Oldham was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Oldham, England. It returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency was created by the Great Reform Act of 1832 and was abolished for the 1950 general election when it was split into the Oldham East and Oldham West constituencies.
Oldham | |
---|---|
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
1832–1950 | |
Seats | two |
Created from | Lancashire |
Replaced by | Oldham East and Oldham West |
The Oldham constituency was where Winston Churchill began his political career. Although taking two attempts to succeed, in the 1900 general election Churchill was elected as the member of Parliament for Oldham. He held the constituency for the Conservative Party until he defected from them in defence of free trade in 1904. He then represented the Liberal Party as MP for the seat until the 1906 general election.
Though centred on Oldham (the town), the constituency covered a much broader territory; Shaw and Crompton, Royton, Chadderton and Lees all formed part of this district, though these were each granted individual urban district status at a local government level in 1894.
1885–1918: The existing parliamentary borough, and so much of the municipal borough of Oldham as was not already included in the parliamentary borough.[1]
Notes:-
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | John Fielden | 677 | 43.0 | ||
Radical | William Cobbett | 645 | 40.9 | ||
Whig | Benjamin Heywood Bright[24] | 150 | 9.5 | ||
Tory | William Burge | 101 | 6.4 | ||
Whig | George Stephen | 3 | 0.2 | ||
Majority | 495 | 31.4 | |||
Turnout | 848 | 75.0 | |||
Registered electors | 1,131 | ||||
Radical win (new seat) | |||||
Radical win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | John Fielden | Unopposed | |||
Radical | William Cobbett | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 1,029 | ||||
Radical hold | |||||
Radical hold |
Cobbett's death caused a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Frederick Lees | 394 | 48.7 | ||
Radical | John Morgan Cobbett | 381 | 47.1 | ||
Radical | Feargus O'Connor | 34 | 4.2 | ||
Majority | 13 | 1.6 | |||
Turnout | 809 | 78.6 | |||
Registered electors | 1,029 | ||||
Conservative gain from Radical |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | William Augustus Johnson | 545 | 32.4 | ||
Radical | John Fielden | 541 | 32.2 | ||
Conservative | Joseph Jones | 315 | 18.8 | ||
Conservative | John Frederick Lees | 279 | 16.6 | ||
Majority | 226 | 13.4 | |||
Turnout | 859 | 62.6 | |||
Registered electors | 1,372 | ||||
Radical hold | |||||
Radical hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | John Fielden | Unopposed | |||
Radical | William Augustus Johnson | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 1,467 | ||||
Radical hold | |||||
Radical hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | William Johnson Fox | 726 | 27.3 | N/A | |
Peelite | John Duncuft | 696 | 26.2 | New | |
Radical | John Morgan Cobbett | 624 | 23.5 | N/A | |
Radical | John Fielden | 612 | 23.0 | N/A | |
Turnout | 1,329 (est) | 78.6 (est) | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 1,691 | ||||
Majority | 30 | 1.1 | N/A | ||
Radical hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Majority | 84 | 3.2 | N/A | ||
Peelite gain from Radical | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | John Morgan Cobbett | 957 | 36.8 | +13.3 | |
Peelite | John Duncuft | 868 | 33.4 | +7.2 | |
Radical | William Johnson Fox | 777 | 29.9 | +2.6 | |
Turnout | 1,301 (est) | 68.8 (est) | −9.8 | ||
Registered electors | 1,890 | ||||
Majority | 89 | 3.4 | +2.3 | ||
Radical hold | Swing | +4.9 | |||
Majority | 91 | 3.5 | +0.3 | ||
Peelite hold | Swing | −11.6 |
Duncuft's death caused a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | William Johnson Fox | 895 | 53.3 | −13.4 | |
Conservative | James Heald[25] | 783 | 46.7 | +13.3 | |
Majority | 112 | 6.6 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 1,678 | 84.8 | +16.0 | ||
Registered electors | 1,978 | ||||
Radical gain from Peelite | Swing | −13.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | John Morgan Cobbett | 949 | 34.1 | −2.7 | |
Radical | James Platt | 934 | 33.6 | N/A | |
