Sudbury and Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency)

Sudbury and Woodbridge
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
County	Suffolk
Major settlements	Sudbury and Woodbridge
1950–1983
Seats	One
Created from	Woodbridge and Sudbury
Replaced by	Suffolk Coastal and South Suffolk [1]

Sudbury and Woodbridge was a county constituency centred on the towns of Sudbury and Woodbridge in Suffolk. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

History

The constituency was created by the Representation of the People Act 1948 for the 1950 general election, replacing the majority of both of the abolished county divisions of Sudbury and Woodbridge. It included the towns of Sudbury and Hadleigh, previously in the Sudbury constituency, and Woodbridge and Felixstowe, previously in the Woodbridge constituency.

It was abolished for the 1983 general election, and split between the new county constituencies of Suffolk Coastal (Woodbridge and Felixstowe) and South Suffolk (Sudbury and Hadleigh).

Boundaries

• The Borough of Sudbury;
• The Urban Districts of Felixstowe, Hadleigh, and Woodbridge;
• The Rural Districts of Cosford, Melford, and Samford; and
• Part of the Rural District of Deben. ^[2]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party	Notes
	1950	John Hare	Conservative	Raised to the peerage November 1963
	1963 by-election	Keith Stainton	Conservative
	1983	constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Sudbury and Woodbridge ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Hare	23,599	48.3
	Labour	Roland Hamilton	19,062	39.0
	Liberal	Frederick James	6,219	12.7
Majority			4,537	9.3
Turnout			48,880	84.5
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election 1951: Sudbury and Woodbridge ^{[4] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Hare	27,262	56.1	+7.8
	Labour Co-op	Dick Lewis	21,310	43.9	+4.9
Majority			5,952	12.2	+2.9
Turnout			48,572	82.1	-2.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1955: Sudbury and Woodbridge ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Hare	25,185	53.7	-2.4
	Labour Co-op	Dick Lewis	17,995	38.3	-5.6
	Liberal	Agnes H Scott	3,760	8.0	New
Majority			7,190	15.4	+3.2
Turnout			46,940	79.7	-2.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1959: Sudbury and Woodbridge ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Hare	26,130	53.0	-0.7
	Labour	Robert B. Stirling	16,248	33.0	-5.3
	Liberal	Aubrey Herbert	6,914	14.0	+6.0
Majority			9,882	20.0	+4.6
Turnout			49,292	81.1	+1.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

1963 Sudbury and Woodbridge by-election ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Keith Stainton	22,005	49.6	-3.4
	Labour	Frank E Woodbridge	16,416	37.0	+4.0
	Liberal	Aubrey Herbert	5,935	13.4	-0.6
Majority			5,589	12.6	-7.4
Turnout			44,356	70.5	-10.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1964: Sudbury and Woodbridge ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Keith Stainton	26,370	50.5	-2.5
	Labour	Frank E Woodbridge	17,778	34.1	+1.1
	Liberal	Edwin Michael Wheeler	8,044	15.4	+1.4
Majority			8,592	16.4	-3.6
Turnout			52,192
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1966: Sudbury and Woodbridge ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Keith Stainton	26,689	50.2	-0.3
	Labour	Max Madden	19,680	37.0	+2.9
	Liberal	Edwin Michael Wheeler	6,839	12.9	-2.5
Majority			7,009	13.2	-2.2
Turnout			53,208	80.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Sudbury and Woodbridge ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Keith Stainton	32,393	54.6	+4.4
	Labour	Brian Orriss	19,829	33.4	-3.6
	Liberal	Edward Michael Wheeler	7,136	12.0	-0.9
Majority			12,564	21.2	+8.0
Turnout			59,358	75.9	-4.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Sudbury and Woodbridge

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Keith Stainton	31,987	46.7	-7.9
	Liberal	Neville S Lewis	18,286	26.7	+14.7
	Labour	Brian Orriss	18,228	26.6	-6.8
Majority			13,701	20.0	-1.2
Turnout			68,501	81.9	+6.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Sudbury and Woodbridge

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Keith Stainton	30,049	47.5	+0.8
	Labour	RE Russel	17,986	28.4	+1.8
	Liberal	Neville S Lewis	15,206	24.0	-2.7
Majority			12,063	19.1	-0.9
Turnout			63,241	75.0	-5.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1979: Sudbury and Woodbridge

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Keith Stainton	39,544	55.0	+7.5
	Labour	JB Hills	18,972	26.4	-2.0
	Liberal	J Roderic C Beale	13,435	18.7	-5.3
Majority			20,572	28.6	+9.5
Turnout			71,951	78.7	+3.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

1. "'Sudbury and Woodbridge', Feb 1974 – May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
2. "Representation of the People Act, 1948". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
3. British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 by FWS Craig
4. British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 by FWS Craig
5. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1951.
6. British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 by FWS Craig
7. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1955.
8. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1973
9. The Times House of Commons, 1964
10. The Times House of Commons, 1964
11. The Times House of Commons, 1966
12. The Times House of Commons, 1970

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 6)