London University (UK Parliament constituency)

London University
Former university constituency
for the House of Commons
1868–1950
Seats1

London University was a university constituency electing one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, from 1868 to 1950.

Boundaries, electorate and history

This university constituency was created by the Reform Act 1867. The first election took place during the 1868 United Kingdom general election. The constituency returned one Member of Parliament, using the first past the post electoral system.

The constituency was not a physical area. Its electorate consisted of the graduates of the University of London. Before 1918 only male graduates qualified. From 1918 all graduates qualified, including women over thirty (reduced to twenty one when universal adult suffrage on equal terms was introduced before the 1929 United Kingdom general election).

The constituency was almost abolished in 1918. The original proposal of the Speaker's Conference, which considered electoral reform before the Representation of the People Act 1918 was enacted, 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 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.[1]

All the university constituencies were abolished in 1950, by the Representation of the People Act 1948.

Members of Parliament

This is a list of people who have represented this university in the Parliament of the United Kingdom between 1868 and 1950.

Year Member Party
1868 Rt Hon. Robert Lowe 1 Liberal
1880 Sir John Lubbock 2
1886 Liberal Unionist
1900 Sir Michael Foster
1903 Liberal
1906 Philip Magnus Liberal Unionist
1912 Unionist
1918 Coalition Unionist
1922 Sir Sydney Russell-Wells 3 Unionist
1924 Sir Ernest Graham-Little 4 Independent
1931 National Independent
1950 Constituency abolished

Notes:-

  • 1 Lowe was elevated to the peerage as The 1st Viscount Sherbrooke.
  • 2 Lubbock was elevated to the peerage as The 1st Baron Avebury.
  • 3 Russell-Wells died on 14 July 1924 – the seat was vacant at dissolution.
  • 4 Graham-Little, as an Independent MP, supported the National Governments in office from 1931 until the formation of the wartime coalition in 1940. He also supported Winston Churchill's caretaker government in 1945 and his proposed continuation in office if he had won the 1945 election. Graham-Little is therefore classified as a National Independent MP from 1931.

Elections

General elections, from 1918 when most constituencies polled on the same day, were on different polling days from territorial constituencies. The polls for university constituencies were open for five days.

Coalition Conservative is considered to be equivalent to Conservative, as is National Independent equivalent to Independent.

1860s – 1870s – 1880s – 1890s – 1900s – 1910s – 1920s – 1930s – 1940s

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1868: London University[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Lowe Unopposed
Registered electors 1,160
Liberal win (new seat)

Lowe was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer in Gladstone's government.

By-election, 21 December 1868: London University[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Lowe Unopposed
Liberal hold

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: London University[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Lowe Unopposed
Registered electors 1,485
Liberal hold

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: London University[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Robert Lowe 1,014 65.5 N/A
Conservative Arthur Charles 535 34.5 New
Majority 479 31.0 N/A
Turnout 1,549 79.6 N/A
Registered electors 1,947
Liberal hold Swing N/A

Lowe was elevated to the peerage as the 1st Viscount Sherbrooke, causing a by-election.

By-election 3 June 1880: London University[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Lubbock Unopposed
Liberal hold
General election 1885: London University[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Lubbock Unopposed
Liberal hold

Lubbock joined the breakaway Liberal Unionist Party in 1886.

General election 1886: London University[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist John Lubbock 1,314 71.8 N/A
Liberal Frederic Harrison 516 28.2 N/A
Majority 798 43.6 N/A
Turnout 1,830 71.0 N/A
Registered electors 2,579
Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal Swing N/A

This was a gain for the Liberal Unionist Party, but a hold for Lubbock personally.

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: London University[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist John Lubbock Unopposed
Liberal Unionist hold
General election 1895: London University[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist John Lubbock Unopposed
Liberal Unionist hold

Elections in the 1900s

Lubbock was elevated to the peerage as the 1st Baron Avebury, triggering a by-election.

