Hastings (UK Parliament constituency)

Hastings
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons
1366–1983
Number of members	one
Replaced by	Hastings and Rye

Hastings was a parliamentary constituency in Sussex. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until the 1885 general election, when its representation was reduced to one member. It was abolished for the 1983 general election, when it was partially replaced by the new Hastings and Rye constituency.

Boundaries

1918-1950: The County Borough of Hastings.

1950-1955: The County Borough of Hastings, the Municipal Borough of Rye, and in the Rural District of Battle the civil parishes of Ashburnham, Battle, Beckley, Bodiam, Brede, Brightling, Broomhill, Catsfield, Crowhurst, Dallington, East Guldeford, Ewhurst, Fairlight, Guestling, Icklesham, Iden, Mountfield, Northiam, Ore, Peasmarsh, Penhurst, Pett, Playden, Rye Foreign, Salehurst, Sedlescombe, St Thomas the Apostle Winchelsea, Udimore, Westfield, and Whatlington.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1366–1640

Parliament	First member	Second member
1386	John Clyvessend	Edward Martham [1]
1378	John Salerne
1382 (May)	John Salerne
1383 (Feb)	John Salerne
1383 (Oct)	John Salerne
1388 (Feb)	John Clyvessend	Edward Martham [1]
1388 (Sep)	Richard Bannok	John Scott [1]
1390 (Jan)	John Clyvessend	Richard Wybard [1]
1390 (Nov)
1391	John Clyvessend	Richard Bannok [1]
1393	John Scott	John Sharp [1]
1394
1395	Edward Martham	John Hokere [1]
1397 (Jan)	John Clyvessend	John Hokere [1]
1397 (Sep)
1399	Edward Martham	Henry Mordant [1]
1401
1402	John Sharp	Robert Burgrove [1]
1404 (Jan)
1404 (Oct)
1406	Henry Mordant	John Bexle [1]
1407	Robert Burgrove	Thomas Wybard [1]
1410	Edward Martham	John Harry [1]
1411
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)	Henry Mordant	Richard Huntingdon [1]
1414 (Apr)
1414 (Nov)	Jihn Sharp	Thomas Julyan [1]
1415
1416 (Mar)
1416 (Oct)
1417	John Lyvett	Richard Huntingdon [1]
1419	Simon Lymbergh	John Martham [1]
1420	Simon Lymbergh	William Courthope [1]
1421 (May)	John Parker	William Courthope [1]
1421 (Dec)	Richard Huntingdon	William Courthope [1]
1510	No names known[2]
1512	Robert Hall	Henry Benever [2]
1515	?
1523	Edmund Jacklin alias Bocher	Edmund Franke [2]
1529	Richard Calveley	Thomas Shoyswell [2]
by 1534	John Durrant	John Taylor [2]
1536	?John Durrant	?John Taylor [2]
1539	?
1542	John Franke	Richard Bishop [2]
1545	?
1547	Sir William Stafford	John Isted [2]
1553 (Mar)	John Isted	?
1553 (Oct)	Thomas Rhodes	John Peyton [2]
1554 (Apr)	John Franke	John Isted [2]
1554 (Nov)	Thomas Rhodes	John Peyton [2]
1555	Thomas Rhodes	Roger Manwood [2]
1558	Thomas Brett	Henry Tennant [2]
1559	John Franke	James Hobson[3]
1562/3	Sir William Damsell[4]	Richard Lyffe [3]
1571	Richard Lyffe	James Bryan [3]
1572	Richard Lyffe	Thomas Lake [3]
1584	Thomas Lake	Thomas Phillips[3]
1586	Thomas Lake	Thomas Phillips[3]
1588/9	Richard Lyffe	John Parker [3]
1593	Richard Lyffe	Henry Apsley [3]
1597	Richard Lyffe	Edmund Pelham [3]
1601	Sir Thomas Shirley	Richard Lyffe [3]
1604–1611	Richard Lyffe died and replaced by James Lasher	Sir George Carew ennobled and replaced 1605 by Sir Edward Hales[5]
1614	Sir Edward Hales	James Lasher
1621	Samuel Moore	James Lasher
1624	Nicholas Eversfield	Samuel Moore
1625	Nicholas Eversfield	Sackville Crowe
1626	Sir Dudley Carleton replaced by Sir Thomas Parker	Nicholas Eversfield
1628	John Ashburnham	Nicholas Eversfield

