Blackpool (UK Parliament constituency)

Blackpool
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
1885–1945
Seatsone
Created fromNorth Lancashire
Replaced byBlackpool North and Blackpool South

Blackpool was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Blackpool in Lancashire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The constituency was created for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1945 general election, when it was replaced by the new Blackpool North and Blackpool South constituencies.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The Municipal Borough of Preston, the Sessional Divisions of Amounderness and Kirkham, and part of the Sessional Division of Leyland.

1918–1945: The County Borough of Blackpool, the Urban Districts of Bispham with Norbreck, Lytham, and St Anne's-on-Sea, and part of the parish of Carleton.

Members of Parliament

Year Member Party
1885 Frederick Stanley Conservative
1886 Sir Matthew Ridley Conservative
1900 Henry Worsley-Taylor Conservative
1906 Wilfrid Ashley Conservative
1918 Albert Lindsay Parkinson Unionist
1922 Leonard Molloy Unionist
1923 Hugh Meyler Liberal
1924 Sir Walter de Frece Unionist
1931 Clifford Erskine-Bolst Conservative
1935 Roland Robinson Conservative
1945 constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1880s

Stanley
General election 1885: Blackpool [1][2][3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Frederick Stanley Unopposed
Conservative win (new seat)
General election 1886: Blackpool [1][2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Frederick Stanley Unopposed
Conservative hold

Stanley was appointed President of the Board of Trade and elevated to the peerage, becoming Lord Stanley of Preston, requiring a by-election.

Ridley
By-election, 20 Aug 1886: Blackpool[1][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Matthew White Ridley 6,263 71.4 N/A
Liberal John Ormerod Pilkington 2,513 28.6 New
Majority 3,750 42.8 N/A
Turnout 8,776 73.7 N/A
Registered electors 11,903
Conservative hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Blackpool [1][2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Matthew White Ridley 6,536 65.2 N/A
Liberal Thomas Walker 3,487 34.8 N/A
Majority 3,049 30.4 N/A
Turnout 10,023 76.4 N/A
Registered electors 13,124
Conservative hold Swing N/A
By-election, 1895: Blackpool [1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Matthew White Ridley Unopposed
Conservative hold
General election 1895: Blackpool [1][2][5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Matthew White Ridley Unopposed
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Blackpool [1][2][5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Matthew White Ridley Unopposed
Conservative hold
1900 Blackpool by-election[1][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Worsley-Taylor 7,059 55.8 N/A
Liberal Joseph Heap 5,589 44.2 New
Majority 1,470 11.6 N/A
Turnout 12,648 5.3 N/A
Registered electors 16,807
Conservative hold Swing N/A
Phillipps
General election 1906: Blackpool [1][2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Wilfrid Ashley 10,139 58.9 N/A
Liberal Vivian Phillipps 7,078 41.1 N/A
Majority 3,061 17.8 N/A
Turnout 17,217 84.7 N/A
Registered electors 20,339
Conservative hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1910s

Ashley
General election January 1910: Blackpool [1][6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Wilfrid Ashley 11,567 59.3 +0.4
Liberal Samuel Hodgkinson 7,943 40.7 −0.4
Majority 3,624 18.6 +0.8
Turnout 19,510 87.3 +2.6
Conservative hold Swing +0.4
General election December 1910: Blackpool [1][6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Wilfrid Ashley Unopposed
Conservative hold

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;

General election 1918: Blackpool[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Unionist Albert Lindsay Parkinson 15,818 55.9 N/A
Independent Progressive Clive F Critchley* 9,862 34.9 New
Labour Allan Gee 2,608 9.2 New
Majority 5,956 21.0 N/A
Turnout 28,288 68.0 N/A
Registered electors 41,627
Unionist hold Swing N/A
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

* supported Coalition Government and received local Liberal Party support.

Elections in the 1920s

Meyler
General election 1922: Blackpool
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Leonard Molloy 18,206 50.2 −5.7
Liberal Hugh Meyler 18,040 49.8 New
Majority 166 0.4 −20.6
Turnout 36,246 78.3 +10.3
Registered electors 46,292
Unionist hold Swing N/A
General election 1923: Blackpool [7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Hugh Meyler 22,264 53.7 +3.9
Unionist Victor Stanley 19,192 46.3 −3.9
Majority 3,072 7.4 N/A
Turnout 41,456 84.8 +6.5
Registered electors 48,865
Liberal gain from Unionist Swing +3.9
General election 1924: Blackpool
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Walter de Frece 25,839 58.0 +11.7
Liberal Hugh Meyler 18,712 42.0 −11.7
Majority 7,127 16.0 N/A
Turnout 44,551 85.8 +1.0
Registered electors 51,914
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing +11.7
General election 1929: Blackpool
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Walter de Frece 32,912 46.8 −11.2
Liberal Miles Mitchell 25,374 36.1 −5.9
Labour Ernest Alfred Machin 12,049 17.1 New
Majority 7,538 10.7 −5.3
Turnout 70,335 81.1 −4.7
Registered electors 86,744
Unionist hold Swing -2.7

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Blackpool
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Clifford Erskine-Bolst 53,010 73.1 +26.3
Liberal Edgar Wallace 19,524 26.9 −10.2
Majority 33,486 46.2 +35.5
Turnout 72,534
Conservative hold Swing
  • Wallace was opposed to the National Government
Purchase
General election 1935: Blackpool
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Roland Robinson 48,514 65.2 −7.9
Labour Harvey Thorneycroft 13,598 18.3 New
Liberal Henry Purchase 12,245 16.47 −10.4
Majority 34,916 46.96 +0.8
Turnout 74,357 73.97
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;

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
  2. ^ a b c d e f The Liberal Year Book, 1907
  3. ^ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
  4. ^ a b The Constitutional Year Book, 1904, published by Conservative Central Office, page 146 (170 in web page), Lancashire North
  5. ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
  6. ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
  7. ^ a b British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-49, FWS Craig

Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.