Clitheroe (UK Parliament constituency)

Clitheroe
Clitheroe
Former County constituency; for the House of Commons
	Clitheroe in Lancashire, showing boundaries used from 1974–1983
County	Lancashire
1885–1983
Seats	1
Replaced by	Ribble Valley, Burnley, Hyndburn and Pendle
1559–1885
Seats	1559–1832: Two; 1832–1885: One
Type of constituency	Borough constituency

Clitheroe was a parliamentary constituency in Lancashire.

The town of Clitheroe was first enfranchised as a parliamentary borough in 1559, returning two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and finally to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1832. The borough's representation was reduced to one MP by the Reform Act 1832.

The parliamentary borough was abolished under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, and the name transferred to a new county division with effect from the 1885 general election. The county division returned one MP until it was abolished for the 1983 general election. It was then largely replaced by the new Ribble Valley constituency.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The Boroughs of Clitheroe and Burnley, the Sessional Division of Colne, and parts of the Sessional Divisions of Clitheroe and Burnley.

1918–1950: The Borough of Clitheroe, the Urban Districts of Great Harwood and Padiham, the Rural District of Clitheroe, and part of the Rural District of Burnley.

1950–1983: The Borough of Clitheroe, the Urban Districts of Great Harwood, Longridge, and Padiham, the Rural Districts of Burnley and Clitheroe, and in the Rural District of Preston the parishes of Dutton, Hothersall, and Ribchester.

Members of Parliament

Borough of Clitheroe

MPs 1559–1660

Parliament	First member	Second member
1559 (Jan)	Thomas Greenacres	Walter Horton^[2]
1563 (Jan)	Thomas Greenacres	John Jeffrey^[2]
1571	Richard Greenacres	George Horsey^[2]
1572	William Wynter	Thomas Docwray^[2]
1584	Michael Purefoy	Alexander Fisher^[2]
1586	Edmund Poley	John Walmesley^[2]
1588 (Oct)	Robert Pilkington	John White^[2]
1593	William Twysden	John Chamberlain^[2]
1597 (Oct)	William Holte	George Rotheram^[2]
1601 (Oct)	John Osbaldestone	Anthony Dering^[2]
1604	Sir John Dormer	Martin Lister
1614	Sir Gilbert Hoghton, 2nd Baronet	Clement Coke
1621–1622	Sir Thomas Walmsley	William Fanshawe
1624	William Fanshawe	Ralph Whitfield
1625	Ralph Assheton	William Fanshawe
Jan 1626	Ralph Assheton	George Kirke
Apr 1626	Ralph Assheton	Christopher Hatton
1628	Thomas Jermyn	William Newell
1629–1640	No Parliament summoned
1640 (Apr)	Sir Ralph Assheton	Richard Shuttleworth, jnr
1640 (Nov)	Sir Ralph Assheton	Richard Shuttleworth, jnr
1645	Sir Ralph Assheton	Richard Shuttleworth, jnr
1648	Richard Shuttleworth, jnr
1653–1660	Clitheroe not represented in Barebones or Protectorate Parliaments

MPs 1660–1832

Two members returned to Parliament

Year	First member^[3]	First party^[4]	Second member	Second party
Apr 1660	Sir Ralph Assheton		William White
Jul 1660			William Hulton
Apr 1661			John Heath
1662	Ambrose Pudsay
1675	Sir Thomas Stringer
1679			Sir Ralph Assheton
1680			Henry Marsden
1685	Lord Strange		Edmund Assheton
1689	Anthony Parker		Christopher Wilkinson
1690	Anthony Parker		Roger Kenyon
1693	Fitton Gerard		Roger Kenyon
1695	Christopher Lister		Ambrose Pudsay
1698	Christopher Lister		Thomas Stringer
1701	Ambrose Pudsay
1705	Edward Harvey
1707			Daniel Harvey
1708			Christopher Parker
Apr 1713	Thomas Lister I		Christopher Parker
Sep 1713			Charles Zedenno Stanley
1715			Edward Harvey
1722			Nathaniel Curzon
1727			The Viscount Galway
1734			William Curzon
1745	Thomas Lister II		William Curzon
1747			Nathaniel Curzon
1754		Tory^[4]	Assheton Curzon	Tory^[4]
Dec 1761 by-election	Nathaniel Lister	Tory^[4]
1773 by-election	Thomas Lister III	Tory^[4]
1780			John Parker	Tory^[4]
1782 by-election			John Lee	Tory^[4]
1790	Sir John Aubrey, Bt	Tory^[4]	Penn Curzon	Tory^[4]
1792 by-election			Assheton Curzon	Tory^[4]
1795 by-election			Richard Erle-Drax-Grosvenor	Tory^[4]
1796	Lord Edward Bentinck	Tory^[4]	Hon. Robert Curzon	Tory^[4]
1802	Hon. John Cust	Tory^[4]
1808 by-election	James Gordon	Tory^[4]
Oct 1812	Viscount Castlereagh	Tory^[4]
Dec 1812 by-election	Edward Wilbraham-Bootle	Tory^[4]
1818	Hon. William Cust	Tory^[4]
1822 by-election	Henry Porcher	Tory^[4]
1826	Hon. Peregrine Cust	Tory^[4]
1831	Hon. Peregrine Cust	Tory^[4]	Hon. Robert Curzon	Tory^[4]

