Stoke-upon-Trent (UK Parliament constituency)

Stoke-upon-Trent
Stoke-upon-Trent
	Former Borough constituency; for the House of Commons
1832–1918
Number of members	two (1832-1885); one (1885-1918)
Replaced by	Stoke-on-Trent, Stoke; Stoke-on-Trent, Hanley; Stoke-on-Trent, Burslem

Stoke-upon-Trent was a parliamentary borough in Staffordshire, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons from 1832 until 1885, and then one member from 1885 until 1918, when the borough was enlarged, renamed Stoke-on-Trent, and split into three single-member constituencies.

History

Stoke-upon-Trent was established as a borough by the Great Reform Act of 1832 to represent the Staffordshire Potteries, one of the most populous urban areas in England which had previously had no separate representation. The new borough consisted of Stoke-upon-Trent and parts of the surrounding towns, and at the time of the Reform Act had a population just over 50,000 (of whom 37,220 were in Stoke parish); in 1867 the boundaries were extended somewhat, to bring in a part of Burslem which had previously been excluded.

In further boundary changes implemented at the 1885 general election, the borough was split into two single-member constituencies, the northern part becoming a separate Hanley borough while the southern part (containing Longton and Fenton as well as Stoke itself) retained the Stoke-upon-Trent name; the new constituency had a population just under 100,000 by the time of the First World War. The industrial interests predominated, with the bulk of the voters being pottery workers or miners, although Stoke was a partly middle-class town; at first an apparently safe Liberal seat, it fell narrowly to the Unionists in both 1895 and 1900, perhaps partly because of discord between miners and potters within the local Liberal party. From 1906 it was held by John Ward as a Lib-Lab MP hostile to the Labour Party, who being from the Navvies' Union could defuse the mutual jealousies of the potters and miners.

By 1918, the pottery towns had been united for municipal purposes in a single Stoke-on-Trent county borough, and the parliamentary boundary changes which came into effect at that year's general election established a parliamentary borough of the same name to replace Stoke-upon-Trent and Hanley, divided into three constituencies: Stoke-on-Trent, Stoke; Stoke-on-Trent, Hanley; and Stoke-on-Trent, Burslem.

Members of Parliament

1832–1885

Year		First member	First party	Second member	Second party
1832		Josiah Wedgwood II	Whig[1]	John Davenport	Tory[1]
1834		Josiah Wedgwood II	Whig[1]		Conservative[1]
1835		Richard Edensor Heathcote	Whig[1]
1836		Hon. George Anson	Whig[1][2][3][4]
1837		William Taylor Copeland	Conservative[1]
1841		William Taylor Copeland	Conservative[1]	John Lewis Ricardo	Whig[1][5][6]
1852		Hon. Frederick Leveson-Gower	Whig[7]
1857		William Taylor Copeland	Conservative
1859					Liberal
1862				Henry Grenfell	Liberal
1865		Alexander Beresford Hope	Conservative
February 1868		George Melly	Liberal
November 1868				William Sargeant Roden	Liberal
1874				Robert Heath	Conservative
1875		Edward Kenealy	Independent	Robert Heath	Conservative
1880		William Woodall	Liberal	Henry Broadhurst	Liberal-Labour
1885	Constituency divided into single-member constituencies, see also Hanley

1885–1918

Year		Member	Whip
1885		William Leatham Bright	Liberal
1890		George Leveson-Gower	Liberal
1895		Douglas Coghill	Liberal Unionist
1900		Douglas Coghill	Conservative
1906		John Ward	Liberal
1918	Constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: Stoke-upon-Trent (2 seats)[1][8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Josiah Wedgwood	822	36.0
	Tory	John Davenport	625	27.4
	Whig	Richard Edensor Heathcote	588	25.8
	Radical	George Miles Mason	247	10.8
Turnout			1,245	92.3
Registered electors			1,349
Majority			197	8.6
	Whig win (new seat)
Majority			37	1.6
	Tory win (new seat)

General election 1835: Stoke-upon-Trent (2 seats)[1][8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	John Davenport	Unopposed
	Whig	Richard Edensor Heathcote	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,266
	Conservative hold
	Whig hold

Heathcote resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 15 February 1836: Stoke-upon-Trent[1][8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	George Anson	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1837: Stoke-upon-Trent (2 seats)[1][8][9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	William Taylor Copeland	683	29.8
	Conservative	John Davenport	670	29.2
	Radical	Matthew Bridges	472	20.6
	Whig	Francis Brinsley Sheridan	469	20.4
Majority			198	8.6
Turnout			1,161	78.7
Registered electors			1,475
	Conservative hold
	Conservative gain from Whig

