Biggleswade (UK Parliament constituency)
Biggleswade | |
---|---|
Former constituency for the House of Commons | |
County | Bedfordshire |
Major settlements | Biggleswade |
1885–1918 | |
Seats | One |
Created from | Bedfordshire |
Replaced by | Bedford and Mid Bedfordshire |
Biggleswade was a county constituency in Bedfordshire which was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until its abolition in 1918. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post voting system.
Boundaries
[edit]The constituency was created as the Northern or Biggleswade Division of Bedfordshire under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, when the two-member Parliamentary County of Bedfordshire was divided into the two single-member constituencies of Biggleswade and Luton. It comprised the sessional divisions of Bedford, Biggleswade and Sharnbrook, part of the sessional division of Ampthill and the municipal borough of Bedford.[1] Only non-resident freeholders of the municipal borough (which comprised the Parliamentary Borough of Bedford) were entitled to vote.
The constituency was abolished in 1918. The northern part of the Division surrounding the Borough of Bedford, including Kempston, was included in the Bedford Division. The southern part, including Ampthill and Biggleswade, was included in the new Mid Bedfordshire Division.
Members of Parliament
[edit]Election | Member[2] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1885 | Charles Magniac | Liberal | |
1886 | Viscount Baring | Liberal Unionist | |
1892 | George Russell | Liberal | |
1895 | Lord Alwyne Compton | Liberal Unionist | |
1906 | Arthur Black | Liberal | |
1918 | Constituency abolished |
Elections
[edit]Elections in the 1880s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Charles Magniac | 6,037 | 57.7 | ||
Conservative | Walter Barttelot | 4,422 | 42.3 | ||
Majority | 1,615 | 15.4 | |||
Turnout | 10,459 | 78.5 | |||
Registered electors | 13,322 | ||||
Liberal win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Unionist | Francis Baring | 4,853 | 52.6 | +10.3 | |
Liberal | Charles Magniac | 4,371 | 47.4 | −10.3 | |
Majority | 482 | 5.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 9,224 | 69.2 | −9.3 | ||
Registered electors | 13,322 | ||||
Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | +10.3 |
Elections in the 1890s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | George Russell | 5,600 | 52.6 | +5.2 | |
Liberal Unionist | Francis Baring | 5,056 | 47.4 | −5.2 | |
Majority | 544 | 5.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 10,656 | 77.9 | +8.7 | ||
Registered electors | 13,686 | ||||
Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist | Swing | +5.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Unionist | Alwyne Compton | 5,643 | 51.2 | +3.8 | |
Liberal | George Russell | 5,376 | 48.8 | −3.8 | |
Majority | 267 | 2.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 11,019 | 80.2 | +2.3 | ||
Registered electors | 13,744 | ||||
Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | +3.8 |
Elections in the 1900s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Unionist | Alwyne Compton | Unopposed | |||
Liberal Unionist hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Arthur Black | 6,902 | 61.6 | New | |
Liberal Unionist | Alwyne Compton | 4,298 | 38.4 | N/A | |
Majority | 2,604 | 23.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 11,200 | 79.5 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 14,085 | ||||
Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist | Swing | N/A |
Elections in the 1910s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Arthur Black | 6,631 | 52.4 | −9.2 | |
Liberal Unionist | Rowland Prothero | 6,020 | 47.6 | +9.2 | |
Majority | 611 | 4.8 | −18.4 | ||
Turnout | 12,651 | 90.2 | +10.7 | ||
Liberal hold | Swing | −9.2 |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/30/1917_Sir_Arthur_Black.jpg/120px-1917_Sir_Arthur_Black.jpg)
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Arthur Black | 6,536 | 52.9 | +0.5 | |
Conservative | Geoffrey Carr Glyn | 5,808 | 47.1 | −0.5 | |
Majority | 728 | 5.8 | +1.0 | ||
Turnout | 12,344 | 88.0 | −2.2 | ||
Liberal hold | Swing | +0.5 |
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 July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
- Liberal: Arthur Black
- Unionist: Geoffrey Carr Glyn[9]
See also
[edit]- List of former United Kingdom Parliament constituencies
- Parliamentary franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918
References
[edit]- ^ Debretts Guide to the House of Commons 1886
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 3)
- ^ a b c d e f g h British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
- ^ a b c d e f The Liberal Year Book, 1907
- ^ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
- ^ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1896
- ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
- ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
- ^ Biggleswade Chronicle 15 May 1914