MPs 1640–1885

Election	1st Member		1st Party	2nd Member		2nd Party
April 1640		Sir John Baker			Robert Reed
November 1640		John Ashburnham	Royalist		(Sir) Thomas Eversfield	Royalist
February 1644	Ashburnham and Eversfield disabled from sitting - both seats vacant
1645		John Pelham			Roger Gratwick
December 1648	Pelham excluded in Pride's Purge - seat vacant
1653	Hastings was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
January 1659		Samuel Gott			Nicholas Delves
May 1659	Not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660		Sir Denny Ashburnham			Nicholas Delves
1661					Edmund Waller
1679		Sir Robert Parker			John Ashburnham
1681					Thomas Mun
1685		Sir Denny Ashburnham			John Ashburnham
Jan 1689		Thomas Mun
Aug 1689					John Beaumont
1690		Peter Gott
1695		John Pulteney			Robert Austen
1698					Peter Gott
1701					John Mounsher
1702					Hon. William Ashburnham
Feb 1710					John Ashburnham	Tory
Oct 1710		Sir William Ashburnham			Sir Joseph Martin
1713		Archibald Hutcheson
1715					Henry Pelham
1722					Sir William Ashburnham
1727		Thomas Townshend [6]
1728		Thomas Pelham
1741		James Pelham			Andrew Stone	Whig
1761		Hon. James Brudenell			William Ashburnham
1768		Samuel Martin
1774		Viscount Palmerston			Charles Jenkinson
1780					John Ord
1784		John Dawes			John Stanley
1790		Sir Richard Pepper Arden
1794		Robert Saunders Dundas
1796		Sir James Sanderson			Nicholas Vansittart
1798		William Sturges
1802		The Lord Glenbervie			George William Gunning
1806		Sir John Nicholl			Sir William Fowle Middleton
1807		George Canning			Sir Abraham Hume
1812		James Dawkins
1818					George Peter Holford
1820					William Henry John Scott
June 1826		Sir William Curtis, Bt.			Sir Charles Wetherell
December 1826		Evelyn Denison			James Law Lushington
1827					Joseph Planta
1830		Sir Henry Fane
1831		John Ashley Warre	Whig		Frederick North	Whig
1835		Howard Elphinstone	Whig
1837		Joseph Planta	Conservative		Robert Hollond	Whig
1844		Musgrave Brisco	Conservative
1852					Patrick Francis Robertson	Conservative
1854		Frederick North	Whig
1859			Liberal		Lord Harry Vane	Liberal
1864					Hon. George Waldegrave-Leslie	Liberal
1865		Patrick Francis Robertson	Conservative
1868		Thomas Brassey	Liberal		Frederick North	Liberal
1869					Ughtred James Kay-Shuttleworth	Liberal
1880					Charles James Murray	Conservative
1883					Henry Bret Ince	Liberal
1885	Redistribution of Seats Act: representation reduced to one member

MPs 1885–1983

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Thomas Brassey	Liberal
	1886	Wilson Noble	Conservative
	1895	William Lucas-Shadwell	Conservative
	1900	Freeman Freeman-Thomas	Liberal
	1906	Harvey du Cros	Conservative
	1908 by-election	Sir Arthur du Cros	Conservative
	1918	Laurance Lyon	Coalition Conservative
	1921 by-election	Lord Eustace Percy	Coalition Conservative
	1937 by-election	Maurice Hely-Hutchinson	Conservative
	1945	Sir Neill Cooper-Key	Conservative
	1970	Kenneth Warren	Conservative
1983		constituency abolished: see Hastings and Rye

