St Ives (UK Parliament constituency)

St Ives is a parliamentary constituency covering the western end of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.[n 1] The constituency has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Derek Thomas, a Conservative MP.[n 2]

St Ives
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of St Ives in Cornwall
Location of Cornwall within England
County	Cornwall
Electorate	64,270 (2018)[1]
Major settlements	St Ives Penzance
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of Parliament	Derek Thomas (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Helston, St Ives and West Cornwall
1558–1885
Number of members	1558–1832: two 1832–1885: one
Type of constituency	Borough constituency
Replaced by	St Ives, Penzance and Helston

Sketchmap of 2010 parliamentary constituencies in Cornwall - click to enlarge

The area's voters produced the 22nd closest result in the 2017 General Election;[2] a winning margin of 312 votes. Since 1992 the same locally leading two parties' candidates who were fielded (varying at different times) have won at least 27.2% of the vote each; the third place candidate, that of the Labour Party has fluctuated between 8.2% and 15.2% of share of the vote.

History

St Ives has elected MPs to every Parliament since 1558, except for a brief period during the Protectorate. It was originally a mere parliamentary borough that returned two MPs until the Great Reform Act of 1832, when its representation was cut to a single member. In 1885 the borough was abolished, but the St Ives name was transferred to the surrounding county constituency.

St Ives borough

The borough established under Queen Mary consisted of the parish of St Ives in western Cornwall, a seaport and market town in which the main economic interests were fishing and the export of ores mined nearby. In 1831, the population of the borough was 4,776, and contained 1,002 houses.

The franchise was initially restricted to the town corporation, but after a judgment in a disputed election in 1702 the right to vote was given to all inhabitants paying scot and lot; in the early 19th century this amounted to a little over 300 voters. This was a wide franchise for the period, and its reasonable size meant that St Ives was one of the few Cornish boroughs that could claim not to be rotten.

Elections were usually contested. Local wealthiest families were able to exercise considerable influence on the outcome yet none was predominant. The result could rarely be taken for granted and it was necessary to court the voters assiduously. From the 17th century were three such families from the first: the Hobart family,[n 3] the Praeds (at the time of Treventhoe manor), and the Dukes of Bolton (the Paulet family) [n 4] – to which added by the mid 18th century the Stephens family. In 1751, however, John Stephens, who had previously allied himself with the Earl of Buckinghamshire (a Hobart) and managed the borough's elections on his behalf, "struck out on his own account" (defected independently) and secured the election of his son. Later in the decade Stephens and the Earl once more began to work together, but were unable to prevent Humphrey Mackworth Praed from establishing sufficient influence to sway one of the two seats.

By 1761 alliances coalesced, the Earl and Praed on one side nominating candidates against Stephens and the Duke of Bolton on the other. The by-election in 1763, when Buckinghamshire's brother-in-law Charles Hotham was re-elected after being appointed to a position in the Royal Household, cost the Earl £1,175 including 7 guineas each to 124 people, resulting in an uncontested election.[n 5]

There was a further bitterly contested election in 1774: allegations of bribery were investigated by a House of Commons committee, whose proceedings are recounted at length by the contemporary historian of electoral abuses, Thomas Oldfield.[n 6] Samuel Stephens, defeated by 7 votes, accused William Praed and Adam Drummond (the Duke of Bolton's candidate) of benefiting from several types of corruption. Humphrey Mackworth Praed, William's father, was said to have lent large sums to voters on the understanding that repayment would not be demanded if they voted for Praed and Drummond; but opposing counsel adduced evidence that Stephens had also resorted to bribery. However, it was alleged that many of Stephens' supporters had been prevented from voting, by rating them as not liable for scot and lot and so not eligible to vote; this disenfranchisement was a frequent abuse in such boroughs. His side, as petitioners, failed to bring any evidence of criminal misconduct by the parish overseers so the committee decided they had no jurisdiction to interfere. In the end, the committee upheld Drummond's election and declared that neither Stephens nor Praed had been properly elected, thus a writ was issued for a by-election to fill the second seat.

The cost of electioneering in St Ives seems eventually to have led to Buckinghamshire and Bolton withdrawing, and by 1784 Praed was considered unchallenged as patron. Nevertheless, Stephens' influence was not extinguished, and it was recorded that the patrons at the time of the Reform Act were Samuel Stephens of Tregarron and Sir Christopher Hawkins of Trewithan (who had purchased the manor of Mr Praed).

The Reform Act extended the boundaries, bringing in the neighbouring parishes of Lelant and Towednack and reduced the two St Ives seats to one. A new high of 584 voters qualified at the first reformed election, that of 1832.

On extension of the franchise in 1868 of the "second Reform Act", the electorate never passed 1,500, and had fallen to barely 1,000 by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the cornerstone of the third reform legislation, under which the "borough" for its parliamentary definition was abolished that year, the area becoming contributory to a larger county division.

