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Southern West Riding of Yorkshire (UK Parliament constituency)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Southern West Riding of Yorkshire
Former county constituency
for the House of Commons
CountyWest Riding of Yorkshire
18651885
SeatsTwo
Created fromWest Riding of Yorkshire
Replaced byBarnsley, Colne Valley, Doncaster, Hallamshire, Holmfirth, Morley, Normanton and Rotherham

Southern West Riding of Yorkshire was a parliamentary constituency covering part of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire. It returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the bloc vote system.

History

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The constituency was created when the two-member West Riding of Yorkshire constituency was divided for the 1865 general election by the Birkenhead Enfranchisement Act 1861 into two new constituencies, each returning two members: Northern West Riding of Yorkshire and Southern West Riding of Yorkshire. The extra seats were taken from parliamentary boroughs which had been disenfranchised for corruption.

In the redistribution which took effect for the 1868 general election the two divisions were redistributed into three. Eastern West Riding of Yorkshire was created and the Northern and Southern divisions modified. Each of the three divisions returned two members.

All three were abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election. The Southern division was replaced by eight new single-member constituencies: Barnsley, Colne Valley, Doncaster, Hallamshire, Holmfirth, Morley, Normanton and Rotherham.

Boundaries

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The place of election was at Wakefield.

From 1865 to 1868 the constituency comprised the south half of the West Riding of Yorkshire. The Birkenhead Enfranchisement Act 1861 provided that it was to contain the wapentakes of Barkston Ash, Osgoldcross, Strafforth and Tickhill, Staincross, and Agbrigg.[1]

The Reform Act 1867, as amended by the Boundary Act 1868, re-defined the constituency (as it existed between 1868 and 1885) as the wapentakes of Agbrigg, Strafforth and Tickhill and Staincross.[2]

Members of Parliament

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Election 1st Member 1st Party 2nd Member 2nd Party
1865 Viscount Milton Liberal Henry Beaumont Liberal
1872 Walter Spencer-Stanhope Conservative
1874 Lewis Randle Starkey Conservative
1880 Hon. Henry Wentworth-Fitzwilliam Liberal William Henry Leatham Liberal
1885 constituency abolished: see Barnsley, Colne Valley, Doncaster, Hallamshire, Holmfirth, Morley, Normanton and Rotherham

Election results

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General election 1880: Southern West Riding of Yorkshire[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Henry Wentworth-Fitzwilliam 11,385 26.5 +3.7
Liberal William Henry Leatham 11,181 26.0 +2.9
Conservative Walter Spencer-Stanhope 10,391 24.2 −2.9
Conservative Lewis Randle Starkey 10,020 23.3 −3.7
Majority 1,365 3.2 N/A
Majority 790 1.8 N/A
Turnout 21,489 (est) 81.6 (est) +1.6
Registered electors 26,329
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +3.4
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +3.3
General election 1874: Southern West Riding of Yorkshire[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Walter Spencer-Stanhope 9,705 27.1 +2.0
Conservative Lewis Randle Starkey 9,639 27.0 +2.9
Liberal William Henry Leatham 8,265 23.1 −2.6
Liberal Henry Beaumont 8,148 22.8 −2.3
Majority 1,557 4.3 N/A
Majority 1,374 3.9 N/A
Turnout 17,879 (est) 80.0 (est) +0.6
Registered electors 22,358
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +2.2
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +2.7
By-election, 8 Jul 1872: Southern West Riding of Yorkshire[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Walter Spencer-Stanhope Unopposed
Conservative gain from Liberal
  • Caused by Wentworth-FitzWilliam's resignation.
General election 1868: Southern West Riding of Yorkshire[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Wentworth-FitzWilliam 8,110 25.7 −0.3
Liberal Henry Beaumont 7,943 25.1 +0.1
Conservative Walter Spencer-Stanhope 7,935 25.1 +0.5
Conservative Lewis Randle Starkey 7,621 24.1 −0.3
Majority 8 0.0 −0.4
Turnout 15,805 (est) 79.4 (est) +1.4
Registered electors 19,908
Liberal hold Swing −0.2
Liberal hold Swing 0.0
General election 1865: Southern West Riding of Yorkshire[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Wentworth-FitzWilliam 7,258 26.0
Liberal Henry Beaumont 6,975 25.0
Conservative Christopher Denison 6,884 24.6
Conservative Walter Spencer-Stanhope 6,819 24.4
Majority 91 0.4
Turnout 13,968 (est) 78.0 (est)
Registered electors 17,903
Liberal win (new seat)
Liberal win (new seat)

References

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  1. ^ Birkenhead Enfranchisement Act 1861 (c.112), section 1.
  2. ^ "Representation of the People Act 1867" (PDF). Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. p. 494. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
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