Combined English Universities (UK Parliament constituency)
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| Combined English Universities University constituency |
|
|---|---|
| Created: | 1918 |
| Abolished: | 1950 |
| Type: | House of Commons |
| Members: | Two |
Combined English Universities was a university constituency represented in the United Kingdom Parliament (from 1918 until 1950). It was formed by enfranchising and combining all the English Universities, except for Cambridge, Oxford and London, which were already separately represented.
Contents |
[edit] Boundaries
This University constituency was created by the Representation of the People Act 1918 and abolished in 1950 by the Representation of the People Act 1948.
The original proposal of the Speaker's Conference, which considered electoral reform before the 1918 legislation was prepared, was to combine all the English and Welsh universities except for Oxford and Cambridge into a three member constituency. However during consideration of the legislation it was agreed that London University alone should continue to return one member. The University of Wales was also given its own seat. The other universities, which were still to be combined, had their proposed representation reduced to two members. (Source: Pugh).
Combined English Universities was not a physical area. Its electorate consisted of the graduates of the Universities included in the seat.
The Universities represented by this constituency were Birmingham, Bristol, Durham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Reading (from August 1928) and Sheffield.
The constituency returned two Members of Parliament, elected at general elections by the Single Transferable Vote method of Proportional Representation. However, the first past the post system was used in by-elections.
[edit] Members of Parliament
This is a list of people who were elected to represent these English Universities in the Parliament of the United Kingdom between 1918 and 1950. The elections were not held on the polling dates for general elections in the territorial constituencies. The University constituency elections were held over five days, not on the ordinary polling date, so that plural voting graduates could vote in their place of residence and then visit their University to participate in its election.
- Constituency created (1918)
| Year | First member | First party | Second member | Second party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 | Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher | Coalition Liberal | Sir William Martin Conway | Coalition Conservative | ||
| 1922 | National Liberal | Conservative | ||||
| 1923 | Liberal | |||||
| 1926 | Sir Alfred Hopkinson | Conservative | ||||
| 1929 | Eleanor Florence Rathbone | Independent | ||||
| 1931 | Sir Reginald Henry Craddock | Conservative | ||||
| 1937 | Thomas Edmund Harvey | Independent Progressive | ||||
| 1945 | Kenneth Martin Lindsay | Independent | ||||
| 1946 | Henry George Strauss | Conservative | ||||
| 1950 | University constituencies abolished | |||||
[edit] Elections
There were six contested STV elections. The MPs in 1935 were returned unopposed. By-elections, to fill a single seat, used the first past the post or relative majority electoral system.
[edit] Elections in the 1910s
- General election of 1918
| General Election 1918: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - 1st Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Coalition Liberal | Rt Hon. Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher | 959 | 48.09 | N/A | |
| Labour | John Atkinson Hobson | 366 | 18.36 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Herbert Geraint Williams | 366 | 18.36 | N/A | |
| Coalition Conservative | Sir William Martin Conway | 303 | 15.20 | N/A | |
| Total Votes | 1,994 | ||||
| Quota | 665 | ||||
| Turnout | 2,357 | 84.60 | N/A | ||
| General Election 1918: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - 2nd Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Coalition Liberal | Rt Hon. Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher | 665 | N/A | -294 | |
| Coalition Conservative | Sir William Martin Conway | 465 | N/A | +162 | |
| Labour | John Atkinson Hobson | 454 | N/A | +88 | |
| Conservative | Herbert Geraint Williams | 410 | N/A | +44 | |
| Total Votes | 1,994 | ||||
| Quota | 665 | ||||
