St Helens (UK Parliament constituency)

Last updated

St Helens
Former county constituency
for the House of Commons
StHelens1974Constituency.svg
St Helens in Lancashire, showing boundaries used from 1974–1983
County Lancashire
Major settlements St Helens
1885–1983
SeatsOne
Created from South West Lancashire
Replaced by St Helens North and St Helens South

St Helens was a constituency in the county of Lancashire, England. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.

Contents

Created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the constituency was abolished in 1983, being split into St Helens North and St Helens South seats.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The municipal borough of St Helens. [1]

1918–1983: The County Borough of St Helens.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberPartyNotes
1885 Henry Seton-Karr Conservative
1906 Thomas Glover Labour
1910 Rigby Swift Conservative
1918 James Sexton Labour
1931 Richard Austin Spencer Conservative
1935 William Albert Robinson Labour
1945 Hartley Shawcross Labour Resigned May 1958
1958 by-election Leslie Spriggs Labour
1983 constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

Seton-Karr Henry Seton-Karr.jpg
Seton-Karr
General election 1885: St Helens [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Henry Seton-Karr 3,750 50.4
Liberal David Gamble3,69349.6
Majority570.8
Turnout 7,44389.8
Registered electors 8,291
Conservative win (new seat)
General election 1886: St Helens [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Henry Seton-Karr 3,621 51.5 +1.1
Liberal Arthur Sinclair [4] 3,40448.5−1.1
Majority2173.0+2.2
Turnout 7,02584.7−5.1
Registered electors 8,291
Conservative hold Swing +1.1

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: St Helens [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Henry Seton-Karr 4,258 50.3 −1.2
Liberal William Rann Kennedy 4,19949.7+1.2
Majority590.6−2.4
Turnout 8,45790.3+5.6
Registered electors 9,370
Conservative hold Swing -1.2
General election 1895: St Helens [6]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Henry Seton-Karr 4,700 53.5 +3.2
Liberal John Forster4,09146.5−3.2
Majority6097.0+6.4
Turnout 8,79188.4−1.9
Registered electors 9,950
Conservative hold Swing +3.2

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: St Helens [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Henry Seton-Karr 5,300 60.9 +7.4
Liberal Charles Conybeare 3,40239.1−7.4
Majority1,89821.8+14.8
Turnout 8,70280.9−7.5
Registered electors 10,763
Conservative hold Swing +7.4
Glover Thomas Glover MP.JPG
Glover
General election 1906: St Helens [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Repr. Cmte. Thomas Glover 6,058 56.6 New
Conservative Henry Seton-Karr 4,64743.4−17.5
Majority1,41113.2N/A
Turnout 10,70587.9+7.0
Registered electors 12,174
Labour Repr. Cmte. gain from Conservative Swing

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: St Helens [9]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Thomas Glover 6,512 53.3 −3.3
Conservative Rigby Swift 5,71746.7+3.3
Majority7956.6−6.6
Turnout 12,22993.6+5.7
Registered electors 13,068
Labour hold Swing −3.3
General election December 1910: St Helens [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Rigby Swift 6,016 51.1 +4.4
Labour Thomas Glover 5,75248.9−4.4
Majority2642.2N/A
Turnout 11,76890.1−3.5
Registered electors 13,068
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +4.4

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;

1915 St Helens by-election [11]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Unionist Rigby Swift Unopposed
Unionist hold
General election 1918: St Helens [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour James Sexton 15,583 57.1 +8.2
C Unionist Rigby Swift 11,68942.9−8.2
Majority3,89414.2N/A
Turnout 27,27261.5−28.6
Labour gain from Unionist Swing +8.2
Cindicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: St Helens [13]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour James Sexton 20,731 58.7 +1.6
Unionist Edward Wooll 14,58741.3−1.6
Majority6,14417.4+3.2
Turnout 35,31880.0+18.5
Labour hold Swing +1.6
General election 1923: St Helens [14]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour James Sexton 20,086 55.5 −3.2
Unionist Margaret Evelyn Pilkington16,10944.5+3.2
Majority3,97711.0−6.4
Turnout 36,19580.5+0.5
Labour hold Swing -3.2
General election 1924: St Helens [15]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour James Sexton 21,313 55.8 +0.3
Unionist Margaret Evelyn Pilkington16,90844.2−0.3
Majority4,40511.6+0.6
Turnout 38,22183.1+2.6
Labour hold Swing
General election 1929: St Helens [16]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour James Sexton 27,665 58.6 +2.8
Unionist Richard Austin Spencer 19,56041.4−2.8
Majority8,10517.2+5.6
Turnout 47,22578.3−4.8
Labour hold Swing +2.8

