal | |
| 1892 | Sir George Sitwell | Conservative | |
| 1895 | Joseph Compton-Rickett | Liberal | |
| 1906 | Walter Rea | Liberal | |
| 1918 | constituency abolished | ||
| Election | Member [4] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Sir Michael Shaw | Conservative | |
| 1992 | John Sykes | Conservative | |
| 1997 | constituency abolished | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speaker | Charles Manners-Sutton | Unopposed | |||
| Tory | Edmund Phipps | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 36 | ||||
| Speaker hold | |||||
| Tory hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speaker | Charles Manners-Sutton | Unopposed | |||
| Tory | Edmund Phipps | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 36 | ||||
| Speaker hold | |||||
| Tory hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whig | John Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone | 285 | 41.6 | ||
| Whig | George Cayley | 255 | 37.2 | ||
| Tory | Frederick Trench | 145 | 21.2 | ||
| Majority | 110 | 16.0 | |||
| Turnout | 384 | 89.1 | |||
| Registered electors | 431 | ||||
| Whig gain from Speaker | |||||
| Whig gain from Tory | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Frederick Trench | 176 | 38.3 | +17.1 | |
| Whig | John Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone | 161 | 35.1 | −6.5 | |
| Whig | George Cayley | 122 | 26.6 | −10.6 | |
| Turnout | 267 | 64.8 | −24.3 | ||
| Registered electors | 412 | ||||
| Majority | 54 | 11.7 | N/A | ||
| Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | +17.1 | |||
| Majority | 39 | 8.5 | −7.5 | ||
| Whig hold | Swing | −7.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Frederick Trench | 225 | 35.8 | −2.5 | |
| Whig | Sir Thomas Style, 8th Baronet | 211 | 33.6 | +7.0 | |
| Conservative | John Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone | 192 | 30.6 | −4.5 | |
| Turnout | 423 | 86.7 | +21.9 | ||
| Registered electors | 488 | ||||
| Majority | 14 | 2.2 | −1.0 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −3.0 | |||
| Majority | 19 | 3.0 | −5.5 | ||
| Whig hold | Swing | +7.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone | 296 | 37.7 | +7.1 | |
| Conservative | Frederick Trench | 253 | 32.2 | −3.6 | |
| Whig | Charles Beaumont Phipps | 237 | 30.2 | −3.4 | |
| Majority | 16 | 2.0 | −0.2 | ||
| Turnout | 510 | 90.4 | +3.7 | ||
| Registered electors | 564 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +4.4 | |||
| Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | −1.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peelite | John Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone | Unopposed | |||
| Whig | George Phipps | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 670 | ||||
| Peelite gain from Conservative | |||||
| Whig gain from Conservative | |||||
Phipps was appointed Comptroller of the Household, requiring a by-election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | George Frederick Young | 314 | 52.8 | N/A | |
| Whig | George Phipps | 281 | 47.2 | N/A | |
| Majority | 33 | 5.6 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 595 | 80.1 | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 743 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peelite | John Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone | 422 | 37.6 | N/A | |
| Whig | George Phipps | 387 | 34.5 | N/A | |
| Conservative | George Frederick Young | 313 | 27.9 | N/A | |
| Turnout | 561 (est) | 69.7 (est) | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 805 | ||||
| Majority | 35 | 3.1 | N/A | ||
| Peelite hold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Majority | 74 | 6.6 | N/A | ||
| Whig hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Phipps was appointed Treasurer of the Household, requiring a by-election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whig | George Phipps | Unopposed | |||
| Whig hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peelite | John Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone | 540 | 40.8 | +3.2 | |
| Whig | George Phipps | 508 | 38.4 | +3.9 | |
| Conservative | Augustus Frederick Bayford [19] [20] | 275 | 20.8 | −7.1 | |
| Turnout | 662 (est) | 70.8 (est) | +1.1 | ||
| Registered electors | 934 | ||||
| Majority | 32 | 2.4 | −0.7 | ||
| Peelite hold | Swing | +3.4 | |||
| Majority | 233 | 17.6 | +11.0 | ||
| Whig hold | Swing | +3.7 | |||
Phipps resigned after being appointed Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, causing a by-election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whig | John Dent | 373 | 57.1 | +18.7 | |
