Walsall (UK Parliament constituency)

Walsall
Walsall
Former Borough constituency; for the House of Commons
1832–1955
Seats	one

Walsall was a borough constituency centred on the town of Walsall in the West Midlands of England. 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.

Boundaries edit

Throughout its existence, the seat included the entirety of the County Borough of Walsall. In 1955, it was split into Walsall North and Walsall South^[1]

Members of Parliament edit

	Member	Party
1832	Charles Smith Forster	Tory^[2]
1834	Charles Smith Forster	Conservative^[2]
1837	Francis Finch	Radical^[2]^[3]
February 1841	John Neilson Gladstone	Conservative^[2]
June 1841	Robert Scott	Whig^[2]^[4]
1847	Edward Littleton	Whig^[5]^[6]^[7]
1852	Sir Charles Forster	Radical^[8]^[9]^[5]^[7]
1859	Sir Charles Forster	Liberal
1891 by-election	Edward Thomas Holden	Liberal
1892	Frank James	Conservative
1893 by-election	Sir Arthur Hayter	Liberal
1895	Sydney Gedge	Conservative
1900	Sir Arthur Hayter	Liberal
1906	Edward Marten Dunne	Liberal
January 1910	Sir Richard Cooper	Conservative
1918	Sir Richard Cooper	National
1922	Pat Collins	Liberal
1924	William Preston	Conservative
1925 by-election	William Preston	Conservative
1929	John James McShane	Labour
1931	Joseph Leckie	Liberal
1935	Joseph Leckie	Liberal National
1938 by-election	Sir George Schuster	Liberal National
1945	William Wells	Labour
1955	constituency abolished: see Walsall North and Walsall South

Elections edit

Elections in the 1830s edit

General election 1832: Walsall^[10]^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	Charles Smith Forster	304	56.8
	Radical	George de Bosco Attwood	231	43.2
Majority			73	13.6
Turnout			535	89.6
Registered electors			597
	Tory win (new seat)

General election 1835: Walsall^[10]^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Charles Smith Forster	Unopposed
Registered electors			578
	Conservative hold

General election 1837: Walsall^[10]^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Radical	Francis Finch	316	51.6
	Conservative	Charles Smith Forster	296	48.4
Majority			20	3.2
Turnout			612	82.0
Registered electors			746
	Radical gain from Conservative

Elections in the 1840s edit

Finch resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, causing a by-election.

By-election, 2 February 1841: Walsall^[10]^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Neilson Gladstone	362	51.9	+3.5
	Radical	John Benjamin Smith	335	48.1	−3.5
Majority			27	3.8	N/A
Turnout			697	86.3	+4.3
Registered electors			808
	Conservative gain from Radical		Swing	+3.5

General election 1841: Walsall^[10]^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Robert Wellbeloved Scott	334	51.7	+0.1
	Conservative	John Neilson Gladstone	312	48.3	−0.1
Majority			22	3.4	N/A
Turnout			646	80.0	−2.0
Registered electors			808
	Whig gain from Radical		Swing

General election 1847: Walsall^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Edward Littleton	289	41.6	−10.1
	Radical	Charles Forster	282	40.6	N/A
	Conservative	William Henry Cooke^[11]	124	17.8	−30.5
Majority			7	1.0	−2.4
Turnout			695	81.2	+1.2
Registered electors			856
	Whig hold		Swing	+2.6

Elections in the 1850s edit

General election 1852: Walsall^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Radical	Charles Forster	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,026
	Radical gain from Whig

General election 1857: Walsall^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Radical	Charles Forster	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,188
	Radical hold

General election 1859: Walsall^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Forster	495	56.4	*N/A*
	Conservative	Charles Bagnall^[12]	383	43.6	New
Majority			112	12.8	N/A
Turnout			878	80.4	N/A
Registered electors			1,092
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1860s edit

General election 1865: Walsall^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Charles Forster	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,296
	Liberal hold

General election 1868: Walsall^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Charles Forster	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,047
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1870s edit

General election 1874: Walsall^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Forster	3,364	66.0	*N/A*
	Conservative	William Morrison Bell^[13]	1,731	34.0	New
Majority			1,633	32.0	N/A
Turnout			5,095	58.7	N/A
Registered electors			8,684
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1880s edit

General election 1880: Walsall^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Charles Forster	Unopposed
Registered electors			9,537
	Liberal hold

General election 1885: Walsall^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Forster	5,112	59.8	*N/A*
	Conservative	Frank James	3,435	40.2	New
Majority			1,677	19.6	N/A
Turnout			8,547	79.6	N/A
Registered electors			10,742
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1886: Walsall^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Forster	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1890s edit

Forster's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 12 Aug 1891: Walsall^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Holden	4,899	52.9	*N/A*
	Conservative	Frank James	4,360	47.1	New
Majority			539	5.8	N/A
Turnout			9,259	79.1	N/A
Registered electors			11,712
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1892: Walsall^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frank James	5,226	51.2	*N/A*
	Liberal	Edward Holden	4,989	48.8	N/A
Majority			237	2.4	N/A
Turnout			10,215	85.7	N/A
Registered electors			11,915
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

The election was declared void on petition.

