Cannock (UK Parliament constituency)

Cannock
Former county constituency
for the House of Commons
1918–1983
Seatsone
Created fromKingswinford, West Staffordshire and Lichfield
Replaced byCannock & Burntwood and Mid Staffordshire[1]

Cannock was a parliamentary constituency in Staffordshire which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election. It was effectively recreated in 1997 as the seat of Cannock Chase.

Boundaries

1918–1955: The Urban Districts of Brownhills, Cannock, and Tettenhall, the Rural District of Seisdon, in the Rural District of Cannock the parishes of Bushbury, Cheslyn Hay, Essington, Great Wyrley, and Hilton, and in the Rural District of Walsall the parish of Bentley.

1955–1974: The Urban Districts of Cannock and Wednesfield, and the Rural District of Cannock.

1974–1983: The Urban Districts of Cannock and Rugeley, and the parish of Brindley Heath in the Rural District of Lichfield.

Members of Parliament

Election Member Party
1918 James Parker Coalition Labour
1922 William Adamson Labour
1931 Sarah Ward Conservative
1935 William Adamson Labour
1945 Jennie Lee Labour
1970 Patrick Cormack Conservative
Feb 1974 Gwilym Roberts Labour
1983 constituency abolished: see Cannock and Burntwood

Election results

Election in the 1910s

General election 1918: Cannock[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Labour James Parker 8,068 51.8
Liberal Beddoe Rees 7,493 48.2
Majority 575 3.6
Turnout 15,561 41.7
Registered electors 37,284
Labour win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.
  • Parker was incorrectly designated as a coalition Liberal nominee in the official list of coalition candidates.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Cannock[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William Adamson 9,889 36.8 −15.0
National Liberal James Parker 9,116 33.8 New
Liberal Harold Sidney Abrahamson 7,928 29.4 −18.8
Majority 773 3.0 −0.6
Turnout 26,933 66.9 +25.2
Registered electors 40,273
Labour hold Swing N/A
General election 1923: Cannock [3][2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William Adamson 11,956 41.4 +4.6
Unionist Wallace Thorneycroft 9,438 32.7 New
Liberal Geoffrey Mander 7,465 25.9 −3.5
Majority 2,518 8.7 +5.7
Turnout 28,859 70.5 +3.6
Registered electors 40,948
Labour hold Swing
General election 1924: Cannock[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William Adamson 16,347 51.9 +10.5
Unionist Wallace Thorneycroft 15,166 48.1 +15.4
Majority 1,181 3.8 −4.9
Turnout 31,513 74.2 +3.7
Registered electors 42,473
Labour hold Swing −2.5
General election 1929: Cannock[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William Adamson 26,388 54.2 +2.3
Unionist Ralph Beaumont 15,055 30.9 −17.2
Liberal Abraham Ray 7,282 14.9 N/A
Majority 11,333 23.3 +19.5
Turnout 48,725 77.5 +3.3
Registered electors 62,871
Labour hold Swing +9.8

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Cannock[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Sarah Ward 27,498 54.63 +23.7
Labour William Adamson 22,833 45.37 −8.8
Majority 4,665 9.27 N/A
Turnout 50,331 75.95
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +16.25
General election 1935: Cannock[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William Adamson 27,922 50.95 +5.58
Conservative Sarah Ward 26,876 49.05 −5.58
Majority 1,046 1.90 N/A
Turnout 54,798 71.41 −4.54
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +5.58

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Cannock[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jennie Lee 48,859 62.57 +11.62
Conservative CW Shelford 29,225 37.43 −11.62
Majority 19,634 25.14 +23.23
Turnout 78,084 71.34 −0.07
Labour hold Swing +11.62