St Ives county constituency

1885–1918

Division of counties into single-member constituencies was effected in 1885: Cornwall having six. The westernmost of these, in which St Ives stood, was formally The Western or St Ives Division of Cornwall but was most often referred to simply as St Ives or as West Cornwall.

This area included Penzance, Paul, Ludgvan and St Just, and stretched not only from Land's End to St Erth but also included the Isles of Scilly. This duchy seat was abnormally low in owner-occupiers, with many "nonconformist" Christians[3] and the Conservatives were consequently very weak. However, local sentiment was strongly against Irish Home Rule or independence, seen as a particular threat to the livelihood of the fishermen and other maritime employees who made up much of the electorate, and St Ives therefore became a Liberal Unionist stronghold from 1886.[n 7]

1918–1983

After the boundary revisions introduced at the general election of 1918, which brought in most of the villages on the Lizard Peninsula (though not Helston), the constituency was simply called Cornwall, St Ives. It underwent further boundary changes in 1950, bringing Helston into the constituency, and in 1983, when it was extended to include all of the Penwith local government district.

The character of the constituency was little changed any of these revisions, but party loyalties may have been disrupted by the 1918 changes. Labour put up a candidate for the first time in 1918, and took more than a third of the vote; at the next election, with Labour withdrawing and the Irish issue no longer able to help Cory, a Conservative was elected for the first time. For the next decade St Ives was a Conservative-Liberal marginal, changing hands four times in the 1920s. However, the formal split of National Liberals from the Liberals offered a popular compromise which suited the voters, so much so as to be a safe seat, and later for Conservatives when the National Liberals finally merged with them in the 1960s, until the formation of the Liberal Democrats re-invigorated the competition in the 1990s. Andrew George captured the seat after the retirement of the sitting Conservative MP in 1997, and took over half the vote in both 2001 and 2005.

Prominent members

1885–date

Walter Runciman held the most senior positions in Education, Agriculture and Trade taking together the period from 1908 until 1916 during the Asquith ministry. He was later re-appointed as the most senior minister in Trade from 1931 to 1937 in the all-party National Coalition Government.

Sir John Nott also held the most senior position in the Trade department before becoming Secretary of State for Defence, including during the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands and the ensuing Falklands War. His assertion that he was cutting the defence budget before the war was not capricious and he offered his resignation to Margaret Thatcher, however she kept him for the duration of the conflict and he stood down in 1983.

Usual late count in modern elections

At general elections, the constituency is usually one of the last to declare a result - the delay in bringing the ballot boxes over from the Isles of Scilly means that counting does not begin until the following day.[4] In the 2015 general election it was the last constituency in the United Kingdom to declare, because the ballot boxes were flown in from the Isles of Scilly only on the first scheduled flight the following morning, having been kept in police cells overnight on St Mary's,[5] with the declaration taking place at 15:30 on Friday afternoon.[6] However, in 1987 and 1992 the constituency did count during the night rather than the next day. The seat was declared at about 1:30 am in 1987 and about 3:45 am in 1992. In 2019 it was planned to fly the ballot boxes in overnight, but bad weather prevented this and the seat was the last to declare in the UK.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The Boroughs of St Ives and Penzance, the Sessional Division of West Penwith (including the Isles of Scilly), and the parishes of St Erth and Uny-Lelant.

1918–1950: The Boroughs of St Ives and Penzance, the Urban Districts of Ludgvan, Madron, Paul, and St Just, the Rural District of West Penwith, the Isles of Scilly, and part of the Rural District of Helston.

1950–1983: The Boroughs of St Ives, Penzance, and Helston, the Urban District of St Just, the Isles of Scilly, and parts of the Rural Districts of Kerrier and West Penwith.

1983–2010: The District of Penwith, the District of Kerrier wards of Breage and Germoe, Crowan, Grade-Ruan and Landewednack, Helston North, Helston South, Meneage, Mullion, Porthleven, St Keverne and Wendron, and Sithney, and the Isles of Scilly.

2010–present: The District of Penwith wards of Goldsithney, Gulval and Heamoor, Lelant and Carbis Bay, Ludgvan and Towednack, Madron and Zennor, Marazion and Perranuthnoe, Morvah, Pendeen and St Just, Penzance Central, Penzance East, Penzance Promenade, Penzance South, St Buryan, St Erth and St Hilary, St Ives North, and St Ives South, the District of Kerrier wards of Breage and Crowan, Grade-Ruan and Landewednack, Helston North, Helston South, Meneage, Mullion, Porthleven and Sithney, and St Keverne, and the Isles of Scilly.

The St Ives constituency covers the southwest of Cornwall, taking in the most southerly and westerly points of England (both its mainland and if islands are included), taking in parts of the former Penwith and Kerrier Districts. The main towns in the constituency are Penzance, St Ives and Helston. It also includes the Isles of Scilly, not shown on the map (having 1,700 electors out of a total of 63,000). The seat includes the Tate St Ives, St Michael's Mount (also an island) and Land's End.

