Farnham (UK Parliament constituency)
Coordinates: 51°12′50″N 0°47′46″W / 51.214°N 0.796°W
Farnham | |
---|---|
Former County constituency for the House of Commons | |
1918–1983 | |
Number of members | one |
Replaced by | Woking formed from part of Farnham: 1950 Chertsey gained Bagshot R.D.: 1950 South West Surrey (remaining parts in 1983) Guildford (Seale and Tongham returned to)[1] |
Created from | South Western Division of Surrey (also known as Guildford) (western and south-western parts of) (and later additions from) Chertsey (southern parts of) |
Farnham was a constituency covering the south-westernmost and various western parts of Surrey for the House of Commons of the UK Parliament, 1918—1983. Its main successor was South West Surrey. The seat was formed with north-eastern territory including Woking from Chertsey in 1918 and shed the Woking area to form its own seat in 1950. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP). During its 65-year span its voters elected three Conservatives successively.
Boundaries[]
The constituency took its name from the town of Farnham and included other towns and a large agricultural and forested hills area with significant sandy heathland rising up to the north. The boundaries were altered at each redistribution of parliamentary seats, reflecting the increase in population of the area and thus the splitting of Western Surrey (or Guildford) into South West Surrey or Guildford and North West Surrey, followed by South West Surrey, most of Surrey Heath, and Guildford covering this part of Surrey, the arrangement by 1983.[2]
1918–1950[]
The constituency was created by the Representation of the People Act 1918 as one of seven county constituencies within Surrey.[3]
The rural district of Farnham (based on the Hundred before it); in the Guildford Rural District — the civil parish Pirbright; and the Farnham, Frimley (including Camberley), Windlesham,[n 1][4] and Woking urban districts.
1950–1983[]
Rural Surrey had ten county constituencies in 1950 — Farnham was defined as comprising:[5][n 2]
- The borough of Godalming;
- the urban districts of Farnham and Haslemere;
- the parish of Seale in the rural district of Guildford (including Tongham)
- Parishes in the rural district of Hambledon: Chiddingfold, Dockenfield, Elstead, Frensham, Peper Harow, Thursley, Tilford and Witley.
To enable the above, Godalming and Haslemere were transferred from Guildford — Woking, Windlesham and Pirbright were transferred to the new seat of Woking.
The constituency was unaltered at the redistribution of 1974 which coincided with a major local government consolidation, the main local authority approximating to the seat becoming Waverley (district).[n 3][2]
Type for returning officer and election expenses[]
The seat was a county constituency.
Members of Parliament[]
Election | Member | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1918 | Sir Arthur Samuel | Conservative | |
1937 by-election | Sir Godfrey Nicholson | Conservative | |
1966 | Maurice Macmillan | Conservative | |
1983 | constituency abolished |
Elections[]
Elections in the 1910s[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Unionist | Arthur Samuel | 7,558 | 52.5 | |
Labour | John Hayes | 3,534 | 24.6 | ||
Ind U | John Henry Harris | 3,289 | 22.9 | ||
Majority | 4,024 | 27.9 | |||
Turnout | 14,381 | 44.0 | |||
Registered electors | 32,720 | ||||
Unionist win (new seat) | |||||
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. |
Elections in the 1920s[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Arthur Samuel | 14,557 | 73.3 | +20.8 | |
Labour | Thomas Humphrey Marshall | 5,312 | 26.7 | +2.1 | |
Majority | 9,245 | 46.6 | +18.7 | ||
Turnout | 19,869 | 56.8 | +12.8 | ||
Registered electors | 34,980 | ||||
Unionist hold | Swing | +9.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Arthur Samuel | 12,534 | 59.6 | −13.7 | |
Liberal | Christopher a’Beckett Williams | 4,979 | 23.7 | New | |
Labour | Anne Corner | 3,520 | 16.7 | −10.0 | |
Majority | 7,555 | 35.9 | −10.7 | ||
Turnout | 21,033 | 59.6 | +2.8 | ||
Registered electors | 35,314 | ||||
Unionist hold | Swing | −1.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Arthur Samuel | 18,272 | 79.8 | +20.2 | |
Labour | Anne Corner | 4,613 | 20.2 | +3.5 | |
Majority | 13,659 | 59.6 | +23.7 | ||
Turnout | 22,885 | 63.1 | +3.5 | ||
Registered electors | 36,255 | ||||
Unionist hold | Swing | +8.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Arthur Samuel | 21,050 | 59.8 | −20.0 | |
Liberal | John William Todd | 9,268 | 26.3 | New | |
Labour | Francis Palmer | 4,866 | 13.8 | −6.4 | |
Majority | 11,782 | 33.6 | −26.0 | ||
Turnout | 35,184 | 66.9 | +3.8 | ||
Registered electors | 52,597 | ||||
Unionist hold | Swing | −6.8 |
Elections in the 1930s[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Arthur Samuel | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Arthur Samuel | 28,211 | 78.5 | N/A | |
Labour | Donald M. Fraser | 7,725 | 21.5 | New | |