| General Election 1918: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - 3rd Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Coalition Liberal | Rt Hon. Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher | 665 | N/A | ... | |
| Coalition Conservative | Sir William Martin Conway | 777 | N/A | +312 | |
| Labour | John Atkinson Hobson | 481 | N/A | +27 | |
| Conservative | Herbert Geraint Williams | ... | N/A | -410 | |
| non transferable | N/A | 71 | N/A | +71 | |
| Total Votes | 1,994 | ||||
| Quota | 665 | ||||
[edit] Elections in the 1920s
- General election of 1922
| General Election 1922: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - 1st Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Sir William Martin Conway | 968 | 32.8 | +17.6 | |
| National Liberal | Rt Hon. Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher | 819 | 27.7 | -20.4 | |
| Independent | Prof. J. Strong | 571 | 19.4 | N/A | |
| Labour | Leonard Sidney Woolf | 361 | 12.2 | -6.2 | |
| Independent Conservative | W.B. Faraday | 141 | 4.8 | N/A | |
| Independent Conservative | S.C. Lawrence | 90 | 3.1 | N/A | |
| Total Votes | 2,946 | ||||
| Quota | 983 | ||||
| Turnout | 3,967 | 74.3 | -10.3 | ||
| General Election 1922: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - 2nd Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Sir William Martin Conway | 982 | N/A | +14 | |
| National Liberal | Rt Hon. Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher | 821 | N/A | +6 | |
| Independent | Prof. J. Strong | 575 | N/A | +4 | |
| Labour | Leonard Sidney Woolf | 361 | N/A | ... | |
| Independent Conservative | W.B. Faraday | 206 | N/A | +65 | |
| Independent Conservative | S.C. Lawrence | ... | N/A | -90 | |
| non transferable | N/A | 1 | N/A | +1 | |
| Total Votes | 2,946 | ||||
| Quota | 983 | ||||
| General Election 1922: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - 3rd Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Sir William Martin Conway | 1,093 | N/A | +111 | |
| National Liberal | Rt Hon. Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher | 849 | N/A | +28 | |
| Independent | Prof. J. Strong | 595 | N/A | +20 | |
| Labour | Leonard Sidney Woolf | 365 | N/A | +4 | |
| Independent Conservative | W.B. Faraday | ... | N/A | -206 | |
| non transferable | N/A | 44 | N/A | +43 | |
| Total Votes | 2,946 | ||||
| Quota | 983 | ||||
| General Election 1922: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - 4th Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Sir William Martin Conway | 983 | N/A | -110 | |
| National Liberal | Rt Hon. Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher | 883 | N/A | +34 | |
| Independent | Prof. J. Strong | 611 | N/A | +16 | |
| Labour | Leonard Sidney Woolf | 366 | N/A | +1 | |
| non transferable | N/A | 103 | N/A | +59 | |
| Total Votes | 2,946 | ||||
| Quota | 983 | ||||
| General Election 1922: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - 5th Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Sir William Martin Conway | 983 | N/A | ... | |
| National Liberal | Rt Hon. Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher | 1,009 | N/A | +126 | |
| Independent | Prof. J. Strong | 813 | N/A | +202 | |
| Labour | Leonard Sidney Woolf | ... | N/A | -366 | |
| non transferable | N/A | 141 | N/A | +38 | |
| Total Votes | 2,946 | ||||
| Quota | 983 | ||||
- General election of 1923
| General Election 1923: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - Only Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Sir William Martin Conway | 1,711 | 44.1 | +11.3 | |
| Liberal | Rt Hon. Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher | 1,316 | 34.0 | +5.3 | |
| Labour | Prof. J.J. Findlay | 850 | 21.9 | +9.7 | |
| Total Votes | 3,877 | ||||
| Quota | 1,293 | ||||
| Turnout | 5,008 | 77.4 | +3.1 | ||
- General election of 1924
| General Election 1924: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - 1st Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Sir William Martin Conway | 2,231 | 50.4 | +6.3 | |
| Liberal | Rt Hon. Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher | 1,333 | 30.1 | -3.9 | |
| Labour | Prof. J.J. Findlay | 861 | 19.5 | -2.4 | |
| Total Votes | 4,425 | ||||
| Quota | 1,476 | ||||
| Turnout | 5,655 | 78.2 | +0.8 | ||
| General Election 1924: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - 2nd Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Sir William Martin Conway | 1,476 | N/A | -755 | |
