Oldham
Oldham
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
1832 – 1950
Seats two
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 Reform Act 1832 and was abolished for the 1950 general election when it was split into the Oldham East and Oldham West constituencies.
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 .
Boundaries 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.
Members of Parliament Notes:-
a J M Cobbett's political affiliations are complicated. He had stood unsuccessfully on an all-Radical 'plague on both your houses' slate with John Fielden in 1847. He was elected in 1852 as the Radical half of an explicit Radical-Tory alliance. At the 1857 election he was opposed by two Liberals and denied that he had sold out to Palmerston, asserting that the Liberal Chief Whip had no confidence in him. In 1865 he stood unsuccessfully in conjunction with a Conservative, opposed by two Liberals. Nonetheless, from 1852 to 1865 outside Oldham he was generally taken to be a Liberal. From 1872 to his death in 1877 he sat as a Conservative (but one calling for annual Parliaments and manhood suffrage) b Churchill changed his party allegiance in April 1904. c Denniss changed his surname to Bartley-Denniss, when he was knighted in 1922. Elections Elections in the 1830s General election 1832: Oldham (2 seats) Party Candidate Votes % Radical YJohn Fielden 677 43.0 Radical YWilliam Cobbett 645 40.9 Whig Benjamin Heywood Bright 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)
General election 1835: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % Radical YJohn Fielden Unopposed Radical YWilliam Cobbett Unopposed Registered electors 1,029 Radical hold Radical hold
Cobbett's death caused a by-election.
Elections in the 1840s General election 1841: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Radical YJohn Fielden Unopposed Radical YWilliam Augustus Johnson Unopposed Registered electors 1,467 Radical hold Radical hold
General election 1847: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Radical YWilliam Johnson Fox 726 27.3 N/A Peelite YJohn 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
Elections in the 1850s General election 1852: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Radical YJohn Morgan Cobbett 957 36.8 +13.3 Peelite YJohn 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.
By-election, 3 December 1852: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Radical YWilliam Johnson Fox 895 53.3 −13.4 Conservative James Heald 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
General election 1857: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Radical YJohn Morgan Cobbett 949 34.1 −2.7 Radical YJames 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.
By-election, 19 October 1857: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Radical William Johnson Fox Unopposed Radical hold
General election 1859: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Liberal YWilliam Johnson Fox 1,039 35.1 +2.8 Liberal YJohn 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
Elections in the 1860s Fox's resignation caused a by-election.
By-election, 5 May 1862: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Liberal YJ. T. Hibbert Unopposed Liberal hold
General election 1865: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Liberal YJ. T. Hibbert 1,104 28.1 −4.2 Liberal YJohn 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
General election 1868: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Liberal YJ. T. Hibbert 6,140 25.1 −3.0 Liberal YJohn 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
Elections in the 1870s Platt's death caused a by-election.
1872 Oldham by-election Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative YJohn 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
General election 1874: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative YFrederick Spinks 8,582 25.3 +0.4 Conservative YJohn 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.
1877 Oldham by-election Party Candidate Votes % ±% Liberal YJ. T. Hibbert 9,542 51.9 +2.4 Conservative Thomas Evans Lees 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
Elections in the 1880s General election 1880: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Liberal YJ. T. Hibbert 10,630 27.5 +2.7 Liberal YEdward Stanley 10,409 27.0 +2.3 Conservative Frederick Spinks 8,982 23.3 −2.0 Conservative Smith Taylor-Whitehead 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
General election 1885: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Liberal YJ. T. Hibbert 12,259 25.7 −1.8 Conservative YJames Mackenzie Maclean 11,992 25.2 +1.9 Liberal Edward Stanley 11,847 24.9 −2.1 Conservative Smith Taylor-Whitehead 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
Elliot Lees General election 1886: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative YJames Mackenzie Maclean 11,606 25.8 +0.6 Conservative YElliot 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
Elections in the 1890s General election 1892: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Liberal YJoshua Cheetham 12,619 25.6 +1.3 Liberal YJ. 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
Robert Ascroft James Oswald General election 1895: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative YRobert Ascroft 13,085 26.2 +1.5 Conservative YJames 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.
Walter Runciman James Mawdsley 1899 Oldham by-election Party Candidate Votes % ±% Liberal YAlfred Emmott 12,976 26.7 +2.1 Liberal YWalter 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
Elections in the 1900s Alfred Emmott General election 1900: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Liberal YAlfred Emmott 12,947 25.3 +0.7 Conservative YWinston 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
General election 1906: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Liberal YAlfred Emmott 17,397 30.3 +5.0 Liberal YJohn 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
Elections in the 1910s General election January 1910: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Liberal YAlfred Emmott 19,252 30.0 −0.3 Liberal YWilliam 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
General election December 1910: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Liberal YAlfred Emmott 17,108 28.1 −1.9 Liberal YWilliam 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
1911 Oldham by-election Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative YEdmund 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;
Liberal : W. H. SumnervellUnionist : John Radcliffe Platt, Edmund Bartley-Denniss Labour : William C. Robinson William Barton General election 1918: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% C Unionist YEdmund Bartley-Denniss 26,568 34.3 +12.4 C Liberal YWilliam 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 .
Elections in the 1920s Edward Grigg General election 1922: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% National Liberal YEdward Grigg 24,762 28.0 N/A Labour YWilliam 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
General election 1923: Oldham (2 seats) Party Candidate Votes % ±% Labour YWilliam Tout 20,939 23.4 −4.3 Liberal YEdward 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
General election 1924: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Unionist YDuff Cooper 37,419 31.2 Liberal YEdward 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
1925 Oldham by-election Party Candidate Votes % ±% Liberal YWilliam Wiggins 26,325 54.8 +24.1 Labour William Tout 21,702 45.2 +7.1 Majority 4,623 9.6 Turnout 48,027 Liberal hold Swing
General election 1929: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Labour YGordon Lang 34,223 26.2 +6.5 Labour YJames 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
Elections in the 1930s General election 1931: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative YAnthony Crossley 50,693 32.5 Conservative YHamilton 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
General election 1935: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative YHamilton Kerr 36,738 25.51 National Liberal YJohn 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;
Conservative : Hamilton Kerr Liberal National : John Dodd Labour : Leslie Hale , D A MaindsLiberal : James Taylor MiddletonElections in the 1940s General election 1945: Oldham Party Candidate Votes % ±% Labour YFrank Fairhurst 31,704 23.9 Labour YLeslie 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
Sources Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885–1972 , compiled and edited by F. W. S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 , compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (The Macmillan Press 1977)British Parliamentary Election Results 1885–1918 , compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1974)British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949 , compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press, revised edition 1977)Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume I 1832–1885 , edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976)Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume II 1886–1918 , edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1978)Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume III 1919–1945 , edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1979)Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume IV 1945–1979 , edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1981)