Majority | 20,486 | 57.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 35,936 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Godfrey Nicholson | 20,580 | 66.7 | -11.8 | |
Labour | Peter Pain | 7,792 | 25.3 | +3.8 | |
Ind. Conservative | Linton Thorp | 2,327 | 7.5 | New | |
Independent | Edward Miller | 154 | 0.5 | New | |
Majority | 12,788 | 41.4 | -15.6 | ||
Turnout | 30,853 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing |
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;
- Conservative: Godfrey Nicholson
- Labour: C W Gittins[7]
Elections in the 1940s[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Godfrey Nicholson | 31,557 | 61.19 | ||
Labour | Thomas W Gittins | 20,013 | 38.81 | ||
Majority | 11,544 | 22.38 | |||
Turnout | 51,570 | 68.72 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Elections in the 1950s[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Godfrey Nicholson | 21,665 | 55.70 | ||
Labour | Eric Charles Neate | 12,972 | 33.35 | ||
Liberal | F. P. Shannon | 4,262 | 10.96 | New | |
Majority | 8,693 | 22.35 | |||
Turnout | 38,899 | 83.11 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Godfrey Nicholson | 24,239 | 63.32 | ||
Labour | Charles Leonard James | 14,041 | 36.68 | ||
Majority | 10,198 | 26.64 | |||
Turnout | 38,280 | 80.44 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Godfrey Nicholson | 23,717 | 64.93 | ||
Labour | John Stuart Paul Davey | 12,811 | 35.07 | ||
Majority | 10,906 | 29.86 | |||
Turnout | 36,528 | 76.32 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Godfrey Nicholson | 23,538 | 59.03 | ||
Labour | Joseph Greenwood Turner | 9,800 | 24.58 | ||
Liberal | Dennis William Saunders | 6,538 | 16.40 | New | |
Majority | 13,738 | 34.45 | |||
Turnout | 39,876 | 79.36 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Elections in the 1960s[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Godfrey Nicholson | 21,382 | 51.20 | ||
Liberal | Dennis William Saunders | 11,876 | 28.44 | ||
Labour | Kenneth Frank Urwin | 8,500 | 20.36 | ||
Majority | 9,506 | 22.76 | |||
Turnout | 41,758 | 78.71 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Maurice Macmillan | 21,028 | 48.84 | ||
Liberal | Dennis William Saunders | 12,036 | 27.96 | ||
Labour | Leslie G R Pinchen | 9,988 | 23.20 | ||
Majority | 8,922 | 20.88 | |||
Turnout | 43,052 | 80.00 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Elections in the 1970s[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Maurice Macmillan | 25,113 | 56.87 | ||
Liberal | Piers Millar Odger Stonham | 10,178 | 23.05 | ||
Labour | Leslie G R Pinchen | 8,870 | 20.09 | ||
Majority | 14,935 | 33.82 | |||
Turnout | 44,161 | 73.59 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Maurice Macmillan | 25,686 | 49.87 | ||
Liberal | F Davies | 19,224 | 37.32 | ||
Labour | HC Hodge | 6,347 | 12.32 | ||
Independent | N Dane | 251 | 0.49 | New | |
Majority | 6,462 | 12.55 | |||
Turnout | 51,508 | 82.96 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Maurice Macmillan | 23,885 | 49.95 | ||
Liberal | P Davies | 15,626 | 32.68 | ||
Labour | HC Hodge | 8,305 | 17.37 | ||
Majority | 8,259 | 17.27 | |||
Turnout | 47,816 | 76.22 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Maurice Macmillan | 30,127 | 58.32 | ||
Liberal | P Raynes | 13,658 | 26.44 | ||
Labour | PW Davies | 7,497 | 14.51 | ||
Independent - Citizens Protest Vote | SL Bradford | 204 | 0.39 | New | |
United Country Party | R Peel | 170 | 0.33 | New | |
Majority | 16,469 | 31.88 | |||
Turnout | 51,656 | 79.95 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
See also[]
Surrey portal
Politics portal
Notes and references[]
- References
- ^ "'Farnham', Feb 1974 - May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 22 March 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Youngs, Frederic A, Jr. (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol.I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. pp. 765–766. ISBN 0-901050-67-9.
- ^ Representation of the People Act 1918 c.64, Ninth Schedule, Redistribution of Seats
- ^ "Bagshot U.D. - units covering this place" Vision of Britain - University of Portsmouth and others. Accessed 2017-06-04
- ^ Representation of the People Act 1948 c.65, Schedule 1: Parliamentary Constituencies
- ^ a b c d e f g British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
- ^ Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
- ^ a b c d e British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 by FWS Craig
- ^ a b F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1973
- Notes
- ^ As such including the later Bagshot Rural District, the contents of which were transferred to Chertsey in 1950
- ^ Constituencies in Great Britain were redrawn by the Representation of the People Act 1948 leading to seats contested at the 1950 general election.
- ^ Equally no changes were proposed to Farnham were proposed in the Boundary Commission for England's Third periodic review of Westminster seats
- Parliamentary constituencies in South East England (historic)
- Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1918
- Politics of Surrey
- Farnham