| Conservative | George John Cayley [21] | 280 | 42.9 | +22.1 | |
| Majority | 93 | 14.2 | −3.4 | ||
| Turnout | 653 | 69.9 | −0.9 | ||
| Registered electors | 934 | ||||
| Whig hold | Swing | −1.7 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | William Denison | 562 | 35.2 | N/A | |
| Liberal | John Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone | 540 | 33.8 | −7.0 | |
| Liberal | John Dent | 428 | 26.8 | −11.6 | |
| Conservative | George John Cayley | 66 | 4.1 | −16.7 | |
| Majority | 112 | 7.0 | +4.6 | ||
| Turnout | 798 (est) | 82.5 (est) | +11.7 | ||
| Registered electors | 967 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +0.7 | |||
Denison succeeded to the peerage, becoming Lord Londesborough and causing a by-election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | John Dent | 472 | 58.1 | +31.3 | |
| Liberal | James Molyneux Caulfield [22] | 340 | 41.9 | N/A | |
| Majority | 132 | 16.2 | +9.2 | ||
| Turnout | 812 | 75.3 | −7.2 | ||
| Registered electors | 1,078 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | John Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone | 932 | 45.5 | +11.7 | |
| Liberal | John Dent | 674 | 32.9 | +6.1 | |
| Conservative | George John Cayley | 441 | 21.5 | +17.4 | |
| Majority | 233 | 11.4 | +4.4 | ||
| Turnout | 1,244 (est) | 92.1 (est) | +9.6 | ||
| Registered electors | 1,351 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +1.5 | |||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −1.3 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | John Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone | 1,826 | 43.0 | −2.5 | |
| Liberal | John Dent | 1,678 | 39.5 | +6.6 | |
| Conservative | George John Cayley [23] | 742 | 17.5 | −4.0 | |
| Majority | 936 | 22.0 | +10.6 | ||
| Turnout | 2,494 (est) | 84.1 (est) | −8.0 | ||
| Registered electors | 2,964 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −0.3 | |||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +4.3 | |||
Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone's death caused a by-election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Harcourt Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone | Unopposed | |||
| Liberal hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Charles Legard | 1,280 | 32.4 | +14.9 | |
| Liberal | Harcourt Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone | 1,103 | 27.9 | −15.1 | |
| Liberal | John Dent | 799 | 20.2 | −19.3 | |
| Liberal | Thorold Rogers [24] | 772 | 19.5 | N/A | |
| Majority | 481 | 12.2 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 2,617 (est) | 72.1 (est) | −12.0 | ||
| Registered electors | 3,631 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +16.1 | |||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −15.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Harcourt Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone | 2,157 | 29.3 | −4.5 | |
| Liberal | William Sproston Caine | 2,065 | 28.0 | −5.8 | |
| Conservative | John Cookson Fife-Cookson [25] | 1,581 | 21.5 | +5.3 | |
| Conservative | Charles Legard | 1,562 | 21.2 | +5.0 | |
| Majority | 503 | 6.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 3,683 (est) | 85.6 (est) | +13.5 | ||
| Registered electors | 4,302 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −4.9 | |||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | −5.4 | |||
Johnstone's resignation caused a by-election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | John Dodson | 1,828 | 53.2 | −4.1 | |
| Conservative | Arthur Duncombe [27] | 1,606 | 46.8 | +4.1 | |
| Majority | 222 | 6.4 | −0.4 | ||
| Turnout | 3,434 | 79.8 | −5.8 (est) | ||
| Registered electors | 4,302 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −4.1 | |||
Dodson was elevated to the peerage, becoming Lord Monk Bretton, causing a by-election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Richard Steble | 1,895 | 54.1 | −3.2 | |
| Conservative | George Sitwell | 1,606 | 45.9 | +3.2 | |
| Majority | 289 | 8.2 | +1.8 | ||
| Turnout | 3,501 | 84.0 | −1.6 (est) | ||
| Registered electors | 4,167 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −3.2 | |||
Caine was appointed Civil Lord of the Admiralty, requiring a by-election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | William Sproston Caine | 1,832 | 52.8 | −4.5 | |
| Conservative | George Sitwell | 1,639 | 47.2 | +4.5 | |
| Majority | 193 | 5.6 | −2.6 | ||
| Turnout | 3,471 | 83.3 | −2.3 (est) | ||
