Hitchin (UK Parliament constituency)

This article is about the pre-1983 constituency. For the post-1997 constituency, see Hitchin and Harpenden (UK Parliament constituency).

Hitchin
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
Hitchin in Hertfordshire, showing boundaries used from 1974-1983
1885–1983
Seats	one
Created from	Hertfordshire
Replaced by	North Hertfordshire, Stevenage [1]

Hitchin was a parliamentary constituency in Hertfordshire which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election.

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be re-established for the next general election. ^[2]

Boundaries and boundary changes

1885–1918

• The Sessional Divisions of Aldbury (except the parishes of Great Hadham and Little Hadham), Buntingford, Hitchin, Odsey, Stevenage, and Welwyn; and
• The parish of Braughing. ^[3]

The constituency was established by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (which followed on from the Third Reform Act) as one of four Divisions of the abolished three-member Parliamentary County of Hertfordshire, and was formally named as the Northern or Hitchin Division of Hertfordshire. It included the towns/villages of Hitchin, Stevenage, Welwyn, Baldock and Royston.

1918–1945

• The Urban Districts of Baldock, Hitchin, Royston, and Stevenage;
• The Rural Districts of Ashwell, Buntingford, Hitchin, and Welwyn; and
• The Rural District of Hertford parishes of Aston, Bennington, Datchworth, Sacombe, Walkern, and Watton-at-Stone. ^[4]

Minor changes only to reflect local authority boundaries.

1945–1950

• The Urban Districts of Baldock, Hitchin, Letchworth, Royston, and Stevenage;
• The Rural Districts of Hitchin, and Welwyn; and
• Parts of the Rural Districts of Braughing and Hertford. ^[5]

The constituency had included a part of the Urban District of Welwyn Garden City, which had been formed as a separate local authority in 1927, and this was now transferred to St Albans.  Other nominal changes as a result of the reorganisation of local authorities.

1950–1955

• The Urban Districts of Baldock, Hitchin, Letchworth, Royston, and Stevenage;
• The Rural District of Hitchin:
• The Rural District of Braughing parishes of Anstey, Ardeley, Aspenden, Broadfield, Buckland, Buntingford, Cottered, Hormead, Meesden, Throcking, Westmilll, and Wyddiall; and
• The Rural District of Hertford parishes of Aston, Bennington, Datchworth, Sacombe, Walkern, and Watton-at-Stone. ^[6]

The Rural District of Welwyn was transferred to St Albans.

1955–1974

• The Urban Districts of Baldock, Hitchin, Letchworth, Royston, and Stevenage; and
• The Rural District of Hitchin. ^[5]

The part of the Rural District of Braughing was transferred to the new constituency of East Hertfordshire, and the part of the Rural District of Hertford was transferred to Hertford.

1974–1983

• The Urban Districts of Baldock, Hitchin, Letchworth, and Royston; and
• The Rural District of Hitchin. ^{[5] [7]}

The Urban District of Stevenage formed the majority of the new County Constituency of Hertford and Stevenage.

The constituency was abolished for the 1983 general election and was replaced by the new constituency of North Hertfordshire, with the exception of a small part in the south-east which was included in the new constituency of Stevenage (Codicote and Knebworth).

Proposed

Map of boundaries from 2024

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the composition of the re-established constituency, will be (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

• The District of Central Bedfordshire wards of Arlesey; Shefford; and Stotfold and Langford - transferred partly from North East Bedfordshire and partly from Mid Bedfordshire.
• The District of North Hertfordshire wards of: Cadwell; Chesfield; Hitchin Bearton; Hitchin Highbury; Hitchin Oughton; Hitchin Priory; Hitchin Walsworth; Hitchwood, Offa and Hoo; and Kimpton - transferred from the, to be abolished, constituency of Hitchin and Harpenden. ^[8]

Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023 ^{[9] [10]} , the part in Central Bedfordshire will now comprise the following wards:

• Arlesey & Fairfield; Clifton, Henlow & Langfield; Meppershall & Shillington (Meppershall parish); Shefford; Stotfold. ^[11]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Baron Robert Dimsdale a	Conservative
	1892	George Hudson	Conservative
	1906	Julius Bertram	Liberal
	Jan 1910	Alfred Hillier	Conservative
	1911 by-election	Lord Robert Cecil b	Conservative
	1918		Coalition Conservative
	1922		Conservative
	1923	Guy Kindersley	Conservative
	1931	Viscount Knebworth	Conservative
	1933 by-election	Sir Arnold Wilson	Conservative
	1941 by-election	Seymour Berry	Conservative
	1945	Philip Asterley Jones	Labour
	1950	Nigel Fisher	Conservative
	1955	Martin Maddan	Conservative
	1964	Shirley Williams	Labour
	Feb 1974	Ian Stewart	Conservative
1983		constituency abolished

Notes:-

• ^a Dimsdale was a Baron of the Russian Empire.
• ^b Cecil associated himself with the non-coalition wing of the Conservative Party, at some point in the 1918-1922 Parliament.

