Plymouth Drake (UK Parliament constituency)
Plymouth Drake | |
---|---|
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
County | Devon |
1974–1997 | |
Number of members | One |
Replaced by | Plymouth Sutton |
1918–1950 | |
Number of members | One |
Plymouth Drake was a borough constituency in the city of Plymouth, in Devon. It elected one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the first past the post system of election.
History
The first Drake constituency was created for the 1918 general election, and abolished for the 1950 general election. For most of this time it was held by the Conservative Party. It was a Labour gain in the Attlee landslide of 1945, although it had been held by Labour once before, in the 1929–31 Parliament.
The second incarnation of the constituency was created for the February 1974 general election. For the whole of its 23-year existence it was represented by just one MP, Dame Janet Fookes of the Conservative Party. It was always a marginal seat during this period, but Dame Janet managed to survive many strong challenges at each general election she fought, including winning with a majority of just 34 in October 1974 – making Drake the most marginal Conservative seat at that election. She served as a Deputy Speaker of the House to Betty Boothroyd from 1992 until she retired from the Commons in 1997.
The constituency was abolished for the 1997 general election, with its wards being transferred to the redrawn constituency of Plymouth Sutton, which was gained by the Labour Party in the Blair landslide of that year. Most of the territory of Drake is now covered by the constituency of Plymouth Sutton and Devonport.
Boundaries
1974-1983: The County Borough of Plymouth wards of Compton, Drake, Honicknowle, Pennycross, Tamerton, Trelawny, and Whitleigh.
1983-1997: The City of Plymouth wards of Compton, Drake, St Peter, Stoke, Sutton, and Trelawny.
Members of Parliament
MPs 1918–1950
Election | Member[1] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1918 | Sir Arthur Shirley Benn, later Baron Glenravel | Conservative | |
1929 | James John Hamlyn Moses | Labour | |
1931 | Frederick Edward Guest | Conservative | |
1937 by-election | Henry Guest | Conservative | |
1945 | Hubert Medland | Labour | |
1950 | constituency abolished |
MPs 1974–1997
Election | Member[1] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
Feb 1974 | Dame Janet Fookes | Conservative | |
1997 | constituency abolished: see Plymouth Sutton |
Elections Results 1974-1992
General Election 1992: Plymouth Drake[2] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Dame Janet Fookes | 17,075 | 43.7 | +2.4 | |
Labour Co-op | P Telford | 15,062 | 38.6 | +14.5 | |
Liberal Democrat | Mrs VA Cox | 5,893 | 15.1 | −18.2 | |
Social Democratic | DM Stanbury | 476 | 1.2 | +1.2 | |
Green | Mrs AE Harrison | 441 | 1.1 | −0.1 | |
Natural Law | TJ Pringle | 95 | 0.2 | N/A | |
Majority | 2,013 | 5.2 | −2.8 | ||
Turnout | 39,042 | 75.6 | −1.0 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | −6.0 | |||
General Election 1987: Plymouth Drake | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Dame Janet Fookes | 16,195 | 41.30 | ||
Social Democratic | David Waldorf Astor | 13,070 | 33.33 | ||
Labour | David Charles Jamieson | 9,451 | 24.10 | ||
Green | Tracey Barber | 493 | 1.26 | ||
Majority | 3,125 | 7.97 | |||
Turnout | 76.60 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
General Election 1983: Plymouth Drake | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Dame Janet Fookes | 19,718 | 50.64 | ||
Social Democratic | W Fitzgerald | 11,133 | 28.59 | ||
Labour | S Creswell | 7,921 | 20.34 | ||
BNP | C Bradbury | 163 | 0.42 | ||
Majority | 8,585 | 22.05 | |||
Turnout | 74.33 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
General Election 1979: Plymouth Drake | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Dame Janet Fookes | 21,759 | 50.60 | ||
Labour | BW Fletcher | 17,515 | 40.73 | ||
Liberal | A Puttick | 3,452 | 8.03 | ||
National Front | C Bradbury | 279 | 0.65 | ||
