Bethnal Green (UK Parliament constituency)

Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1950–1974

Bethnal Green

Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
1950–February 1974
Seats| one
Created from| Bethnal Green North East, Bethnal Green South West and Hackney South
Replaced by| Bethnal Green and Bow

Bethnal Green was a parliamentary constituency in the Bethnal Green area of the East End of London, which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 until it was abolished for the February 1974 general election.

It was then partly replaced by the new Bethnal Green and Bow constituency.

## Boundaries

[edit]

Bethnal Green in the County of London 1950-55 Bethnal Green in the County of London 1955-74

This area had been part of the County of London since 1889, having previously been part of the historic county of Middlesex.

The constituency, when created in 1950, comprised the whole of the Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green in the County of London. In 1955 part of the Metropolitan Borough of Hackney was added to the seat. The wards involved were Triangle, Victoria and Wick.

In 1965 Bethnal Green became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in Greater London. Hackney was expanded to form the London Borough of Hackney.

## Members of Parliament

[edit]

Election | Member | Party

|
|

| 1950 | Percy Holman | Labour Co-op
| 1966 | William Hilton | Labour
Feb 1974 | constituency abolished: see Bethnal Green and Bow

## Elections

[edit]

### Elections in the 1950s

[edit]

General election 1950: Bethnal Green [1][2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour Co-op | Percy Holman | 20,519  | 63.3  |
| Liberal | Percy Harris | 9,715  | 30.0  |
| Conservative | Dorothy E. Welfare  | 1,582  | 4.9  |
| Communist | Jeffrey J. Mildwater  | 610  | 1.9  |
Majority  | 10,804  | 33.3  |
Turnout | 32,426  | 76.9  |
Registered electors | 42,172  |  |
| Labour Co-op win (new seat)
General election 1951: Bethnal Green [1][3] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour Co-op | Percy Holman | 22,162  | 69.75  | +6.35
| Liberal | Roy Douglas | 6,567  | 20.67  | −9.33
| Conservative | Lawrence Goodman  | 3,046  | 9.59  | +4.69
Majority  | 15,595  | 49.08  | +15.78
Turnout | 31,775  | 75.96  | −0.94
Registered electors | 41,830  |  |
| Labour Co-op hold | Swing | +7.84  |
General election 1955: Bethnal Green [1][4] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour Co-op | Percy Holman | 27,205  | 69.31  | −0.44
| Conservative | John W Millbourne  | 6,504  | 16.57  | +6.98
| Liberal | Roy Douglas | 5,541  | 14.12  | −6.55
Majority  | 20,701  | 52.74  | +3.66
Turnout | 39,250  | 63.91  | −12.05
Registered electors | 61,410  |  |
| Labour Co-op hold | Swing | -3.71  |
General election 1959: Bethnal Green [1][5] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour Co-op | Percy Holman | 24,228  | 63.68  | −5.63
| Conservative | P Ralph Roney  | 7,412  | 19.48  | +2.91
| Liberal | Joseph Hart  | 5,508  | 14.48  | +0.36
| Socialist (GB) | Jack L Read  | 899  | 2.36  | New
Majority  | 16,816  | 44.20  | −8.54
Turnout | 38,047  | 66.03  | +2.12
Registered electors | 57,617  |  |
| Labour Co-op hold | Swing | -4.27  |

### Elections in the 1960s

[edit]

General election 1964: Bethnal Green [1][6] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour Co-op | Percy Holman | 19,914  | 64.65  | +0.97
| Conservative | Stephen Stout-Kerr  | 5,593  | 18.16  | −1.32
| Liberal | Tudor Gates | 5,296  | 17.19  | +2.71
Majority  | 14,321  | 46.49  | +2.29
Turnout | 30,803  | 59.34  | −6.69
Registered electors | 51,906  |  |
| Labour Co-op hold | Swing | +1.15  |
General election 1966: Bethnal Green [1][7] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | William Hilton | 20,178  | 69.71  | +5.06
| Conservative | Oswald S Henriques  | 4,925  | 17.02  | −1.14
| Liberal | Tudor Gates | 3,841  | 13.27  | −3.92
Majority  | 15,253  | 52.69  | +6.20
Turnout | 28,944  | 57.68  | −1.66
Registered electors | 50,180  |  |
| Labour hold | Swing | +3.1  |

### Elections in the 1970s

[edit]

General election 1970: Bethnal Green [1][8] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | William Hilton | 15,483  | 64.24  | −5.47
| Conservative | Oswald S Henriques  | 5,587  | 23.18  | +6.16
| Liberal | Oliver Smedley | 3,030  | 12.57  | −0.70
Majority  | 9,905  | 41.06  | −11.64
Turnout | 24,100  | 50.39  | −7.39
Registered electors | 50,180  |  |
| Labour hold | Swing | -5.82  |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g British Parliamentary Election Results, 1950-1973, FWS Craig
2. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results February 1950". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 1 May 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
3. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1951". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
4. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1955". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
5. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1959". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
6. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1964". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
7. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1966". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
8. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1970". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
* Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 3)

* v
* t
* e

Historic constituencies in London

1950|

* Battersea North
* Battersea South
* Bermondsey
* Bethnal Green
* Brixton
* Chelsea
* Cities of London and Westminster
* Clapham
* Deptford
* Dulwich
* Fulham East
* Fulham West
* Greenwich
* Hackney South
* Hammersmith North
* Hammersmith South
* Hampstead
* Holborn and St Pancras South
* Islington East
* Islington North
* Islington South West
* Kensington North
* Kensington South
* Lewisham North
* Lewisham South
* Lewisham West
* Norwood
* Paddington North
* Paddington South
* Peckham
* Poplar
* Putney
* St Marylebone
* St Pancras North
* Streatham
* Shoreditch and Finsbury
* Southwark
* Stepney
* Stoke Newington and Hackney North
* Vauxhall
* Wandsworth Central
* Woolwich East
* Woolwich West

1955|

* Barons Court
* Battersea North
* Battersea South
* Bermondsey
* Bethnal Green
* Brixton
* Chelsea
* Cities of London and Westminster
* Clapham
* Deptford
* Dulwich
* Fulham
* Greenwich
* Hackney Central
* Hammersmith North
* Hampstead
* Holborn and St Pancras South
* Islington East
* Islington North
* Islington South West
* Kensington North
* Kensington South
* Lewisham North
* Lewisham South
* Lewisham West
* Norwood
* Paddington North
* Paddington South
* Peckham
* Poplar
* Putney
* St Marylebone
* St Pancras North
* Shoreditch and Finsbury
* Southwark
* Stepney
* Stoke Newington and Hackney North
* Streatham
* Vauxhall
* Wandsworth Central
* Woolwich East
* Woolwich West

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*[e]: Edit this template