Following the Boundary Commission' Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, Parliament increased the number of seats in the county from five to six for the 2010 general election,[7] thus St Ives saw a loss of wards to the new Camborne and Redruth seat, including the St Ives Bay town of Hayle.[8]

Members of Parliament

1558–1629

Parliament of 1558	Thomas Randolph	William Chambers
Parliament of 1559	Robert Harrington	William Glasiour
Parliament of 1563–1567	John Harrington[n 8]
Parliament of 1571	Thomas Clinton	John Newman
Parliament of 1572–1581	Thomas Randolph	Edward Williams
Parliament of 1584–1585	John James	Charles Blount[n 9]
Parliament of 1586–1587	Thomas Colby	John Morley
Parliament of 1588–1589	Mark Steward	Henry Hobart
Parliament of 1593	Noel Sotherton	Nicholas Saunders
Parliament of 1597–1598		Vincent Skinner
Parliament of 1601	Thomas St Aubyn	Thomas Barton
Parliament of 1604–1611	John Tregannon	William Brook
Addled Parliament (1614)	Sir Joseph Killigrew	Sir Anthony Maney also elected for Cirencester Thomas Tindall
Parliament of 1621–1622	Lord St John	Robert Bacon
Happy Parliament (1624–1625)	William Lake	Sir Francis Godolphin
Useless Parliament (1625)	Sir William Parkhurst
Parliament of 1625–1626	Edward Savage	Benjamin Tichborne also elected for Petersfield William Noy
Parliament of 1628–1629	John Payne	Francis Godolphin
No Parliament summoned 1629–1640

1640–1832

Year		First member[9]	First party		Second member[9]	Second party
April 1640		William Dell			Sir Henry Marten
November 1640		Lord Lisle[n 10]	Parliamentarian		Francis Godolphin	Parliamentarian
1641 (?)		Edmund Waller	Royalist
July 1643	Waller disabled from sitting – seat vacant
1647		John Feilder	Recruiter
December 1648				Godolphin not recorded as sitting after Pride's Purge
1653	St Ives was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
January 1659		John St Aubyn			Peter Silly
May 1659		John Feilder		One seat vacant
May 1660[n 11]		James Praed			John St Aubyn
July 1660		Edward Nosworthy, senior
March 1661					James Praed
December 1661		John Basset
1662		Daniel O'Neill
1665		Edward Nosworthy, senior
1679					Edward Nosworthy, junior
1681		James Praed
1685		Charles Davenant	Tory		James St Amand
1689		James Praed			Walter Vincent
1690					William Harris
1695					John Michell
1698					Sir Charles Wyndham
January 1701					Benjamin Overton
December 1701					Sir John Hawles	Whig
1702					Richard Chaundler
1702					John Pitt
1705		Sir Bartholomew Gracedieu			John Borlase
1708		John Praed
1710					John Hopkins
1713		Sir William Pendarves
1715		Lord Harry Powlett	Whig		Sir John Hobart
1722		Henry Knollys
1727					Major-General Sir Robert Rich
1734		William Mackworth Praed
1741		John Bristow			Lieutenant-Colonel Gregory Beake
July 1747					Lord Hobart[n 12]
December 1747					John Plumptre
1751					Samuel Stephens
1754		Hon. George Hobart			James Whitshed
1761		Humphrey Mackworth Praed			Colonel Charles Hotham
1768		Thomas Durrant			Adam Drummond
1774		William Praed [n 13]
1775		Thomas Wynn[n 14]
1778					Philip Dehany
1780		William Praed			Abel Smith
1784					Richard Barwell
1790					William Mills
1796					Sir Richard Glyn
1802					Jonathan Raine
1806		Samuel Stephens			Francis Horner	Whig
1807					Sir Walter Stirling, 1st Baronet
1812		William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley	Tory
1818		Samuel Stephens
1820		Lyndon Evelyn	Tory		James Graham	Whig
1821					Sir Christopher Hawkins, Bt	Tory[10]
1826		James Halse	Tory[10]
1828					Charles Arbuthnot	Tory
1830		William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley	Ultra Tory		James Morrison	Whig[10]
1831		James Halse	Tory[10]		Edward Bulwer-Lytton	Whig[10]
1832	Representation reduced to one member

1832–1885

Election		Member[9]	Party
	1832	James Halse	Tory[10]
	1834		Conservative[10]
	1838 by-election	William Tyringham Praed	Conservative[10]
	1846 by-election	Lord William Powlett	Conservative
	1852	Robert Laffan	Peelite[11]
	1857	Henry Paull	Conservative
	1868	Charles Magniac	Liberal
	1874	Edward Davenport	Conservative
	1874 by-election	Charles Praed	Conservative
	1875 by-election	Charles Praed	Conservative
	1880	Sir Charles Reed	Liberal
	1881 by-election	Charles Campbell Ross	Conservative
	1885	Borough abolished; name transferred to county division

