Wolverhampton East (UK Parliament constituency)

Wolverhampton East
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
1885–1950
Seatsone
Created fromWolverhampton
Replaced byWolverhampton North East and Wolverhampton South West

Wolverhampton East was a parliamentary constituency in the town of Wolverhampton in Staffordshire, England. 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 Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election, when the former two-seat Wolverhampton constituency was divided into three single-member constituencies.

It was abolished for the 1950 general election.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The Borough of Wolverhampton wards of St James's, St Mary's, and St Peter's, and the parishes of Wednesfield and Willenhall.

1918–1950: The County Borough of Wolverhampton wards of St James's, St Mary's, and St Peter's, and the Urban Districts of Short Heath, Wednesfield, Wednesfield Heath, and Willenhall.

Members of Parliament

Election Member Party
1885 Henry Fowler Liberal
1908 George Thorne Liberal
1929 Geoffrey Mander Liberal
1945 John Baird Labour
1950 constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1880s

Henry Fowler
General election 1885: Wolverhampton East [1][2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Henry Fowler 3,935 59.8
Conservative Walter Bird[3] 2,648 40.2
Majority 1,287 19.6
Turnout 6,583 83.2
Registered electors 7,917
Liberal win (new seat)
General election 1886: Wolverhampton East [1][2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Henry Fowler 3,752 58.8 −1.0
Conservative John Underhill 2,629 41.2 +1.0
Majority 1,123 17.6 −2.0
Turnout 6,381 80.6 −2.6
Registered electors 7,917
Liberal hold Swing -1.0

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Wolverhampton East [1][2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Henry Fowler Unopposed
Liberal hold

Fowler was appointed President of the Local Government Board, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 23 Aug 1892: Wolverhampton East [1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Henry Fowler Unopposed
Liberal hold
General election 1895: Wolverhampton East [1][2][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Henry Fowler 4,011 57.4 N/A
Conservative Rupert Edward Cooke Kettle* 2,977 42.6 New
Majority 1,034 14.8 N/A
Turnout 6,988 82.7 N/A
Registered electors 8,446
Liberal hold Swing N/A

*some sources describe as Liberal Unionist

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Wolverhampton East [1][2][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Henry Fowler Unopposed
Liberal hold
Henry Fowler
General election 1906: Wolverhampton East [1][2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Henry Fowler 5,610 67.1 N/A
Liberal Unionist Leo Amery 2,745 32.9 New
Majority 2,865 34.2 N/A
Turnout 8,355 85.6 N/A
Registered electors 9,756
Liberal hold Swing N/A
George Thorne
1908 Wolverhampton East by-election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal George Thorne 4,514 50.0 −17.1
Liberal Unionist Leo Amery 4,506 50.0 +17.1
Majority 8 0.0 −34.2
Turnout 9,020 89.7 +4.1
Registered electors 10,058
Liberal hold Swing −17.1

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Wolverhampton East [5][1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal George Thorne 5,276 54.2 −12.9
Liberal Unionist Leo Amery 4,462 45.8 +12.9
Majority 814 8.4 −25.8
Turnout 9,738 95.1 +9.5
Registered electors 10,238
Liberal hold Swing −12.9
General election December 1910: Wolverhampton East [5][1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal George Thorne 5,072 56.7 +2.5
Conservative Robert Borras Whiteside 3,881 43.3 −2.5
Majority 1,191 13.4 +5.0
Turnout 8,953 87.4 −7.7
Registered electors 10,238
Liberal hold Swing +2.5

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: Wolverhampton East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal George Thorne 7,660 51.8 −4.9
C National Democratic James A Shaw 7,138 48.2 New
Majority 522 3.6 −9.8
Turnout 14,798 48.6 −38.8
Liberal hold Swing N/A
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Wolverhampton East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal George Thorne 11,577 45.9 −5.9
Unionist Charles Henry Pinson 9,410 37.3 New
Labour William Thomas Augustus Foot 3,076 12.2 New
National Liberal James A Shaw 1,169 4.6 −43.6
Majority 2,167 8.6 +5.0
Turnout 25,232 80.4 +31.8
Liberal hold Swing
George Thorne
General election 1923: Wolverhampton East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal George Thorne Unopposed N/A N/A
Liberal hold Swing
General election 1924: Wolverhampton East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal George Thorne 11,066 42.1 N/A
Unionist Thomas Strangman 10,013 38.1 New
Labour D Rowland Williams 5,188 19.8 New
Majority 1,053 4.0 N/A
Turnout 26,267 80.6 N/A
Liberal hold Swing
General election 1929: Wolverhampton East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Geoffrey Mander 15,391 44.8 +2.7
Unionist Patrick Buchan-Hepburn 10,163 29.5 −8.6
Labour D Rowland Williams 8,840 25.7 +5.9
Majority 5,228 15.3 +11.3
Turnout 34,394 81.5 +0.9
Liberal hold Swing +5.7

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Wolverhampton East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Geoffrey Mander 14,945 44.1 −0.7
Conservative A T Waters-Taylor 12,628 37.2 +7.7
Labour John Smith 6,340 18.7 −7.0
Majority 2,317 6.9 −8.4
Turnout 33,913 78.6 −2.9
Liberal hold Swing -4.2
General election 1935: Wolverhampton East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Geoffrey Mander 15,935 48.5 +4.4
Conservative J Brockhouse 11,935 36.3 −0.9
Labour H E Lane 4,985 15.2 −3.5
Majority 4,000 12.2 +5.3
Turnout 32,855 73.3 −5.3
Liberal hold Swing +2.7

Elections in the 1940s

A General election was due to take place before the end of 1940, but was postponed due to the Second World War. By 1939, the following candidates had been selected to contest this constituency;

General election 1945: Wolverhampton East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Baird 17,763 47.7 +32.5
Liberal Geoffrey Mander 11,206 30.1 −18.4
Conservative William Garthwaite 8,266 22.2 −14.1
Majority 6,557 17.6 N/A
Turnout 37,235 73.3 0.0
Labour gain from Liberal Swing

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. p. 212. ISBN 9781349022984.
  2. ^ a b c d e f The Liberal Year Book, 1907
  3. ^ "The New Parliament". The Morning Post. 26 November 1885. p. 5. Retrieved 15 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
  5. ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916