By-election, 9 Feb 1893: Walsall^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Hayter	5,235	50.4	+1.6
	Conservative	Charles Ritchie	5,156	49.6	−1.6
Majority			79	0.8	N/A
Turnout			10,391	87.8	+2.1
Registered electors			11,838
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+1.6

General election 1895: Walsall^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sydney Gedge	5,145	51.6	+0.4
	Liberal	Arthur Hayter	4,828	48.4	−0.4
Majority			317	3.2	+0.8
Turnout			9,973	90.5	+4.8
Registered electors			11,015
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.4

Elections in the 1900s edit

General election 1900: Walsall^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Hayter	5,610	51.5	+3.1
	Conservative	Sydney Gedge	5,285	48.5	−3.1
Majority			325	3.0	N/A
Turnout			10,895	84.8	−5.7
Registered electors			12,851
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+3.1

General election 1906: Walsall^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Dunne	7,092	54.6	+3.1
	Conservative	Bernall Bagshawe	5,893	45.4	-3.1
Majority			1,199	9.2	+6.2
Turnout			12,985	91.9	+7.1
Registered electors			14,127
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.1

Elections in the 1910s edit

General election January 1910: Walsall^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Cooper	7,290	51.9	+6.5
	Liberal	Edward Dunne	6,745	48.1	−6.5
Majority			545	3.8	N/A
Turnout			14,035	95.4	+3.5
Registered electors			14,713
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+6.5

General election December 1910: Walsall^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Cooper	7,174	52.9	+1.0
	Liberal	John Morgan	6,385	47.1	-1.0
Majority			789	5.8	+2.0
Turnout			13,559	92.2	-3.2
Registered electors			14,713
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.0

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;

Unionist: Richard Cooper
Liberal: William Henry Brown^[15]

General election 1918: Walsall^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Richard Cooper	14,491	52.3	−0.6
	Labour	Joseph Thickett	8,336	30.0	New
	Liberal	William Henry Brown	4,914	17.7	−29.4
Majority			6,155	22.3	N/A
Turnout			27,741	64.7	−27.5
	National gain from Unionist		Swing

Cooper founded the National Party and had the support of the local Unionist Association. However, his candidature was not supported by Unionist party HQ or the Coalition Government.

Elections in the 1920s edit

General election 1922: Walsall ^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Pat Collins	14,674	38.6	+20.9
	Unionist	Alice Cooper	14,349	37.8	-14.5
	Labour	Robert Dennison	8,946	23.6	-6.4
Majority			325	0.8	N/A
Turnout			37,969
	Liberal gain from National		Swing	+17.7

General election 6 December 1923: Walsall ^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Pat Collins	16,304	43.5	+4.9
	Unionist	Sydney Kersland Lewis	14,141	37.8	0.0
	Labour	Arthur Carr Osburn	7,007	18.7	-4.9
Majority			2,163	5.7	+4.9
Turnout			37,452	82.6
	Liberal hold		Swing	-2.4

General election 1924: Walsall ^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	William Preston	15,168	37.9	+0.1
	Liberal	Pat Collins	12,734	31.8	-11.7
	Labour	Lothian Small	11,474	28.7	+10.0
	Independent	J J Lynch	622	1.6	New
Majority			2,434	6.1	N/A
Turnout			39,998	83.0	+0.4
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing

1925 Walsall by-election^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	William Preston	14,793	38.2	+0.3
	Liberal	Thomas Macnamara	12,300	31.8	0.0
	Labour	Lothian Small	11,610	30.0	+1.3
Majority			2,493	6.4	+0.3
Turnout			38,703	83.4
	Unionist hold		Swing	+0.1

General election 1929: Walsall ^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John McShane	20,524	39.6	+9.6
	Unionist	William Preston	15,818	30.6	-7.6
	Liberal	Thomas Macnamara	15,425	29.8	-2.0
Majority			4,706	9.0	N/A
Turnout			51,767	85.9	+2.9
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+8.6

Elections in the 1930s edit

General election 1931: Walsall^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Joseph Leckie	30,507	56.0	+26.2
	Labour	John McShane	23,952	44.0	+4.4
Majority			6,555	12.0	N/A
Turnout			54,459	86.3	+0.4
	Liberal gain from Labour		Swing	+10.9

Conservative candidate, William J Talbot, withdrew.