MPs 1832–1885

Election		Member^[3]	Party
1832		representation reduced to one member
	1832	John Fort	Whig^[4]^[5]
	1841^[6]	Mathew Wilson	Whig^[7]^[8]^[9]^[4]
	1842 ^[6]	Edward Cardwell	Conservative^[4]
	1847	Mathew Wilson	Whig^[7]^[8]^[9]^[4]
	May 1853 by-election^[10]	John Aspinall	Conservative
	Aug 1853 by-election^[10]	Le Gendre Starkie	Peelite^[11]^[12]^[13]
	1857	John Turner Hopwood	Conservative^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]
	1865	Richard Fort	Liberal
	1868 by-election	Ralph Assheton	Conservative
	1880	Richard Fort	Liberal
	1885	Parliamentary borough abolished. Name transferred to new county division

Clitheroe division of Lancashire

MPs 1885–1983

Election		Member^[3]	Party	Notes
	1885	Sir Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth	Liberal
	1902 by-election	David Shackleton	Labour
	1910	Albert Smith	Labour
	1918	Alfred Davies	Labour
	1922	Sir William Brass	Conservative
	1945	Harry Randall	Labour
	1950	Richard Fort	Conservative
	1959	Sir Francis Pearson	Conservative
	1970	David Walder	Conservative	Died October 1978
	1979 by-election	David Waddington	Conservative
1983		constituency abolished: see Ribble Valley

Election results

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Clitheroe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Waddington	25,081	57.1	+9.1
	Labour	Lindsay R. Sutton	13,502	30.7	−0.5
	Liberal	Frank Wilson	5,362	12.2	−8.6
Majority			11,579	26.4	+9.6
Turnout			43,945	80.7	+2.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

1979 Clitheroe by-election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Waddington	22,185	65.0	+17.0
	Labour	Lindsay R. Sutton	9,685	28.4	−2.8
	Liberal	Frank Wilson	2,242	6.6	−14.2
Majority			12,500	36.6	+19.8
Turnout			34,112
	Conservative hold		Swing	+9.9

General election October 1974: Clitheroe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Walder	19,643	48.0	+0.2
	Labour	Barry McColgan	12,775	31.2	+3.2
	Liberal	C. William Roberts	8,503	20.8	−3.4
Majority			6,868	16.8	−3.0
Turnout			40,921	78.6	−5.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.5

General election February 1974: Clitheroe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Walder	20,613	47.8	−3.8
	Labour	Michael Walsh	12,085	28.0	−7.8
	Liberal	C. William Roberts	10,438	24.2	+11.6
Majority			8,528	19.8	+4.0
Turnout			43,136	83.7	+4.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.0

General election 1970: Clitheroe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Walder	20,430	51.6	+5.5
	Labour	Kenneth C Bodfish	14,158	35.8	−4.3
	Liberal	Vera Ida Macmillan	4,965	12.6	−1.2
Majority			6,272	15.8	+9.8
Turnout			39,553	79.3	−4.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.9

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Clitheroe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Francis Pearson	17,244	46.1	−2.7
	Labour	Robert Hodge	15,014	40.1	+2.6
	Liberal	Vera Ida Macmillan	5,168	13.8	+0.1
Majority			2,230	6.0	-5.3
Turnout			37,426	83.5	−1.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.7

General election 1964: Clitheroe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Francis Pearson	18,559	48.8	−9.3
	Labour	Doug Hoyle	14,278	37.5	−4.4
	Liberal	Martin Strange	5,209	13.7	New
Majority			4,281	11.3	-4.9
Turnout			38,046	85.3	−1.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.5

