Limehouse (UK Parliament constituency)

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Limehouse
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Limehouse in London 1885-1918
Limehouse in London 1918-50
18851950
Seatsone
Created fromTower Hamlets
Replaced byStepney

Limehouse was a borough constituency centred on the Limehouse district of the East End of London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

History[edit]

The constituency was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1950 general election.

Its most prominent MP was Labour's Clement Attlee, party leader from 1935 to 1955, and Prime Minister from 1945 to 1951.

Boundaries[edit]

In 1885 the area was administered as part of the county of Middlesex. It was located in the Tower division, in the east of the historic county. The neighbourhood of Limehouse formed a division of the parliamentary borough of Tower Hamlets. The parliamentary division was part of the East End of London.

In 1889 the Tower division of Middlesex was severed from the county, for administrative purposes. It became part of the County of London. In 1900 the lower tier of local government in London was re-modelled. Limehouse became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney.

When a re-distribution of parliamentary seats took place in 1918, the constituency became a division of Stepney. It comprised the wards of Limehouse North, Limehouse South, Mile End Old Town North East, Mile End Old Town South East, and Ratcliffe.

Members of Parliament[edit]

Election Member Party
1885 Edward Samuel Norris Conservative
1892 John Wallace Liberal
1895 Harry Samuel Conservative
1906 William Pearce Liberal
1922 Clement Attlee Labour
1950 constituency abolished

Election results[edit]

Elections in the 1880s[edit]

General election 1885: Tower Hamlets, Limehouse[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Edward Samuel Norris 2,566 60.5
Liberal James George Cotton Minchin 1,676 39.5
Majority 890 21.0
Turnout 4,242 71.2
Registered electors 5,954
Conservative win (new seat)
General election 1886: Tower Hamlets, Limehouse[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Edward Samuel Norris 2,230 61.0 +0.5
Liberal Thomas Edward Scrutton 1,428 39.0 −0.5
Majority 802 22.0 +1.0
Turnout 3,658 61.4 −9.8
Registered electors 5,954
Conservative hold Swing +0.5

Elections in the 1890s[edit]

General election 1892: Tower Hamlets, Limehouse[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Stewart Wallace 2,475 51.8 +12.8
Conservative Harry Samuel 2,305 48.2 −12.8
Majority 170 3.6 N/A
Turnout 4,780 74.0 +12.6
Registered electors 6,456
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +12.8
Harry Samuel
General election 1895: Tower Hamlets, Limehouse[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Harry Samuel 2,661 56.2 +8.0
Lib-Lab William Marcus Thompson[2] 2,071 43.8 −8.0
Majority 590 12.4 N/A
Turnout 4,732 75.0 +1.0
Registered electors 6,309
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +8.0

Elections in the 1900s (decade)[edit]

General election 1900: Tower Hamlets, Limehouse[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Harry Samuel 2,608 55.8 −0.4
Liberal William Pearce 2,070 44.2 +0.4
Majority 538 11.6 −0.8
Turnout 4,678 68.4 −6.6
Registered electors 6,835
Conservative hold Swing −0.4
Pearce
General election 1906: Tower Hamlets, Limehouse[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Pearce 2,981 59.8 +15.6
Conservative Harry Samuel 2,007 40.2 −15.6
Majority 974 19.6 N/A
Turnout 4,988 80.0 +11.6
Registered electors 6,234
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +15.6

Elections in the 1910s[edit]

General election January 1910: Tower Hamlets, Limehouse
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Pearce 2,826 54.1 −5.7
Conservative George Borwick 2,395 45.9 +5.7
Majority 431 8.2 −11.4
Turnout 5,221 81.5 +1.5
Registered electors 6,405
Liberal hold Swing -5.7
General election December 1910: Tower Hamlets, Limehouse
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Pearce 2,557 54.6 +0.5
Conservative Patrick Rose-Innes 2,126 45.4 −0.5
Majority 431 9.2 +1.0
Turnout 4,683 73.1 −8.4
Registered electors 6,405
Liberal hold Swing +0.5
General election 1918: Stepney, Limehouse
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Liberal William Pearce 5,860 59.9 +5.3
Labour D. D. Sheehan 2,470 25.2 New
National Charles Herbert Roswell 1,455 14.9 New
Majority 3,390 34.7 +25.5
Turnout 29,275 33.4 −39.7
Liberal hold Swing N/A
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s[edit]

General election 1922: Limehouse
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Clement Attlee 9,688 55.4 +30.2
National Liberal William Pearce 7,789 44.6 -15.3
Majority 1,899 10.8 N/A
Turnout 17,477 57.8 +24.4
Labour gain from National Liberal Swing +22.7
General election 1923: Limehouse
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Clement Attlee 11,473 68.5 +13.1
Unionist Thomas Miller-Jones 5,288 31.5 New
Majority 6,185 37.0 +26.2
Turnout 30,452 55.0 -2.8
Labour hold Swing N/A
General election 1924: Stepney, Limehouse
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Clement Attlee 11,713 57.7 -8.8
Unionist Thomas Miller-Jones 5,692 28.1 -3.4
Liberal Henry Bryant Marks 2,869 14.2 New
Majority 6,021 29.6 -7.4
Turnout 30,927 65.6 +10.6
Labour hold Swing -3.7
General election 1929: Limehouse [3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Clement Attlee 13,872 55.9 -1.8
Unionist Evan Morgan 6,584 26.5 -1.6
Liberal Jasper Addis 4,116 16.6 +2.4
Communist Wally Tapsell 245 1.0 New
Majority 7,288 29.4 -0.2
Turnout 38,440 64.6 -1.0
Labour hold Swing -0.1

Elections in the 1930s[edit]

General election 1931: Stepney, Limehouse
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Clement Attlee 11,354 50.5 -5.4
Conservative R. Girouard 10,803 48.1 +21.6
New Party Herbert L. Hodge 307 1.4 New
Majority 551 2.4 -27.0
Turnout 38,682 58.1 -6.5
Labour hold Swing -13.5
General election 1935: Stepney, Limehouse
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Clement Attlee 14,600 66.5 +16.0
Conservative Charles John Busby 7,355 33.5 -14.6
Majority 7,245 33.0 +30.6
Turnout 37,020 59.3 +1.2
Labour hold Swing +15.3

Elections in the 1940s[edit]

General election 1945: Stepney, Limehouse
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Clement Attlee 8,398 83.8 +17.3
Conservative Alfred N Peter Woodard 1,618 16.2 -17.3
Majority 6,780 67.6 +34.6
Turnout 16,367 61.2 +1.9
Labour hold Swing +17.3

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
  2. ^ William Benjamin Owen. "Thompson, William Marcus (DNB12)". Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement.
  3. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  • Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Constituency represented by the prime minister
1945–1950
Succeeded by