Holland with Boston (UK Parliament constituency)

Holland with Boston
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
County Lincolnshire
1918 (1918)–1997 (1997)
Number of members One
Replaced by Boston and Skegness and South Holland and the Deepings
Created from Boston, Spalding

Holland with Boston was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Contents

History

The constituency was created in 1918 and abolished in 1997. By the time of its abolition, it was a safe Conservative seat. However, Holland with Boston had been held by both the Liberal and Labour parties before the Second World War.

Boundaries

From 1885 to 1918 the parliamentary borough of Boston returned one MP, while the Lincolnshire county division of Spalding, in the south-east of the historic county, elected another MP. In 1918 these two seats were merged to form the new Holland with Boston constituency.

The new constituency had the same boundaries as the traditional sub-division of the historic county known as the Parts of Holland, which had become an administrative county in 1889.

In the 1974 redistribution of parliamentary seats the constituency was re-defined as comprising the Municipal Borough of Boston, Spalding Urban District and the Rural Districts of Boston, East Elloe, and Spalding.

The Parts of Holland County Council was abolished in 1974 and replaced by a Lincolnshire County Council. However the parliamentary boundaries continued to be based on the pre-1974 local authorities until 1983.

The 1983 redistribution defined the constituency as the Borough of Boston and eleven wards of the District of South Holland: Donington, Fleet, Gedney, Holbeach Hurn, Holbeach St John, Holbeach Town, Long Sutton, Moulton, Sutton Bridge, The Saints, and Whaplode. All of the 1983 seat had been part of the pre-1983 constituency.

In 1997 the constituency was abolished and replaced by two new constituencies, Boston and Skegness and South Holland and The Deepings.

Members of Parliament

Election Member[1] Party
1918 William Stapleton Royce Labour
1924 by-election Arthur Wellesley Dean Conservative
1929 by-election Sir James Blindell Liberal
1931 National Liberal
1937 by-election Sir Herbert Butcher National Liberal
1950 National Liberal & Conservative
1966 Sir Richard Body Conservative
1997 constituency abolished: see Boston and Skegness
and South Holland and the Deepings

Elections

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1992: Holland with Boston[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Sir Richard Body 29,159 55.1 −2.8
Labour JD Hough 15,328 29.0 +8.4
Liberal Democrat NJ Ley 8,434 15.9 −4.8
Majority 13,831 26.1 −11.0
Turnout 52,921 77.9 +5.7
Conservative hold Swing −5.6

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Body 27,412 57.8 +2.6
Liberal C Le Brun 9,817 20.7 −8.5
Labour JD Hough 9,734 20.4 +5.1
Other D James 405 0.8 N/A
Majority 17,595 37.1
Turnout 65,539 72.2 +1.2
Conservative hold Swing
General Election 1983: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Body 24,962 55.2 −0.3
Liberal C Le Brun 13,226 29.2 +12.8
Labour JA Moore 6,970 15.4 −12.6
Majority 11,736 25.9
Turnout 63,562 71.0 −3.5
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Body 35,440 55.5 +7.9
Labour M Fox 17,908 28.0 −5.5
Liberal J Wright 10,480 16.4 −1.6
Majority 17,532 27.4
Turnout 85,578 74.5 +2.4
Conservative hold Swing
General Election October 1974: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Body 28,145 47.6 +0.8
Labour M Cornish 19,461 33.5 +5.2
Liberal GR Stephenson 10,476 18.0 −6.0
Majority 8,684 14.9
Turnout 80,454 72.1 −8.3
Conservative hold Swing
General Election February 1974: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Body 30,561 47.6 −10.4
Labour M Cornish 18,180 28.3 −13.6
Liberal GR Stephenson 15,466 24.0 N/A
Majority 12,381 19.2
Turnout 79,775 80.4 +5.6
Conservative hold Swing
General Election 1970: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Body 33,580 58.0 +7.7
Labour RNH Sackur 24,241 41.9 −7.8
Majority 9,339 16.1
Turnout 77,245 74.8 −0.1
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Body 26,683 50.3 −5.0
Labour R.H.Hickman 26,367 49.7 +5.1
Majority 316 0.6
Turnout 53,050 74.9 +1.0
Conservative hold Swing
General Election 1964: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal National Herbert Butcher 29,082 55.3 +1.8
Labour W Long 23,451 44.6 +11.7
Majority 5,631 10.7
Turnout 71,064 73.9
Liberal National hold Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal National Herbert Butcher 29,013 53.5 +0.3
Labour JDT Williamson 17,839 32.9 −6.9
Liberal Cyril Valentine 7,334 13.5 +3.1
Majority 11,174 20.6
Turnout 70,588 76.7
Liberal National hold Swing
General Election 1955: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal National Herbert Butcher 28,412 53.2 −0.7
Labour WA Rippon 19,329 39.8 −3.6
Liberal Cyril Valentine 5,581 10.4 N/A
Majority 9,083 17.0
Turnout 70,040 76.1
Liberal National hold Swing
General Election 1951: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal National Herbert Butcher 31,683 57.9 +4.0
Labour JA Walters 22,994 42.0 +2.2
Majority 8,689 15.8
Turnout 69,453 78.7
Liberal National hold Swing
General Election 1950: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal National Herbert Butcher* 30,336 53.9
Labour HW Lee 22,374 39.8
Liberal RD Blankley 3,500 6.2
Majority 7,962 14.1
Turnout 68,411 82.1
Liberal National hold Swing

*Stood as National Liberal & Conservative, from 1950 onwards.

Elections in the 1920s

By-election 1929: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal James Blindell 13,000 38.1 +18.4
Labour G.R.B. White 9,294 27.3 −5.5
Conservative F.J. Van den Berg 8,257 24.2 −23.3
Agricultural Party F.W. Dennis 3,541 10.4 N/A
Majority 3,706 10.8
Turnout 34092 75.6 −0.2
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing 15.9
By-election 1924: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Arthur Dean 12,907 39.6 −6.3
Labour Hugh Dalton 12,101 37.1 −17.0
Liberal R.P. Winfrey 7,596 23.3 N/A
Majority 806 2.5 N/A
Turnout 32,604 77.2 +8.4
Conservative gain from Labour Swing

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 3)
  2. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge92/ge92index.htm. Retrieved 6 Dec 2010. 

Sources