Majority | 4,244 | 9.87 | |||
Turnout | 77.19 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
General Election October 1974: Plymouth Drake | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Dame Janet Fookes | 17,287 | 41.26 | ||
Labour | BW Fletcher | 17,253 | 41.18 | ||
Liberal | ME Castle | 7,354 | 17.55 | ||
Majority | 34 | 0.08 | |||
Turnout | 75.41 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
General Election February 1974: Plymouth Drake | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Dame Janet Fookes | 18,417 | 42.82 | ||
Labour | FK Taylor | 15,806 | 36.75 | ||
Liberal | ME Castle | 8,784 | 20.42 | ||
Majority | 2,611 | 6.07 | |||
Turnout | 78.04 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Elections Results 1918-1945
General Election 1918: Plymouth Drake[3]
Electorate 42,833 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Unionist | 17,188 | ||||
Liberal | Thomas William Dobson | 6,225 | |||
Majority | |||||
Turnout | |||||
Unionist win | |||||
- endorsed by the Coalition Government
General Election 1922: Plymouth Drake[4]
Electorate 35,845 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Unionist | Sir Arthur Shirley Benn | 11,698 | |||
Labour | James Gorman | 8,359 | |||
Liberal | J Robins | 6,594 | |||
Majority | |||||
Turnout | |||||
Unionist hold | Swing | ||||
General Election 1923: Plymouth Drake[5]
Electorate 36,284 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Unionist | Sir Arthur Shirley Benn | 12,345 | |||
Labour | James John Hamlyn Moses | 11,849 | |||
Liberal | E E H Atkin | 4,082 | |||
Majority | |||||
Turnout | |||||
Unionist hold | Swing | ||||
General Election 1924: Plymouth Drake[6]
Electorate 36,626 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Unionist | Sir Arthur Shirley Benn | 14,669 | |||
Labour | James John Hamlyn Moses | 12,161 | |||
Liberal | Solomon Stephens | 3,645 | |||
Majority | |||||
Turnout | |||||
Unionist hold | Swing | ||||
General Election 1929: Plymouth Drake[7]
Electorate 46,801 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Labour | James John Hamlyn Moses | 16,684 | 44.3 | ||
Unionist | Sir Arthur Shirley Benn | 14,673 | 39.0 | ||
Liberal | Hugh MacDonald Pratt | 6,309 | 16.7 | ||
Majority | 2,011 | 5.3 | |||
Turnout | 80.5 | ||||
Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | ||||
General Election 1931: Plymouth Drake[8]
Electorate 47,388 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Rt Hon. Frederick Edward Guest | 25,063 | 66.4 | ||
Labour | James John Hamlyn Moses | 12,669 | 33.6 | ||
Majority | 12,394 | 32.8 | |||
Turnout | 37,732 | 79.6 | |||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
General Election 1935: Plymouth Drake[9]
Electorate 49,194 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Rt Hon. Frederick Edward Guest | 21,446 | 58.3 | ||
Labour | James John Hamlyn Moses | 15,368 | 41.7 | ||
Majority | 6,078 | 16.5 | |||
Turnout | 36,814 | 74.8 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Plymouth Drake by-election, 1937[10]
Electorate | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | Christian Henry Charles Guest | 15,778 | |||
Labour | 11,044 | ||||
Majority | |||||
Turnout | |||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
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;
- Conservative: Christian Henry Charles Guest
- Labour: Leonard Warburton Matters[11]
General Election 1945: Plymouth Drake[12]
Electorate 41,380 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Labour | Hubert Moses Medland | 15,070 | 50.9 | ||
Conservative | Lt-Col. Christian Henry Charles Guest | 12,871 | 43.4 | ||
Common Wealth | Edgar John Trout | 1,681 | 5.7 | ||
Majority | 2,199 | 7.4 | |||
Turnout | 71.6 | ||||
Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
See also
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 3)
- ↑ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
- ↑ Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
- ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig