Birkenhead East (UK Parliament constituency)

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Birkenhead East
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
1918–1950
Seatsone
Created fromBirkenhead and Wirral
Replaced byBirkenhead, Bebington

Birkenhead East was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Birkenhead area of Merseyside. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

History[edit]

The constituency was created by the Representation of the People Act 1918 for the 1918 general election when the Parliamentary Borough of Birkenhead was split between the East and West Divisions.

It was abolished by the Representation of the People Act 1948 for the 1950 general election.

Boundaries[edit]

The County Borough of Birkenhead wards of Argyle, Bebington, Clifton, Egerton, and Mersey, and the part of the borough which lay between the eastern boundary of Argyle, Mersey and Bebington wards and the centre of the bed of the River Mersey.[1]

On abolition, southern parts (Bebington, Egerton and Mersea wards) were included in the new constituency of Bebington, and northern parts (Argyle and Clifton wards) were included in the reconstituted constituency of Birkenhead.

Members of Parliament[edit]

Year Member Party
1918 Alfred Bigland Unionist
1922 Graham White Liberal
1924 William Henry Stott Unionist
1929 Graham White Liberal
1945 Frank Soskice Labour
1950 constituency abolished

Election results[edit]

Election in the 1910s[edit]

General election 1918: Birkenhead East[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Unionist Alfred Bigland 13,012 64.5
Labour John Finigan 5,399 26.7
Liberal Graham White 1,787 8.8
Majority 7,613 37.8
Turnout 20,198 60.7
Unionist win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Election in the 1920s[edit]

General election 1922: Birkenhead East [3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Graham White 14,690 57.8 +49.0
Unionist Alfred Bigland 10,745 42.2 -22.3
Majority 3,945 15.6 N/A
Turnout 25,435 77.5 -16.8
Liberal gain from Unionist Swing +35.7
General election 1923: Birkenhead East [4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Graham White 15,845 63.5 +5.7
Unionist Luke Lees 9,091 36.5 -5.7
Majority 6,754 27.0 +11.4
Turnout 24,936 74.1 -3.4
Liberal hold Swing +5.7
General election 1924: Birkenhead East [5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist William Henry Stott 11,328 40.3 +3.8
Liberal Graham White 9,275 33.0 -30.5
Labour James Coulthard 7,496 26.7 New
Majority 2,053 7.3 N/A
Turnout 20,603 81.0 +6.9
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing
General election 1929: Birkenhead East [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Graham White 13,157 35.9 +2.9
Unionist Edmund Brocklebank 11,860 32.3 -8.0
Labour James Coulthard 11,654 31.8 +5.1
Majority 1,297 3.6 N/A
Turnout 25,017 78.8 -2.2
Liberal gain from Unionist Swing +5.5

Election in the 1930s[edit]

General election 1931: Birkenhead East[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Graham White 26,938 73.2 +37.3
Labour Charles McVey 9,868 26.8 -5.0
Majority 17,070 46.4 +42.8
Turnout 36,806 79.1 +0.3
Liberal hold Swing +21.2
General election 1935: Birkenhead East[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Graham White 16,548 48.1 -25.1
Conservative S J Hill 9,854 28.6 New
Labour Mary Mercer 8,028 23.3 -3.5
Majority 6,694 19.5 -26.9
Turnout 34,430 74.2 -4.9
Liberal hold Swing

Election in the 1940s[edit]

General election 1945: Birkenhead East:[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Frank Soskice 14,790 45.5 +22.2
Liberal Graham White 10,140 31.1 -17.0
Conservative Frederick Newell Bucher 7,624 23.4 -5.2
Majority 4,650 14.4 N/A
Turnout 32,554 73.6 -0.6
Labour gain from Liberal Swing +19.6

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Fraser, Hugh (1918). The Representation of the people act, 1918 : with explanatory notes. University of California Libraries. London : Sweet and Maxwell.
  2. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  3. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  4. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  5. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  6. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  7. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  8. ^ "Obituary: Sir Walter Fletcher Former M.P. For Bury". The Times. 7 April 1956. p. 11.
  9. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  10. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
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