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Stoke-upon-Trent (2 seats)[1][8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	John Lewis Ricardo	870	44.3	+23.9
	Conservative	William Taylor Copeland	606	30.9	+1.1
	Conservative	Frederick Dudley Ryder[10]	486	24.8	−4.4
Majority			264	13.5	N/A
Turnout			981 (est)	58.3 (est)	c. −20.4
Registered electors			1,682
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	+13.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	−5.4

General election 1847: Stoke-upon-Trent (2 seats)[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	John Lewis Ricardo	954	44.2	−0.1
	Conservative	William Taylor Copeland	819	38.0	+7.1
	Whig	Thomas Piers Healey[11]	384	17.8	N/A
Turnout			1,079 (est)	63.6 (est)	+5.3
Registered electors			1,695
Majority			135	6.3	−7.2
	Whig hold		Swing	−3.6
Majority			435	20.2	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.6

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Stoke-upon-Trent (2 seats)[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	John Lewis Ricardo	921	36.3	−7.9
	Whig	Frederick Leveson-Gower	848	33.4	+15.6
	Conservative	William Taylor Copeland	769	30.3	−7.7
Majority			79	3.1	−3.2
Turnout			1,654 (est)	93.0 (est)	+29.4
Registered electors			3,189
	Whig hold		Swing	−2.0
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	+9.7

General election 1857: Stoke-upon-Trent (2 seats)[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	William Taylor Copeland	1,261	44.3	+14.0
	Whig	John Lewis Ricardo	822	28.9	−7.4
	Whig	Frederick Leveson-Gower	764	26.8	−6.6
Majority			439	15.4	N/A
Turnout			2,054 (est)	97.1 (est)	+4.1
Registered electors			2,115
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+14.0
	Whig hold		Swing	−7.2

General election 1859: Stoke-upon-Trent (2 seats)[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	John Lewis Ricardo	1,258	43.4	+14.5
	Conservative	William Taylor Copeland	1,074	37.0	−7.3
	Liberal	Samuel Pope[12][13]	569	19.6	−7.2
Turnout			1,988 (est)	89.5 (est)	−7.6
Registered electors			2,221
Majority			184	6.3	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	+9.1
Majority			505	17.4	+2.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	−7.3

Elections in the 1860s

Ricardo's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 23 September 1862: Stoke-upon-Trent[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Henry Grenfell	1,089	53.4	+10.0
	Conservative	Alexander Beresford Hope	918	45.0	+8.0
	Liberal	George Melly	32	1.6	−18.0
Majority			171	8.4	+2.1
Turnout			2,039	82.9	−6.6
Registered electors			2,461
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.0

General election 1865: Stoke-upon-Trent (2 seats)[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Alexander Beresford Hope	1,463	35.6	−1.4
	Liberal	Henry Grenfell	1,373	33.4	−10.0
	Liberal	George Melly	1,277	31.0	+11.4
Majority			90	2.2	−15.2
Turnout			2,788 (est)	87.4 (est)	−2.1
Registered electors			3,189
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.4
	Liberal hold		Swing	−4.3

Beresford Hope resigned in order to contest a by-election at Cambridge University, causing a by-election.

By-election, 20 February 1868: Stoke-upon-Trent[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	George Melly	1,489	51.2	−13.2
	Conservative	Colin Minton Campbell[14]	1,420	48.8	+13.2
Majority			69	2.4	N/A
Turnout			2,909	91.2	+3.8
Registered electors			3,189
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	−13.2

General election 1868: Stoke-upon-Trent (2 seats)[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	George Melly	Unopposed
	Liberal	William Sargeant Roden	Unopposed
Registered electors			16,199
	Liberal hold
	Liberal gain from Conservative

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Stoke-upon-Trent (2 seats)[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	George Melly	6,700	28.6	N/A
	Conservative	Robert Heath	6,180	26.4	N/A
	Liberal	William Sargeant Roden	5,369	22.9	N/A
	Lib-Lab	Alfred Walton[15]	5,198	22.2	N/A
Turnout			17,413 (est)	91.0 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			19,129
Majority			520	2.2	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
Majority			811	3.5	N/A
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