Elections

Elections in the 1890s

General Election 1892: Hastings [7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Wilson Noble	3,077	53.9
	Liberal	C H Hamphill	2,628	46.1
Majority			449	7.8
Turnout				86.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Lucas-Shadwell

General Election 1895: Hastings [7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Lucas-Shadwell	3,205	52.8	-1.1
	Liberal	Cecil Henry Blundell Ince	2,863	47.2	+1.1
Majority			342	5.6	-2.2
Turnout				83.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.1

Elections in the 1900s

F. Thomas

General Election 1900: Hastings[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Freeman Freeman-Thomas	3,399	51.6
	Conservative	Edward Gurney Boyle	3,191	48.4
Majority			208	3.2
Turnout				80.9
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

General Election January 1906[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Harvey du Cros	4,348	52.5
	Liberal	Freeman Freeman-Thomas	3,935	47.5
Majority			413	5.0
Turnout				94.6
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Arthur Du Cros

Hastings by-election, 1908[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Philip Du Cros	4,495	56.4	+3.9
	Liberal	Robert Venables Vernon Harcourt	3,477	43.6	-3.9
Majority			1,018	12.8	+7.8
Turnout				91.6	-3.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.9

Elections in the 1910s

General Election January 1910[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Philip Du Cros	4,634	54.7	-1.7
	Liberal	R. Tweedy-Smith	3,833	45.3	+1.7
Majority			801	9.4	-3.4
Turnout				93.8	+2.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.7

General Election December 1910: Hastings [7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Philip Du Cros	4,397	55.6
	Liberal	Arthur Frederick William Johnson	3,515	44.4
Majority			882	11.2
Turnout				87.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

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: Arthur Philip Du Cros
• Liberal: Cecil Patrick Black

General Election 1918: Hastings[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Laurance Lyon	11,210	75.9
	British Socialist Party	Joseph George Butler	3,556	24.1	n/a
Majority			7,654	51.8
Turnout				59.2
	Unionist hold		Swing

• endorsed by the Coalition Government.

Elections in the 1920s

Lord Percy

Hastings by-election, 1921[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Lord Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy	11,685	54.7	-21.2
	Labour	W Richard Davies	5,437	25.5	+1.4
	Liberal	A Blackman	4,240	19.8	n/a
Majority			6,248	29.2	-22.6
Turnout				78.0	+18.8
	Unionist hold		Swing	-11.3

• endorsed by the Coalition Government

General Election 1922: Hastings[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Lord Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy	13,991	68.3	+13.6
	Labour	W Richard Davies	6,492	31.7	+6.2
Majority			7,499	36.6	+7.4
Turnout				71.2	-6.8
	Unionist hold		Swing	+3.7

Maria Gordon

1923 General Election: Hastings [10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Lord Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy	11,914	52.6	-15.7
	Liberal	Maria Matilda Ogilvie Gordon	5,876	25.9	n/a
	Labour	W. Richard Davies	4,859	21.5	-10.2
Majority			6,038	26.7	-9.9
Turnout				76.4	+5.2
	Unionist hold		Swing	n/a

General Election 1924: Hastings[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Lord Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy	15,217	71.4	+18.8
	Labour	Muriel Matters Porter	6,082	28.6	+7.1
Majority			9,135	42.8	+16.1
Turnout				70.5	-5.9
	Unionist hold		Swing	+8.0

General Election 1929: Hastings[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Rt Hon. Lord Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy	15,928	52.3	-19.1
	Liberal	Thomas Austen Edwin Spearing	8,004	26.3	n/a
	Labour	Basil Noble	6,516	21.4	-7.2
Majority			7,924	26.0	-16.8
Turnout				73.4	+2.9
	Unionist hold		Swing	n/a

