Holland with Boston (UK Parliament constituency)

Holland with Boston
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
County Lincolnshire
1918–1997
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.

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.

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 this constituency.

When created in 1918 the 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 1997 the constituency was abolished and replaced by two new constituencies, Boston and Skegness and South Holland and The Deepings.

Boundaries

1918-1974: The county of the Parts of Holland.

1974-1983: The Municipal Borough of Boston, the Urban District of Spalding, and the Rural Districts of Boston, East Elloe, and Spalding.

1983-1997: The Borough of Boston, and the District of South Holland wards of Donington, Fleet, Gedney, Holbeach Hurn, Holbeach St John, Holbeach Town, Long Sutton, Moulton, Sutton Bridge, The Saints, and Whaplode.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMember[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 1910s

General Election 1918: Holland with Boston[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William Stapleton Royce 8,788 39.8 n/a
Unionist
  • Maj. Ernest A Crossley Belcher
 7,718 35.0 n/a
Liberal Maj. Arthur George Villiers Peel 5,557 25.2 n/a
Majority 1,070 4.8 n/a
Turnout 55.2 n/a
Labour win

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1922: Holland with Boston[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William Stapleton Royce 12,489 39.1 -0.7
Unionist Sir Henry William Cameron-Ramsay-Fairfax-Lucy 11,898 37.3 +2.3
Liberal Ewan Siegfried Agnew 7,535 23.6
Majority 591 1.8 -3.0
Turnout 76.9 +21.7
Labour hold Swing -1.5
General Election 1923: Holland with Boston[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William Stapleton Royce 15,697 54.1
Unionist Arthur Wellesley Dean 13,331 45.9
Majority 2,366 8.2 +6.4
Turnout 68.8
Labour hold Swing
By-election 1924: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Arthur Wellesley Dean 12,907 39.6 −6.3
Labour Edward Hugh John Neale Dalton 12,101 37.1 −17.0
Liberal Richard Pattinson Winfrey 7,596 23.3 N/A
Majority 806 2.5 N/A
Turnout 32,604 77.2 +8.4
Unionist gain from Labour Swing
General Election 1924: Holland with Boston[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Arthur Wellesley Dean 15,459 47.5
Labour George Rivers Blanco White 10,689 32.8
Liberal Richard Pattinson Winfrey 6,413 19.7
Majority 4,770 14.7
Turnout 75.8
Unionist hold Swing
Holland with Boston by-election, 1929
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal James Blindell 13,000 38.1 +18.4
Labour George Rivers Blanco White 9,294 27.3 −5.5
Unionist Frederick James 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 34,092 75.6 −0.2
Liberal gain from Unionist Swing 15.9
General Election 1929: Holland with Boston[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal James Blindell 19,792 43.8
Unionist Frederick James Van den Berg 15,877 35.1
Labour C E Snook 9,556 21.1
Majority
Turnout 81.5
Liberal hold Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1931: Holland with Boston[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal National James Blindell 30,375 77.5
Labour Herbert John Harvey Parker 8,840 22.5
Majority 21,535 54.9
Turnout 39,215 68.5
Liberal National hold Swing
General Election 1935: Holland with Boston[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal National James Blindell 25,162 65.5
Labour EE Reynolds 13,264 34.5
Majority 11,898 31.0
Turnout 63.6
Liberal National hold Swing
Holland with Boston by-election, 1937
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal National Herbert Butcher 21,846 60.0 −5.5
Labour E.E. Reynolds 14,556 40.0 +5.5
Majority 7,290 20.0 −11.0
Turnout 36,396 59.4 −4.2
Liberal National hold Swing −5.5

General Election 1939/40

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Holland with Boston[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal National Herbert Butcher 26,939 55.9
Labour A.E. Monks 21,263 44.1
Majority 5,676 11.8
Turnout 72.9
Liberal National hold Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1950: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Liberal 30,336 53.9
Labour Horace W. Lee 22,374 39.8
Liberal Raymond D Blankley 3,500 6.2
Majority 7,962 14.1
Turnout 68,411 82.1
National Liberal hold Swing
General Election 1951: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Liberal Herbert Walter Butcher 31,683 57.9 +4.0
Labour Miss Janet A Walters 22,994 42.0 +2.2
Majority 8,689 15.8
Turnout 69,453 78.7
National Liberal hold Swing
General Election 1955: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Liberal Sir Herbert Walter Butcher 28,412 53.2 −0.7
Labour William A 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
National Liberal hold Swing
General Election 1959: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Liberal Sir Herbert Walter Butcher 29,013 53.5 +0.3
Labour John DT 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
National Liberal hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s

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

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1970: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Bernard Frank Stewart Body 33,580 58.0 +7.7
Labour Robert N.H. Sackur 24,241 41.9 −7.8
Majority 9,339 16.1
Turnout 77,245 74.8 −0.1
Conservative hold Swing
General Election February 1974: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Bernard Frank Stewart 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 October 1974: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Bernard Frank Stewart 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 1979: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Bernard Frank Stewart 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

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1983: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Bernard Frank Stewart Body 24,962 55.2 −0.3
Liberal Mrs. Carole 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
General Election 1987: Holland with Boston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Bernard Frank Stewart Body 27,412 57.8 +2.6
Liberal Mrs. Carole Le Brun 9,817 20.7 −8.5
Labour John Duncomb Hough 9,734 20.4 +5.1
Independent David James 405 0.8 N/A
Majority 17,595 37.1
Turnout 65,539 72.2 +1.2
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1992: Holland with Boston[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Sir Richard Bernard Frank Stewart Body 29,159 55.1 −2.8
Labour John Duncomb Hough 15,328 29.0 +8.4
Liberal Democrat Nigel J. 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

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 3)
  2. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  3. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  4. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  5. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  6. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  7. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  8. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  9. ↑ Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
  10. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  11. ↑ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 Dec 2010.

Sources