St Helens (UK Parliament constituency)

St Helens was a constituency in the county of Lancashire, England. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.

St Helens
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
St Helens in Lancashire, showing boundaries used from 1974-1983
CountyLancashire
Major settlementsSt Helens
1885–1983
Number of membersOne
Replaced bySt Helens North and St Helens South
Created fromSouth West Lancashire

Created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the constituency was abolished in 1983, being split into North and South seats.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The municipal borough of St Helens.[1]

1918–1983: The County Borough of St Helens.

Members of Parliament
ElectionMemberPartyNotes
1885Henry Seton-KarrConservative
1906Thomas GloverLabour
1910Rigby SwiftConservative
1918James SextonLabour
1931Richard Austin SpencerConservative
1935William Albert RobinsonLabour
1945Hartley ShawcrossLabourResigned May 1958
1958 by-electionLeslie SpriggsLabour
1983 constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1880s
Seton-Karr
General election 1885: St Helens [2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Henry Seton-Karr 3,750 50.4 N/A
Liberal David Gamble 3,693 49.6 N/A
Majority 57 0.8 N/A
Turnout 7,443 89.8 N/A
Registered electors 8,291
Conservative win (new seat)
General election 1886: St Helens [3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Henry Seton-Karr 3,621 51.5 +1.1
Liberal Arthur Sinclair[4] 3,404 48.5 -1.1
Majority 217 3.0 +2.2
Turnout 7,025 84.7 −5.1
Registered electors 8,291
Conservative hold Swing +1.1

Elections in the 1890s
General election 1892: St Helens [5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Henry Seton-Karr 4,258 50.3 -1.2
Liberal William Rann Kennedy 4,199 49.7 +1.2
Majority 59 0.6 -2.4
Turnout 8,457 90.3 +5.6
Registered electors 9,370
Conservative hold Swing -1.2
General election 1895: St Helens [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Henry Seton-Karr 4,700 53.5 +3.2
Liberal John Forster 4,091 46.5 -3.2
Majority 609 7.0 +6.4
Turnout 8,791 88.4 −1.9
Registered electors 9,950
Conservative hold Swing +3.2

Elections in the 1900s
General election 1900: St Helens [7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Henry Seton-Karr 5,300 60.9 +7.4
Liberal Charles Conybeare 3,402 39.1 −7.4
Majority 1,898 21.8 +14.8
Turnout 8,702 80.9 −7.5
Registered electors 10,763
Conservative hold Swing +7.4
Glover
General election 1906: St Helens [8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Repr. Cmte. Thomas Glover 6,058 56.6 N/A
Conservative Henry Seton-Karr 4,647 43.4 -17.5
Majority 1,411 13.2 N/A
Turnout 10,705 87.9 +7.0
Registered electors 12,174
Labour Repr. Cmte. gain from Conservative Swing N/A

Elections in the 1910s
General election January 1910: St Helens [9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Thomas Glover 6,512 53.3 −3.3
Conservative Rigby Swift 5,717 46.7 +3.3
Majority 795 6.6 −6.6
Turnout 12,229 93.6 +5.7
Registered electors 13,068
Labour hold Swing −3.3
General election December 1910: St Helens [10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Rigby Swift 6,016 51.1 +4.4
Labour Thomas Glover 5,752 48.9 −4.4
Majority 264 2.2 N/A
Turnout 11,768 90.1 −3.5
Registered electors 13,068
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +4.4

General Election 1914/15: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

1915 St Helens by-election[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Unionist Rigby Swift Unopposed
Unionist hold
General election 1918: St Helens[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour James Sexton 15,583 57.1 +8.2
C Unionist Rigby Swift 11,689 42.9 −8.2
Majority 3,894 14.2 N/A
Turnout 27,272 61.5 −28.6
Labour gain from Unionist Swing +8.2
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s
General election 1922: St Helens[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour James Sexton 20,731 58.7 +1.6
Unionist Edward Wooll 14,587 41.3 -1.6
Majority 17.4 +3.2
Turnout 80.0 +18.5
Labour hold Swing +1.6
General election 1923: St Helens[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour James Sexton 20,086 55.5 -3.2
Unionist Margaret Evelyn Pilkington 16,109 44.5 +3.2
Majority 3,977 11.0 -6.4
Turnout 80.5 +0.5
Labour hold Swing -3.2
General election 1924: St Helens[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour James Sexton 21,313 55.8
Unionist Margaret Evelyn Pilkington 16,908 44.2
Majority 4,405 11.6
Turnout 83.1
Labour hold Swing
General election 1929: St Helens[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour James Sexton 27,665 58.6 +2.8
Unionist Richard Austin Spencer 19,560 41.4 -2.8
Majority 17.2 +5.6
Turnout 78.3 -4.8
Labour hold Swing +2.8

