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Greenwich (UK Parliament constituency)

Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885–1997

Summary

Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885–1997

Field	Value
name	Greenwich
parliament	uk
image	{{Annotated image
image	United_Kingdom_general_election_1837.svg
image-width	1500
image-left	-1220
image-top	-1260
width	150
height	120
float	center
annotations
caption	Form 1832-1885. Extract from 1837 result: the easterly area striped.
year	1832
abolished	1885
elects_howmany	Two
previous	Kent, Surrey
next	Greenwich (see below)
Woolwich
Deptford
year2	1885
abolished2	1997
type	Borough
elects_howmany2	One
previous2	Greenwich
and small corner of West Kent
next2	Greenwich and Woolwich
region	England
county	Greater London

| image-width = 1500 | image-left = -1220 | image-top = -1260 Woolwich Deptford and small corner of West Kent Greenwich was a constituency in south-east London, which returned at first two, then (from 1885) one member (MP) to the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It existed from 1832 to 1997. Elections used the first past the post system; when this elects more than one member, it is sometimes called plurality-at-large voting.

History

From 1832 until 1885 it was a two-member constituency. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 associated with the Reform Act 1884, its area was reduced overall (although it gained Kidbrooke) and it was reduced to one seat. For the 1997 general election, it was merged with part of the former Woolwich constituency to form the Greenwich and Woolwich seat.

Its history is dominated by the area's strong maritime tradition. Its most prominent claim to fame was as the seat of William Ewart Gladstone between 1868 and 1880, and it also achieved prominence in the 1987 Greenwich by-election, when the SDP won a surprise victory.

Boundaries

1832–1885: the parishes of Greenwich; Deptford St Nicholas and Deptford St Paul; and the most populous parts of Charlton and Woolwich. detailed as: "From the Point at which the Royal Arsenal Canal at Woolwich joins the Thames, along the said Canal to the southern extremity thereof; thence in a straight Line to the south-western corner of the Ordnance Storekeeper's House; thence in a straight Line, in the Direction of a Stile in the footpath from Woolwich to Plumstead Common, over Sand Hill, to the Boundary of the Parish of Woolwich; thence, southward, along the boundary of the parish of Woolwich to the point at which the same meets the Boundary of the parish of Charlton; thence westward along the Boundary of the parish of Charlton to the point at which the same turns southward near the Dovor Road; thence along the Dovor Road to the nearest point of the boundary of the parish of Greenwich; thence Westward, along the boundary of the parish of Greenwich to the point at which the same turns abruptly to the south, close by the Dovor Road, thence in a straight line, in a westerly direction, to the nearest point of the boundary of the parish of Greenwich, thence westward along the boundary of the parish of Greenwich to the point at which the same meets the boundary of the parish of Saint Paul Deptford; thence southward along the boundary of the parish of Saint Paul Deptford to the point at which the same meets the Thames; thence along the Thames to the point first described." The boundaries were thus in the schedules of the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832.

The seat and others of the [[Metropolitan Board of Works]] area, 1885–1918

1885–1918: The parishes of Greenwich, St Nicholas Deptford, Charlton, and Kidbrooke.

The seat and others in the [[County of London]] 1918–50

wards of Greenwich Metropolitan Borough in 1916

The seat and others in the County of London 1950–74

1918–1974: The Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich.

1974–1983: The London Borough of Greenwich wards of Blackheath, Charlton, Eastcombe, Hornfair, Kidbrooke, Marsh, Park, Trafalgar, Vanbrugh, and West.

The seat and others in Greater London 1983–97

1983–1997: The London Borough of Greenwich wards of Blackheath, Charlton, Ferrier, Hornfair, Kidbrooke, Rectory Field, St Alfege, Trafalgar, Vanbrugh, and West.

