Northampton (UK Parliament constituency)

Northampton
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons
County	Northamptonshire
Major settlements	Northampton
1295–1918
Number of members	Two
1918–1974
Type of constituency	Borough constituency
Replaced by	Northampton North and Northampton South

Northampton was a parliamentary constituency (centred on the town of Northampton), which existed until 1974.

It returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until its representation was reduced to one member for the 1918 general election. The constituency was abolished for the February 1974 general election, when it was replaced by the new constituencies of Northampton North and Northampton South.

A former MP of note for the constituency was Spencer Perceval, the only British Prime Minister to be assassinated.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1295–1640

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

• 1295: constituency established, electing two MPs

Parliament	First member	Second member
1377	Sir Gerard de Braybooke of Castle Ashby
1377	Sir Thomas Preston of Gretton
1378	Sir John Seton
1379	Sir Thomas Preston of Gretton
1380	Sir Thomas Preston of Gretton
1382	Giles St John of Plumpton
1386	William Spriggy	William Ringwood [1]
1388 (Feb)	Thomas Pirie	John Stotesbury [1]
1388 (Sep)	John Honybourne	John Besford [1]
1390 (Jan)	John Colingtree	John Sywell [1]
1390 (Nov)
1391	William Begworth	John Stotesbury [1]
1393	William Spriggy	Stephen Wappenham [1]
1394
1395	Nicholas Horncastle	John Woodward [1]
1397 (Jan)	Richard Stormsworth	Thomas Overton [1]
1397 (Sep)
1399	John Loudham	John Spring [1]
1401
1406	Henry Empingham	Thomas Wintringham [1]
1407	John Rivell	John Temple[1]
1410	Simon Dunstall	John Lincoln [1]
1411	Richard Wems	William Rushden [1]
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)	Roger Maltman	Alexander Deyster [1]
1414 (Apr)
1414 (Nov)	Geoffrey Balde	John Hethersett [1]
1415
1416 (Mar)	John Hendley	John Buckingham [1]
1416 (Oct)
1417	William Clerk	Thomas Colley [1]
1419	Thomas Stotesbury	Ralph Passenham [1]
1420	William Maltman	William Harpole [1]
1421 (May)	John Bernhill	John Colden[1]
1421 (Dec)	John Spriggy	Stephen Kynnesman [1]
1427	Thomas Compworth
1477–1478	Robert Pemberton
1510-1515	No names known [2]
1523	John Parvyn	Thomas Doddington [2]
1529	Lawrence Manley	Nicholas Rand [2]
1536	?
1539	?
1542	?
1545	?
1547	Richard Wenman	Anthony Bryan [2]
1553 (Mar)	George Tresham	William Chauncy [2]
1553 (Oct)	Francis Morgan	Lawrence Manley [2]
1554 (Apr)	Francis Morgan	John Horpool [2]
1554 (Nov)	Henry Clerke	Ralph Freeman [2]
1555	Nicholas Rand	John Balgye [2]
1558	Thomas Colles	Edward Manley [2]
1559 (Jan)	William Carvell	Edmund (or Edward) Kinwelmersh[3]
1562/3	Lewis Montgomery	Ralph Lane [3]
1571	Christopher Yelverton	William Lane [3]|- [3]
1572 (Apr)	Christopher Yelverton	John Spencer [3]
1584 (Nov)	Sir Richard Knightley	Thomas Catesby [3]
1586 (Sep)	Sir Richard Knightley	Peter Wentworth [3]
1588 (Oct)	Peter Wentworth	Richard Knollys [3]
1593	Valentine Knightley	Peter Wentworth [3]
1597 (Oct)	Christopher Yelverton	Henry Yelverton [3]
1601	Henry Hickman	Francis Tate [3]
1604	Henry Yelverton	Edward Mercer
1614	Henry Yelverton	Francis Beale
1621-1622	Richard Spencer	Thomas Crewe
1624	Richard Spencer	Christopher Sherland
1625	Richard Spencer	Christopher Sherland
1626	Richard Spencer	Christopher Sherland
1628	Richard Spencer	Christopher Sherland
1629–1640	No Parliaments convened

