Bethnal Green (UK Parliament constituency)

Bethnal Green
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons
1950–February 1974
Number of members	one
Replaced by	Bethnal Green and Bow
Created from	Bethnal Green North East, Bethnal Green South West and Hackney South

Bethnal Green was a parliamentary constituency in the Bethnal Green area of the East End of London, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 until it was abolished for the February 1974 general election.

It was then partly replaced by the new Bethnal Green and Bow constituency.

Boundaries

Bethnal Green in the County of London 1950-55

Bethnal Green in the County of London 1955-74

This area had been part of the County of London since 1889, having previously been part of the historic county of Middlesex.

The constituency, when created in 1950, comprised the whole of the Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green in the County of London. In 1955 part of the Metropolitan Borough of Hackney was added to the seat. The wards involved were Triangle, Victoria and Wick.

In 1965 Bethnal Green became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in Greater London. Hackney was expanded to form the London Borough of Hackney.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1950	Percy Holman	Labour
	1966	William Hilton	Labour
Feb 1974		constituency abolished: see Bethnal Green and Bow

Elections

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1950: Bethnal Green [1][2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Percy Holman	20,519	63.3	N/A
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Sir Percy Alfred Harris	9,715	30.0	N/A
	Conservative	Mrs. Dorothy E. Welfare	1,582	4.9	N/A
	Communist	Jeffrey J. Mildwater	610	1.9	N/A
Majority			10,804	33.3	N/A
Turnout			31,816	76.9	N/A
	Labour win

General Election 1951: Bethnal Green [1][3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Percy Holman	22,162	69.75	+6.35
	Liberal	Roy Ian Douglas	6,567	20.67	-9.33
	Conservative	Lawrence Goodman	3,046	9.59	+4.69
Majority			15,595	49.08	+15.78
Turnout			31,775	75.96	-0.94
Registered electors			41,830
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.84

General Election 1955: Bethnal Green [1][4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Percy Holman	27,205	69.31	-0.44
	Conservative	John W Millbourne	6,504	16.57	+6.98
	Liberal	Roy Ian Douglas	5,541	14.12	-6.55
Majority			20,701	52.74	+3.66
Turnout			39,250	63.91	-12.05
Registered electors			61,410
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.71

General Election 1959: Bethnal Green [1][5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Percy Holman	24,228	63.68	-5.63
	Conservative	P Ralph Roney	7,412	19.48	+2.91
	Liberal	Joseph Hart	5,508	14.48	+0.36
	Socialist (GB)	Jack L Read	899	2.36	N/A
Majority			16,816	44.20	-8.54
Turnout			38,047	66.03	+2.12
Registered electors			57,617
	Labour hold		Swing	-4.27

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1964: Bethnal Green [1][6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Percy Holman	19,914	64.65	+0.97
	Conservative	Stephen Stout-Kerr	5,593	18.16	-1.32
	Liberal	Tudor David Gates	5,296	17.19	+2.71
Majority			14,321	46.49	+2.29
Turnout			30,803	59.34	-6.69
Registered electors			51,906
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.15

General Election 1966: Bethnal Green [1][7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Samuel Hilton	20,178	69.71	+5.06
	Conservative	Oswald S Henriques	4,925	17.02	-1.14
	Liberal	Tudor David Gates	3,841	13.27	-3.92
Majority			15,253	52.70	+6.21
Turnout			28,944	57.68	-1.66
Registered electors			50,180
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.1

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1970: Bethnal Green [1][8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Samuel Hilton	15,483	64.24	-5.47
	Conservative	Oswald S Henriques	5,587	23.18	+6.16
	Liberal	William Oliver Smedley	3,030	12.57	-0.70
Majority			9,905	41.06	-11.64
Turnout			24,100	50.39	-7.39
Registered electors			50,180
	Labour hold		Swing	-5.82

References

1. British Parliamentary Election Results, 1950-1973, FWS Craig
2. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results February 1950". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
3. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1951". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
4. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1955". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
5. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1959". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
6. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1964". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
7. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1966". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
8. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1970". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 10 April 2016.

• Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 3)