Croydon North West (UK Parliament constituency)

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Croydon North West Borough constituency
Created:	1955
Abolished:	1997
Type:	House of Commons

Croydon North West was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Contents 1 Politics and history of the constituency 2 Boundaries 3 Members of Parliament 1955 - 1997 4 Election results 5 References

[edit] Politics and history of the constituency

It was created for the 1955 general election, just five years after a previous re-organisation of the three seats in the County Borough of Croydon.

It took in areas of the former Croydon North and Croydon West constituencies and bordered Croydon North East and Croydon South, as well as, when originally created, the constituencies of Streatham, Norwood, Beckenham and Mitcham.

The constituency was abolished at the 1997 general election and was entirely subsumed within the new Croydon North, with the edition of the Thornton Heath, Upper Norwood and South Norwood wards.

For almost all of its history, Croydon North West had Conservative Members of Parliament. It was the scene of a famous by-election in 1981, following the death of its MP, won by Bill Pitt for the SDP-Liberal Alliance. However, it returned to the Conservatives a year later, remaining so until it was snatched by Malcolm Wicks for the Labour Party at the 1992 general election.

[edit] Boundaries

When first created, Croydon North West included the areas of Norbury, Upper Norwood and parts of West Croydon and Thornton Heath. It saw various boundary changes, largely stretching further south and losing its more easterly parts. At the time of its abolition in 1997, Croydon North West covered all of West Croydon, Selhurst, Norbury and parts of Thornton Heath around the Thornton Heath Pond, within the London Borough of Croydon.

[edit] Members of Parliament 1955 - 1997

• Constituency created 1955
• 1955 — 1970: Fred Harris, Conservative
• 1970 — 1981: Robert Taylor, Conservative
• 1981 — 1983: Bill Pitt, SDP-Liberal Alliance
• 1983 — 1992: Humfrey Malins, Conservative
• 1992 — 1997: Malcolm Wicks, Labour
• Constituency abolished 1997

[edit] Election results

General Election 1955: Croydon North West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Fred Harris	26,297	56.9
	Labour	Ronald Huzzard	15,760	34.1
	Liberal	Ivy Thurston	4,139	9.0
Majority			10,537	22.8
Turnout			46,196
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1979: Croydon North West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Taylor	19,928	49.4
	Labour	Stanley Boden	16,159	40.1
	Liberal	Bill Pitt	4,239	10.5
Majority			3,769
Turnout			40,326	72.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

By-election 1981: Croydon North West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Bill Pitt	13,800	40.0	29.5
	Conservative	John Butterfill	10,546	30.5	-18.9
	Labour	Stanley Boden	8,967	26.0	-14.1
	National Front	Nick Griffin	429	1.2
	Independent Pro-Life	Marilyn Gillies-Carr	340	1.0
	Ecology	John Foster	155	0.4
	Constitutional Movement	Suzan McKenzie	111	0.3
	Disabled War Pensioners Association	Lawrence Brooks	81	0.2
	Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident	Bill Boaks	51	0.1
	Family Law Reform Party	George Major	31	0.1
	London Federation of Self-Employed	Josef Joseph	20	0.1
	Anti-Common Market - Free Trade	Stephen Done	11	0.0
Majority			3,254	9.5
Turnout			34,542	62.5	-10
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

General Election 1983: Croydon North West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Humfrey Malins	16,674	42.3
	Liberal	Bill Pitt	12,582	31.9
	Labour	I Smedley	9,561	24.2
	National Front	Nick Griffin	336	0.9
	Ecology	T.A.J. Rowe	286	0.7
Majority			4,092	10.4
Turnout			39,439
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

General Election 1987: Croydon North West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Humfrey Malins	18,665	47.0	4.7
	Labour	Malcolm Wicks	14,677	37.0	12.8
	Liberal	L.A. Rowe	6,363	16.0	-15.9
Majority			3,988	10.0
Turnout			39,705
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1992: Croydon North West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Malcolm Wicks	19,153	47.3	10.3
	Conservative	Humfrey Malins	17,626	43.5	-3.5
	Liberal	L.F. Hawkins	3,728	9.2	-6.8
Majority			1,526	3.8
Turnout			40,507
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

[edit] References

• (1955) The Times House of Commons 1955. The Times.