| Liberal | Rt Hon. Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher | 2,064 | N/A | +731 | |
| Labour | Prof. J.J. Findlay | 885 | N/A | +24 | |
| Total Votes | 4,425 | ||||
| Quota | 1,476 | ||||
- Resignation of Fisher
- By-election of 1926
| By-Election 8-12 March 1926: Combined English Universities | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Sir Alfred Hopkinson | 2,343 | 53.9 | +3.5 | |
| Liberal | John Ramsay Bryce Muir | 2,000 | 46.1 | +12.1 | |
| Majority | 343 | 7.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 4,343 | 66.7 | -11.5 | ||
| Registered Electors | 6,513 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | N/A | |||
- General election of 1929
| General Election 1929: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - 1st Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Independent | Eleanor Florence Rathbone | 3,331 | 33.3 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Sir William Martin Conway | 2,679 | 26.8 | N/A | |
| Liberal | Prof. R.S. Conway | 2,231 | 22.3 | -23.8 | |
| Conservative | Sir Lewis Amherst Selby-Bigge, Bt | 1,762 | 17.6 | N/A | |
| Total Votes | 10,003 | ||||
| Quota | 3,335 | ||||
| Turnout | 13,775 | 72.6 | +5.9 | ||
| General Election 1929: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - 2nd Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Sir William Martin Conway | 4,321 | N/A | +1,642 | |
| Independent | Eleanor Florence Rathbone | 3,394 | N/A | +63 | |
| Liberal | Prof. R.S. Conway | 2,281 | N/A | +50 | |
| Conservative | Sir Lewis Amherst Selby-Bigge, Bt | ... | N/A | -1,762 | |
| non transferable | N/A | 7 | N/A | +7 | |
| Total Votes | 10,003 | ||||
| Quota | 3,335 | ||||
[edit] Elections in the 1930s
- General election of 1931
| General Election 1931: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - 1st Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Independent | Eleanor Florence Rathbone | 5,096 | 37.2 | +3.9 | |
| Conservative | Sir Reginald Henry Craddock | 3,633 | 26.5 | N/A | |
| National Labour | Rt Hon. Sir William Allen Jowitt | 2,759 | 20.1 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Herbert Geraint Williams | 1,748 | 12.8 | N/A | |
| New Party | Hon. Harold George Nicolson | 461 | 3.4 | N/A | |
| Total Votes | 13,697 | ||||
| Quota | 4,567 | ||||
| Turnout | 19,109 | 71.7 | -0.9 | ||
| General Election 1931: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - 2nd Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Independent | Eleanor Florence Rathbone | 4,567 | N/A | -529 | |
| Conservative | Sir Reginald Henry Craddock | 3,685 | N/A | +52 | |
| National Labour | Rt Hon. Sir William Allen Jowitt | 3,003 | N/A | +244 | |
| Conservative | Herbert Geraint Williams | 1,819 | N/A | +71 | |
| New Party | Hon. Harold George Nicolson | 623 | N/A | +162 | |
| Total Votes | 13,697 | ||||
| Quota | 4,567 | ||||
| General Election 1931: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - 3rd Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Independent | Eleanor Florence Rathbone | 4,567 | N/A | ... | |
| Conservative | Sir Reginald Henry Craddock | 3,754 | N/A | +69 | |
| National Labour | Rt Hon. Sir William Allen Jowitt | 3,207 | N/A | +204 | |
| Conservative | Herbert Geraint Williams | 1,922 | N/A | +103 | |
| New Party | Hon. Harold George Nicolson | ... | N/A | -623 | |
| non transferable | N/A | 247 | N/A | +247 | |
| Total Votes | 13,697 | ||||
| Quota | 4,567 | ||||
| General Election 1931: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - 4th Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Independent | Eleanor Florence Rathbone | 4,567 | N/A | ... | |
| Conservative | Sir Reginald Henry Craddock | 4,858 | N/A | +1,104 | |
| National Labour | Rt Hon. Sir William Allen Jowitt | 3,632 | N/A | +425 | |
| Conservative | Herbert Geraint Williams | ... | N/A | -1,922 | |
| non transferable | N/A | 640 | N/A | +393 | |
| Total Votes | 13,697 | ||||
| Quota | 4,567 | ||||
- General election of 1935
| General Election 1935: Combined English Universities (2 seats) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Sir Reginald Henry Craddock | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
| Independent | Eleanor Florence Rathbone | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
- Death of Craddock
- By-election of 1937
| By-Election 15-19 March 1937: Combined English Universities | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Ind. Progressive | Thomas Edmund Harvey | 6,596 | 47.4 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Rt Hon. Sir Francis Lindley | 4,952 | 35.6 | N/A | |