Since 1885

Election		Member[9]	Party
	1885	Sir John St Aubyn	Liberal
	1886		Liberal Unionist
	1887 by-election	Thomas Bedford Bolitho	Liberal Unionist
	1900	Edward Hain	Liberal Unionist
	1904		Liberal
	1906	Clifford Cory	Liberal
	1922	Anthony Hawke	Conservative
	1923	Clifford Cory	Liberal
	1924	Anthony Hawke	Conservative
	1928 by-election	Hilda Runciman	Liberal
	1929	Walter Runciman	Liberal
	1931		National Liberal
	1937 by-election	Alec Beechman	National Liberal
	1950	Greville Howard	National Liberal
	1966	John Nott	National Liberal
	1968		Conservative
	1983	David Harris	Conservative
	1997	Andrew George	Liberal Democrat
	2015	Derek Thomas	Conservative

Elections

St Ives electoral history

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: St Ives[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Derek Thomas	25,365	49.3	+6.1
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew George	21,085	41.0	-1.6
	Labour	Alana Bates	3,553	6.9	-7.4
	Green	Ian Flindall	964	1.9	+1.9
	Liberal	Robert Smith	314	0.6	+0.6
	Common People	John Harris	132	0.3	+0.3
Majority			4,280	8.3	+7.6
Turnout			51,413	74.9	-1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.9

General election 2017: St Ives[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Derek Thomas	22,120	43.2	+4.9
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew George	21,808	42.6	+9.4
	Labour	Christopher Drew	7,298	14.3	+4.9
Majority			312	0.6	-4.5
Turnout			51,226	75.9	+2.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.3

General election 2015: St Ives[14][15] [16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Derek Thomas	18,491	38.3	−0.7
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew George	16,022	33.2	−9.6
	UKIP	Graham Calderwood	5,720	11.8	+6.3
	Labour	Cornelius Olivier	4,510	9.3	+1.2
	Green	Tim Andrewes	3,051	6.3	+3.5
	Mebyon Kernow	Rob Simmons	518	1.1	+0.2
Majority			2,469	5.1
Turnout			48,312	73.7	+5.1
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	+4.5

General election 2010: St Ives [17][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew George	19,619	42.7	−9.1
	Conservative	Derek Thomas	17,900	39.0	+11.7
	Labour	Philippa Latimer	3,751	8.2	-4.4
	UKIP	Michael Faulkner	2,560	5.6	+0.5
	Green	Tim Andrewes	1,308	2.8	-1.1
	Cornish Democrats	Johnathan Rogers	396	0.9	N/A
	Mebyon Kernow	Simon Reed	387	0.8	N/A
Majority			1,719	3.74	−19.29
Turnout			45,921	68.6	+0.8
Registered electors			66,944
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	10.39

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: St Ives

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew George	25,577	50.7	−0.9
	Conservative	Christian Mitchell	13,968	27.7	-3.5
	Labour	Michael Dooley	6,583	13.1	-0.3
	UKIP	Michael Faulkner	2,551	5.1	+2.3
	Green	Katrina Slack	1,738	3.4	N/A
Majority			11,609	23.03	−2.63
Turnout			50,417	72.4	+6.1
Registered electors			74,716
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	1.3

General election 2001: St Ives

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew George	25,413	51.6	+7.1
	Conservative	Joanna Richardson	15,360	31.2	0
	Labour	William Morris	6,567	13.3	-1.9
	UKIP	Michael Faulkner	1,926	3.9	+2.9
Majority			10,053	20.4	+7.1
Turnout			49,266	66.3	-8.9
Registered electors			74,256
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	-3.6

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: St Ives

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew George	23,966	44.5	+4.4
	Conservative	William Rogers	16,796	31.2	-11.7
	Labour	Christopher Fegan	8,184	15.2	-0.8
	Referendum	Michael Faulkner	3,714	6.9	N/A
	UKIP	Patricia Garnier	567	1.1	N/A
	Liberal	Frederick Stephens	425	0.8	-0.2
	Independent	Kevin Lippiat	178	0.3	N/A
	Independent	William Hitchins	71	0.1	N/A
Majority			7,170	13.3	+10.4
Turnout			55,260	75.2	-5.1
Registered electors			71,680
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	8.1