Elections in the 1930s
General election 1931: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Richard Austin Spencer 26,131 52.4
Labour James Sexton 23,701 47.6
Majority 2,430 4.9
Turnout 78.9
General election 1935: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour William Robinson 29,044 53.7
Conservative Richard Austin Spencer 25,063 46.3
Majority 3,981 7.4
Turnout 82.6

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;

Election in the 1940s
Shawcross
General election 1945: St Helens[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Hartley Shawcross 34,675 66.2 +12.5
Conservative Frank Whitworth 17,686 33.8 -12.5
Majority 16,989 32.4 +25.0
Turnout 52,361 76.7 -5.9
Labour hold Swing +12.5

Elections in the 1950s
General election 1950: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Hartley Shawcross 39,514 63.2
Conservative Alfred Hall-Davis 20,741 33.18
Liberal Joseph H Winskill 2,263 3.6
Majority 18,773 30.0
Turnout 84.9
General election 1951: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Hartley Shawcross 37,688 63.3
Conservative Michael Hughes-Young 21,830 36.7
Majority 15,858 26.6
Turnout 79.7
General election 1955: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Hartley Shawcross 35,737 64.3
Conservative A. Maxwell Caplin 19,854 35.7
Majority 15,883 28.6
Turnout 73.5
Labour hold Swing
1958 St Helens by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Leslie Spriggs 26,405 64.7 +0.4
Conservative Mark Carlisle 14,411 35.3 -0.4
Majority 11,994 29.4 +0.8
Turnout 40,816
Labour hold Swing
General election 1959: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Leslie Spriggs 35,961 62.1
Conservative Mark Carlisle 21,956 37.9
Majority 14,005 24.2
Turnout 76.9
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s
General election 1964: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Leslie Spriggs 34,137 67.0
Conservative Keith Speed 16,826 33.0
Majority 17,311 34.0
Turnout 72.3
Labour hold Swing
General election 1966: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Leslie Spriggs 33,325 70.8 +3.8
Conservative Christopher C. Fielden 13,776 29.2 −3.8
Majority 19,549 41.5
Turnout 68.6
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1970s
General election 1970: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Leslie Spriggs 31,587 65.7
Conservative Ian D. McGaw 16,509 34.3
Majority 15,078 31.4
Turnout 64.5
Labour hold Swing
General election February 1974: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Leslie Spriggs 32,621 59.0
Liberal AE Lycett 10,905 19.7
Conservative KJ Bridgeman 10,752 19.5
Ind. Labour Party M Pike 991 1.8
Majority 21,716 39.3
Turnout 73.2
Labour hold Swing
General election October 1974: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Leslie Spriggs 32,620 64.1 +5.1
Conservative K.J. Bridgeman 10,554 20.8 +1.3
Liberal A.E. Lycett 7,689 15.1 −4.6
Majority 22,066 43.4
Turnout 66.9
Labour hold Swing
General election 1979: St Helens
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Leslie Spriggs 32,489 59.6 −4.5
Conservative J. Brown 16,934 31.1 +10.3
Liberal I. Smith 4,587 8.4 −6.7
Workers Revolutionary J. Boylan 471 0.9
Majority 15,555 28.6
Turnout 72.8 +5.9
Labour hold Swing

Sources
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References
  1. "Chap. 23. Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885". The Public General Acts of the United Kingdom passed in the forty-eighth and forty-ninth years of the reign of Queen Victoria. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode. 1885. pp. 111–198.
  2. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  3. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  4. "The Candidates for St. Helens". Liverpool Mercury. 19 June 1886. p. 6. Retrieved 10 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  6. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  7. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  8. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  9. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  10. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  11. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  12. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  13. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  14. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  15. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  16. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  17. Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
  18. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
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