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Clitheroe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Francis Pearson	22,314	58.1	+1.6
	Labour	William Rutter	16,103	41.9	−1.6
Majority			6,211	16.2	+3.2
Turnout			38,417	86.6	+1.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.6

General election 1955: Clitheroe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Fort	21,615	56.5	+1.2
	Labour	William Rutter	16,671	43.5	−1.2
Majority			4,944	13.0	+2.4
Turnout			38,286	85.3	−4.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.2

General election 1951: Clitheroe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Fort	23,007	55.3	+5.7
	Labour	Harold Bradley	18,582	44.7	+0.9
Majority			4,425	10.6	+4.8
Turnout			41,589	90.1	−1.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.4

General election 1950: Clitheroe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Fort	20,814	49.6	+3.6
	Labour	Harry Randall	18,359	43.8	-9.8
	Liberal	James Willie Wyers	2,765	6.6	New
Majority			2,455	5.8	N/A
Turnout			41,938	91.7	+8.3
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Clitheroe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harry Randall	19,443	53.65
	Conservative	Richard Fort	16,796	46.35
Majority			2,647	7.30	N/A
Turnout			36,239	83.41
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Clitheroe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	William Brass	21,163	54.86
	Labour	Stan Awbery	17,411	45.14
Majority			3,752	9.72
Turnout			38,574	87.68
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1931: Clitheroe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	William Brass	24,361	62.02
	Labour	Stan Awbery	14,920	37.98
Majority			9,441	24.04
Turnout			39,281	83.40
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929: Clitheroe ^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	William Brass	16,035	40.7	−13.5
	Labour	William Dobbie	15,592	39.5	−6.3
	Liberal	Charles Norman Glidewell	7,826	19.8	New
Majority			443	1.2	−7.2
Turnout			39,453	91.5	+2.9
Registered electors			43,113
	Unionist hold		Swing	−3.6

General election 1924: Clitheroe ^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	William Brass	16,637	54.2	+11.3
	Labour	Derwent Hall Caine	14,041	45.8	+7.9
Majority			2,596	8.4	+3.4
Turnout			30,678	88.6	+0.4
Registered electors			34,617
	Unionist hold		Swing	+1.7

General election 1923: Clitheroe ^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	William Brass	12,998	42.9	−11.8
	Labour	Alfred Davies	11,469	37.9	−7.4
	Liberal	Harold Derbyshire	5,810	19.2	New
Majority			1,529	5.0	−4.4
Turnout			30,277	88.2	+2.9
Registered electors			34,329
	Unionist hold		Swing	−2.2

General election 1922: Clitheroe ^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	William Brass	15,586	54.7	+15.4
	Labour	Alfred Davies	12,911	45.3	+0.7
Majority			2,675	9.4	N/A
Turnout			28,497	85.3	+18.8
Registered electors			33,393
	Unionist gain from Labour		Swing	+7.4

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Clitheroe ^[21]^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alfred Davies	9,578	44.6	−23.1
	Unionist	Edwin Leach Hartley	8,419	39.3	+7.0
C	Liberal	James Henley Batty	3,443	16.1	New
Majority			1,159	5.3	−30.1
Turnout			21,440	66.5	−13.5
Registered electors			32,222
	Labour hold		Swing	−15.1
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

General election December 1910: Clitheroe ^[23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Albert Smith	12,107	67.7	+0.4
	Conservative	J.J. Blayney	5,783	32.3	−0.4
Majority			6,324	35.4	+0.8
Turnout			17,890	80.0	−12.1
Registered electors			22,368
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.4

General election January 1910: Clitheroe ^[23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Shackleton	13,873	67.3	−8.6
	Conservative	T. Smith	6,727	32.7	New
Majority			7,146	34.6	−17.2
Turnout			20,600	92.1	+15.1
Registered electors			22,368
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1900s

1906 general election: Clitheroe^[23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Repr. Cmte.	David Shackleton	12,035	75.9	*N/A*
	Ind. Conservative	B.J. Belton	3,828	24.1	New
Majority			8,207	51.8	N/A
Turnout			15,863	77.0	N/A
Registered electors			20,613
	Labour Repr. Cmte. gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

Clitheroe by-election, 1 August 1902^[24]^[23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Repr. Cmte.	David Shackleton	Unopposed
	Labour Repr. Cmte. gain from Liberal

1900 general election: Clitheroe^[23]^[25]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1890s

1895 general election: Clitheroe^[23]^[25]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

1892 general election: Clitheroe^[25]^[23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth	7,657	58.2	*N/A*
	Liberal Unionist	William Briggs	5,506	41.8	New
Majority			2,151	16.4	N/A
Turnout			13,163	86.5	N/A
Registered electors			15,212
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1886: Clitheroe^[23]^[25]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