MPs 1640–1918

Election		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
April 1640		Richard Knightley	Parliamentarian		Zouch Tate	Parliamentarian
November 1640
December 1648	Knightley excluded in Pride's Purge - seat vacant			Tate not recorded as sitting after Pride's Purge
1653	Northampton was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654		Peter Whalley		Northampton had only one seat in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
1656		Francis Harvey
January 1659					James Langham
May 1659	Not represented in the restored Rump
March 1660		Francis Harvey			Richard Rainsford
June 1660		Sir John Norwich, Bt.
April 1661		Francis Harvey			James Langham
November 1661		Sir Charles Compton			Richard Rainsford
1662		Sir James Langham, Bt.
March 1663		Sir William Dudley, Bt.
April 1663		Hon. Christopher Hatton
March 1664					Sir John Bernard
April 1664					Sir Henry Yelverton, Bt.
1670		Sir William Fermor			Lord Ibrackan
1678					Hon. Ralph Montagu
February 1679					Sir Hugh Cholmley, Bt.
August 1679		William Langham			Hon. Ralph Montagu
1685		Richard Rainsford			Sir Justinian Isham, Bt.
1689		William Langham
1690					Sir Thomas Samwell, Bt.
1694					Sir Justinian Isham, Bt.
1695		Christopher Montagu
1698					William Thursby
1701					Thomas Andrew
1702		Sir Matthew Dudley, Bt.			Bartholomew Tate
1704					Francis Arundell
1705		George Montagu
1710					William Wykes
1715		William Wilmer
1722					Edward Montagu
1727		Hon. George Compton
1734					William Wilmer
1744					George Montagu
April 1754					Charles Montagu
December 1754		Hon. Charles Compton
1755		Richard Backwell
1759					Frederick Montagu
1761		Spencer Compton
1763		Lucy Knightly
1768		Vice-Admiral Sir George Brydges Rodney			Sir George Osborn, Bt. [4]
1769					Hon. Thomas Howe
1771					Wilbraham Tollemache
1774		Sir George Robinson, 5th Bt.
1780		Viscount Althorp			George Rodney
1782		The Lord Lucan
1784		Lord Compton			Fiennes Trotman
1790					Hon. Edward Bouverie
1796		Hon. Spencer Perceval
1810					William Hanbury Bateman
1812		Earl Compton
1818					Sir Edward Kerrison, Bt.
1820		Sir George Robinson, 6th Bt.			William Leader Maberly
1830					Sir Robert Gunning, Bt.
1831					Robert Vernon Smith	Whig
1832		Charles Ross	Conservative
1837		Raikes Currie	Whig
1857		Charles Gilpin	Whig
1859			Liberal			Liberal
1859 by-election					The Lord Henley	Liberal
February 1874					Pickering Phipps	Conservative
October 1874 by-election		Charles George Merewether [5]	Conservative
1880		Henry du Pré Labouchère	Liberal		Charles Bradlaugh	Liberal
1891 by-election					(Sir) Moses Philip Manfield	Liberal
1895					Charles Gustavus Adolphus Drucker	Conservative
1900					John Greenwood Shipman	Liberal
1906		Herbert Woodfield Paul	Liberal
Jan. 1910		Hastings Bertrand Lees-Smith	Liberal		Charles McCurdy	Liberal
1918	Representation reduced to one member

MPs 1918–1974

Election		Member	Party
1918		Charles McCurdy	Coalition Liberal
1922			National Liberal
1923		Margaret Bondfield	Labour
1924		Sir Arthur Holland	Conservative
1928 by-election		Cecil Malone	Labour
1931		Sir Mervyn Manningham-Buller	Conservative
1940 by-election		Spencer Summers	Conservative
1945		Reginald Paget	Labour
Feb 1974	constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1900s

Henry Labouchère

General Election 1900 Northampton[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Greenwood Shipman	5,437	28.2
	Liberal	Henry Du Pré Labouchère	5,281
	Conservative	Richard Rouse Boughton Orlebar	4,480
	Conservative	H E Randall	4,124
Majority
Turnout				83.1
	Liberal hold		Swing
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

