Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency)

Sudbury
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
County Suffolk
Major settlements Woodbridge
1885–1950
Number of members One
Replaced by Sudbury & Woodbridge
Created from East Suffolk

Woodbridge was a county constituency centred on the town of Woodbridge in Suffolk. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The constituency was created for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1950 general election. It was then largely replaced by the new Sudbury & Woodbridge constituency.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberParty
1885 Robert Lacey Everett Liberal
1886 Robert Hamilton Lloyd-Anstruther Conservative
1892 Robert Lacey Everett Liberal
1895 E. G. Pretyman Conservative
1906 Robert Lacey Everett Liberal
Jan. 1910 Robert Francis Peel Conservative
1920 Sir Arthur Churchman, Bt Conservative
1929 Clavering Fison Conservative
1931 Walter Ross-Taylor Conservative
1945 Hon. John Hare Conservative
1950 constituency abolished: see Sudbury and Woodbridge

Election results

Elections in the 1900s

General Election 1906: Woodbridge

Electorate

Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Lacey Everett 5,527 50.8
Conservative E. G. Pretyman 5,348 49.2
Majority 179 1.6
Turnout
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing

Elections in the 1910s

Robert Francis Peel
General Election 1918: Woodbridge[1]

Electorate 30,413

Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist 8,654 55.8
Liberal Maj. William Rowley Elliston 6,842 44.2
Majority 1,812 11.6
Turnout 51.0
Unionist hold Swing

Elections in the 1920s

Woodbridge by-election, 1920[2]

Electorate 30,300

Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Sir Arthur Charles Churchman 9,898 53.2 -2.6
Labour Henry Devenish Harben 8,707 46.8 n/a
Majority 1,191 6.4
Turnout 61.4 +10.4
Unionist hold Swing
General Election 1922: Woodbridge[3]

Electorate 31,646

Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Sir Arthur Charles Churchman 12,396 56.7 +3.5
Labour Edward John Cecil Neep 9,476 43.3 -3.5
Majority 2,920 13.4 +6.8
Turnout 69.1 +7.7
Unionist hold Swing +3.4
General Election 1923: Woodbridge[4]

Electorate 32,067

Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Sir Arthur Charles Churchman 10,606 46.7 -10.0
Liberal William Rowley Elliston 7,328 32.2 n/a
Labour Edward John Cecil Neep 4,810 21.1 -22.2
Majority 3,278 14.5 +1.1
Turnout 70.9 +1.8
Unionist hold Swing n/a
General Election 1924: Woodbridge[5]

Electorate 32,869

Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Sir Arthur Charles Churchman 13,419 54.9 +8.2
Liberal William Rowley Elliston 7,008 28.7 -3.5
Labour Sylvain Mayer 3,998 16.4 -4.7
Majority 6,411 26.2 +11.7
Turnout 74.3 +3.4
Unionist hold Swing +5.8
General Election 1929: Woodbridge[6]

Electorate 43,181

Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Frank Guy Clavering Fison 15,231 48.1 -6.8
Liberal Roger Thomas Baldwin Fulford 10,904 34.5 +5.8
Labour Leonard Spero 5,507 17.4 +1.0
Majority 4,327 13.6 -12.6
Turnout 73.3 -1.0
Unionist hold Swing -6.3

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1931: Woodbridge[7]

Electorate 44,686

Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Walter Ross-Taylor 25,654 81.3 +33.2
Labour Mrs I M N Keeble 5,885 18.7 +1.3
Majority 19,769 62.6 +49.0
Turnout 70.6 -2.7
Conservative hold Swing n/a
General Election 1935: Woodbridge[8]

Electorate 46,703

Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Walter Ross-Taylor 22,715 72.1 -9.2
Labour A V Smith 8,808 27.9 +9.2
Majority 13,907 44.2 -18.4
Turnout 67.5 +4.9
Conservative hold Swing -9.2

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: Woodbridge[11]

Electorate 47,891

Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Lt-Col. Hon. John Hugh Hare 16,073 47.0 -25.1
Labour J M Stewart 11,380 33.3 +5.4
Liberal Capt. Douglas B Law 6,740 19.7 n/a
Majority
Turnout 71.4
Conservative hold Swing

Sources

  1. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  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. ↑ The Liberal Magazine, 1939
  10. ↑ Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
  11. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig