Wandsworth (UK Parliament constituency)

UK former constituency infobox
Name = Wandsworth
Type = Borough
Year = 1885
Abolition = 1918
members = one

Wandsworth was the name of a borough constituency in the Wandsworth area of South London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

The constituency was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the for the 1918 general election

Boundaries

In 1885 this was a parliamentary borough constituency located in the northern part of the county of Surrey.

In 1889 the County of London was created. Wandsworth formed part of the new county. In 1900 the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth was formed, as a local authority within the County of London. The Metropolitan Borough included a larger area than the parliamentary constituency, as it added Clapham to the areas which had been in the parliamentary borough.

The constituency grouped a number of communities in northern Surrey, which were converted into South London suburbs, due to the rapid expansion of the London conurbation before and during the existence of the constituency. When the County of London was created most of the comparatively empty land within its boundaries was in South London.

The constituency consisted of two blocks of territory, joined by a comparatively thin piece of land in the middle. In the north of the constituency, Putney was an area declining somewhat in status in the period. Working class housing was also spreading from the neighbouring area of Battersea, along the part of the south bank of the River Thames included in the parliamentary borough. However overall the district was middle class in character, with new estates being developed in the south-east end of the seat at Tooting and Streatham (to the south of Clapham).

The neighbouring parliamentary seats were Fulham (on the north bank of the Thames, opposite to the constituency); to the east of the northern part of the seat and to the north of the middle and south-eastern parts were Battersea and Clapham; to the east of the south-eastern part was Norwood; to the south-east of the constituency was Croydon; to the south was Wimbledon and to the west was Kingston.

In 1918 the Metropolitan Borough was split into five divisions. These divisions were Balham and Tooting, Clapham, Putney, Streatham and Wandsworth Central.

History

The constituency was, throughout its existence, a Conservative seat. The electorate expanded from 10,088 in 1885 to 39,911 in 1913, without altering the partisan leanings of the area.

The first MP for the seat was Henry Kimber, who was created a baronet in 1904. Kimber was a solicitor by profession. He continued to represent the constituency until he resigned in 1913. Even during the 1906 general election, which was a national Liberal landslide, Kimber only had his majority reduced to 545 (2.2%).

In the 1913 by-election the Conservative candidate, businessman Samuel Samuel, defeated the Liberal/Labour former MP for Middlesbrough - Joseph Havelock Wilson. Samuel continued to hold the seat until the constituency was split up in the 1918 redistribution.

Members of Parliament

Election results

Election box begin
title=General Election 1885: WandsworthElection box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Henry Kimber
votes = 4,459
percentage = 57.6
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Party (UK)
candidate = Robert Wallace
votes = 3,283
percentage = 42.4
change = "N/A"Election box majority
votes = 1,176
percentage = 15.2
change = "N/A"Election box turnout
votes = 7,742
percentage = 76.7
change = "N/A"Election box Registered electors
reg. electors = 10,088Election box gain with party link
winner = Conservative Party (UK)
loser = new seat
swing = "N/A"

Election box begin
title=General Election 1886: WandsworthElection box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Henry Kimber
votes = Unopposed
percentage = "N/A"
change = "N/A"Election box hold with party link
winner = Conservative Party (UK)
swing = "N/A"

Election box begin
title=General Election 1892: WandsworthElection box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Henry Kimber
votes = 5,913
percentage = 61.6
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Party (UK)
candidate = W.M. Crook
votes = 3,690
percentage = 38.4
change = "N/A"Election box majority
votes = 2,223
percentage = 23.2
change = "N/A"Election box turnout
votes = 9,603
percentage = 64.3
change = "N/A"Election box Registered electors
reg. electors = 14,936Election box hold with party link
winner = Conservative Party (UK)
swing = "N/A"

Election box begin
title=General Election 1895: WandsworthElection box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Henry Kimber
votes = 6,487
percentage = 66.6
change = +6.0Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Party (UK)
candidate = M. Mayhew
votes = 3,248
percentage = 33.4
change = -5.0Election box majority
votes = 3,239
percentage = 33.2
change = +10.0Election box turnout
votes = 9,603
percentage = 64.3
change = "N/A"Election box Registered electors
reg. electors = 17,075Election box hold with party link
winner = Conservative Party (UK)
swing = + 5.0 (L to C)

Election box begin
title=General Election 1900: WandsworthElection box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Henry Kimber
votes = Unopposed
percentage = "N/A"
change = "N/A"Election box hold with party link
winner = Conservative Party (UK)
swing = "N/A"

Election box begin
title=General Election 1906: WandsworthElection box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Sir Henry Kimber, Bt
votes = 12,433
percentage = 51.1
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Party (UK)
candidate = A.E. Reed
votes = 11,888
percentage = 48.9
change = "N/A"Election box majority
votes = 545
percentage = 2.2
change = "N/A"Election box turnout
votes = 24,321
percentage = 77.5
change = "N/A"Election box Registered electors
reg. electors = 31,398Election box hold with party link
winner = Conservative Party (UK)
swing = "N/A"

Election box begin
title=General Election January 1910: WandsworthElection box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Sir Henry Kimber, Bt
votes = 18,188
percentage = 56.9
change = +5.8Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Party (UK)
candidate = W.R. Warren
votes = 13,749
percentage = 43.1
change = -5.8Election box majority
votes = 4,439
percentage = 13.8
change = +11.6Election box turnout
votes = 31,937
percentage = 82.9
change = +5.4Election box Registered electors
reg. electors = 38,523Election box hold with party link
winner = Conservative Party (UK)
swing = +5.8 (L to C)

Election box begin
title=General Election December 1910: WandsworthElection box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Sir Henry Kimber, Bt
votes = 15,168
percentage = 59.0
change = +2.1Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Party (UK)
candidate = J. Fairbairn
votes = 10,554
percentage = 41.0
change = -2.1Election box majority
votes = 4,614
percentage = 18.0
change = +4.2Election box turnout
votes = 25,722
percentage = 66.8
change = -16.1Election box Registered electors
reg. electors = 38,523Election box hold with party link
winner = Conservative Party (UK)
swing = +2.1 (L to C)
* "Resignation of Kimber"

Election box begin
title=By-Election 12 June 1913: WandsworthElection box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Samuel Samuel
votes = 13,425
percentage = 65.4
change = +6.4Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal-Labour (UK)
candidate = J.H. Wilson
votes = 7,088
percentage = 34.6
change = -6.4Election box majority
votes = 6,337
percentage = 30.8
change = +12.8Election box turnout
votes = 20,513
percentage = 51.4
change = -15.4Election box Registered electors
reg. electors = 39,911Election box hold with party link
winner = Conservative Party (UK)
swing = +6.4 (L/Lab to C)
* "Note (1913): Wilson was categorised by Craig as Liberal/Labour which normally denotes an official Liberal candidate with ties to the trade union movement. The "Who's Who of British Members of Parliament" refers to Wilson in 1913 as an Independent Labour candidate with unofficial Liberal support. He was MP for Middlesbrough from 1892 to 1900 and again from 1906 to 1910. Both sources agree he was elected in 1892 as an Independent Labour candidate against a Liberal opponent, but thereafter sat as a Liberal/Labour member."
* "Constituency abolished (1918)"

References

* "Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972", compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
* "British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918", compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1974)
* "Social Geography of British Elections 1885-1910". by Henry Pelling (Macmillan 1967)
* "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)
*Rayment