1900 London University by-election[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist Michael Foster 1,271 46.8 N/A
Liberal William Job Collins 863 31.7 New
Independent Liberal Unionist Edward Henry Busk 586 21.5 New
Majority 408 15.1 N/A
Turnout 2,720 61.8 N/A
Registered electors 4,403
Liberal Unionist hold Swing N/A
General election 1900: London University[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist Michael Foster Unopposed
Liberal Unionist hold
General election 1906: London University[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist Philip Magnus 1,840 50.3 N/A
Liberal Michael Foster 1,816 49.7 New
Majority 24 0.6 N/A
Turnout 3,656 70.1 N/A
Registered electors 5,212
Liberal Unionist hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: London University
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist Philip Magnus 2,625 57.65 +7.32
Liberal Joseph West Ridgeway 1,928 42.35 −7.32
Majority 697 15.30 +14.64
Turnout 4,553 75.01 +4.86
Registered electors 6,070
Liberal Unionist hold Swing +7.32
General election December 1910: London University
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist Philip Magnus 2,579 58.14 +0.49
Liberal Victor Horsley 1,857 41.86 −0.49
Majority 722 16.28 +0.98
Turnout 4,436 73.08 −1.93
Registered electors 6,070
Liberal Unionist hold Swing +0.49

The Liberal Unionist Party merged with the Conservative Party in 1912, but its former members continued to be known collectively as the Unionist Party. (They are not to be confused with the contemporary Unionist Party in Scotland, which also later merged with the Conservatives.)

General election 1918: London University
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Unionist Philip Magnus 2,810 41.56 −16.58
Labour Sidney Webb 2,141 31.67 New
Teachers Annesley Somerville 885 13.09 New
Independent Wilmot Herringham 715 10.58 New
Ind. Unionist Charles Louis Nordon 210 3.11 New
Majority 669 9.89 −6.39
Turnout 6,761 69.01 −4.07
Registered electors 9,797
Unionist hold Swing N/A
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: London University
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Sydney Russell-Wells 3,833 51.52 +9.96
Liberal Albert Pollard 2,180 29.30 New
Labour H. G. Wells 1,427 19.18 −12.49
Majority 1,653 22.22 +12.33
Turnout 7,440 67.64 −1.37
Registered electors 11,000
Unionist hold Swing
General election 1923: London University
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Sydney Russell-Wells 4,037 50.15 −1.37
Liberal Albert Pollard 2,593 32.21 +2.91
Labour H. G. Wells 1,420 17.64 −1.54
Majority 1,444 17.94 −4.28
Turnout 8,050 71.28 +3.64
Registered electors 11,293
Unionist hold Swing −2.14
General election 1924: London University
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Ernest Graham-Little 3,202 37.06 +37.06
Unionist John Bradford 2,813 32.55 −17.60
Liberal Albert Pollard 1,539 17.81 −14.40
Labour Frank George Bushnell 1,087 12.58 −5.06
Majority 389 4.51 N/A
Turnout 8,641 72.03 +0.75
Registered electors 11,997
Independent gain from Unionist Swing
General election 1929: London University
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Ernest Graham-Little 5,869 53.5 +16.4
Liberal Walter Layton 2,923 26.6 +8.8
Unionist Sir John William Gilbert 2,179 19.9 −12.7
Majority 2,946 26.9 +22.4
Turnout 10,971 70.5 −1.5
Independent hold Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: London University
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Ernest Graham-Little 8,461 72.97 +19.47
Ind. Nationalist Archibald Church 3,134 27.03 +27.03
Majority 5,327 45.94 +19.09
Turnout 11,595 70.27 −0.25
Registered electors 16,501
National hold Swing
General election 1935: London University
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Ernest Graham-Little 8,958 69.57 −3.40
Labour Norman Angell 3,918 30.43 New
Majority 5,040 39.14 −6.80
Turnout 12,876 71.74 +1.47
Registered electors 17,949
National hold Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: London University
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Ernest Graham-Little 7,618 50.49 −19.08
Independent Progressive Mary Stocks 7,469 49.51 New
Majority 149 0.98 −38.16
Turnout 15,087 63.00 −8.74
Registered electors 23,948
National hold Swing

See also

References

  1. ^ Pugh 1978
  2. ^ a b c d e Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885–1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.

Bibliography

  • Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885–1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
  • British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1977)
  • British Parliamentary Election Results 1885–1918, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1974)
  • British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press, revised edition 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 I 1832–1885, edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976)
  • Who's Who of British members of parliament, Volume II 1886–1918, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1978)
  • Who's Who of British members of parliament, Volume III 1919–1945, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1979)
  • Who's Who of British members of parliament, Volume IV 1945–1979, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1981)
  • Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 3)
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