General Election 1906 Northampton[6] Electorate 11,954
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Herbert Woodfield Paul	4,479
	Liberal	John Greenwood Shipman	4,244
	Conservative	Richard Rouse Boughton Orlebar	4,078
	Conservative	Frederick Gorell Barnes	4,000	18.4
	Social Democratic Federation	Jack Williams	2,544	11.7
	Social Democratic Federation	James Gribble	2,366	10.9
Majority			166	0.7
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1910s

Henry Quelch

General Election January 1910 Northampton[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Hastings Bertrand Lees-Smith	5,398	23.3
	Liberal	Charles Albert McCurdy	5,289	22.9
	Conservative	Richard Rouse Boughton Orlebar	4,569	19.8
	Conservative	Frederick Gorell Barnes	4,464	19.3
	Social Democratic Federation	James Gribble	1,792	7.7
	Social Democratic Federation	Henry Quelch	1,617	7.0
Majority			720	3.1
Turnout				92.7
	Liberal hold		Swing
	Liberal hold		Swing

Charles McCurdy

General Election 1918: Northampton[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Albert McCurdy	18,010	62.7
	Labour	Walter Halls	10,735	37.3	n/a
Majority			7,275	25.4
Turnout				62.5
	Liberal hold		Swing	n/a

• endorsed by the Coalition Government.

Elections in the 1920s

Margaret Bondfield

Northampton by-election, 1920 [8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Coalition Liberal	Rt Hon. Charles Albert McCurdy	16,650	55.6	-7.1
	Labour	Margaret Grace Bondfield	13,279	44.4	+7.1
Majority			3,371	11.2	-14.2
Turnout				67.1	+4.6
	Coalition Liberal hold		Swing	-7.1

General Election 1922: Northampton[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	Rt Hon. Charles Albert McCurdy	19,974	52.3	-3.3
	Labour	Margaret Grace Bondfield	14,498	37.9	-6.5
	Liberal	Henry Harvey Vivian	3,753	9.8	n/a
Majority			5,476	14.4	+3.2
Turnout				85.5
	National Liberal hold		Swing	+1.6

General Election 1923: Northampton [7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Margaret Grace Bondfield	15,556	40.5	+2.6
	Unionist	John Veasy Collier	11,520	30.0	n/a
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Charles Albert McCurdy	11,342	29.5	n/a
Majority			4,036	10.5
Turnout				84.3
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing	n/a

General Election 1924: Northampton[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Sir Arthur Edward Aveling Holland	16,017	39.5
	Labour	Margaret Grace Bondfield	15,046	37.2
	Liberal	James Manfield	9,536	23.3
Majority			971	2.3
Turnout				87.0
	Unionist gain from Labour		Swing

Northampton by-election, 1928[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Cecil John L'Estrange Malone	15.173	37.5	+0.3
	Unionist	Alexander Frederick Gordon Renton	14,616	36.1	-3.4
	Liberal	Sydney Cope Morgan	9,584	23.7	+0.4
	Independent Conservative	E. Augustine Hailwood	1,093	2.7	+2.7
Majority			557	1.4	3.8
Turnout				84.2	-2.8
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+1.9

General Election 1929: Northampton[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Cecil John L'Estrange Malone	22,356	41.7
	Unionist	A F G Renton	20,177	37.7
	Liberal	Miss Alexandra Helen Schilizzi	11,054	20.6
Majority			2,179	4.0
Turnout				87.5
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1931: Northampton[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Mervyn Edward Manningham-Buller	34,817	63.6
	Labour	Cecil John L'Estrange Malone	10,808	36.4
Majority			14,919	27.2
Turnout				87.4
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

General Election 1935: Northampton[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Mervyn Edward Manningham-Buller	25,438	51.5
	Labour	Reginald Thomas Guy Des Voeux Paget	23,983	48.5
Majority			1,455	3.0
Turnout				79.6
	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:
• Labour: Reginald Thomas Guy Des Voeux Paget^[10]
• British Union: Norah Elam