General election 1992: St Ives [19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	David Harris	24,528	42.9	-5.4
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew George	22,883	40.1	N/A
	Labour	Stephen Warren	9,144	16.0	-1.8
	Liberal	Graham Stephens	577	1.0	N/A
Majority			1,645	2.9	-11.6
Turnout			57,132	80.3	+3.1
Registered electors			71,152
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: St Ives [20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	David Harris	25,174	48.4	-3.0
	SDP	Hugh Carter	17,619	33.8	-1.0
	Labour	Ian Hope	9,275	17.8	+6.6
Majority			7,555	14.5	-2.1
Turnout			52,059	77.2	+3.3
Registered electors			67,448
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1983: St Ives [21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	David Harris	24,297	51.4	-2.6
	SDP	Hugh Carter	16,438	34.8	N/A
	Labour	Mary Crowley	5,310	11.2	-9.7
	Mebyon Kernow	Pedyr Prior	569	1.2	-2.8
	Ecology	H. Hoptrough	439	0.9	-0.1
Majority			7,859	16.6	-16.6
Turnout			47,272	73.9	-3.13
Registered electors			64,012
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: St Ives [22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	John Nott	22,352	54.0	+8.6
	Labour	R. D. Evans	8,636	20.9	-3.9
	Liberal	J. Cotton	8,299	20.1	-9.8
	Mebyon Kernow	Colin Murley	1,662	4.0	N/A
	Ecology	H. Hoptrough	427	1.0	N/A
Majority			13,716	33.2	+17.7
Turnout			41,376	77.03	-3.33
Registered electors			53,715
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election October 1974: St Ives

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	John Nott	17,198	45.4	+0.3
	Liberal	Terence Tonkin	11,330	29.8	-1.8
	Labour	Bruce Tidy	9,388	24.8	+4.8
Majority			5,868	15.5	+2.1
Turnout			37,916	73.7	-5.7
Registered electors			51,440
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election February 1974: St Ives

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	John Nott	18,290	45.1	-5.8
	Liberal	Terence Tonkin	12,865	31.7	+9.8
	Labour	Bruce Tidy	9,231	20.1	-7.1
	Independent	G. T. Taylor	177	0.4	N/A
Majority			5,425	13.4	-10.4
Turnout			40,561	79.4	+4.3
Registered electors			51,092
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1970: St Ives[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	John Nott	18,581	50.9	+9.6
	Labour	Maureen Castle	9,913	27.2	-3.8
	Liberal	Howard Levett Fry	7,981	21.9	-5.8
Majority			8,688	23.8
Turnout			36,476	75.1
Registered electors			48,063
	Conservative hold		Swing	+6.7

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: St Ives[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	National Liberal and Conservative	John Nott	14,312	41.3	-1.3
	Labour	Thomas F. G. Jones	10,713	31.0	+2.9
	Liberal	John C. T. Trewin	9,593	27.7	-0.4
Majority			3,599	10.4	-3.0
Turnout			34,620	77.9	+2.8
Registered electors			44,419
	National Liberal and Conservative hold		Swing	-2.1

General election 1964: St Ives[23][24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	National Liberal and Conservative	Greville Howard	14,040	42.6	-5.3
	Liberal	Gerald Edward Leaman Whitmarsh	9,641	29.3	+4.1
	Labour	Thomas F. G. Jones	9,265	28.1	+1.2
Majority			4,399	13.4	-7.7
Turnout			32,946	75.1	+0.7
Registered electors			43,890
	National Liberal and Conservative hold		Swing	-4.7

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: St Ives[23][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	National Liberal and Conservative	Greville Howard	15,700	47.9	-4.1
	Labour	Duncan Longden	8,802	26.9	-2.8
	Liberal	Gerald Edward Leaman Whitmarsh	8,258	25.2	+6.6
Majority			6,898	21.1	-1.4
Turnout			32,760	74.4	+0.5
Registered electors			44,010
	National Liberal and Conservative hold		Swing	-0.7

General election 1955: St Ives[23][26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	National Liberal and Conservative	Greville Howard	17,063	52.0	-1.3
	Labour	Leslie Statton Pawley	9,728	29.7	-2.1
	Liberal	Desmond Banks	6,020	18.6	+3.7
Majority			7,335	22.4	+0.8
Turnout			32,811	73.9	-4.8
Registered electors			44,374
	National Liberal and Conservative hold		Swing	+0.4

General election 1951: St Ives[23][27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative and National Liberal	Greville Howard	18,828	53.3	+7.3
	Labour Co-op	Arthur Maddison	11,216	31.8	+1.1
	Liberal	John Dennis Gilbert Kellock	5,273	14.9	-8.4
Majority			7,612	21.6	+6.3
Turnout			35,317	78.7	-2.9
Registered electors			44,885
	Conservative and National Liberal hold		Swing	+3.1

General election 1950: St Ives[23][28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative and National Liberal	Greville Howard	16,653	46.0	-1.3
	Labour	Peter Shore	11,118	30.7	+3.5
	Liberal	Eric Farquhar Allison	8,421	23.3	-2.2
Majority			5,535	15.3	-4.8
Turnout			36,192	81.6	+11.0
Registered electors			44,342
	Conservative and National Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: St Ives[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal National	Alec Beechman	14,256	47.3	-3.1
	Labour	Henry Brinton	8,190	27.2	n/a
	Liberal	Eric Farquhar Allison	7,692	25.5	-24.1
Majority			6,066	20.1	+19.3
Turnout			30,138	70.6	+4.5
Registered electors			42,706
	Liberal National hold		Swing	N/A

