Honiton (UK Parliament constituency)
Honiton | |
---|---|
Former County constituency for the House of Commons | |
County | Devon |
1885–1997 | |
Number of members | One |
Replaced by | East Devon, Tiverton and Honiton |
1640–1868 | |
Number of members | Two |
Honiton was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Honiton in east Devon, formerly represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It sent members intermittently from 1300, consistently from 1640. It elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) until it was abolished in 1868. It was recreated in 1885 as a single-member constituency.
For the 1997 general election, the town of Honiton was added to the neighbouring constituency of Tiverton to form the Tiverton & Honiton constituency. The remainder continued as the East Devon constituency.
Honiton was regarded as a potwalloper borough by the time of Thomas Cochrane. It was notorious for the bribes demanded by its electors, and was therefore a very expensive seat for a candidate to seek election in. The Yonge family of Colyton, patrons of the borough, were almost ruined by representing Honiton on several occasions.[1][2] Sir William Pole, 4th Baronet (1678–1741) who had twice represented Honiton at great personal financial expense, made an "earnest request and recommendation" in his will that his son would "never stand as a candidate or if chosen will never be prevailed upon to represent or serve in Parliament for the borough of Honiton".[3]
Boundaries
1885-1918: The Sessional Divisions of Axminster, Honiton, Ottery, and Woodbury.
1918-1950: The Municipal Borough of Honiton, the Urban Districts of Axminster, Budleigh Salterton, Exmouth, Ottery St Mary, Seaton, and Sidmouth, the Rural Districts of Axminster and Honiton, and in the Rural District of St Thomas the civil parishes of Aylesbeare, Bicton, Clyst Honiton, Clyst St George, Clyst St Mary, Colaton Raleigh, East Budleigh, Farringdon, Lympstone, Newton Poppleford, Otterton, Rockbeare, Sowton, and Woodbury.
1950-1974: The Municipal Borough of Honiton, the Urban Districts of Axminster, Budleigh Salterton, Exmouth, Ottery St Mary, Seaton, and Sidmouth, the Rural Districts of Axminster and Honiton, and in the Rural District of St Thomas the civil parishes of Aylesbeare, Bicton, Clyst Honiton, Clyst St George, Clyst St Mary, Colaton Raleigh, East Budleigh, Farringdon, Harpford, Lympstone, Otterton, Rockbeare, Sowton, Topsham, and Woodbury.
1974-1983: The Municipal Borough of Honiton, the Urban Districts of Budleigh Salterton, Exmouth, Ottery St Mary, Seaton, and Sidmouth, the Rural Districts of Axminster and Honiton, and in the Rural District of St Thomas the civil parishes of Aylesbeare, Bicton, Clyst Honiton, Clyst St George, Clyst St Mary, Colaton Raleigh, East Budleigh, Farringdon, Lympstone, Newton Poppleford and Harpford, Otterton, Rockbeare, Sowton, and Woodbury.
1983-1997: The District of East Devon wards of Axminster Hamlets, Axminster Town, Beer, Budleigh Salterton, Colyton, Edenvale, Exmouth Brixington, Exmouth Halsdon, Exmouth Littleham Rural, Exmouth Littleham Urban, Exmouth Withycombe Raleigh, Exmouth Withycombe Urban, Honiton St Michael's, Honiton St Paul's, Lympstone, Newbridges, Newton Poppleford and Harpford, Otterhead, Patteson, Raleigh, Seaton, Sidmouth Rural, Sidmouth Town, Sidmouth Woolbrook, Trinity, Upper Axe, Woodbury, and Yarty.
Members of Parliament
Honiton re-enfranchised by Parliament in Nov 1640
MPs 1640–1660
- 1640-1643: William Poole (Royalist) - disabled to sit, June 1643
- 1640-1648: Walter Yonge (Parliamentarian) - not recorded as sitting after Pride's Purge, December 1648; died December 1649
- 1645(?)-1648: Charles Vaughan - excluded in Pride's Purge, December 1648
Honiton was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament.
