Bury and Radcliffe (UK Parliament constituency)

Bury and Radcliffe was a parliamentary constituency centred on the towns of Bury and Radcliffe in North West England. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a Conservative seat until the 1964 General Election when Labour won it for the first time.

Bury and Radcliffe
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
CountyLancashire, until 1974;
Greater Manchester, from 1974
Major settlementsBury and Radcliffe
19501983
SeatsOne
Created fromBury
Heywood and Radcliffe
Replaced byBury North
Bury South

The constituency was created for the 1950 general election, and abolished for the 1983 general election, when it was split into two new constituencies – Bury North and Bury South.

Boundaries edit

Bury and Radcliffe in Lancashire, boundaries used 1974-83

The County Borough of Bury, the Borough of Radcliffe, and the Urban District of Tottington.

Members of Parliament edit

ElectionMemberParty
1950Walter FletcherConservative
1955John BidgoodConservative
1964David EnsorLabour
1970Michael FidlerConservative
Oct 1974Frank WhiteLabour
1983constituency abolished: see Bury North & Bury South

Election results edit

Elections in the 1950s edit

General election 1950: Bury and Radcliffe
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
ConservativeWalter Fletcher 26,485 45.8
LabourJohn Owen25,70544.4
LiberalColin Hindley5,6629.8
Majority7801.4
Turnout57,85287.0
Conservative win (new seat)
General election 1951: Bury and Radcliffe
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
ConservativeWalter Fletcher 29,949 51.6 +5.8
LabourLewis Wright28,05848.4+4.0
Majority1,8913.2+1.8
Turnout58,00786.5−0.5
Conservative holdSwing+0.7
General election 1955: Bury and Radcliffe
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
ConservativeJohn Bidgood 28,080 53.6 +2.0
LabourThomas Brennan24,33146.4−2.0
Majority3,7497.2+4.0
Turnout52,41180.2−6.3
Conservative holdSwing+2.0
General election 1959: Bury and Radcliffe
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
ConservativeJohn Bidgood 28,623 53.7 +0.1
LabourRobert Patrick Walsh24,71546.3−0.1
Majority3,9087.4+0.2
Turnout53,33882.2+2.0
Conservative holdSwing+0.1

Elections in the 1960s edit

General election 1964: Bury and Radcliffe
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
LabourDavid Ensor 23,865 44.1 −2.2
ConservativeJohn Bidgood22,63941.9−11.8
LiberalCharles L. Scholes7,58914.0New
Majority1,2262.2N/A
Turnout54,09382.3+0.1
Labour gain from ConservativeSwing+4.8
General election 1966: Bury and Radcliffe
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
LabourDavid Ensor 26,769 49.8 +5.7
ConservativeJohn Bidgood22,29841.5−0.4
LiberalCharles L. Scholes4,6948.7−5.3
Majority4,4718.3+6.1
Turnout53,76181.3−1.0
Labour holdSwing+3.1

Elections in the 1970s edit

General election 1970: Bury and Radcliffe
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
ConservativeMichael Fidler 29,796 52.8 +11.3
LabourDennis V. Hunt26,59247.2−2.6
Majority3,2045.6N/A
Turnout56,38875.6−5.7
Conservative gain from LabourSwing+7.0
General election February 1974: Bury and Radcliffe
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
ConservativeMichael Fidler 31,113 50.3 −2.5
LabourFrank White30,76849.7+2.5
Majority3450.6-5.0
Turnout61,88180.2+4.6
Conservative holdSwing−2.5
General election October 1974: Bury and Radcliffe
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
LabourFrank White 26,430 42.0 −7.7
ConservativeMichael Fidler25,98841.3−9.0
LiberalA. Benson10,46316.6New
Majority4420.7N/A
Turnout62,89180.8+0.6
Labour gain from ConservativeSwing+0.7
General election 1979: Bury and Radcliffe
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
LabourFrank White 29,194 45.3 +3.3
ConservativePeter J. Le Bosquet29,15645.2+3.9
LiberalS. Vickers5,7118.9−7.7
National FrontJ.M. Bridge4140.6New
Majority380.1-0.6
Turnout64,47582.6+1.8
Labour holdSwing

References edit