Blackburn (UK Parliament constituency)

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Blackburn
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Blackburn in Lancashire.
Outline map
Location of Lancashire within England.
County Lancashire
Population 107,246 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate 72,112 (December 2010)[2]
Major settlements Blackburn
Current constituency
Created 1955
Member of parliament Kate Hollern (Labour)
Number of members One
Created from Blackburn East and Blackburn West
1832–1950
Number of members Two
Type of constituency Borough constituency
Replaced by Blackburn East
Blackburn West
Created from Lancashire
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency North West England

Blackburn is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Kate Hollern of the Labour Party.[n 2]

Constituency profile

It has elected Labour MPs since its re-creation in 1955.

Boundaries

The constituency encompasses the town of Blackburn in the North West of England. It borders four other constituencies: Ribble Valley to the north, Hyndburn to the east, Rossendale and Darwen to the south and Chorley to the west.

Following the review of parliamentary representation in Lancashire, including the unitary authority of Blackburn with Darwen in the run-up to the United Kingdom general election, 2010 the Boundary Commission for England made minor boundary changes to the existing constituency.

The electoral wards in the Blackburn seat fought at the UK general election in 2010 were entirely within the district of Blackburn with Darwen.

History

For more details, see the Politics section of the Blackburn article.

Blackburn was first enfranchised by the Reform Act 1832, as a two-member constituency, and was first used at the 1832 general election. It was abolished for the 1950 general election, when it was then replaced by two new single-member constituencies, Blackburn East and Blackburn West.

Blackburn was re-established as a single-member constituency for the 1955 general election, partially replacing the Blackburn East and Blackburn West constituencies which had been created only five years earlier. After its re-establishment in 1955, the constituency was initially a marginal, but Blackburn is now considered to be a Labour Party stronghold.

2005 General election

Blackburn's MP, Jack Straw, was challenged in the 2005 general election primarily again by the Conservative Party but also by a former Foreign Office subordinate, the ex-British ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray. Murray stood for election in Blackburn on a platform of opposition to the war in Iraq and electoral corruption. Murray described the constituency as a "Labour rotten borough" and said of the buildup to the election, "I've been approached by several people in the Asian community who are under huge pressure from Labour activists [talking up the BNP's chances] to apply for a postal vote rather than a ballot vote and then hand their postal vote over to the Labour party." Over 50% more people used postal votes in the 2005 general election in Blackburn than in 2001.[3] Unlike in 1997 and 2001, the BNP had a candidate, who polled 5.4% of the vote.

2015 General Election

On 25 October 2013, Jack Straw announced that he will stand down as Blackburn's MP at the next election.[4] Kate Hollern was selected as Labour candidate for the 2015 general election, and held the seat.

Members of Parliament

Two-member constituency (1832–1950)

Election 1st Member[5] 1st Party[6]

[7][8]

 2nd Member[5] 2nd Party
1832 William Feilden Liberal William Turner Liberal
1841 Conservative John Hornby Conservative
1847 James Pilkington Liberal
1852 William Eccles Liberal
1853 by-election Montague Joseph Feilden Liberal
1857 William Henry Hornby Conservative
1865 Joseph Feilden Conservative
1869 by-election Henry Master Feilden Conservative Edward Hornby Conservative
1874 William Edward Briggs Liberal
1875 by-election Daniel Thwaites Conservative
1880 Sir William Coddington Conservative
1885 Sir Robert Peel Conservative
1886 William Hornby Conservative
1906 Philip Snowden Labour
1910 Sir Thomas Barclay Liberal
1910 Sir Henry Norman Liberal
1918 Percy Thompson Dean Coalition Conservative Coalition Liberal
1922 Sir Sydney Herbert Holcroft Henn Conservative National Liberal
1923 John Duckworth Liberal
1929 Thomas Harry Gill Labour Mary Agnes Hamilton Labour
1931 Sir George Sampson Elliston Conservative Sir Walter Dorling Smiles Conservative
1945 Lewis John Edwards Labour Barbara Castle Labour
1950 constituency abolished: see Blackburn East and Blackburn West

Single member constituency (1955–present)