Radical | William Johnson Fox | 898 | 32.3 | +2.4 | |
Majority | 36 | 1.3 | −2.1 | ||
Turnout | 1,391 (est) | 66.3 (est) | −2.5 | ||
Registered electors | 2,098 | ||||
Radical hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Radical gain from Peelite | Swing | N/A |
Platt's death caused a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radical | William Johnson Fox | Unopposed | |||
Radical hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | William Johnson Fox | 1,039 | 35.1 | +2.8 | |
Liberal | John Morgan Cobbett | 966 | 32.6 | −1.5 | |
Liberal | J. T. Hibbert | 955 | 32.3 | N/A | |
Majority | 11 | 0.3 | −1.0 | ||
Turnout | 1,480 (est) | 68.8 (est) | +2.5 | ||
Registered electors | 2,151 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Liberal hold | Swing | N/A |
Fox's resignation caused a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | J. T. Hibbert | Unopposed | |||
Liberal hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | J. T. Hibbert | 1,104 | 28.1 | −4.2 | |
Liberal | John Platt | 1,075 | 27.4 | N/A | |
Liberal | John Morgan Cobbett | 899 | 22.9 | −9.7 | |
Conservative | Frederick Spinks | 846 | 21.6 | New | |
Majority | 176 | 4.5 | +4.2 | ||
Turnout | 1,962 (est) | 85.9 (est) | +17.1 | ||
Registered electors | 2,285 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | J. T. Hibbert | 6,140 | 25.1 | −3.0 | |
Liberal | John Platt | 6,122 | 25.0 | −2.4 | |
Conservative | John Morgan Cobbett | 6,116 | 25.0 | +2.1 | |
Conservative | Frederick Spinks | 6,084 | 24.9 | +3.3 | |
Majority | 6 | 0.0 | −4.5 | ||
Turnout | 12,231 (est) | 90.9 (est) | +5.0 | ||
Registered electors | 13,454 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | −2.9 | |||
Liberal hold | Swing | −2.6 |
Platt's death caused a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Morgan Cobbett | 7,278 | 51.0 | +1.1 | |
Liberal | Edward Stanley | 6,984 | 49.0 | −1.1 | |
Majority | 294 | 2.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 14,262 | 88.8 | −2.1 | ||
Registered electors | 16,063 | ||||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +1.1 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Frederick Spinks | 8,582 | 25.3 | +0.4 | |
Conservative | John Morgan Cobbett | 8,541 | 25.2 | +0.2 | |
Liberal | J. T. Hibbert | 8,397 | 24.8 | -0.3 | |
Liberal | Edward Stanley | 8,360 | 24.7 | -0.3 | |
Majority | 222 | 1.6 | N/A | ||
Majority | 144 | 0.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 16,940 (est) | 91.3 (est) | +0.4 | ||
Registered electors | 18,560 | ||||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +0.4 | |||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +0.3 |
Cobbett's death caused a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | J. T. Hibbert | 9,542 | 51.9 | +2.4 | |
Conservative | Thomas Evans Lees[26] | 8,831 | 48.1 | -2.4 | |
Majority | 711 | 3.8 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 18,373 | 90.7 | -0.6 | ||
Registered electors | 20,249 | ||||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +2.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | J. T. Hibbert | 10,630 | 27.5 | +2.7 | |
Liberal | Edward Stanley | 10,409 | 27.0 | +2.3 | |
Conservative | Frederick Spinks | 8,982 | 23.3 | −2.0 | |
Conservative | Smith Taylor-Whitehead[27] | 8,593 | 22.3 | −2.9 | |
Majority | 2,037 | 5.2 | N/A | ||
Majority | 1,427 | 3.7 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 19,307 (est) | 91.6 (est) | +0.3 | ||
Registered electors | 21,084 | ||||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +2.4 | |||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +2.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | J. T. Hibbert | 12,259 | 25.7 | −1.8 | |
Conservative | James Mackenzie Maclean | 11,992 | 25.2 | +1.9 | |
Liberal | Edward Stanley | 11,847 | 24.9 | −2.1 | |
Conservative | Smith Taylor-Whitehead[27] | 11,491 | 24.9 | +1.9 | |
Turnout | 24,016 | 93.8 | +2.2 (est) | ||
Registered electors | 25,600 | ||||
Majority | 768 | 1.5 | −2.2 | ||
Liberal hold | Swing | −1.9 | |||
Majority | 145 | 0.3 | N/A | ||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +2.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | James Mackenzie Maclean | 11,606 | 25.8 | +0.6 | |
