Rothwell (UK Parliament constituency)

Rothwell was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Rothwell area of West Yorkshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.

Rothwell
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons
1918–1950
Number of members	one
Replaced by	Normanton and Wakefield
Created from	Barkston Ash and Dewsbury

History

The constituency was by the Representation of the People Act 1918 for the 1918 general election. It was abolished for the 1950 general election.

Boundaries

The Urban Districts of Ardsley East and West, Emley, Flockton,Horbury, Rothwell, and Stanley; and the Rural Districts of Hunslet, and Wakefield.[1]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party	Notes
	1918	William Lunn	Labour	Died May 1942
	1942 by-election	Thomas Brooks	Labour
1950		constituency abolished

Election results

Election in the 1910s

General election 1918: Rothwell[2][3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	William Lunn	9,998	46.4	N/A
C	Unionist	Henry Christopher Bruce Wilson	6,621	30.8	N/A
	Liberal	John Athur Yonge	4,909	22.8	N/A
Majority			3,377	15.6	N/A
Turnout			21,528	63.5	N/A
Registered electors			33,899
	Labour win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Rothwell[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	William Lunn	17,831	62.8	+16.4
	Unionist	Albert Braithwaite	10,580	37.2	+6.4
Majority			7,251	25.6	+10.0
Turnout			28,411	78.4	+14.9
Registered electors			36,227
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.0

General election 1923: Rothwell[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	William Lunn	15,115	66.0	+3.2
	Liberal	Benjamin Pickersgill Wilson	7,788	34.0	N/A
Majority			7,327	32.0	+6.4
Turnout			22,903	60.9	−17.5
Registered electors			37,611
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1924: Rothwell[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	William Lunn	16,540	61.8	−4.2
	Liberal	Benjamin Pickersgill Wilson	10,240	38.2	+4.2
Majority			6,300	23.6	−8.4
Turnout			26,780	69.3	+8.4
Registered electors			38,635
	Labour hold		Swing	−4.2

General election 1929: Rothwell [2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	William Lunn	27,320	61.7	−0.1
	Unionist	James Wilder Harrison	8,799	19.9	N/A
	Liberal	Herbert Holdsworth	8,141	18.4	−19.8
Majority			18,521	41.8	+18.2
Turnout			44,260	79.2	+9.9
Registered electors			55,869
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Rothwell [2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	William Lunn	24,897	52.9	−8.8
	Conservative	Clifford Harrison Stringer	22,198	47.1	+27.2
Majority			2,699	5.8	−36.0
Turnout			47,095	79.9	+0.7
Registered electors			58,974
	Labour hold		Swing	−18.0

General election 1935: Rothwell [2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	William Lunn	31,472	64.5	+11.6
	Conservative	Gwendoline Beaumont	17,352	35.5	−11.6
Majority			14,120	29.0	+23.2
Turnout			48,824	75.4	−4.5
Registered electors			64,730
	Labour hold		Swing	+11.6

Elections in the 1940s

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 from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;

• Labour: William Lunn
• Conservative: H.J. White[4]

1942 Rothwell by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Thomas Brooks	Unopposed
	Labour hold

General election 1945: Rothwell[2][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Thomas Brooks	43,829	74.0	+9.5
	Conservative	Arthur Pilkington	15,370	26.0	−9.5
Majority			28,459	48.0	+19.0
Turnout			59,199	75.3	−0.1
Registered electors			78,588
	Labour hold		Swing	+9.5

References

1. Craig, F.W.S., ed. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1985-1972. Chichester, Sussex: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0-900178-09-4.
2. Craig, F.W.S., ed. (1969). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949. Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. p. 524. ISBN 0-900178-01-9.
3. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1922
4. Yorkshire Evening Post 1 Aug 1939
5. Election Results - 1945 section 16 Politics Resources

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 2)