- 1654: John Yonge
Second Protectorate Parliament
- 1656: Samuel Serle
- 1659: Walter Yonge (grandson of the Member from 1640 -1648)
- 1659: Samuel Serle
Long Parliament (restored)
- 1659-1660: Not represented
MPs 1660–1868
MPs 1885–1997
Election | Member[4] | Party | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1885 | John Kennaway | Conservative | ||
Jan 1910 | Clive Morrison-Bell | Conservative | ||
1931 | Cedric Drewe | Conservative | ||
1955 | Robert Mathew | Conservative | Died 1966 | |
1967 by-election | Peter Emery | Conservative | ||
1997 | constituency abolished: see Tiverton and Honiton & Devon East |
Elections
Elections in the 1910s
General Election 1918: Honiton[9] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Unionist | Unopposed | n/a | n/a | ||
Unionist hold | Swing | n/a | |||
- endorsed by the Coalition Government
Elections in the 1920s
General Election 1922: Honiton[10] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Unionist | Arthur Clive Morrison-Bell | Unopposed | n/a | n/a | |
Unionist hold | Swing | n/a | |||
General Election 1923: Honiton[11] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Unionist | Sir Arthur Clive Morrison-Bell | 12,470 | 50.6 | n/a | |
Liberal | John George Hawkins Halse | 12,177 | 49.4 | n/a | |
Majority | 293 | 1.2 | n/a | ||
Turnout | 81.0 | n/a | |||
Unionist hold | Swing | n/a | |||
General Election 1924: Honiton[12] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Unionist | Sir Arthur Clive Morrison-Bell | 14,804 | 55.2 | +4.6 | |
Liberal | John George Hawkins Halse | 12,025 | 44.8 | -4.6 | |
Majority | 2,779 | 10.4 | +9.2 | ||
Turnout | 85.5 | +4.5 | |||
Unionist hold | Swing | +4.6 | |||
General Election 1929: Honiton[13] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Unionist | Sir Arthur Clive Morrison-Bell | 17,911 | 50.9 | -4.3 | |
Liberal | John George Hawkins Halse | 16,353 | 46.5 | +1.7 | |
Labour | Florence Rose Davies | 915 | 2.6 | n/a | |
Majority | 1,558 | 4.4 | -6.0 | ||
Turnout | 84.3 | -1.2 | |||
Unionist hold | Swing | -3.0 | |||
Elections in the 1930s
General Election 1931: Honiton[14] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Cedric Drewe | 21,854 | 60.0 | +9.1 | |
Liberal | John George Hawkins Halse | 14,563 | 40.0 | -6.5 | |
Majority | 7,291 | 20.0 | +15.6 | ||
Turnout | 83.5 | -0.8 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | +7.8 | |||
General Election 1935: Honiton[15] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Cedric Drewe | 22,805 | 71.9 | +11.9 | |
Labour | J R Morris | 8,916 | 28.1 | n/a | |
Majority | 13,889 | 43.8 | +23.8 | ||
Turnout | 69.6 | -13.9 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | n/a | |||
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;
- Conservative: Cedric Drewe
- Labour: J White[16]
General Election 1945: Honiton[17] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Cedric Drewe | 24,499 | 65.8 | -6.1 | |
Labour | Henry Thomas Langdon | 12,739 | 34.2 | +6.1 | |
Majority | 11,760 | 31.6 | -12.2 | ||
Turnout | 70.3 | +0.7 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | -6.1 | |||
Elections in the 1950s
General Election 1950: Honiton | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Cedric Drewe | 26,767 | 57.78 | ||
Labour | GR Sargeant | 10,816 | 23.35 | ||
Liberal | Guy Barrington | 8,742 | 18.87 | ||
Majority | 15,951 | 34.43 | |||
Turnout | 84.43 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
General Election 1951: Honiton | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Cedric Drewe | 27,015 | 58.42 | ||
Liberal | John B Halse | 9,858 | 21.32 | ||
Labour | Norman L Stevens | 9,369 | 20.26 | ||
Majority | 17,157 | 37.10 | |||
Turnout | 82.54 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
General Election 1955: Honiton | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Robert Mathew | 25,808 | 57.63 | ||
Liberal | John B Halse | 11,067 | 24.71 | ||
Labour | Frederick W Thornton | 7,907 | 17.66 | ||
Majority | 14,741 | 32.92 | |||
Turnout | 79.68 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
General Election 1959: Honiton | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Robert Mathew | 25,959 | 56.69 | ||
Liberal | John B Halse | 12,906 | 28.18 | ||
Labour | Frederick W Morgan | 6,928 | 15.13 | ||
Majority | 13,053 | 28.50 | |||
Turnout | 80.10 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1960s
General Election 1964: Honiton | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Robert Mathew | 26,475 | 55.04 | ||
Liberal | Warwick Deal | 12,354 | 25.68 | ||
Labour | Marjorie Clark | 9,273 | 19.28 | ||
Majority | 14,121 | 29.36 | |||
Turnout | 78.77 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
General Election 1966: Honiton | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Robert Mathew | 26,966 | 54.4 | ||
Labour | Marjorie Clark | 13,257 | 26.7 | ||
Liberal | Raymond Hicks | 9,342 | 18.9 | ||
Majority | 13,707 | 27.7 | |||
Turnout | 49,565 | 78.6 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Honiton by-election, 1967 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Peter Emery | 26,501 | 57.0 | +2.6 | |