Between 1983 and 1997, the constituency formed the western part of the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1832–1885

Election	First member	Second member	Second party
1832	Whigs (British political party)}}"	James Whitley Deans Dundas	Whig{{cite book	last=Stooks Smith
1835	Whigs (British political party)}}"	John Angerstein	Whig
1837	Conservative Party (UK)}}"	Matthias Wolverley Attwood	Conservative
1841	Whigs (British political party)}}"	James Whitley Deans Dundas	Whig
1851 by-election	Radicals (UK)}}"	David Salomons	Radical
1852 by-election	Whigs (British political party)}}"	Houston Stewart	Whig
1852	Conservative Party (UK)}}"	Peter Rolt	Conservative	Radicals (UK)}}"
Feb 1857 by-election	Whigs (British political party)}}"	Sir William Codrington	Whig
Mar. 1857	Radicals (UK)}}"	John Townsend	Radical
Feb. 1859 by-election	Radicals (UK)}}"	David Salomons	Radical
1859	Liberal Party (UK)}}"	William Angerstein	Liberal	Liberal Party (UK)}}"
1865	Liberal Party (UK)}}"	Sir Charles Tilston Bright	Liberal
1868	Liberal Party (UK)}}"	William Ewart Gladstone	Liberal
1873 by-election	Conservative Party (UK)}}"	Sir Thomas Boord	Conservative
1880	Conservative Party (UK)}}"	Baron Henry de Worms	Conservative
1885	Representation reduced to one member

MPs since 1885

Election	Member	Party
Conservative Party (UK)}}"		1885	Sir Thomas Boord
Conservative Party (UK)}}"		1895	Lord Hugh Cecil
Liberal Party (UK)}}"		1906	Richard Jackson
Conservative Party (UK)}}"		Jan 1910	Ion Hamilton Benn
Conservative Party (UK)}}"		1922	George Hume
Labour Party (UK)}}"		1923	Edward Timothy Palmer
Conservative Party (UK)}}"		1924	Sir George Hume
Labour Party (UK)}}"		1929	Edward Timothy Palmer
Conservative Party (UK)}}"		1931	Sir George Hume
Labour Party (UK)}}"		1945	Joseph Reeves
Labour Party (UK)}}"		1959	Richard Marsh
Labour Party (UK)}}"		1971 (b)	Guy Barnett
Social Democratic Party (UK)}}"		1987 (b)	Rosie Barnes
Social Democratic Party (UK, 1988)}}"		1988	SDP (1988)
Independent Social Democrat}}"		1990	Independent Social Democrat
Labour Party (UK)}}"		1992	Nick Raynsford
	1997	constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

|reg. electors = 2,714

|reg. electors = 2,516

|reg. electors = 3,107

Elections in the 1840s

|reg. electors = 3,811

Dundas was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty, requiring a by-election.

|reg. electors = 5,187

Elections in the 1850s

Barnard's death caused a by-election.

|reg. electors = 6,022

Dundas resigned after being appointed Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, causing a by-election.

|reg. electors = 6,308

Rolt resigned, causing a by-election.

|reg. electors = 7,888

Townsend resigned after becoming a bankrupt, also leading to his suspension from the House of Commons.

|reg. electors = 7,942

Elections in the 1860s

|reg. electors = 9,805

|reg. electors = 15,588

Gladstone's appointment as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1870s

Salomons' death caused a by-election.

|reg. electors = 15,990

|reg. electors = 17,599

Elections in the 1880s

|reg. electors = 22,161

|reg. electors = 8,632 |reg. electors = 8,632

Elections in the 1890s

|reg. electors = 10,256 |reg. electors = 10,899

Elections in the 1900s

|reg. electors = 12,247 |reg. electors = 13,049

Cecil was a free-trader and Benn was a supporter of tariff reform

Elections in the 1910s

|reg. electors = 43,756

Elections in the 1920s

|reg. electors = 46,005 |reg. electors = 46,741 |reg. electors = 47,716 |reg. electors = 62,342

Elections in the 1930s

|reg. electors = 63,385 |reg. electors = 72,599

Elections in the 1940s

|reg. electors = 48,025

Elections in the 1950s

|reg. electors = 62,132 |reg. electors = 62,042 |reg. electors = 61,314 |reg. electors = 60,561

Elections in the 1960s

|reg. electors = 56,742 |reg. electors = 55,477

Elections in the 1970s

1979 notional result	Party	Vote	%
	Labour	19,201	52.4
	Conservative	12,172	33.2
	Liberal	3,893	10.6
	Others	1,385	3.8
Turnout	36,651
Electorate

Elections in the 1980s

| reg. electors = 51,586

| reg. electors = 50,830

swings relative to 1983 election, not 1987 by-election

Elections in the 1990s

| reg. electors = 47,789

The swing for Rosie Barnes is relative to her performance in the 1987 general election.