Conservative | Elliot Lees | 11,484 | 25.6 | +1.4 | |
Liberal | J. T. Hibbert | 10,921 | 24.3 | −1.4 | |
Liberal | Joshua Cheetham | 10,891 | 24.3 | −0.6 | |
Majority | 563 | 1.3 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 22,608 | 88.3 | −5.5 | ||
Registered electors | 25,600 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +0.6 | |||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +1.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Joshua Cheetham | 12,619 | 25.6 | +1.3 | |
Liberal | J. T. Hibbert | 12,541 | 25.4 | +1.1 | |
Conservative | Elliot Lees | 12,205 | 24.7 | −0.8 | |
Conservative | James Mackenzie Maclean | 11,952 | 24.2 | −1.6 | |
Majority | 677 | 1.4 | N/A | ||
Majority | 336 | 0.7 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 24,857 (est) | 89.0 | +0.7 | ||
Registered electors | 27,929 | ||||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +1.1 | |||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +1.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Ascroft | 13,085 | 26.2 | +1.5 | |
Conservative | James Oswald | 12,465 | 25.0 | +0.8 | |
Liberal | Adam Lee | 12,249 | 24.6 | −1.0 | |
Liberal | J. T. Hibbert | 12,092 | 24.2 | −1.2 | |
Majority | 993 | 2.0 | N/A | ||
Majority | 216 | 0.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 25,185 (est) | 87.5 | −1.5 | ||
Registered electors | 28,783 | ||||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +1.2 | |||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +1.0 |
Ascroft’s death and Oswald's resignation caused a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Alfred Emmott | 12,976 | 26.7 | +2.1 | |
Liberal | Walter Runciman | 12,770 | 26.2 | +2.0 | |
Conservative | Winston Churchill | 11,477 | 23.6 | −2.6 | |
Conservative | James Mawdsley | 11,449 | 23.5 | −1.5 | |
Majority | 1,527 | 3.2 | N/A | ||
Majority | 1,293 | 2.6 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 24,546 (est) | 86.2 | −1.3 | ||
Registered electors | 28,476 | ||||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +2.4 | |||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +1.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Alfred Emmott | 12,947 | 25.3 | +0.7 | |
Conservative | Winston Churchill | 12,931 | 25.3 | −0.9 | |
Liberal | Walter Runciman | 12,709 | 24.9 | +0.7 | |
Conservative | Charles Birch Crisp | 12,522 | 24.5 | −0.5 | |
Turnout | 51,109 | 87.9 | +0.4 | ||
Registered electors | 29,253 | ||||
Majority | 425 | 0.8 | N/A | ||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +0.6 | |||
Majority | 222 | 0.4 | 0.0 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | −0.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Alfred Emmott | 17,397 | 30.3 | +5.0 | |
Liberal | John Bright | 16,672 | 29.0 | +4.1 | |
Conservative | Charles Birch Crisp | 11,989 | 20.9 | −3.6 | |
Conservative | E. L. Hartley | 11,391 | 19.8 | −5.5 | |
Turnout | 57,449 | 89.3 | +1.4 | ||
Registered electors | 32,387 | ||||
Majority | 4,683 | 8.1 | N/A | ||
Liberal hold | Swing | +4.3 | |||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +3.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Alfred Emmott | 19,252 | 30.0 | −0.3 | |
Liberal | William Barton | 18,840 | 29.4 | +0.4 | |
Conservative | Joseph Hilton | 13,462 | 21.0 | +0.1 | |
Conservative | Sidney Stott | 12,577 | 19.6 | −0.2 | |
Majority | 5,378 | 8.4 | +0.3 | ||
Turnout | 64,131 | 91.8 | +2.5 | ||
Registered electors | 35,315 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | −0.2 | |||
Liberal hold | Swing | +0.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Alfred Emmott | 17,108 | 28.1 | −1.9 | |
Liberal | William Barton | 16,941 | 27.9 | −1.5 | |
Conservative | Arthur Edward Wrigley | 13,440 | 22.1 | +1.1 | |
Conservative | Edmund Bartley-Denniss | 13,281 | 21.9 | +2.3 | |
Majority | 3,501 | 5.8 | −2.6 | ||
Turnout | 60,770 | 86.8 | −5.0 | ||
Registered electors | 35,315 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | −1.5 | |||
Liberal hold | Swing | −1.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edmund Bartley-Denniss | 12,255 | 40.4 | −3.6 | |
Liberal | Arthur Stanley | 10,623 | 35.0 | −21.0 | |
Labour | William C. Robinson | 7,448 | 24.6 | New | |