Melly resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 18 Feb 1875: Stoke-upon-Trent (1 seat)[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Independent	Edward Kenealy	6,110	43.1	N/A
	Lib-Lab	Alfred Walton[15]	4,168	29.4	+7.2
	Conservative	Harry Davenport	3,901	27.5	+1.1
Majority			1,942	13.7	N/A
Turnout			14,179	72.5	−18.5
Registered electors			19,548
	Independent gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Stoke-upon-Trent (2 seats)[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	William Woodall	12,130	40.8	−10.7
	Lib-Lab	Henry Broadhurst	11,379	38.3	+16.1
	Conservative	Robert Heath[16]	5,126	17.2	−9.2
	Independent	Edward Kenealy	1,091	3.7	N/A
Majority			6,253	21.0	+18.8
Turnout			14,863 (est)	74.4 (est)	−16.6
Registered electors			19,976
	Liberal hold		Swing	−7.2
	Lib-Lab gain from Conservative		Swing	+12.7

General election 1885: Stoke-upon-Trent [17][18][19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	William Leatham Bright	4,790	63.1	−16.0
	Conservative	Haden Corser	2,800	36.9	+19.7
Majority			1,990	26.2	+5.2
Turnout			7,590	82.4	+8.0 (est)
Registered electors			9,213
	Liberal hold		Swing	−17.9

General election 1886: Stoke-upon-Trent [17][18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	William Leatham Bright	3,255	60.9	-2.2
	Conservative	Haden Corser	2,093	39.1	+2.2
Majority			1,162	21.8	-4.4
Turnout			5,348	58.0	-24.4
Registered electors			9,213
	Liberal hold		Swing	-2.2

Elections in the 1890s

By-election 14 Mar 1890: Stoke-upon-Trent [18][20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	George Leveson-Gower	4,157	58.7	−2.2
	Liberal Unionist	William Shepherd Allen	2,926	41.3	+2.2
Majority			1,231	17.4	−4.4
Turnout			7,083	73.4	+15.4
Registered electors			9,649
	Liberal hold		Swing	−2.2

Caused by Bright's resignation.

General election 1892: Stoke-upon-Trent [18][20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	George Leveson-Gower	4,629	61.9	+1.0
	Conservative	S Waters	2,846	38.1	−1.0
Majority			1,783	23.8	+2.0
Turnout			7,475	72.0	+14.0
Registered electors			10,380
	Liberal hold		Swing	+1.0

Leveson-Gower was appointed Comptroller of the Household, requiring a by-election.

By-election 25 Aug 1892: Stoke-upon-Trent[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	George Leveson-Gower	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

Coghill

General election 1895: Stoke-upon-Trent [18][20][21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Unionist	Douglas Coghill	4,396	51.2	+13.1
	Liberal	George Leveson-Gower	4,196	48.8	−13.1
Majority			200	2.4	N/A
Turnout			8,592	77.4	+5.4
Registered electors			11,107
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+13.1

Elections in the 1900s

Godfrey Baring

General election 1900: Stoke-upon-Trent [18][20][21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Douglas Coghill	4,932	51.0	−0.2
	Liberal	Godfrey Baring	4,732	49.0	+0.2
Majority			200	2.0	−0.4
Turnout			9,664	73.9	−3.5
Registered electors			13,074
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.2

John Ward

General election 1906: Stoke-upon-Trent [18][20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Lib-Lab	John Ward	7,660	64.1	+15.1
	Conservative	Douglas Coghill	4,288	35.9	−15.1
Majority			3,372	28.2	N/A
Turnout			11,948	84.8	+10.9
Registered electors			14,091
	Lib-Lab gain from Conservative		Swing	+15.1

Elections in the 1910s

Ward

General election January 1910: Stoke-upon-Trent [20][22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Lib-Lab	John Ward	7,688	57.4	−6.7
	Conservative	David Hope Kid	5,697	42.6	+6.7
Majority			1,991	14.8	−13.4
Turnout			13,385	88.8	+4.0
Registered electors			15,079
	Lib-Lab hold		Swing	−6.7

General election December 1910: Stoke-upon-Trent [22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Lib-Lab	John Ward	7,049	58.2	+0.8
	Conservative	Samuel Joyce Thomas	5,062	41.8	−0.8
Majority			1,987	16.4	+1.6
Turnout			12,111	80.3	−8.5
Registered electors			15,079
	Lib-Lab hold		Swing	+0.8

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-Labour: John Ward
Unionist: Samuel Joyce Thomas

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References

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Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916