50°43′19″N 1°52′44″W / 50.722°N 1.879°W
| Bournemouth | |
|---|---|
| Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
| 1918–1950 | |
| Created from | Christchurch |
| Replaced by | Bournemouth East and Christchurch and Bournemouth West |
Bournemouth was a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. The seat was created in 1918 and existed until it was abolished and split into two new seats in 1950. During the constituency's existence it was the most south-westerly seat in Hampshire (although the county boundary between Dorset and Hampshire was redrawn in 1974 so the town was transferred to Dorset).
Boundaries
Before 1918 the County Borough of Bournemouth formed part of the then parliamentary borough of Christchurch. Under the Representation of the People Act 1918 Bournemouth gained its own constituency, with the same boundaries as the then county borough.
The seat was bordered to the west by the constituency of Dorset East, while to the north was New Forest and Christchurch. The rest of the constituency bordered the English Channel.
In the 1950 redistribution, the Representation of the People Act 1948 provided for the division of Bournemouth (with the addition of the neighbouring town of Christchurch) into Bournemouth East and Christchurch & Bournemouth West.
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 | Henry Croft | National | ||
| 1921 | Conservative | Resigned May 1940 on being raised to the peerage | ||
| 1940 by-election | Leonard Lyle | Conservative | Resigned October 1945 on being raised to the peerage | |
| 1945 by-election | Brendan Bracken | Conservative | ||
| 1950 | constituency abolished: see Bournemouth East and Christchurch & Bournemouth West | |||
Elections
Elections in the 1910s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National | Henry Page Croft | 14,048 | 66.3 | ||
| Labour | Frederick Jesse Hopkins | 5,302 | 25.0 | ||
| Liberal | Thomas Dove Keighley | 1,854 | 8.7 | ||
| Majority | 8,746 | 41.3 | |||
| Turnout | 21,204 | 64.1 | |||
| National win (new seat) | |||||
Elections in the 1920s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unionist | Henry Page Croft | 15,690 | 52.3 | -14.0 | |
| Liberal | Cyril Berkeley Dallow | 10,181 | 33.9 | +25.2 | |
| Lloyd George Conservative | Harry Keen Hargreaves | 4,134 | 13.8 | New | |
| Majority | 5,509 | 18.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 30,005 | 79.8 | +15.7 | ||
| Registered electors | 37,598 | ||||
| Unionist gain from National | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unionist | Henry Page Croft | 15,506 | 50.4 | −1.9 | |
| Liberal | Cyril Berkeley Dallow | 9,256 | 30.1 | −3.8 | |
| Labour | Minnie Pallister | 5,986 | 19.5 | New | |
| Majority | 6,250 | 20.3 | +1.9 | ||
| Turnout | 30,748 | 79.0 | −0.8 | ||
| Registered electors | 38,913 | ||||
| Unionist hold | Swing | +1.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unionist | Henry Page Croft | 20,620 | 72.7 | +22.3 | |
| Labour | Minnie Pallister | 7,735 | 27.3 | +7.8 | |
| Majority | 12,885 | 45.4 | +25.1 | ||
| Turnout | 28,355 | 69.1 | −9.9 | ||
| Registered electors | 41,038 | ||||
| Unionist hold | Swing | +7.25 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unionist | Henry Page Croft | 25,945 | 52.2 | −20.5 | |
| Liberal | Arthur Mortimer | 15,890 | 31.9 | New | |
| Labour | Maurice Spencer | 7,900 | 15.9 | −11.4 | |
| Majority | 10,055 | 20.3 | −25.1 | ||
| Turnout | 49,735 | 74.4 | +5.3 | ||
| Registered electors | 66,812 | ||||
| Unionist hold | Swing | −26.2 | |||
Elections in the 1930s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Henry Page Croft | 39,859 | 80.03 | ||
| Labour | JH Collingbourne | 9,943 | 19.97 | ||
| Majority | 29,916 | 60.06 | |||
| Turnout | 49,802 | 70.28 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Henry Page Croft | 32,645 | 71.08 | ||
| Labour | Maurice Solomon Davidson | 13,279 | 28.92 | ||
| Majority | 19,366 | 42.16 | |||
| Turnout | 45,924 | 62.62 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1940s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Leonard Lyle | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Leonard Lyle | 34,544 | 55.45 | ||
| Liberal | Basil Wigoder | 14,232 | 22.85 | New | |
| Labour | Robert Spence Watson Pollard | 13,522 | 21.71 | ||
| Majority | 20,312 | 32.60 | |||
| Turnout | 62,298 | 71.32 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Brendan Bracken | 22,980 | 46.85 | -8.60 | |
| Labour | Edward Shackleton | 16,526 | 33.69 | +11.98 | |
| Liberal | Basil Wigoder | 9,548 | 19.46 | -3.39 | |
| Majority | 6,454 | 13.16 | -19.44 | ||
| Turnout | 49,054 | 56.5 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
See also
References
- Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
- British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press, revised edition 1977)
- Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume III 1919-1945, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1979)
- Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume IV 1945-1979, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1981)
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 4)