General election 1935: Walsall^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	Joseph Leckie	28,563	57.5	+1.5
	Labour	William Graham	19,594	39.5	-4.5
	Christian Socialist	J A Harper	1,480	3.0	New
Majority			8,959	18.0	+6.0
Turnout			49,637	75.3	-11.0
	National Liberal hold		Swing	+3.0

1938 Walsall by-election^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	George Schuster	28,720	57.1	-0.4
	Labour	George Jeger	21,562	42.9	+3.4
Majority			7,158	14.2	-3.8
Turnout			50,282	75.9	+0.6
	National Liberal hold		Swing	-0.4

Elections in the 1940s edit

General Election 1939–40:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election and by the end of the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

Liberal National: George Schuster
Labour: A J Stanley^[18]

General election 1945: Walsall^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Wells	28,324	53.9	+14.4
	National Liberal	George Schuster	24,197	46.1	-11.4
Majority			4,127	7.8	N/A
Turnout			52,521	76.2	+0.9
	Labour gain from National Liberal		Swing

Elections in the 1950s edit

General election 1950: Walsall^[19]^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Wells	36,483	56.0	+2.1
	National Liberal	John Barlow	28,700	44.0	-2.1
Majority			7,783	12.0	+4.2
Turnout			65,183	86.2	+10.0
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1951: Walsall^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Wells	33,556	52.3	-3.7
	Conservative	Frank Roper	23,083	36.0	-8.0
	Liberal	Barbara Lewis	7,517	11.7	New
Majority			10,473	16.3	+4.3
Turnout			64,156	83.1	-3.1
	Labour hold		Swing

References edit

^ Craig, F.W.S., ed. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1985-1972. Chichester, Sussex: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0-900178-09-4.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Stooks Smith, Henry (1845). The Parliaments of England, from 1st George I., to the Present Time. Vol II: Oxfordshire to Wales Inclusive. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. p. 50. Retrieved 12 December 2018 – via Google Books.
^ "State of Polls, & Members Returned". Worcester Journal. 27 July 1837. p. 3. Retrieved 21 December 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "Members Returned". Norfolk Chronicle. 3 July 1841. p. 2. Retrieved 21 December 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ ^a ^b "The General Election". Morning Post. 29 July 1847. pp. 2–4. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ Miller, Henry (2015). Politics Personified: Portraiture, Caricature and Visual Culture in Britain, c. 1830-80. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-7190-9084-4. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b "Walsall". Globe. 29 July 1847. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "The Elections and their Results". Manchester Times. 10 July 1852. pp. 6–7. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "The Elections". Morning Post. 30 July 1847. p. 4. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. p. 317. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
^ "The Elections". Hereford Journal. 21 July 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 22 December 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "Walsall Election". Walsall Free Press and General Advertiser. 21 May 1859. p. 1. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "The General Election". The Morning Post. 31 January 1874. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 22 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. p. 201. ISBN 9781349022984.
^ Black Country History
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 by FWS Craig
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
^ Report of the Annual Conference, 1939
^ ^a ^b British parliamentary election results 1950-1973 by FWS Craig
^ The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1950.

Sources edit

Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 1)

[1] Craig, F.W.S., ed. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1985-1972. Chichester, Sussex: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0-900178-09-4.

[stookssmith-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Stooks Smith, Henry (1845). The Parliaments of England, from 1st George I., to the Present Time. Vol II: Oxfordshire to Wales Inclusive. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. p. 50. Retrieved 12 December 2018 – via Google Books.

[3] "State of Polls, & Members Returned". Worcester Journal. 27 July 1837. p. 3. Retrieved 21 December 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[4] "Members Returned". Norfolk Chronicle. 3 July 1841. p. 2. Retrieved 21 December 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[morningpost1847-5] "The General Election". Morning Post. 29 July 1847. pp. 2–4. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[6] Miller, Henry (2015). Politics Personified: Portraiture, Caricature and Visual Culture in Britain, c. 1830-80. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-7190-9084-4. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via Google Books.

[globe1847-7] "Walsall". Globe. 29 July 1847. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[8] "The Elections and their Results". Manchester Times. 10 July 1852. pp. 6–7. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[9] "The Elections". Morning Post. 30 July 1847. p. 4. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[craig1832-10] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. p. 317. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.

[11] "The Elections". Hereford Journal. 21 July 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 22 December 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[12] "Walsall Election". Walsall Free Press and General Advertiser. 21 May 1859. p. 1. Retrieved 15 July 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[13] "The General Election". The Morning Post. 31 January 1874. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 22 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[craig1885-14] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. p. 201. ISBN 9781349022984.

[15] Black Country History

[ReferenceA-16] British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 by FWS Craig

[ReferenceB-17] British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig

[18] Report of the Annual Conference, 1939

[ReferenceC-19] British parliamentary election results 1950-1973 by FWS Craig

[20] The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1950.

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Walsall
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons
1832–1955
Seats	one