South Molton (UK Parliament constituency)

South Molton
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
1885–1950
Number of members one

South Molton was a parliamentary constituency centred on the small town of South Molton in Devon, in the South West of England. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The constituency was created for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1950 general election, when it was largely replaced by Torrington.

Boundaries

1885-1918: The Municipal Borough of South Molton, and the Sessional Divisions of Crediton, Great Torrington, and South Molton.

1918-1950: The Municipal Boroughs of Great Torrington, Okehampton, and South Molton, the Urban District of Crediton, and the Rural Districts of Crediton, Okehampton, South Molton, and Torrington.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberParty
1885 Newton Wallop, Viscount Lymington Liberal
1886 Liberal Unionist
1891 by-election George Lambert (1st) Liberal
1924 Cedric Drewe Unionist
1929 George Lambert (1st) Liberal
1931 National Liberal
1945 George Lambert (2nd) National Liberal
1950 constituency abolished: see Torrington

Election results

Elections in the 1900s

General Election January 1906: South Molton[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal George Lambert unopposed n/a n/a
Liberal hold Swing n/a

Elections in the 1910s

George Lambert
General Election January 1910: South Molton[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal George Lambert 4,419 56.5
Liberal Unionist John Thomas Woolrych Perowne 3,398 43.5
Majority 1,021 13.0
Turnout 89.9
Liberal hold Swing
General Election December 1910: South Molton[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal George Lambert 4,224 56.8 +0.3
Liberal Unionist John Thomas Woolrych Perowne 3,217 43.2 -0.3
Majority 13.6 +0.6
Turnout 85.5 -4.4
Liberal hold Swing +0.3

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 from 1914 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;

George Lambert
General Election 1918: South Molton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Rt Hon. George Lambert 10,424 56.3
Unionist 8,093 43.7
Majority 2,331 12.6
Turnout 65.8
Liberal hold Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1922: South Molton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Rt Hon. George Lambert unopposed n/a n/a
Liberal hold Swing n/a
General Election 1923: South Molton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Rt Hon. George Lambert unopposed n/a n/a
Liberal hold Swing n/a
General Election 1924:South Molton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Cedric Drewe 12,811 51.3 n/a
Liberal Rt Hon. George Lambert 12,157 48.7 n/a
Majority 654 2.6 n/a
Turnout 85.3 n/a
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing
General Election 1929: South Molton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Rt Hon. George Lambert 15,072 48.1 -0.6
Unionist Cedric Drewe 13,567 43.2 -8.1
Labour Rudolph Putnam Messel 2,731 8.7 n/a
Majority 1,505 4.9 7.5
Turnout 87.4 +2.1
Liberal gain from Unionist Swing +3.8

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1931: South Molton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal National Rt Hon. George Lambert 25,700 88.0
Labour Rudolph Putnam Messel 3,499 12.0
Majority 22,201 76.0
Turnout 29,199 81.0
Liberal National hold Swing
General Election 1935: South Molton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal National Rt Hon. George Lambert 20,767 78.7
Labour H F Chilcott 5,610 21.3
Majority 15,157 57.5
Turnout 26,377 72.9
Liberal National hold Swing

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;

General Election 1945: South Molton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal National George Lambert 19,065 67.6
Labour C Lang 9,140 32.4
Majority 9,925 35.2
Turnout 71.9
Liberal National hold Swing

References

Notes
  1. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  2. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  3. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
Sources
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