Rotherhithe (UK Parliament constituency)

Rotherhithe
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
1885–1950
Number of members one
Replaced by Bermondsey
Created from Southwark

Rotherhithe was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Rotherhithe district of South London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.

The constituency was created for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1950 general election when it became part of the revived Bermondsey constituency.

Boundaries

Rotherhithe in the Metropolitan Board of Works area, showing boundaries used from 1885 to 1918
Rotherhithe in the Parliamentary County of London from 1918 to 1949

1918-1950: The Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey wards of St John, St Olave, Bermondsey five and six, and Rotherhithe one, two and three.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberParty
1885 Charles Hamilton Conservative
1892 John Cumming Macdona Conservative
1906 Hubert William Culling Carr-Gomm Liberal
1918 John Rolleston Lort-Williams Coalition Conservative
1923 Ben Smith Labour
1931 Norah Cecil Runge Conservative
1935 Ben Smith Labour
1946 by-election Bob Mellish Labour
1950 Constituency abolished: see Bermondsey

Election results

Election in the 1940s

Rotherhithe by-election, 19 November 1946[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Robert Joseph Mellish 7,365 65.0
Liberal Edward Martell 2,821 25.3
Conservative Frederick Frank Arthur Burden 1,084 9.7
Majority 4,444 39.7
Turnout 21,952 50.9
Labour hold Swing
General Election 5 July 1945: Bermondsey, Rotherhithe
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Rt. Hon. Sir Ben Smith 9,741 79.1
Conservative Mrs Norah Cecil Runge 2,577 20.9
Majority 7,164 58.2
Turnout 18,098 68.1
Labour hold Swing

Election in the 1930s

General Election 14 November 1935: Bermondsey, Rotherhithe
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ben Smith 14,416 59.7
Conservative Mrs Norah Cecil Runge 9,751 40.3
Majority 4,665 19.4
Turnout 33,899 71.3
Labour gain from Conservative Swing
General Election 27 October 1931: Bermondsey, Rotherhithe
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Mrs Norah Cecil Runge 11,666 50.3
Labour Benjamin Smith 11,536 49.7
Majority 130 0.6
Turnout 36,111 64.3
Conservative gain from Labour Swing

Election in the 1920s

General Election 30 May 1929: Bermondsey, Rotherhithe
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Benjamin Smith 14,664 61.6
Conservative Joseph Gurney Braithwaite 4,594 19.3
Liberal Miss Dora West 4,556 19.1
Majority 10,070 42.3
Turnout 36,133 65.9
Labour hold Swing
General Election 29 October 1924: Bermondsey, Rotherhithe
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Benjamin Smith 12,703 60.3
Conservative C.G.L. du Cann 8,375 39.7
Majority 4,328 20.6
Turnout 29,906 70.5
Labour hold Swing
Richard Hazleton
General Election 6 December 1923: Bermondsey, Rotherhithe
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Benjamin Smith 9,019 48.0
Conservative John Rolleston Lort-Williams 5,741 30.5
Liberal Dr. Richard Hazleton 4,035 21.5
Majority 3,278 17.5
Turnout 29,457 63.8
Labour gain from Conservative Swing
General Election 15 November 1922: Bermondsey, Rotherhithe
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Rolleston Lort-Williams 6,749 36.5
Labour Charles Diamond 6,703 36.3
Liberal Hubert William Culling Carr-Gomm 5,034 27.2
Majority 46 0.2
Turnout 29,166 63.4
Conservative hold Swing

Election in the 1910s

General Election 14 December 1918: Bermondsey, Rotherhithe
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Coalition Conservative John Rolleston Lort-Williams 5,639 50.0
Liberal Hubert William Culling Carr-Gomm 3,889 34.5
Labour Will Godfrey 1,750
Majority 1,750 15.5
Turnout 25,088 45.1
Coalition Conservative gain from Liberal Swing
Hubert Carr-Gomm
General Election December 1910: Rotherhithe[2]

Electorate 9,990

Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Hubert William Culling Carr-Gomm 4,030 57.1
Conservative Assheton Pownall 3,026 42.9
Majority 1,004 14.2
Turnout 7,056 70.6
Liberal hold Swing
General Election January 1910: Rotherhithe[3]

Electorate 9,990

Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Hubert William Culling Carr-Gomm
Conservative
Majority
Turnout
Liberal hold Swing

In Fiction

The constituency is portrayed in an episode (A Place in the World) of tv drama series Upstairs, Downstairs as the safe Docklands Labour seat of "Rotherhithe East" that is unsuccessfully contested by James Bellamy for the Conservatives in a by-election in 1920. Location scenes were actually shot in Rotherhithe in January 1975 during the making of the episode. (In real life through 1920 Rotherhithe was a Conservative seat.)

References

  1. ↑ The Times, 19 November 1946
  2. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  3. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)

External links