Hampstead (UK Parliament constituency)

Hampstead
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons
County	County of London
1885–1983
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Hampstead & Highgate
Created from	Middlesex

Hampstead was a borough constituency, centered on the Hampstead area of North London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, who was elected using the first-past-the-post voting system.

It was created for the 1885 general election,^[1] and abolished for the 1983 general election, when it was partly replaced by the new Hampstead and Highgate constituency.

Hampstead in the Metropolitan area, boundaries used 1885-1918

Hampstead in the Parliamentary County of London, boundaries used 1918-50

Hampstead in the Parliamentary County of London, boundaries used 1950-74

Boundaries

The parliamentary borough of Hampstead was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, and consisted of the civil parish of St John, Hampstead, Middlesex.^[2] The parish had previously formed part of the Parliamentary County of Middlesex.^[3] Hampstead lay within the area of the Metropolitan Board of Works, and in 1889 this became the County of London. In 1900 the county was divided into twenty-eight metropolitan boroughs, with the civil parish becoming the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead.^[3]

Parliamentary constituencies were redrawn under the Representation of the People Act 1918, with boundaries in London realigned to those of the metropolitan boroughs. Accordingly the Hampstead constituency was defined by the legislation as being identical in area to the metropolitan borough of the same name.^[3]^[4] When the next redistribution was carried out under the Representation of the People Act 1948 the term "parliamentary borough" was replaced with "borough constituency". The renamed Hampstead Borough Constituency continued with the same boundaries, with the changes coming into effect for the 1950 general election.^[5]

In 1965 both the County of London and the metropolitan boroughs were abolished. Hampstead became part of the larger London Borough of Camden.^[3] The changes were not reflected in parliamentary boundaries until 1970. The constituency was officially renamed "Camden, Hampstead Borough Constituency" and was defined as comprising seven wards of the London Borough, namely Adelaide, Belsize, Hampstead Central, Hampstead Town, Kilburn, Priory and West End.^[6] The wards of the borough were altered in 1973, with Swiss Cottage Ward replacing Hampstead Central in the constituency's definition.^[3] These boundaries were used until 1983 when the seat was abolished.

Members of Parliament

Election^[7]		Member	Party
	1885	Sir Henry Holland	Conservative
	1888 by-election	Edward Hoare	Conservative
	1902 by-election	Thomas Milvain	Conservative
	1905 by-election	John Fletcher	Conservative
	1918	George Balfour	Coalition Conservative
	1922	George Balfour	Conservative
	1941 by-election	Charles Challen	Conservative
	1950	Henry Brooke	Conservative
	1966	Ben Whitaker	Labour
	1970	Geoffrey Finsberg	Conservative
1983		constituency abolished: see Hampstead & Highgate

Election results

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 3 May 1979:
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour
	Conservative
	Liberal
Majority
Turnout
	Conservative hold

General Election 10 October 1974:
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour
	Conservative
	Liberal
Majority
Turnout

General Election 28 February 1974:
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour
	Conservative
	Liberal
Majority
Turnout

General Election 18 June 1970:
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour
	Conservative
	Liberal
Majority
Turnout

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Hampstead^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Benjamin Charles George Whitaker	22,963	46.8
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Henry Brooke	20,710	42.2
	Liberal	Renee Rachel Soskin	5,182	10.7
	Socialist (GB)	Harry Baldwin	211	0.4
Majority			2,253	4.6
Turnout			49,066	72.4
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General Election 1964: Hampstead^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Henry Brooke	19,888	43.3
	Labour	John W T Cooper	18,053	39.3
	Liberal	Renee Rachel Soskin	8,019	17.4
Majority			1,835	4.0
Turnout			45,960	67.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 8 October 1959: Hampstead
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Brooke	25,506	53.4	-2.5
	Labour	David Thomas Pitt	13,500	28.3	-3.5
	Liberal	Harry Charles Seigal	8,759	18.3	+6.0
Majority			12,006	25.1	+1.0
Turnout
	Conservative hold

General Election 26 May 1955: constituency of Hampstead Composed of the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead Electorate 72,423, Turnout 69.7%,
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Brooke	28,226	55.9	+0.8
	Labour	Arthur Richardson	16,040	31.8	-2.0
	Liberal	Harry Charles Seigal	6,222	12.3	+1.2
Majority			12,186	24.1	+2.8
Turnout
	Conservative hold

General Election 25 October 1951: constituency of Hampstead Composed of the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead Electorate 72,946, Turnout 78.0%,
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Brooke	31,346	55.1	+2.8
	Labour	Arthur Richardson	19,240	33.8	+3.5
	Liberal	W S Watson	6,320	11.1	-3.5
Majority			12,106	21.3	-0.7
Turnout
	Conservative hold

General Election 23 February 1950: Hampstead Electorate 71,119
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Brooke	29,949	52.3	+0.5
	Labour	William F Hawkins	17,373	30.3	-21.5
	Liberal	Wilfred Sydney Watson	8,336	14.6	N/A
	Communist	R Gore	1,603	2.8	N/A
Majority			12,576	22.0	+16.4
Turnout				80.5
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 5 to 19 July 1945: constituency of Hampstead Composed of the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead Electorate 55,446, Turnout 68.4%,
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Challen	19,652	51.8	-15.6
	Labour	William James Field	18,294	48.2	N/A
Majority			1,358	3.6	-39.6
Turnout			37,946	68.4	+51.1
	Conservative hold