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1931: Hastings[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Lord Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy	22,640	70.3
	Labour	Irene Goddard	4,983	15.5
	Liberal	Thomas Austen Edwin Spearing	4,561	14.2
Majority			17,657	54.9
Turnout			32,184	73.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1935: Hastings[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Lord Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy	20,905	69.0
	Labour	W W Wood	9,404	31.0
Majority			11,501	38.0
Turnout			30,309	66.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

Hastings by-election, 1937[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Maurice Robert Hely-Hutchinson	18,428	62.1
	Labour	W W Wood	11,244	37.9
Majority			7,184	24.2
Turnout				65.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

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 and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

• Conservative: Maurice Robert Hely-Hutchinson
• Labour: W W Wood^[11]

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Hastings[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edmund McNeill Cooper-Key	14,105	51.8
	Labour	Capt. Lewis Gassman	10,580	38.8
	Independent Progressive	Sydney Muller Parkman	2,564	9.4	n/a
Majority			3,525	13.0
Turnout				74.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1950: Hastings[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edmund McNeill Cooper-Key	30,035	52.92
	Labour	Lewis Coleman Cohen	17,603	31.01
	Liberal	Peter LM Hurd	9,122	16.07
Majority			12,432	21.90
Turnout				82.14
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Hastings[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edmund McNeill Cooper-Key	34,495	63.74
	Labour	Catherine Ellis Williamson	19,621	36.26
Majority			14,874	27.49
Turnout				77.36
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Hastings[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edmund McNeill Cooper-Key	20,469	55.77
	Labour	Reginald George White	11,933	32.51
	Liberal	John Montgomerie	4,303	11.72
Majority			8,536	23.26
Turnout				75.69
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1959: Hastings[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edmund McNeill Cooper-Key	22,458	62.32
	Labour	James Paterson Bryant	13,576	37.68
Majority			8,882	24.65
Turnout				74.19
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1964: Hastings[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edmund McNeill Cooper-Key	16,902	44.55
	Labour	Henry Arthur Fountain	11,324	29.85
	Liberal	Jeremy J Arnold	9,716	25.61
Majority			5,578	14.70
Turnout				76.34
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1966: Hastings[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edmund McNeill Cooper-Key	15,324	40.27
	Labour	C Bernard Kissen	12,984	34.12
	Liberal	Jeremy J Arnold	9,744	25.61
Majority			2,340	6.15
Turnout				76.41
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1970: Hastings[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Robin Warren	20,364	50.61
	Labour	C Bernard Kissen	13,549	33.67
	Liberal	Pamela Maud Shields	6,324	15.72
Majority			6,815	16.94
Turnout				72.77
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election, February 1974: Hastings[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Robin Warren	20,075	44.85
	Labour	Michael Jabez Foster	12,992	29.02
	Liberal	MG Cass	11,690	26.12
Majority			7,083	15.83
Turnout				79.06
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election, October 1974: Hastings[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Robin Warren	18,337	44.93
	Labour	Michael Jabez Foster	13,685	33.53
	Liberal	A Leggett	8,793	21.54
Majority			4,652	11.40
Turnout				71.58
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election, 1979: Hastings[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Robin Warren	21,311	51.53
	Labour	Michael Jabez Foster	12,392	29.96
	Liberal	A Leggett	6,474	15.65
	Independent	GL McNally	839	2.03
	National Front	HJ Anderson	344	0.83
Majority			8,919	21.56
Turnout				71.68
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

1. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
2. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
3. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
4. Stanley T. Bindoff, The House of Commons: 1509-1558, vol. 4, p. 9
5. Cobbett's Parliamentary History records the second member for Hastings in the 1604 Parliament as being James Lasher, but this seems to be an error; Lasher is mentioned only in the Commons Journal from 1621 while Carew was certainly a member in 1604, and other sources name his constituency as Hastings
6. Townshend was also elected for Cambridge University, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Hastings
7. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
8. British General Election Results 1885-1918, Craig
9. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
10. FWS Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
11. Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939

• Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807)
• D Brunton & D H Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
• Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808)
• F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
• J E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 2)