| Registered electors | 4,167 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −4.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | George Sitwell | 2,185 | 51.6 | +8.9 | |
| Liberal | John Glover | 2,048 | 48.4 | −8.9 | |
| Majority | 137 | 3.2 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 4,233 | 90.7 | +5.1 (est) | ||
| Registered electors | 4,666 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +8.9 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Joshua Rowntree | 2,122 | 51.2 | +2.8 | |
| Conservative | George Sitwell | 2,020 | 48.8 | −2.8 | |
| Majority | 102 | 2.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 4,142 | 88.8 | −1.9 | ||
| Registered electors | 4,666 | ||||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +2.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | George Sitwell | 2,293 | 51.9 | +3.1 | |
| Liberal | Joshua Rowntree | 2,122 | 48.1 | −3.1 | |
| Majority | 171 | 3.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 4,415 | 90.5 | +1.7 | ||
| Registered electors | 4,877 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +3.1 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Joseph Compton-Rickett | 2,415 | 50.2 | +2.1 | |
| Conservative | George Sitwell | 2,391 | 49.8 | −2.1 | |
| Majority | 24 | 0.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 4,806 | 91.0 | +0.5 | ||
| Registered electors | 5,284 | ||||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +2.1 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Joseph Compton-Rickett | 2,548 | 51.1 | +0.9 | |
| Conservative | George Sitwell | 2,441 | 48.9 | −0.9 | |
| Majority | 107 | 2.2 | +1.8 | ||
| Turnout | 4,989 | 87.1 | −3.9 | ||
| Registered electors | 5,730 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +0.9 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Walter Rea | 3,128 | 54.4 | +3.3 | |
| Conservative | Charles Edward Hunter | 2,619 | 45.6 | −3.3 | |
| Majority | 509 | 8.8 | +6.6 | ||
| Turnout | 5,747 | 92.0 | +4.9 | ||
| Registered electors | 6,250 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +3.3 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Walter Rea | 3,011 | 52.5 | −1.9 | |
| Conservative | George Monckton-Arundell | 2,719 | 47.5 | +1.9 | |
| Majority | 292 | 5.0 | −3.8 | ||
| Turnout | 5,730 | 92.9 | +0.9 | ||
| Registered electors | 6,166 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −1.9 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Walter Rea | 2,763 | 50.5 | −2.0 | |
| Conservative | George Monckton-Arundell | 2,711 | 49.5 | +2.0 | |
| Majority | 52 | 1.0 | −4.0 | ||
| Turnout | 5,474 | 88.8 | −4.1 | ||
| Registered electors | 6,166 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −2.0 | |||
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;
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Walter Rea | Unopposed | |||
| Liberal hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Michael Shaw | 21,858 | 47.66 | ||
| Liberal | Michael Ford Pitts | 16,751 | 36.53 | ||
| Labour | D. J. Taylor-Goodby | 7,034 | 15.34 | ||
| Independent | M. J. Ellis | 114 | 0.25 | ||
| Ind. Conservative | B. M. Stoker | 102 | 0.22 | ||
| Majority | 5,107 | 11.13 | |||
| Turnout | 45,859 | 78.93 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Michael Shaw | 19,831 | 49.73 | ||
| Liberal | Michael J. L. Brook | 10,123 | 25.39 | ||
| Labour | D. J. Taylor-Goodby | 9,923 | 24.88 | ||
| Majority | 9,708 | 24.34 | |||
| Turnout | 39,877 | 68.10 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Michael Shaw | 23,669 | 53.16 | ||
| Labour | E. J. Lahteela | 11,344 | 25.48 | ||
| Liberal | S. Galloway | 9,025 | 20.27 | ||
| Independent | T. Yelin | 487 | 1.09 | New | |
| Majority | 12,325 | 27.68 | |||
| Turnout | 44,525 | 73.12 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Michael Shaw | 27,977 | 54.25 | ||
| SDP | Rosamund Jordan | 14,048 | 27.24 | ||
| Labour | John Battersby | 9,545 | 18.51 | ||
| Majority | 13,929 | 27.01 | |||
| Turnout | 51,570 | 71.27 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Michael Shaw | 27,672 | 50.65 | ||
| SDP | Hilary Callan | 14,046 | 25.71 | ||
| Labour | Mark Wolstenholme | 12,913 | 23.64 | ||
| Majority | 13,626 | 24.94 | |||
| Turnout | 54,631 | 73.22 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Sykes | 29,334 | 49.8 | −0.8 | |
| Labour | David L. Billing | 17,600 | 29.9 | +6.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | A. Davenport | 11,133 | 18.9 | −6.8 | |
| Green | Richard C. Richardson | 876 | 1.5 | New | |
| Majority | 11,734 | 19.9 | −5.0 | ||
| Turnout | 58,943 | 77.2 | +4.0 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −3.6 | |||