Liberal | Bridget Trethewey | 10,509 | 22.6 | +3.9 | |
Labour | Marjorie Clark | 9,501 | 20.4 | -6.3 | |
Majority | 15,992 | 34.4 | +6.8 | ||
Turnout | 46,511 | 72.6 | -6.0 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | -0.7 | |||
Elections in the 1970s
General Election 1970: Honiton | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Sir Peter Emery | 32,885 | 59.48 | ||
Liberal | Bridget Trethewey | 11,330 | 20.49 | ||
Labour | Malyn DD Newitt | 11,072 | 20.03 | ||
Majority | 21,555 | 38.99 | |||
Turnout | 76.66 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
General Election February 1974: Honiton | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Sir Peter Emery | 32,429 | 54.48 | ||
Liberal | V Howell | 18,306 | 30.75 | ||
Labour | Malyn DD Newitt | 8,791 | 14.77 | ||
Majority | 14,123 | 23.73 | |||
Turnout | 81.98 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
General Election October 1974: Honiton | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Sir Peter Emery | 29,720 | 53.77 | ||
Liberal | V Howell | 16,500 | 29.85 | ||
Labour | RL Spiller | 9,048 | 16.37 | ||
Majority | 13,220 | 23.92 | |||
Turnout | 75.64 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
General Election 1979: Honiton | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Sir Peter Emery | 37,832 | 62.42 | ||
Liberal | R Ruffle | 12,601 | 20.79 | ||
Labour | T Luesby | 8,756 | 14.45 | ||
Ecology | MH Bacon | 1,423 | 2.35 | ||
Majority | 25,231 | 41.63 | |||
Turnout | 77.41 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1980s
General Election 1983: Honiton | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Sir Peter Emery | 32,602 | 60.58 | ||
Social Democratic | A Sampson | 17,833 | 33.14 | ||
Labour | RAC Sharpe | 3,377 | 6.28 | ||
Majority | 14,769 | 27.45 | |||
Turnout | 74.50 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
General Election 1987: Honiton | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Sir Peter Emery | 34,931 | 59.17 | ||
Social Democratic | G Tatton-Brown | 18,369 | 31.12 | ||
Labour | S Pollentine | 4,988 | 8.45 | ||
Monster Raving Loony | S Hughes | 747 | 1.27 | ||
Majority | 16,562 | 28.05 | |||
Turnout | 76.41 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1990s
General Election 1992: Honiton[18] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Sir Peter Emery | 33,533 | 52.4 | −6.7 | |
Liberal Democrat | Mrs JM Sharratt | 17,022 | 26.6 | −4.5 | |
Labour | R Davison | 8,142 | 12.7 | +4.3 | |
Independent Conservative | DA Owen | 2,175 | 3.4 | +3.4 | |
Raving Loony Green Giant | SBF Hughes | 1,442 | 2.3 | +2.3 | |
Liberal | GJ Halliwell | 1,005 | 1.6 | +1.6 | |
Green | AJ Tootill | 650 | 1.0 | +1.0 | |
Majority | 16,511 | 25.8 | −2.2 | ||
Turnout | 63,969 | 80.7 | +4.3 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | −1.1 | |||
See also
Notes and references
- ↑ http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/constituencies/honiton#constituency-main-article
- ↑ http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/constituencies/honiton
- ↑ http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1715-1754/member/pole-sir-william-1678-1741
- 1 2 3 Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 3)
- ↑ P W Cust lived 1791-1873, according to Rayment
- ↑ 1826 General Election The Times, Saturday 27 May 1826; p.4; Issue 12978; col E: "Mr. Guest, a great iron founder of Wales comes in for Honiton, without opposition, instead of Mr Cust, who retires". General Election: The Times, Saturday 1 July 1826; p.2; Issue 13008; col A: From the London Gazette, Friday, June 30 - List of members returned to the new parliament . . . Josiah John Guest . . .
- ↑ H B Lott lived 1781-1833, according to Rayment. Bridgewater Advertiser reported Harry Lott - magistrate died 1 July 1833, age 51 at Tracey House near Honiton. . . Hansard says Mr Henry Lott served the Honiton Constituency 16 June 1826 - 30 July 1830 and 5 May 1831 - 13 December 1832.
- ↑ The Times, Saturday 7 May 1831; pg. 2; Issue 14533; col F: General Election. Members Returned To The New Parliament: HONITON: Sir G Warrender and H B Lott Esq. The Times, Saturday, 28 May 1831; p.3; Issue 14550; col E: "From the London Gazette, Friday, May 27". - "Members Returned To The New Parliament: HONITON: Sir G Warrender and Harry Baines Lott of Tracey-house in the parish of Awliscombe in the county of Devon, Esq."
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, F W S Craig
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, F W S Craig
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, F W S Craig
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, F W S Craig
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, F W S Craig
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, F W S Craig
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, F W S Craig
- ↑ Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, F W S Craig
- ↑ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 Dec 2010.