Election Member[5] Party
1955 constituency re-established
1955 Barbara Castle Labour
1979 Jack Straw Labour
2015 Independent
2015 Kate Hollern Labour

Elections

Elections since 1955

Election Political result Candidate Party Votes % ±%
General Election 2015 [9][10]
Electorate: 73,251
Turnout: 43,999 (60.1%) –1.8		 Labour hold
Majority: 12,760 (29.0%) +8.3
Swing: +3.7% from Con to Lab		 Kate Hollern Labour 24,762 56.3 +8.5
Bob Eastwood Conservative 12,002 27.3 +1.1
Dayle Taylor UKIP 6,280 14.3 +12.2
Gordon Lishman Liberal Democrat 955 2.2 −13.0
General Election 2010 [11][12]
Electorate: 72,331
Turnout: 45,499 (62.9%) +5.2		 Labour hold
Majority: 9,856 (21.7%) +2.2
Swing: +1.1% from Con to Lab		 Jack Straw Labour 21,751 47.8 +5.7
Michael Law-Riding Conservative 11,895 26.1 +3.5
Paul English Liberal Democrat 6,918 15.2 -5.4
Robin Evans BNP 2,158 4.7 −0.7
Bushra Irfan Independent 1,424 3.1 N/A
Bobby Anwar UKIP 942 2.1 −0.2
Grace Astley Independent 238 0.5 N/A
Janis Sharp Independent 173 0.4 N/A
General Election 2005 [13][14]
Electorate: 72,707
Turnout: 41,805 (56.9%) +1.4		 Labour hold
Majority: 8,009 (19.2%) −3.7
Swing: 1.9% from Lab to Con		 Jack Straw Labour 17,562 42.0 −12.1
Imtiaz Ameen Conservative 9,553 22.9 −8.3
Tony Melia Liberal Democrat 8,608 20.6 +12.5
Nicholas Holt BNP 2,263 5.4 N/A
Craig Murray Independent 2,082 5.0 N/A
Dorothy Baxter UKIP 954 2.3 −0.6
Graham Carter Green 783 1.9 N/A
General Election 2001 [15][16]
Electorate: 72,611
Turnout: 40,284 (55.5%) −9.5		 Labour hold
Majority: 9,249 (22.9%) −7.5
Swing: 2.9% from Lab to Con		 Jack Straw Labour 21,808 54.1 −0.9
John Cotton Conservative 12,559 31.2 +6.6
Imtiaz Patel Liberal Democrat 3,264 8.1 −2.4
Dorothy Baxter UKIP 1,185 2.9 N/A
Terry Cullen Socialist Labour 559 1.4 +0.1
Jim Nichol Socialist Alliance 532 1.3 N/A
Paul Morris Independent 377 0.9 −0.1
General Election 1997 [17][16]
Electorate: 47,501
Turnout: 47,501 (65.0%) −10.1		 Labour hold
Majority: 14,445 (30.4%) +19.4
Swing: 9.7% from Con to Lab		 Jack Straw Labour 26,141 55.0 +6.6
Sangheeta G. Kaur Sidhu Conservative 11,696 24.6 −12.9
Stephen J. Fenn Liberal Democrat 4,990 10.5 −1.0
David P. Bradshaw Referendum 1,892 4.0 N/A
Tina Wingfield National Democrats 671 1.4 +1.4
Helen Drummond Socialist Labour 635 1.3 N/A
Robin Field Green 608 1.3 −0.3
Margo Carmichael-Grimshaw Keep Britain Free and Independent Party 506 1.1 N/A
William John Batchelor Common Sense Sick of Politicians 362 0.8 N/A
General Election 1992 [18][19]
Electorate: 73,251
Turnout: 54,978 (75.1%) +0.2		 Labour hold
Majority: 6,027 (11.0%) +0.2
Swing: 0.6% from Con to Lab		 Jack Straw Labour 26,633 48.4 −1.5
Ross M. Coates Conservative 20,606 37.5 −2.6
Derek Mann Liberal Democrat 6,332 11.5 +1.1
Robin Field Green 878 1.6 N/A
Margo Carmichael-Grimshaw Lodestar Party 334 0.6 N/A