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;

• Liberal National: Alec Beechman
• Liberal:
• Labour:

Elections in the 1930s

1937 St Ives by-election[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal National	Alec Beechman	13,044	50.4	N/A
	Liberal	Isaac Foot	12,834	49.6	N/A
Majority			210	0.8	N/A
Turnout			25,878	66.1	N/A
Registered electors			39,149
	Liberal National hold		Swing

General election 1935: St. Ives [29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal National	Walter Runciman	Unopposed
Registered electors			39,378
	Liberal National hold

General election 1931: St. Ives [29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal National	Walter Runciman	Unopposed
Registered electors			38,230
	Liberal National hold

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929: St Ives[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Walter Runciman	12,443	43.2	+0.6
	Unionist	Andrew Caird	11,411	39.7	+0.3
	Labour	William Edward Arnold-Forster	4,920	17.1	-0.9
Majority			1,032	3.5	+0.3
Turnout			28,764	76.5	-0.9
Registered electors			37,593
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.2

1928 St Ives by-election: St Ives[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Hilda Runciman	10,241	42.6	-4.4
	Unionist	Andrew Caird	9,478	39.4	-13.6
	Labour	Frederick Jesse Hopkins	4,343	18.0	n/a
Majority			763	3.2	9.2
Turnout			24,062	77.4	+8.3
Registered electors			31,096
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+4.6

General election 1924: St Ives[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Anthony Hawke	11,159	53.0	+12.4
	Liberal	Clifford Cory	9,912	47.0	+0.5
Majority			1,247	6.0	11.9
Turnout			21,071	69.1	-2.3
Registered electors			30,512
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+6.0

General election 1923: St Ives[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Clifford Cory	9,922	46.5	+0.0
	Unionist	Anthony Hawke	8,652	40.6	-12.9
	Labour	Albert Dunn	2,749	12.9	n/a
Majority			1,270	5.9	12.9
Turnout			21,323	71.4	+5.8
Registered electors			29,877
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+6.5

General election 1922: St Ives[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Anthony Hawke	10,388	53.5	n/a
	National Liberal	Clifford Cory	9,016	46.5	-12.1
Majority			1,372	7.0	27.2
Turnout			19,404	65.6	+13.9
Registered electors			29,561
	Unionist gain from National Liberal		Swing	n/a

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918 St Ives[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
C	Liberal	Clifford Cory	8,659	58.6	+2.6
	Labour	Albert Dunn	6,659	38.4	n/a
	Independent Unionist	Thomas Francis Tregoy Mitchell	436	3.0	n/a
Majority			3,000	20.2	+8.2
Turnout			14,754	51.7	-29.0
Registered electors			28,537
	Liberal hold		Swing	n/a
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

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;

• Liberal: Clifford Cory
• Unionist: Anthony Hawke

General election December 1910: St Ives[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Clifford Cory	4,253	56.0	+0.6
	Liberal Unionist	Roland Edmund Lomax Vaughan-Williams	3,338	44.0	-0.6
Majority			915	12.0	+1.2
Turnout			7,591	80.7	-4.8
Registered electors			9,411
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.6

General election January 1910: St Ives[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Clifford Cory	4,458	55.4	-2.8
	Liberal Unionist	Cecil Levita	3,586	44.6	+2.8
Majority			872	10.8	-5.6
Turnout			8,044	85.5	+4.3
Registered electors			9,411
	Liberal hold		Swing	-2.8

Elections in the 1900s

Clifford Cory

General election 1906: St Ives[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Clifford Cory	4,244	58.2	N/A
	Liberal Unionist	Philip Pilditch	3,052	41.8	N/A
Majority			1,192	16.4	N/A
Turnout			7,296	81.2	N/A
Registered electors			8,980
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing	N/A

General election 1900: St Ives[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Unionist	Edward Hain	Unopposed
Registered electors			8,369
	Liberal Unionist hold

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1895: St Ives[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Unionist	Thomas Bedford Bolitho	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,569
	Liberal Unionist hold

General election 1892: St Ives[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Unionist	Thomas Bedford Bolitho	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,130
	Liberal Unionist hold

Elections in the 1880s

By-election, 9 July 1887: St Ives[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Unionist	Thomas Bedford Bolitho	Unopposed
	Liberal Unionist hold

• Caused by St. Aubyn's elevation to the peerage, becoming Lord St. Levan.

General election 1886: St Ives[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Unionist	John St Aubyn	3,395	79.3	+35.6
	Liberal	Samuel Barrow[31]	888	20.7	−35.6
Majority			2,507	58.6	N/A
Turnout			4,283	56.3	−21.1
Registered electors			7,606
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+35.6

General election 1885: St Ives[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	John St Aubyn	3,313	56.3	+3.7
	Conservative	Charles Campbell Ross	2,576	43.7	−3.7
Majority			737	12.6	+7.4
Turnout			5,889	77.4	−4.2
Registered electors			7,606
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.7

By-election, 13 April 1881: St Ives[32][33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Charles Campbell Ross	462	56.2	+8.8
	Liberal	William Cole Pendarves	360	43.8	−8.8
Majority			102	12.4	N/A
Turnout			822	81.2	−0.4
Registered electors			1,012
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+8.8

• Caused by Reed's death.