Elections in the 1940s

Northampton by-election, 1940[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gerard Spencer Summers	16,587	93.4
	Christian Pacifist	William Stanley Seamark	1,167	6.6
Majority
Turnout				30.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1945: Northampton[7][11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Reginald Thomas Guy Des Voeux Paget	27,681	56.36	+7.86
	Conservative	Gerard Spencer Summers	20,864	42.11	-9.39
	Independent	James Edward Bugby	749	1.53	N/A
Majority			6,997	14.25	N/A
Turnout			49,114	75.52	-4.08
Registered electors			65,038
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+8.63

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1950: Northampton[12][13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Reginald Thomas Guy Des Voeux Paget	31,946	48.98	-7.38
	Conservative	Lt-Col. R.L. Agnew	24,664	37.81	-4.30
	Liberal	Sydney Husbands Alloway	8,619	13.21	N/A
Majority			7,282	11.16	-3.09
Turnout			65,229	87.55	+12.03
Registered electors			74,502
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.54

General Election 1951: Northampton[14][15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Reginald Thomas Guy Des Voeux Paget	35,038	53.67	+4.69
	Conservative	John Veasey Collier	30,244	46.33	+8.52
Majority			4,794	7.34	-3.82
Turnout			65,282	86.41	-1.14
Registered electors			75,551
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.92

General Election 1955: Northampton[16][17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Reginald Thomas Guy Des Voeux Paget	32,119	52.75	-0.92
	Conservative	William Gibson Haig Clark	28,771	47.25	+0.92
Majority			3,348	5.50	-1.84
Turnout			60,890	82.60	-3.81
Registered electors			73,713
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.92

General Election 1959: Northampton[18][19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Reginald Thomas Guy Des Voeux Paget	27,823	46.30	-6.45
	Conservative	Joan Christabel Jill Knight	25,106	41.77	-5.48
	Liberal	Anthony Thomas Smith	7,170	11.93	N/A
Majority			2,717	4.52	-0.98
Turnout			60,099	82.87	+0.27
Registered electors			72,521
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.49

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1964: Northampton[20][21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Reginald Thomas Guy Des Voeux Paget	28,568	49.04	+2.74
	Conservative	Joan Christabel Jill Knight	24,128	41.42	-0.35
	Liberal	Irene Watson	5,557	9.54	-2.39
Majority			4,440	7.62	+3.10
Turnout			58,253	79.66	-3.21
Registered electors			73,129
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.55

General Election 1966: Northampton[22][23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Reginald Thomas Guy Des Voeux Paget	31,541	56.74	+7.70
	Conservative	Oliver Wright	24,052	43.26	+1.84
Majority			7,489	13.47	+5.85
Turnout			55,593	76.38	-3.28
Registered electors			72,781
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.93

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1970: Northampton[24][25]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Reginald Thomas Guy Des Voeux Paget	27,424	51.16	-5.58
	Conservative	Cecil Edward Parkinson	26,183	48.84	+5.58
Majority			1,241	2.31	-11.16
Turnout			53,607	71.87	-4.51
Registered electors			74.590
	Labour hold		Swing	-5.58

References

1. "History of Parliament". Retrieved 2011-09-28.
2. "History of Parliament". Retrieved 2011-09-28.
3. "History of Parliament". Retrieved 2011-09-28.
4. On petition, Osborn was declared not to have been duly elected and his opponent Howe was declared elected in his place
5. Account of the 1874 by-election in The Times, Thursday, Oct 08, 1874; pg. 10; Issue 28128; col E "The Northampton Election" . Charles Merewether is among a list of former MPs who have died in 1884 in The Times, Wednesday, 31 December 1884; page. 7; Issue 31331; col A. At that time he was a Queen's Counsel. He was appointed Recorder of Leicester in 1868 Source: The Leicester Chronicle and the Leicestershire Mercury, Saturday, 24 October 1868; pg. 6. "Borough Sessions Wednesday 21 October".
6. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
7. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
8. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow, 1949 p205
9. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, Craig, F.W.S.
10. Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
11. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results July 1945". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
12. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1950". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
14. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1951". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
16. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1955". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
18. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1959". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
20. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1964". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
22. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1966". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
24. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1970". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.

• 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)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "N" (part 2)