William Ayliffe Natural Law 195 0.4 N/A
General Election 1987 [20][21]
Electorate: 74,801
Turnout: 56,035 (74.9%) −0.3		 Labour hold
Majority: 5,497 (9.8%) +3.4
Swing: 2.3% from Con to Lab		 Jack Straw Labour 27,965 49.9 +5.2
Anne Cartner Cheetham Conservative 22,468 40.1 +0.7
Mohammed Akbar Ali Social Democratic 5,602 10.0 −4.4
General Election 1983 [22][23]
Electorate: 76,078
Turnout: 56,784 (74.6%) +0.5		 Labour hold
Majority: 3,055 (5.4%) −8.8
Swing: 4.4% from Lab to Con		 Jack Straw Labour 25,400 44.7 −6.0
Graham C.S. Mather Conservative 22,345 39.4 +2.8
Eric B. Fairbrother Social Democratic 8,174 14.4 +2.7
David A. Riley National Front 864 1.5 0.0
General Election 1979 [24]
Electorate: 52,479
Turnout: 38,813 (73.96%) +1.03		 Labour hold
Majority: 5,490 (14.15%) −5.2
Swing: 2.6% from Lab to Con		 Jack Straw Labour 19,683 50.71 −0.75
Ian D. McGaw Conservative 14,193 36.57 +4.5
Frank J. Beetham Liberal 4,371 11.26 −0.7
Edward Adamson National Front 565 1.46 −3.0
General Election October 1974 [25]
Electorate: 54,213
Turnout: 39,537 (72.93%) −6.3		 Labour hold
Majority: 7,652 (19.36%) +4.4
Swing: 0.9% from Con to Lab		 Barbara Castle Labour 20,344 51.46 +3.1
Ian D. McGaw Conservative 12,692 32.10 −1.3
Frank J. Beetham Liberal 4,741 11.99 −2.0
John Kingsley Read National Front 1,758 4.45 +.04
General Election February 1974 [26]
Electorate: 53,767
Turnout: 42,049 (78.21%) +2.7		 Labour hold
Majority: 6,300 (14.98%) +8.5
Swing: 4.3% from Con to Lab		 Barbara Castle Labour 20,340 48.37 −4.9
Ian D. McGaw Conservative 14,040 33.39 −13.4
Frank J. Beetham Liberal 5,891 14.01 N/A
John Kingsley Read National Front 1,778 4.23 N/A
General Election 1970 [27]
Electorate: 55,875
Turnout: 42,210 (75.54%) −3.8		 Labour hold
Majority: 2,736 (6.48%) −10.1
Swing: 6.1% from Lab to Con		 Barbara Castle Labour 22,473 53.24 −6.1
Trixie Gardner Conservative 19,737 46.76 +6.1
General election, 1966 [28]
Electorate: 54,911
Turnout: 43,514 (79.2%) −1.8		 Labour hold
Majority: 7,248 (16.6%) +1.6
Swing: 1.6% from Con to Lab		 Barbara Castle Labour 25,381 58.3 +1.6
Thomas Marsden Conservative 18,133 41.7 −1.6
General election, 1964 [29]
Electorate: 57,034
Turnout: 46,193 (81.0%)		 Labour hold
Majority: 6,893 (15.0%) +9.4
Swing: 4.7% from Con to Lab		 Barbara Castle Labour 26,543 57.5 +4.7
John Maurice Armstrong Yerburgh Conservative 19,650 42.5 −4.7
General election, 1959 [30]
Electorate: 60,362
Turnout: 51,846 (85.89%) +2.8		 Labour hold
Majority: 2,866 (5.6%) +4.6
Swing: 2.3% from Con to Lab		 Barbara Castle Labour 27,356 52.8 +2.3
John Maurice Armstrong Yerburgh Conservative 24,490 47.2 −2.3
General Election 1955 [31]
Electorate: 62,548
Turnout: 51,993 (83.1%)		 Labour win
Majority: 489 (1.0%)		 Barbara Castle Labour 26,241 50.5 N/A
Thomas Marsden Conservative 25,752 49.5 N/A