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Next general election: Hitchin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bim Afolami* [12]
	Green	Will Lavin [13]
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Lucas [14]
	Labour	Alistair Strathern** [15]
Majority
Turnout

*Served as MP for Hitchin and Harpenden in the 2019–2024 Parliament

**Served as MP for Mid Bedfordshire in the 2019–2024 Parliament

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Hitchin ^{[16] [17] [18]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Dimsdale	4,419	60.6
	Liberal	Henry George Fordham	2,869	39.4
Majority			1,550	21.2
Turnout			7,288	81.0
Registered electors			8,996
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election 1886: Hitchin ^{[16] [17]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Dimsdale	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Hitchin ^{[16] [17]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Bickersteth Hudson	4,187	60.5	N/A
	Liberal	John Wattridge	2,728	39.5	New
Majority			1,459	21.0	N/A
Turnout			6,915	77.0	N/A
Registered electors			8,982
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1895: Hitchin ^{[16] [17] [19]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Bickersteth Hudson	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Hitchin ^{[16] [17] [19]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Bickersteth Hudson	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1906: Hitchin ^{[16] [17]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Julius Bertram	4,157	50.5	New
	Conservative	J J W Miller	4,081	49.5	N/A
Majority			76	1.0	N/A
Turnout			8,238	83.9	N/A
Registered electors			9,820
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Hitchin ^{[16] [20]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alfred Hillier	5,761	59.8	+10.3
	Liberal	Julius Bertram	3,877	40.2	−10.3
Majority			1,884	19.6	N/A
Turnout			9,638	88.5	+4.6
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+10.3

General election December 1910: Hitchin ^{[16] [20]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alfred Hillier	5,233	57.0	−2.8
	Liberal	Thomas Tylston Greg	3,942	43.0	+2.8
Majority			1,291	14.0	−5.6
Turnout			9,175	84.3	−4.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.8

Hitchin by-election, 1911 ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Cecil	5,542	58.6	+1.6
	Liberal	Thomas Tylston Greg	3,909	41.4	−1.6
Majority			1,633	17.2	+3.2
Turnout			9,451	84.8	+0.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.6

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;

• Unionist: Robert Cecil
• Liberal:

Robert Cecil

General election 14 December 1918: Hitchin ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	Robert Cecil	9,828	60.6	+3.6
	Labour	Robert Green	5,661	34.9	New
	NFDDSS	George Humm	722	4.5	New
Majority			4,167	25.7	+11.7
Turnout			16,211	54.4	−29.9
Registered electors			29,820
	Unionist hold		Swing
Cindicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Hitchin ^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Robert Cecil	13,124	62.0	+1.4
	Labour	Skene Mackay	8,049	38.0	+3.1
Majority			5,075	24.0	−1.7
Turnout			21,173	66.2	+7.8
Registered electors			32,005
	Unionist hold		Swing	−0.9

General election 1923: Hitchin ^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Guy Kindersley	11,157	49.7	−12.3
	Labour	Skene Mackay	5,913	26.3	−11.7
	Liberal	Dugald Macfadyen	5,390	24.0	New
Majority			5,244	23.4	−0.6
Turnout			22,460	67.7	+1.5
Registered electors			33,197
	Unionist hold		Swing	−0.3

General election 1924: Hitchin ^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Guy Kindersley	14,019	59.2	+9.5
	Labour	Julian Athelstan Tayler	5,773	24.4	−1.9
	Liberal	Dugald Macfadyen	3,881	16.4	−7.6
Majority			8,246	34.8	+11.4
Turnout			23,673	69.5	+1.8
Registered electors			34,060
	Unionist hold		Swing	+5.7

General election 1929: Hitchin ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Guy Kindersley	14,786	44.8	−14.4
	Liberal	Enid Lapthorn	9,325	28.3	+11.9
	Labour	Richard Gifford	8,880	26.9	+2.5
Majority			5,461	16.5	−18.3
Turnout			32,991	73.4	+3.9
Registered electors			44,967
	Unionist hold		Swing	−9.2

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Hitchin ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Antony Bulwer-Lytton	25,841	75.7	+30.9
	Labour	Dermot Freyer	8,312	24.3	−2.6
Majority			17,529	51.4	+34.9
Turnout			34,153	71.1	−2.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