Majority | 1,632 | 5.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 30,326 | 85.1 | −1.7 | ||
Registered electors | 35,626 | ||||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +8.7 |
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 the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Unionist | Edmund Bartley-Denniss | 26,568 | 34.3 | +12.4 |
C | Liberal | William Barton | 26,254 | 34.0 | +6.1 |
Labour | William C. Robinson | 15,178 | 19.6 | N/A | |
Liberal | Walter Rea | 9,323 | 12.1 | −16.0 | |
Turnout | 77,323 | 54.2 | −32.6 | ||
Registered electors | 71,378 | ||||
Majority | 17,245 | 22.2 | N/A | ||
Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | +14.2 | |||
Majority | 11,076 | 14.4 | +8.6 | ||
Liberal hold | Swing | ||||
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Liberal | Edward Grigg | 24,762 | 28.0 | N/A | |
Labour | William Tout | 24,434 | 27.7 | +8.1 | |
Unionist | Samuel Smethurst | 23,200 | 26.2 | −8.1 | |
Liberal | William Tudor Davies | 9,812 | 11.1 | −22.9 | |
Liberal | Mary Emmott | 6,186 | 7.0 | −5.1 | |
Turnout | 88,394 | 62.6 | +8.4 | ||
National Liberal gain from Liberal | Swing | N/A | |||
Majority | 14,950 | 16.7 | N/A | ||
Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | +8.1 | |||
Majority | 1,234 | 1.5 | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | William Tout | 20,939 | 23.4 | -4.3 | |
Liberal | Edward Grigg | 20,681 | 23.2 | -4.8 | |
Liberal | William Wiggins | 17,990 | 20.1 | +9.0 | |
Unionist | W.E. Freeman | 15,819 | 17.7 | N/A | |
Unionist | Samuel Smethurst | 13,894 | 15.6 | -10.6 | |
Majority | 2,949 | 3.3 | +1.8 | ||
Majority | 4,862 | 5.5 | -11.2 | ||
Turnout | 89,323 | 76.3 | +13.7 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Duff Cooper | 37,419 | 31.2 | ||
Liberal | Edward Grigg | 36,761 | 30.7 | ||
Labour | William Tout | 23,623 | 19.7 | ||
Labour | James Wilson | 22,081 | 18.4 | ||
Majority | 13,796 | 11.5 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 119,884 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | ||||
Unionist gain from Labour | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | William Wiggins | 26,325 | 54.8 | +24.1 | |
Labour | William Tout | 21,702 | 45.2 | +25.5 | |
Majority | 4,623 | 9.6 | -1.4 | ||
Turnout | 48,027 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Gordon Lang | 34,223 | 26.2 | +6.5 | |
Labour | James Wilson | 32,727 | 25.0 | +6.6 | |
Unionist | Duff Cooper | 29,424 | 22.5 | -8.7 | |
Liberal | John Dodd | 20,810 | 15.9 | -14.8 | |
Liberal | George James Jenkins | 13,528 | 10.4 | N/A | |
Majority | 13,413 | 10.3 | N/A | ||
Majority | 3,303 | 2.5 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 130,712 | 81.2 | |||
Labour gain from Liberal | Swing | ||||
Labour gain from Unionist | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Anthony Crossley | 50,693 | 32.5 | ||
Conservative | Hamilton Kerr | 50,395 | 32.3 | ||
Labour | Gordon Lang | 28,629 | 18.3 | ||
Labour | James Wilson | 26,361 | 16.9 | ||
Majority | 21,766 | 14.2 | N/A | ||
Majority | 24,034 | 15.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 156,348 | ||||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Hamilton Kerr | 36,738 | 25.51 | ||
National Liberal | John Dodd | 34,755 | 24.13 | ||
Labour | Gordon Lang | 34,316 | 23.83 | ||
Labour | Matthew Burrow Farr | 29,647 | 20.58 | ||
Liberal | William Gretton Ward | 8,534 | 5.92 | ||
Majority | 1,983 | 1.68 | -12.5 | ||
Turnout | 143,990 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
National Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing |
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 to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Frank Fairhurst | 31,704 | 23.9 | ||
Labour | Leslie Hale | 31,327 | 23.6 | ||
Conservative | Hamilton Kerr | 26,911 | 20.3 | ||
National Liberal | John Dodd | 24,199 | 18.2 | ||
Liberal | James Taylor Middleton | 10,365 | 7.8 | ||
Liberal | Thomas Donald Farrell Powell | 8,264 | 6.2 | ||
Majority | 7,505 | 5.7 | N/A | ||
Majority | 4,416 | 3.3 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 132,770 | 74.6 | |||
Labour gain from National Liberal | Swing | ||||
Labour gain from Conservative | Swing |