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: St Helens
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Richard Austin Spencer 26,131 52.4 +11.0
Labour James Sexton 23,70147.6−11.0
Majority2,4304.8N/A
Turnout 49,83278.9+0.6
Conservative gain from Labour Swing
General election 1935: St Helens
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour William Robinson 29,044 53.7 +6.1
Conservative Richard Austin Spencer 25,06346.3−6.1
Majority3,9817.4+2.6
Turnout 54,10782.6+3.7
Labour gain from Conservative Swing

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;

Election in the 1940s

Shawcross Hartley William Shawcross, Baron Shawcross (cropped).png
Shawcross
General election 1945: St Helens [18]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Hartley Shawcross 34,675 66.2 +12.5
Conservative Frank Whitworth17,68633.8−12.5
Majority16,98932.4+25.0
Turnout 52,36176.7−5.9
Labour hold Swing +12.5

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: St Helens
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Hartley Shawcross 39,514 63.2 −3.0
Conservative Alfred Hall-Davis 20,74133.18−0.6
Liberal Joseph H Winskill2,2633.6New
Majority18,77330.0−2.4
Turnout 62,51884.9+8.2
Labour hold Swing
General election 1951: St Helens
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Hartley Shawcross 37,688 63.3 +0.1
Conservative Michael Hughes-Young 21,83036.7+3.5
Majority15,85826.6−3.4
Turnout 59,51879.7−5.2
Labour hold Swing
General election 1955: St Helens
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Hartley Shawcross 35,737 64.3 +1.0
Conservative Abram Maxwell Caplin19,85435.7−1.0
Majority15,88328.6+2.0
Turnout 55,59173.5−6.2
Labour hold Swing
1958 St Helens by-election
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Leslie Spriggs 26,405 64.7 +0.4
Conservative Mark Carlisle 14,41135.3−0.4
Majority11,99429.4+0.8
Turnout 40,816
Labour hold Swing
General election 1959: St Helens
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Leslie Spriggs 35,961 62.1 −2.2
Conservative Mark Carlisle 21,95637.9+2.2
Majority14,00524.2−4.4
Turnout 57,91776.9+3.4
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: St Helens
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Leslie Spriggs 34,137 67.0 +4.9
Conservative Keith Speed 16,82633.0−4.9
Majority17,31134.0+9.8
Turnout 50,96372.3−4.6
Labour hold Swing
General election 1966: St Helens
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Leslie Spriggs 33,325 70.8 +3.8
Conservative Christopher C. Fielden13,77629.2−3.8
Majority19,54941.6+7.6
Turnout 47,10168.6−3.7
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: St Helens
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Leslie Spriggs 31,587 65.7 −5.1
Conservative Ian D. McGaw16,50934.3+5.1
Majority15,07831.4−10.2
Turnout 48,09664.5−4.1
Labour hold Swing
General election February 1974: St Helens
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Leslie Spriggs 32,621 59.0 −6.7
Liberal AE Lycett10,90519.7New
Conservative KJ Bridgeman10,75219.5−14.8
Ind. Labour Party M Pike9911.8New
Majority21,71639.3+7.9
Turnout 55,26973.2+8.7
Labour hold Swing
General election October 1974: St Helens
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Leslie Spriggs 32,620 64.1 +5.1
Conservative K.J. Bridgeman10,55420.8+1.3
Liberal A.E. Lycett7,68915.1−4.6
Majority22,06643.3+4.0
Turnout 50,86366.9−6.3
Labour hold Swing
General election 1979: St Helens
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Leslie Spriggs 32,489 59.6 −4.5
Conservative J. Brown16,93431.1+10.3
Liberal Ian Smith4,5878.4−6.7
Workers Revolutionary J. Boylan4710.9New
Majority15,55528.5−14.8
Turnout 54,48172.8+5.9
Labour hold Swing

Sources

References

  1. ↑ "Chap. 23. Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885". The Public General Acts of the United Kingdom passed in the forty-eighth and forty-ninth years of the reign of Queen Victoria. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode. 1885. pp. 111–198.
  2. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1885–1918 (Craig)
  3. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1885–1918 (Craig)
  4. ↑ "The Candidates for St. Helens" . Liverpool Mercury . 19 June 1886. p. 6. Retrieved 10 December 2017– via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1885–1918 (Craig)
  6. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1885–1918 (Craig)
  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 1918–1949, FWS Craig
  13. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, FWS Craig
  14. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, FWS Craig
  15. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, FWS Craig
  16. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, FWS Craig
  17. ↑ Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
  18. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, FWS Craig
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