Arnold Wilson

Hitchin by-election, 1933

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arnold Wilson	14,569	58.4	−17.3
	Labour	William Bennett	10,362	41.6	+17.3
Majority			4,207	16.8	−34.6
Turnout			24,931	51.3	−19.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	-17.3

General election 1935: Hitchin ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arnold Wilson	21,452	63.34
	Labour	George Lindgren	12,417	36.66
Majority			9,035	26.68
Turnout			33,869	66.44
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

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 from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;

• Conservative: Arnold Wilson
• Labour: George Lindgren

Hitchin by-election, 1941 ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Seymour Berry	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Conservative hold

General election 1945: Hitchin ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Philip Jones	20,779	42.64
	Conservative	Seymour Berry	20,433	41.93
	Liberal	Thomas Darling	7,515	15.42	New
Majority			346	0.71	N/A
Turnout			48,727	72.44
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Hitchin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nigel Fisher	23,580	45.11
	Labour	Philip Jones	21,829	41.76
	Liberal	Frank Haigh	6,863	13.13
Majority			1,751	3.35	N/A
Turnout			52,272	85.78
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

General election 1951: Hitchin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nigel Fisher	27,719	52.64
	Labour	Peter Benenson	24,941	47.36
Majority			2,778	5.28
Turnout			52,660	84.98
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1955: Hitchin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Martin Maddan	26,371	50.93
	Labour	Peter Benenson	25,406	49.07
Majority			965	1.86
Turnout			51,777	83.17
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1959: Hitchin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Martin Maddan	30,193	46.82
	Labour	Peter Benenson	25,818	40.03
	Liberal	Robert Glenton	8,481	13.15	New
Majority			4,375	6.79
Turnout			64,492	85.43
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Hitchin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Shirley Williams	34,034	45.84
	Conservative	Martin Maddan	30,649	41.28
	Liberal	Elma Dangerfield	9,564	12.88
Majority			3,385	4.56	N/A
Turnout			74,247	84.54
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General election 1966: Hitchin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Shirley Williams	42,233	56.52
	Conservative	John Stokes	32,483	43.48
Majority			9,750	13.04
Turnout			74,716	65.54
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Hitchin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Shirley Williams	40,932	48.53
	Conservative	Richard Luce	37,258	44.18
	Liberal	Thomas Willis	6,148	7.29	New
Majority			3,674	4.35
Turnout			84,338	76.88
	Labour hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Hitchin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Stewart	27,222	44.11
	Labour	Ann Mallalieu	23,204	37.60
	Liberal	D Beavan	10,824	17.54
	Independent	P Bianchi	467	0.76	New
Majority			4,018	6.51	N/A
Turnout			61,717	85.57
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

General election October 1974: Hitchin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Stewart	25,842	44.59
	Labour	Ann Mallalieu	22,656	39.09
	Liberal	Eric Dix	9,454	16.31
Majority			3,186	5.50
Turnout			57,952	79.59
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1979: Hitchin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Stewart	33,169	52.54
	Labour	Denis O'Flynn	19,940	31.59
	Liberal	Eric Dix	8,224	13.03
	Ecology	Brian Goodale	911	1.44	New
	National Front	Victor Logan	881	1.40	New
Majority			13,229	20.95
Turnout			63,125	82.19
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

1. "Hitchin', Feb 1974 - May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 24 August 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
2. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – Eastern | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
3. Great Britain, Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales. The public general acts. unknown library. Proprietors of the Law Journal Reports, 1884.
4. Fraser, Hugh (1918). The Representation of the people act, 1918 : with explanatory notes. University of California Libraries. London : Sweet and Maxwell.
5. Craig, Fred W. S. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1885–1972;. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. ISBN   0900178094. OCLC   539011.
6. "Representation of the People Act, 1948". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
7. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (Hertford and Stevenage and Hitchin) Order 1971. SI 1971/2110". Statutory Instruments 1971. Part III Section 2. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1972. pp. 6223–6225.
8. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part 2 Eastern region.
9. LGBCE. "Central Bedfordshire | LGBCE". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
10. "The Central Bedfordshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2021".
11. "New Seat Details - Hitchin". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
12. "Statement from Bim Afolami MP on his re-selection as the candidate for Hitchin". Bim Afolami. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
13. "Will Lavin is your Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Hitchin". North Herts & Stevenage Green Party. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
14. "Lib Dems select Hitchin general election candidate". The Comet. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
15. "An update from me ahead of the next general election👇". X. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
16. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
17. The Liberal Year Book, 1907.
18. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
19. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901.
20. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916.
21. British parliamentary election results, 1918-1949 (Craig)
22. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
23. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, F W S Craig

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 3)