| Independent | Sir H.B. Brackenbury | 2,373 | 17.0 | N/A | |
| Majority | 1,644 | 11.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 13,921 | 48.3 | N/A | ||
| Registered Electors | 28,808 | ||||
| Ind. Progressive gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |||
[edit] Elections in the 1940s
- General election of 1945
| General Election 1945: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - 1st Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Independent | Eleanor Florence Rathbone | 11,176 | 53.3 | N/A | |
| Independent Labour | S. Wormald | 3,212 | 15.3 | N/A | |
| National Independent | E.C. Arden | 2,433 | 11.6 | N/A | |
| Independent | Kenneth Martin Lindsay | 1,923 | 9.2 | N/A | |
| Independent | Prof. J.H. Richardson | 1,124 | 5.3 | N/A | |
| Independent | A.R. Foxall | 1,105 | 5.3 | N/A | |
| Total Votes | 20,973 | ||||
| Quota | 6,992 | ||||
| Turnout | 41,976 | 50.0 | +1.7 | ||
| General Election 1945: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - 2nd Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Independent | Eleanor Florence Rathbone | 6,992 | N/A | -4,184 | |
| Independent Labour | S. Wormald | 3,973 | N/A | +761 | |
| Independent | Kenneth Martin Lindsay | 3,503 | N/A | +1,580 | |
| National Independent | E.C. Arden | 3,073 | N/A | +640 | |
| Independent | Prof. J.H. Richardson | 1,995 | N/A | +871 | |
| Independent | A.R. Foxall | 1,437 | N/A | +332 | |
| Total Votes | 20,973 | ||||
| Quota | 6,992 | ||||
| General Election 1945: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - 3rd Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Independent | Eleanor Florence Rathbone | 6,992 | N/A | ... | |
| Independent Labour | S. Wormald | 4,081 | N/A | +108 | |
| Independent | Kenneth Martin Lindsay | 3,856 | N/A | +353 | |
| National Independent | E.C. Arden | 3,389 | N/A | +316 | |
| Independent | Prof. J.H. Richardson | 2,341 | N/A | +346 | |
| Independent | A.R. Foxall | ... | N/A | -1,437 | |
| non transferable | N/A | 314 | N/A | +314 | |
| Total Votes | 20,973 | ||||
| Quota | 6,992 | ||||
| General Election 1945: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - 4th Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Independent | Eleanor Florence Rathbone | 6,992 | N/A | ... | |
| Independent | Kenneth Martin Lindsay | 4,528 | N/A | +672 | |
| Independent Labour | S. Wormald | 4,473 | N/A | +392 | |
| National Independent | E.C. Arden | 3,829 | N/A | +440 | |
| Independent | Prof. J.H. Richardson | ... | N/A | -2,341 | |
| non transferable | N/A | 1,151 | N/A | +837 | |
| Total Votes | 20,973 | ||||
| Quota | 6,992 | ||||
| General Election 1945: Combined English Universities (2 seats) - 5th Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Independent | Eleanor Florence Rathbone | 6,992 | N/A | ... | |
| Independent | Kenneth Martin Lindsay | 5,826 | N/A | +1,298 | |
| Independent Labour | S. Wormald | 4,675 | N/A | +202 | |
| National Independent | E.C. Arden | ... | N/A | -3,829 | |
| non transferable | N/A | 3,480 | N/A | +2,329 | |
| Total Votes | 20,973 | ||||
| Quota | 6,992 | ||||
- Death of Rathbone
- By-election of 1946
| By-Election 13-18 March 1946: Combined English Universities | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Henry George Strauss | 5,483 | 30.0 | N/A | |
| Independent | Mary Danvers Stocks | 5,124 | 28.0 | N/A | |
| Independent | Sir Ernest Emil Darwin Simon | 4,028 | 22.0 | N/A | |
| Independent Labour | S. Wormald | 3,414 | 18.7 | N/A | |
| British People's | G.S. Oddie | 239 | 1.3 | N/A | |
| Majority | 359 | 2.0 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 18,288 | 42.1 | -7.9 | ||
| Registered Electors | 43,438 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Independent | Swing | N/A | |||
- Constituency abolished (1950)
[edit] References
- Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
- British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan 1977)
- Electoral Reform in War and Peace 1906-18, by Martin Pugh (Routledge & Kegan Paul 1978)
- Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume III 1919-1945, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (The Harvester Pess 1979)
- Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume IV 1945-1979, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1981)