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Cannock[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jennie Lee 33,476 67.91 +5.34
National Liberal Marjorie Hickling 15,818 32.09 −5.34
Majority 17,658 35.82 +10.68
Turnout 49,294 85.70 −14.36
Labour hold Swing +5.34
General election 1951: Cannock[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jennie Lee 32,379 66.87 −1.04
National Liberal Alan Farrington 16,041 33.13 +1.04
Majority 16,338 33.74 −2.08
Turnout 48,420 83.12 −2.58
Labour hold Swing -1.04
General election 1955: Cannock[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jennie Lee 26,677 59.21 −7.66
National Liberal John HR Newey 18,379 40.79 +7.66
Majority 8,298 18.42 −15.32
Turnout 45,056 76.95 −6.17
Labour hold Swing -7.66
General election 1959: Cannock[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jennie Lee 29,624 56.85 −2.36
National Liberal Philip H Lugg 22,485 43.15 +2.36
Majority 7,139 13.70 −4.72
Turnout 52,109 79.59 +2.64
Labour hold Swing -2.36

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Cannock[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jennie Lee 31,608 57.53 +0.68
Conservative Charles John Prendergast Vereker 23,334 42.47 −0.68
Majority 8,274 15.06 +1.36
Turnout 54,942 76.15 −3.44
Labour hold Swing +0.68
General election 1966: Cannock[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jennie Lee 33,621 59.81 +2.28
Conservative Harold R Elliston 22,594 40.19 −2.28
Majority 11,027 19.62 +4.56
Turnout 56,215 73.68 −2.47
Labour hold Swing +2.28

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Cannock[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Patrick Cormack 32,665 51.2 +11.0
Labour Jennie Lee 31,136 48.8 −11.0
Majority 1,529 2.40 N/A
Turnout 63,801 70.84 −2.84
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +11.01

In an analysis of the voting trends at the 1970 general election, published shortly after the event, political scientist Richard Rose claimed that Jennie Lee's defeat in Cannock was "the biggest upset" of the contest. Rose believed that a large expansion in the electorate in the constituency contributed towards the 10.7% Labour to Conservative swing, which was significantly higher than the national average.[14]

1970 notional result on 1974-1983 boundaries: Cannock
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour 23,400 62.23
Conservative 14,200 37.77
Majority 9,200 24.46
Turnout 37,600
Labour hold Swing
General election February 1974: Cannock[15][1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Gwilym Roberts 23,869 51.46 −10.77
Conservative Roger King 12,805 27.61 −10.16
Liberal Michael Harry Windridge 9,709 20.93 New
Majority 11,064 23.85 −0.61
Turnout 46,383 82.70 +11.86
Labour hold Swing
General election October 1974: Cannock[16][1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Gwilym Roberts 23,887 55.54 +4.08
Conservative Eric Grenville Hill 11,665 27.12 −0.49
Liberal Eric Freeman 7,459 17.34 −3.59
Majority 12,222 28.42 +0.57
Turnout 43,011 76.05 −6.65
Labour hold Swing +2.28
General election 1979: Cannock[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Gwilym Roberts 25,050 52.76 −2.78
Conservative J Vereker 17,704 37.28 +10.16
Liberal PJ Davis 4,729 9.96 −7.38
Majority 7,346 15.48 −12.94
Turnout 47,483 79.79 +3.76
Labour hold Swing -6.47

References

  1. ^ a b c d "'Cannock', Feb 1974 - May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e Craig, F.W.S., ed. (1969). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949. Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. p. 461. ISBN 0-900178-01-9.
  3. ^ The Liberal Year Book, 1931
  4. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1931". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 26 June 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  5. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1935". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  6. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1945". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  7. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1950". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 1 May 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  8. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1951". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  9. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1955". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  10. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1959". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  11. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1964". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  12. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1966". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  13. ^ "UK General Election results 1970". Politics Resources. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  14. ^ Richard Rose (1970). "Voting Trends Surveyed". The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1970. London: Times Newspapers Limited. pp. 31–32.
  15. ^ "UK General Election results February 1974". Politics Resources. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  16. ^ "UK General Election results October 1974". Politics Resources. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.