Hampstead by-election, 1941
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Challen	7,630	67.4	-5.8
	National Independent	Noel Pemberton Billing	2,734	24.1	N/A
	Independent Progressive	William Reginald Hipwell	636	5.6	N/A
	Independent	Arthur L. Dolland	326	2.9	N/A
Majority			4,896	43.3	N/A
Turnout			65,511	17.3	-41.7
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 14 November 1935: constituency of Hampstead Composed of the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead Electorate 65,575 Turnout 59.0%,
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Balfour	28,334	73.2	-13.9
	Labour	Harry Smith	6,987	18.0	+5.1
	Liberal	John L. Young	3,396	8.8	N/A
Majority			21,347	55.1	-19.1
Turnout			38,717	59.0	-18.8

General Election 27 October 1931: Parliamentary Borough of Hampstead Composed of the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead Electorate 54,527 Turnout 77.8%,
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Balfour	36,928	87.1
	Labour	Harry Smith	5,475	12.9
Majority			31,453	74.2
Turnout			42,403	77.8

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 30 May 1929: Electorate 63,861
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	George Balfour	23,370	58.3	-20.8
	Labour	F. E. Dawkins	8,473	21.1	+0.2
	Liberal	M. Leon Freedman	8,273	20.6	N/A
Majority			14,897	37.1	-21.1
Turnout			40,116	62.8	-4.4
	Unionist hold		Swing

General Election 29 October 1924: Electorate 40,309
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	George Balfour	21,432	79.1	+20.5
	Labour	T Hendin	5,662	20.9	N/A
Majority			15,770	58.2	+41.0
Turnout			27,094	67.2	+9.2
	Unionist hold		Swing

General Election 6 December 1923: Electorate 39,710
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	George Balfour	13,513	58.6	-1.1
	Liberal	L S Fletcher	9,538	41.4	+23.9
Majority			3,975	17.2	-19.7
Turnout			23,051	58.0	-5.1
	Unionist hold		Swing

General Election 15 November 1922: Electorate 38,871
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	George Balfour	14,596	59.7
	National Liberal	Albert Clavering	5,582	22.9
	Liberal	L S Fletcher	4,282	17.5
Majority			9,014	36.9
Turnout			24,460	63.1
	Unionist hold		Swing

Election in the 1910s

General Election 14 December 1918: Hampstead Electorate 32,544
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Balfour	13,393	70.8
	Labour	Benjamin Skene MacKay	3,646	19.3
	National Party	John Harris Wrentmore	1,881	9.9
Majority			9,747	51.5
Turnout			40,116	58.1
	Conservative hold

Samuel Dore

December 1910 General Election: Hampstead
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Samuel Fletcher	5,605	64.2	3.0
	Liberal	Samuel Lammas Dore	3,129	35.8	-3.0
Majority			2,476
Turnout			12,050	72.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

January 1910 General Election: Hampstead
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Samuel Fletcher	6,228	61.2	8.7
	Liberal	Frank George Howard	3,949	38.8	-8.7
Majority			2,279
Turnout			12,050	84.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1900s

1906 General Election: Hampstead
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Samuel Fletcher	4,934	52.5	-0.1
	Liberal	G.F. Rowe	4,461	47.5	0.1
Majority			473
Turnout			11,467	81.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

Hampstead by-election, 1905
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Samuel Fletcher	4,228	52.6	-11.9
	Liberal	G.F. Rowe	3,803	47.4	11.9
Majority			425
Turnout			11,301	71.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Hampstead by-election, 1902
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Milvain	3,843	64.5
	Liberal	G.F. Rowe	2,118	35.5
Majority			1,725
Turnout			10,280	58.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

1900 General Election: Hampstead
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Brodie Hoare	unopposed
Turnout			9,837
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1890s

1895 General Election: Hampstead
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Brodie Hoare	unopposed
Turnout			8,937
	Conservative hold		Swing

1892 General Election: Hampstead
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Brodie Hoare	3,848	63.2
	Liberal	John Castleman Swinburne-Hanham	2,239	36.8
Majority			1,609
Turnout			8,272	73.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1880s

Hampstead by-election, 1888
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Brodie Hoare	unopposed
Turnout			6,995
	Conservative hold		Swing

Hampstead by-election, 1886
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rt. Hon. Sir Henry Thurstan Holland, Bt.	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

1886 General Election: Hampstead
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rt. Hon. Sir Henry Thurstan Holland, Bt.	2,707	74.1	15.1
	Liberal	William Ramsay Scott	945	25.9	-14.5
Majority			1762
Turnout			5,981	61.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

1885 General Election: Hampstead
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rt. Hon. Sir Henry Thurstan Holland, Bt.	2,785	59.0
	Liberal	Rt. Hon. Marquess of Lorne	1,910	40.4
	Social Democratic Federation	John E. Williams	27	0.6
Majority			875
Turnout			5,981	79.0
	Conservative gain from new seat		Swing

