St Helens (UK Parliament constituency)

St Helens
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
County Lancashire
Major settlements St Helens
1885–1983
Number of members One
Replaced by St Helens North and St Helens South
Created from South West Lancashire

St Helens was a county constituency in the county of Lancashire, England. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the constituency was abolished in 1983, being split into North and South divisions.

Boundaries

The constituency was based on the boundaries of St Helens County Borough.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberParty
1885 Henry Seton-Karr Conservative
1906 Thomas Glover Labour
1910 Rigby Swift Conservative
1918 James Sexton Labour
1931 Richard Austin Spencer Conservative
1935 William Albert Robinson Labour
1945 Hartley Shawcross Labour
1958 by-election Leslie Spriggs Labour
1983 constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

Henry Seton-Karr
General Election 1885: St Helens [1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Seton-Karr 3,750 50.4 n/a
Liberal D Gamble 3,693 49.6 n/a
Majority 57 0.8 n/a
Turnout 89.8 n/a
Conservative win (new seat)
General Election 1886: St Helens [2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Seton-Karr 3,621 51.5 +1.1
Liberal A. Sinclair 3,404 48.5 -1.1
Majority 217 3.0 +2.2
Turnout 84.7
Conservative hold Swing +1.1

Elections in the 1890s

General Election 1892: St Helens [3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Seton-Karr 4,258 50.3 -1.2
Liberal W R Kennedy 4,199 49.7 +1.2
Majority 59 0.6 -2.4
Turnout 90.3 +5.6
Conservative hold Swing -1.2
General Election 1895: St Helens [4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Seton-Karr 4,700 53.5 +3.2
Liberal John Forster 4,091 46.5 -3.2
Majority 609 7.0 +6.4
Turnout 88.4
Conservative hold Swing +3.2

Elections in the 1900s

General Election 1900: St Helens [5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Seton-Karr 5,300 60.9
Liberal Charles Augustus Vansittart Conybeare 3,402 39.1
Majority 1,898 21.8
Turnout 80.9
Conservative hold Swing
Thomas Glover
General Election 1906: St Helens [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Thomas Glover 6,058 56.6 n/a
Conservative Sir Henry Seton-Karr 4,647 43.4 -17.5
Majority 1,411 13.2 35.0
Turnout 87.9 +7.0
Labour gain from Conservative Swing n/a

Elections in the 1910s

General Election January 1910: St Helens [7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Thomas Glover 6,512 53.3
Conservative Rigby Philip Watson Swift 5,717 46.7
Majority 795 6.6
Turnout 93.6
Labour hold Swing
General Election December 1910: St Helens [8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Rigby Philip Watson Swift 6,016 51.1 +4.4
Labour Thomas Glover 5,752 48.9 -4.4
Majority 264 2.2 8.8
Turnout 90.1 -3.5
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +4.4

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;

St Helens by-election, 1915[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Rigby Philip Watson Swift unopposed n/a n/a
Unionist hold Swing n/a
General Election 1918: St Helens[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour James Sexton 15,583 57.1
Unionist 11,689 42.9
Majority 3,894 14.2
Turnout 61.5
Labour gain from Unionist Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1922: St Helens[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour James Sexton 20,731 58.7 +1.6
Unionist Edward Wooll 14,587 41.3 -1.6
Majority 17.4 +3.2
Turnout 80.0 +18.5
Labour hold Swing +1.6
General Election 1923: St Helens[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour James Sexton 20,086 55.5 -3.2
Unionist Miss Margaret Evelyn Pilkington 16,109 44.5 +3.2
Majority 3,977 11.0 -6.4
Turnout 80.5 +0.5
Labour hold Swing -3.2
General Election 1924: St Helens[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour James Sexton 21,313 55.8
Unionist Miss Margaret Evelyn Pilkington 16,908 44.2
Majority 4,405 11.6
Turnout 83.1
Labour hold Swing
General Election 1929: St Helens[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour James Sexton 27,665 58.6 +2.8
Unionist Richard Austin Spencer 19,560 41.4 -2.8
Majority 17.2 +5.6
Turnout 78.3 -4.8
Labour hold Swing +2.8

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1931: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Austin Spencer 26,131 52.4
Labour Sir James Sexton 23,701 47.6
Majority 2,430 4.9
Turnout 78.9
General Election 1935: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William Albert Robinson 29,044 53.7
Conservative Richard Austin Spencer 25,063 46.3
Majority 3,981 7.4
Turnout 82.6

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;

Election in the 1940s

General Election 1945: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Hartley William Shawcross 34,675 66.2
Conservative JFG Thomson 14,323 43.9
Majority 4,003 12.3
Turnout 71.7

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1950: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Rt Hon. Sir Hartley William Shawcross 39,514 63.2
Conservative Alfred George Fletcher Hall-Davis 20,741 33.18
Liberal Joseph H Winskill 2,263 3.6
Majority 18,773 30.0
Turnout 84.9
General Election 1951: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Rt Hon. Sir Hartley William Shawcross 37,688 63.3
Conservative Michael Henry Colin Hughes-Young 21,830 36.7
Majority 15,858 26.6
Turnout 79.7
General Election 1955: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Rt Hon. Sir Hartley William Shawcross 35,737 64.3
Conservative A. Maxwell Caplin 19,854 35.7
Majority 15,883 28.6
Turnout 73.5
Labour hold Swing
St Helens by-election, 1958
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Leslie Spriggs 26,405 64.7
Conservative Mark Carlisle 14,411 35.7
Majority
Turnout
Labour hold Swing
General Election 1959: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Leslie Spriggs 35,961 62.1
Conservative Mark Carlisle 21,956 37.9
Majority 14,005 24.2
Turnout 76.9
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1964: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Leslie Spriggs 34,137 67.0
Conservative Herbert Keith Speed 16,826 33.0
Majority 17,311 34.0
Turnout 72.3
Labour hold Swing
General Election 1966: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Leslie Spriggs 33,325 70.8 +3.8
Conservative Christopher C. Fielden 13,776 29.2 −3.8
Majority 19,549 41.5
Turnout 68.6
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1970: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Leslie Spriggs 31,587 65.7
Conservative Ian D. McGaw 16,509 34.3
Majority 15,078 31.4
Turnout 64.5
Labour hold Swing
General Election February 1974: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Leslie Spriggs 32,621 59.0
Liberal AE Lycett 10,905 19.7
Conservative KJ Bridgeman 10,752 19.5
Ind. Labour Party M Pike 991 1.8
Majority 21,716 39.3
Turnout 73.2
Labour hold Swing
General Election October 1974: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Leslie Spriggs 32,620 64.1 +5.1
Conservative K.J. Bridgeman 10,554 20.8 +1.3
Liberal A.E. Lycett 7,689 15.1 −4.6
Majority 22,066 43.4
Turnout 66.9
Labour hold Swing
General Election 1979: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Leslie Spriggs 32,489 59.6 −4.5
Conservative J. Brown 16,934 31.1 +10.3
Liberal I. Smith 4,587 8.4 −6.7
Workers Revolutionary J. Boylan 471 0.9
Majority 15,555 28.6
Turnout 72.8 +5.9
Labour hold Swing

Sources

References

  1. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  2. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  3. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  4. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  5. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  6. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  7. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  8. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  9. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  10. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  11. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  12. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  13. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  14. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  15. ↑ Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
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