References

Bibliography

British Parliamentary Election Results 1885–1918, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1974)
Debrett’s Illustrated Heraldic and Biographical House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1886
Debrett’s House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1901
Debrett’s House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1918

References

"A BILL (Hansard, 14 June 1831)".
[https://books.google.com/books?id=APFiAAAAcAAJ Short form of the Act] ''A Practical Treatise on the Qualifications and Registration of Parliamentary Electors in England and Wales: With an Appendix of Statutes and Forms'' Elliot, George Percy, S. Sweet, London (1843)
(1832). "The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 72".
http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10078880/boundary Old map of St Paul Deptford should how it in the 19th century reached the Thames but briefly in the west, beyond smaller St Nicholas, Deptford.
. (1885). "The Public General Acts of the United Kingdom passed in the forty-eighth and forty-ninth years of the reign of Queen Victoria". *[[Eyre & Spottiswoode]]*.
(2011). "Liberalism and Local Government in Early Victorian London". Boydell & Brewer.
(1851). "The Gentleman's Magazine - Volume 36". John Bowyers, Nichol & Company.
(1838). "The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1838".
(1982). "Benjamin Disraeli Letters: 1815-1834". University of Toronto Press.
(2016). "An Artisan Elite in Victorian Society: Kentish London 1840-1880". [[Routledge]].
"Houston Stewart". [[University College London]].
(11 December 1832). "Metropolitan Elections". Morning Chronicle.
(19 June 1841). "Admiral Sir George Cockburn, for Greenwich". West Kent Guardian.
(23 June 1851). "To the Independent Electors of the Borough of Greenwich". West Kent Guardian.
(14 February 1852). "'Ili Vronium". [[The Spectator]].
(2011). "The Making of a Victorian Newspaper during a Period of Social Change: 1855 – 1865". [[City, University of London]].
(15 July 1865). "Greenwich". Kentish Mercury.
(6 November 1868). "Greenwich". [[Dundee Courier]].
(9 August 1873). "Weekly Notes". North Wales Chronicle.
(9 August 1873). "Re-Construction of the Ministry". [[Norfolk News]].
(31 July 1873). "Election Intelligence: Greenwich". Jersey Independent and Daily Telegraph.
(22 July 1873). "Greenwich". [[The Scotsman]].
(23 July 1873). "The Representation of Greenwich". Huddersfield Chronicle.
(5 April 1873). "To the Electors of Guardians of Greenwich". Woolwich Gazette.
(23 August 1873). "The New Tory Candidate". Woolwich Gazette.
(1977). "British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885". Macmillan Press.
(6 December 1884). "Election Intelligence". [[The Globe (London newspaper).
(27 March 1880). "Greenwich Election". Kentish Independent.
British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, F. W. S. Craig, p. 17.
(16 November 1922). "The General Election. First Returns., Polls in the Boroughs., Heavy Voting". [[The Times]].
(31 October 1924). "General Election 1924, Results in Detail". [[The Times]].
(1 June 1929). "General Election 1929, Results in Detail". [[The Times]].
(29 October 1931). "General Election Results 1931". [[The Times]].
"UK General Election results 1931".
"UK General Election results February 1974".
"UK General Election results October 1974".
"'Greenwich', Feb 1974 - May 1983". Cognitive Computing Limited.
"UK General Election results 1970".
"BBC/ITN NOTIONAL ELECTION 1979". BBC/ITN.
"Election Data 1983". [[Electoral Calculus]].
"Election Data 1987". [[Electoral Calculus]].
"Election Data 1992". [[Electoral Calculus]].
(9 April 1992). "Politics Resources". Politics Resources.

Wikipedia Source

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