References

↑ C R Elrington (Editor), T F T Baker, Diane K Bolton, Patricia E C Croot (1989). "Hampstead: Local Government". A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 9: Hampstead, Paddington. pp. 130–138. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
↑ Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. Fourth Schedule: New Boroughs
↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Youngs, Frederic A, Jr. (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol.I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. pp. 305, 742–745. ISBN 0901050679.
↑ Representation of the People Act 1918. Ninth Schedule: Redistribution of Seats
↑ Representation of the People Act 1948, First Schedule: Parliamentary Constituencies
↑ The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970 (S.I. 1970/1674)
↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 1)
↑ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1973
↑ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1973

British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1974)
Debrett’s Illustrated Heraldic and Biographical House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1886
Debrett’s House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1901
Debrett’s House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1918

Historic constituencies in London

1885	Battersea Bermondsey Bethnal Green North East Bethnal Green South West Bow and Bromley Brixton Camberwell North Chelsea City of London Clapham Deptford Dulwich Finsbury Central Finsbury East Fulham Greenwich Hackney Central Hackney North Hackney South Haggerston Hammersmith Hampstead Holborn Hoxton Islington East Islington North Islington South Islington West Kennington Kensington North Kensington South Lambeth North Lewisham Limehouse Marylebone East Marylebone West Mile End Newington West Norwood Paddington North Paddington South Peckham Poplar Rotherhithe Southwark West St George St George's Hanover Square St Pancras East St Pancras North St Pancras South St Pancras West Stepney Strand Walworth Wandsworth Westminster Whitechapel Woolwich

1918	Balham and Tooting Battersea North Battersea South Bermondsey West Bethnal Green North East Bethnal Green South West Bow and Bromley Brixton Camberwell North Camberwell North West Clapham Dulwich Chelsea City of London Deptford Finsbury Fulham East Fulham West Greenwich Hackney Central Hackney North Hackney South Hammersmith North Hammersmith South Hampstead Holborn Islington East Islington North Islington South Islington West Kennington Kensington North Kensington South Lambeth North Lewisham East Lewisham West Limehouse Mile End Norwood Paddington North Paddington South Peckham Poplar South Putney Rotherhithe St Marylebone St Pancras North St Pancras South East St Pancras South West Shoreditch Southwark Central Southwark North Southwark South East Stoke Newington Streatham Wandsworth Central Westminster Abbey Westminster St George's Whitechapel and St George's Woolwich East Woolwich West

1950	Battersea North Battersea South Bermondsey Bethnal Green Brixton Chelsea Cities of London and Westminster Clapham Deptford Dulwich Fulham East Fulham West Greenwich Hackney South Hammersmith North Hammersmith South Hampstead Holborn and St Pancras South Islington East Islington North Islington South West Kensington North Kensington South Lewisham North Lewisham South Lewisham West Norwood Paddington North Paddington South Peckham Poplar Putney St Marylebone St Pancras North Streatham Shoreditch and Finsbury Southwark Stepney Stoke Newington and Hackney North Vauxhall Wandsworth Central Woolwich East Woolwich West

1955	Barons Court Battersea North Battersea South Bermondsey Bethnal Green Brixton Chelsea Cities of London and Westminster Clapham Deptford Dulwich Fulham Greenwich Hackney Central Hammersmith North Hampstead Holborn and St Pancras South Islington East Islington North Islington South West Kensington North Kensington South Lewisham North Lewisham South Lewisham West Norwood Paddington North Paddington South Peckham Poplar Putney St Marylebone St Pancras North Shoreditch and Finsbury Southwark Stepney Stoke Newington and Hackney North Streatham Vauxhall Wandsworth Central Woolwich East Woolwich West

1974	Acton Barking Battersea North Battersea South Beckenham Bermondsey Bethnal Green and Bow Bexleyheath Brent East Brent North Brent South Brentford and Isleworth Carshalton Chelsea Chingford Chipping Barnet Chislehurst City of London and Westminster South Croydon Central Croydon North East Croydon North West Croydon South Dagenham Dulwich Ealing North Edmonton Enfield North Enfield Southgate Erith and Crayford Feltham and Heston Finchley Fulham Greenwich Hackney Central Hackney North and Stoke Newington Hackney South and Shoreditch Hammersmith North Hampstead Harrow Central Harrow East Harrow West Hayes and Harlington Hendon North Hendon South Holborn and St Pancras South Hornchurch Hornsey Ilford North Ilford South Islington Central Islington North Islington South and Finsbury Kensington Kingston-upon-Thames Lambeth Central Lewisham Deptford Lewisham East Lewisham West Leyton Mitcham and Morden Newham North East Newham North West Newham South Norwood Orpington Paddington Peckham Putney Ravensbourne Richmond Romford Ruislip-Northwood St Marylebone St Pancras North Sidcup Southall Stepney and Poplar Streatham Surbiton Sutton and Cheam Tooting Tottenham Twickenham Upminster Uxbridge Vauxhall Walthamstow Wanstead and Woodford Wimbledon Wood Green Woolwich East Woolwich West