General election 1880: St Ives[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Charles Reed	487	52.6	+16.1
	Conservative	Charles Campbell Ross	439	47.4	−16.1
Majority			48	5.2	N/A
Turnout			926	81.6	−1.1
Registered electors			1,135
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+16.1

Elections in the 1870s

1875 St Ives by-election[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Charles Praed	658	54.5	-9.0
	Liberal	Francis Lycett	550	45.5	+9.0
Majority			108	8.9	-18.1
Turnout			1,208	85.7	+3.0
Registered electors			1,410
	Conservative hold		Swing	-9.0

• Caused by the previous by-election being declared void on petition, on grounds of "general treating".[34]

By-election, 30 December 1874: St Ives[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Charles Praed	617	52.8	−10.7
	Liberal	Francis Lycett	552	47.2	+10.7
Majority			65	5.6	−21.4
Turnout			1,169	81.7	−1.0
Registered electors			1,430
	Conservative hold		Swing	−10.7

• Caused by Davenport's death.

General election 1874: St Ives[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Edward Davenport	751	63.5	N/A
	Liberal	John Bedford Bolitho[35]	432	36.5	N/A
Majority			319	27.0	N/A
Turnout			1,183	82.7	N/A
Registered electors			1,430
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1868: St Ives[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Charles Magniac	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,398
	Liberal gain from Conservative

General election 1865: St Ives[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Henry Paull	233	56.8	−9.6
	Liberal	Edward Vivian[36]	177	43.2	+9.6
Majority			56	13.7	−19.1
Turnout			410	84.4	+10.3
Registered electors			486
	Conservative hold		Swing	−9.6

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1859: St Ives[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Henry Paull	257	66.4	N/A
	Liberal	Charles Frederick Giesler[37]	130	33.6	N/A
Majority			127	32.8	N/A
Turnout			387	74.1	N/A
Registered electors			522
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1857: St Ives[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Henry Paull	Unopposed
Registered electors			536
	Conservative gain from Peelite

General election 1852: St Ives[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Peelite	Robert Laffan	256	52.0	N/A
	Conservative	Henry Paull	218	44.3	−20.7
	Radical	Philip Edward Barnes[38][39]	18	3.7	N/A
Majority			38	7.7	N/A
Turnout			492	85.1	+17.3
Registered electors			578
	Peelite gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1847: St Ives[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	William Powlett	262	65.0	+14.6
	Conservative	Peter Borthwick[40]	141	35.0	−14.6
Majority			121	30.0	+29.3
Turnout			403	67.8	−22.2
Registered electors			594
	Conservative hold		Swing	+14.6

By-election, 21 July 1846: St Ives[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	William Powlett	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

• Caused by Praed's death.

General election 1841: St Ives[33][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	William Tyringham Praed	272	50.4	+5.3
	Conservative	Edwin Ley	268	49.6	−5.3
Majority			4	0.7	−9.2
Turnout			540	90.0	+4.5
Registered electors			600
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.3

Election in the 1830s

By-election, 24 May 1838: St Ives[33][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	William Tyringham Praed	256	50.8	+5.7
	Conservative	Francis Hearle Stephens	248	49.2	−5.7
Majority			8	1.6	−8.3
Turnout			504	86.0	+0.5
Registered electors			586
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.7

• Caused by Halse's death

General election 1837: St Ives[33][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	James Halse	272	54.9
	Conservative	William Tyringham Praed	223	45.1
Majority			49	9.9
Turnout			495	85.5
Registered electors			579
	Conservative hold

General election 1835: St Ives[33][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	James Halse	Unopposed
Registered electors			599
	Conservative hold

General election 1832: St Ives[33][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	James Halse	302	59.3
	Tory	William Mackworth Praed	168	33.0
	Tory	Henry Lewis Stephens	39	7.7
Majority			134	26.3
Turnout			509	87.2
Registered electors			584
	Tory hold

General election 1831: St Ives[10][41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	James Halse	Unopposed
	Whig	Edward Lytton Bulwer	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 499
	Tory hold
	Whig hold

General election 1830: St Ives[10][41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Tory	William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley	217	39.5
	Whig	James Morrison	181	33.0
	Tory	James Halse	151	27.5
Turnout			316	c. 63.3
Registered electors			c. 499
Majority			36	6.6
	Tory hold		Swing
Majority			30	5.5
	Whig gain from Tory		Swing