Elections in the 1940s

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 from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;

General Election 1945
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Edwards 35,182 26.0
Labour Barbara Castle 35,145 26.0
Conservative Douglas Glover 26,325 19.5
Conservative RG Parker 25,807 19.1
Liberal Robert Shackleton 6,587 4.9
Liberal Marjorie Annie Macinerney 6,096 4.5
Turnout 82.6
Majority
Labour gain from Conservative Swing
Majority 8,820 6.9
Labour gain from Conservative Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1935 Electorate 85,818
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative George Sampson Elliston 37,932 26.2
Conservative Walter Dorling Smiles 37,769 26.1
Labour James Bell 34,571 23.9
Labour G H Walker 34,423 23.8
Turnout 144,695 84.9
Majority
Conservative hold Swing
Majority 3,198 2.2
Conservative hold Swing
General Election 1931 Electorate 86,824
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Walter Dorling Smiles 50,105 33.2
Conservative George Sampson Elliston 49,953 33.1
Labour Mary Agnes Hamilton 25,643 17.0
Labour Thomas Harry Gill 25,030 16.6
Turnout 150,731 87.4
Majority
Conservative gain from Labour Swing
Majority 24,310 16.1
Conservative gain from Labour Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1929: Blackburn (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Mary Agnes Hamilton 37,256 26.1 +4.3
Labour Thomas Harry Gill 35,723 25.0 +3.2
Unionist Sir Sydney Herbert Holcroft Henn 35,249 24.7 -3.4
Liberal Gerald Rufus Isaacs 34,504 24.2 -4.1
Turnout 87.8 -0.4
Majority 474 0.3
Labour gain from Unionist Swing
Labour gain from Liberal Swing
General Election 1924
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Duckworth 31,612 28.3
Conservative Sydney Henn 31,347 28.1
Labour Mary Agnes Hamilton 24,330 21.8
Labour Thomas Harry Gill 24,317 21.8
Turnout 111,606 88.2
Majority 7,017 6.3
Unionist hold Swing
Majority 7,282 6.5
Liberal hold Swing
General Election 1923: Blackburn (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Duckworth 31,117 29.1 n/a
Unionist Sydney Herbert Holcroft Henn 28,505 26.6 +1.1
Labour John Percival Davies 25,428 23.8 +2.1
Labour Edward Porter 21,903 20.5 -0.6
Turnout 85.0 -3.4
Majority 3,077 2.8 +0.1
Unionist hold Swing
Majority 5,689 5.3
Liberal hold Swing n/a
General Election 1922
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Sydney Henn 28,280 25.5
National Liberal Henry Norman 27,071 24.4
Labour John Davies 24,049 21.7
Labour Edward Porter 23,402 21.1
Liberal Thomas Meech 8,141 7.3
Turnout 88.4
Majority 3,022 2.7
Unionist hold Swing
Majority 4,231 3.8
National Liberal hold Swing

Elections in the 1910s

Henry Norman
General Election 1918 Electorate 61,972
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal
  1. Henry Norman
 32,078 41.4
Unionist
  1. Percy Dean
 30,158 38.9
Labour Philip Snowden 15,274 19.7
Turnout 74.8
Majority 14,884 19.2
Unionist gain from Labour Swing
Majority 16,802 21.7
Liberal hold Swing

A # denotes candidate who was endorsed by the Coalition Government.

Elections in the 1860s

By-election, 31 March 1869 Blackburn[6][32]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Edward Hornby 4,738
Conservative Henry Master Feilden 4,697
Liberal J. G. Potter 3,964
Liberal John Morley 3,804
General election, 1868: Blackburn[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative William Henry Hornby 4,907
Conservative Joseph Feilden 4,826
Liberal J. G. Potter 4,399
Liberal Montague Joseph Feilden 4,164

See also

Notes and references

Notes
  1. ↑ A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
  2. ↑ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
References
  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  3. ↑ Could the election be won by fraud?, Robert Winnett and Abul Taher, The Sunday Times, 10 April 2005
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 3)[self-published source][better source needed]
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links

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