By-election, 19 Apr 1886: Clitheroe^[23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

Caused by Kay-Shuttleworth's appointment as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

1885 general election: Clitheroe^[25]^[23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth	6,821	60.5	+5.5
	Conservative	John Thursby	4,462	39.5	−5.5
Majority			2,359	21.0	+11.0
Turnout			11,283	88.9	−5.9
Registered electors			12,698
	Liberal hold		Swing	+5.5

1880 general election: Clitheroe^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Richard Fort	1,078	55.0	+7.7
	Conservative	Ralph Assheton	882	45.0	−7.7
Majority			196	10.0	N/A
Turnout			1,960	94.8	−0.2
Registered electors			2,068
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+7.7

Elections in the 1870s

1874 general election: Clitheroe^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ralph Assheton	896	52.7	+0.4
	Liberal	Edward Ebenezer Kay^[27]	804	47.3	−0.4
Majority			92	5.4	+0.8
Turnout			1,700	95.0	+3.9
Registered electors			1,790
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.4

Elections in the 1860s

1868 general election: Clitheroe^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ralph Assheton	760	52.3	*N/A*
	Liberal	Charles Savile Roundell	693	47.7	N/A
Majority			67	4.6	N/A
Turnout			1,453	91.1	N/A
Registered electors			1,595
	Conservative gain from Liberal

By-election, 13 Jul 1868: Clitheroe^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ralph Assheton	Unopposed
	Conservative gain from Liberal

Caused by Fort's death.

1865 general election: Clitheroe^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Richard Fort	Unopposed
Registered electors			438
	Liberal gain from Conservative

Elections in the 1850s

1859 general election: Clitheroe^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	John Turner Hopwood	Unopposed
Registered electors			469
	Conservative hold

1857 general election: Clitheroe^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	John Turner Hopwood	Unopposed
Registered electors			457
	Conservative gain from Whig

By-election, 23 August 1853: Clitheroe^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Peelite	Le Gendre Starkie	216	51.3	+5.5
	Whig	Jonathan Peel^[28]^[12]	205	48.7	−5.5
Majority			11	2.6	N/A
Turnout			421	92.3	+1.2
Registered electors			456
	Peelite gain from Whig		Swing	+5.5

Caused by the previous by-election being declared void on petition, due to treating.^[29]^[30]

By-election, 28 May 1853: Clitheroe^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Aspinall	215	50.8	+5.0
	Whig	Richard Fort^[31]	208	49.2	−5.0
Majority			7	1.6	N/A
Turnout			423	92.8	+1.7
Registered electors			456
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+5.0

Caused by the previous election being declared void on petition, due to bribery, corruption and intimidation.^[32]

1852 general election: Clitheroe^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Mathew Wilson	221	54.2	*N/A*
	Conservative	John Aspinall	187	45.8	New
Majority			34	8.4	N/A
Turnout			408	91.1	N/A
Registered electors			448
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1840s

1847 general election: Clitheroe^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Mathew Wilson	Unopposed
Registered electors			504
	Whig hold

Wilson's election at the 1841 general election was declared void and Cardwell was declared elected on 21 March 1842.

1841 general election: Clitheroe^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Mathew Wilson	175	50.7	-0.6
	Conservative	Edward Cardwell	170	49.3	+0.6
Majority			5	1.4	-1.4
Turnout			345	89.1	+2.4
Registered electors			387
	Whig hold		Swing

Elections in the 1830s

1837 general election: Clitheroe^[26]^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Fort	164	51.4	*N/A*
	Conservative	William Whalley	155	48.6	New
Majority			9	2.8	N/A
Turnout			319	86.7	N/A
Registered electors			368
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

1835 general election: Clitheroe^[26]^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	John Fort	Unopposed
Registered electors			351
	Whig hold

1832 general election: Clitheroe^[26]^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Fort	157	55.9	*New*
	Tory	John Irving	124	44.1	N/A
Majority			33	11.8	N/A
Turnout			281	91.8	N/A
Registered electors			306
	Whig gain from Tory		Swing	N/A

1831 general election: Clitheroe^[4]^[33]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Tory	Peregrine Cust	Unopposed
	Tory	Robert Curzon	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 36
	Tory hold
	Tory hold

1830 general election: Clitheroe^[4]^[33]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Tory	Peregrine Cust	Unopposed
	Tory	Robert Curzon	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 36
	Tory hold
	Tory hold

References

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