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Cornwall

Notes

1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer).
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
3. Earls of Buckinghamshire from 1746.
4. Lord of a local manor.
5. Presumably paid to qualified voters, ensuring that it would be futile to contest here.
6. in his Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland.
7. Even though its MP from 1906, Sir Clifford Cory, was nominally a Liberal rather than a Unionist and stood against Liberal Unionists, he consistently stated his opposition to Irish Home Rule to voters at each election.
8. Possibly this is John Harington (treasurer).
9. The Dictionary of National Biography records that Blount was elected for Berealston, which he certainly represented in the following two Parliaments; but Browne Willis (whose information on the Parliament of 1584-5 Neale refers to as "fairly reliable") gives two other names for Berealston and lists Blount for St Ives.
10. Lisle was also elected for Yarmouth (Isle of Wight), which he chose to represent, and did not sit for St Ives.
11. In April 1660, St Ives made a double return; on 5 May 1660, the Commons resolved "That John St Aubyn and James Praed, esqrs, being duly returned by the proper officers, they ought to sit".
12. Hobart was also elected for Norwich, which he chose to represent, and never sat for St Ives.
13. On petition, Praed was declared not to have been duly elected, and a by-election was held.
14. Created The Lord Newborough (in the Peerage of Ireland) in 1776.

References

1. "England Parliamentary electorates 2010-2018". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
2. Library, House of Commons (23 June 2017). "GE2017: Marginal seats and turnout".
3. "There are places of worship for the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, Primitive Methodists, and Wesleyans, which last have also a meeting-house in the village of Halsetown" Samuel Lewis (editor) (1848). "Ives, St. (parish of St Andrew)". A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 21 March 2013.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
   
4. "Order of Declaration in the 2001 Election". demon.co.uk.
5. Scilly Today Scilly’s Polling Stations Open But Result Expected To Be Latest In UK (7 May 2015)
6. BBC News Lib Dems defeated by Conservatives in Cornwall (8 May 2015)
7. "Final recommendations for Parliamentary constituencies in the county of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly". Boundary Commission for England. 9 January 2005. Archived from the original on 2 November 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
8. Fifth periodic report - Non-Metropolitan Counties and the Unitary Authorities The Stationery Office Published 26 February 2007 ISBN 0-10-170322-8
9. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 1)
10. Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 47–48. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
11. "The General Election". Morning Post. 13 July 1852. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
12. "St Ives Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
13. "St Ives parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
14. "UK Polling Report". ukpollingreport.co.uk.
15. "Candidates (PPCs) for St Ives in the UK 2015 general election – YourNextMP.com". YourNextMP.
16. "St Ives". BBC News. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
17. Lavery, Kevin (20 April 2010). "St. Ives statement of persons nominated and notice of poll" (PDF). Acting Returning Officer, Cornwall Council. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
18. "BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – St Ives". BBC News.
19. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
20. "UK General Election results June 1987". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resource. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
21. "UK General Election results June 1983". Politics Resources. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
22. "UK General Election results May 1979". Politics Resources. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
23. British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 by FWS Craig
27. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1951.
29. Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
30. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
31. "The General Election". Huddersfield Chronicle. 8 July 1886. p. 4. Retrieved 10 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
32. "St Ives Election. Return Of Mr C C Ross". The Cornishman (144). 14 April 1881. p. 8.
33. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book)|format= requires |url= (help) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
34. "The St Ives Election Petition". Cornish Telegraph. 24 February 1875. p. 3. Retrieved 19 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
35. "St Ives". Western Morning News. 2 February 1874. p. 5. Retrieved 19 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
36. "Candidates". Western Morning News. 3 July 1865. p. 3. Retrieved 17 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
37. "St Ives". Royal Cornwall Gazette. 6 May 1859. p. 10. Retrieved 7 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
38. "Borough of St. Ives". Royal Cornwall Gazette. 16 July 1852. p. 7. Retrieved 7 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
39. "Election Intelligence". Morning Chronicle. 12 July 1852. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 7 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
40. "The General Election". Western Times. 7 August 1847. pp. 6–7. Retrieved 30 November 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
41. Jenkins, Terry. "St. Ives". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 23 April 2020.

Sources

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• F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1885 - 1918
• Election results, 1950 - 2005
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• D. Brunton & D. H. Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
• Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808) titles A-Z
• Michael Kinnear, The British Voter (London: BH Batsford, Ltd, 1968)
• Lewis Namier & John Brooke, The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1754-1790 (London: HMSO, 1964)
• J. E. Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
• T. H. B. Oldfield, The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland (London: Baldwin, Cradock & Joy, 1816)
• Henry Pelling, Social Geography of British Elections 1885-1910 (London: Macmillan, 1967)
• J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
• Edward Porritt and Annie G. Porritt, The Unreformed House of Commons (Cambridge University Press, 1903)
• Willis, Browne (1750). Notitia Parliamentaria, Part II: A Series or Lists of the Representatives in the several Parliaments held from the Reformation 1541, to the Restoration 1660 ... London. p. 1.
• Frederic A. Youngs Jr., Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol I (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979)