Coventry (UK Parliament constituency)

Coventry was a borough constituency which was represented in the House of Commons of England and its successors, the House of Commons of Great Britain and the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

Coventry
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
Coventry in Warwickshire, 1885-1918
County	Warwickshire
Major settlements	Coventry
1298–1945
Seats	1298–1885: Two 1885–1945: One
Replaced by	Coventry East Coventry West

Centred on the City of Coventry in Warwickshire, it returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) from 1295 until the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, when its representation was reduced to one. The Coventry constituency was abolished for the 1945 general election, when it was split into two new constituencies: Coventry East and Coventry West.

Elections were held using the bloc vote system when electing two MPs (until 1885), and then first-past-the-post to elect one MP thereafter.

Boundaries

1832–1868: The City of Coventry and the suburbs thereof.^[1]

1868–1918: The existing parliamentary borough and the Parish of Stoke.^[2]

The constituency was unchanged by the Representation of the People Act 1884.^[3] By the time its boundaries were revised in 1918, it was defined as consisting of the city of Coventry, the parishes of St. Michael Without and Holy Trinity Without, the parish of Stoke, and part of the parish of Wyken.^[4]

1918–1945: The county borough of Coventry.^[5]

History

In the eighteenth century Coventry was, despite its size, known as a corrupt borough.^[6]

Members of Parliament

MPs before 1660

Parliament	First member	Second member
1295	Anketil de Coleshull	Richard de Weston[7]
1298	Robert Russell	Robert Kelle[7]
1301	Thomas Ballard	Lawrence de Schepey[7]
1302	Ralph Tewe	John Russell[7]
1305	Henry Bagot	Peter Baron[7]
1306	Alexander de Moubray	Henry Bagot [7]
1315	Richard de Spicer	John de Langley [7]
1346	John de Percy	Nicholas de Hunt[7]
1353	Nicholas Michel	Richard de Stoke[7]
1354–1449	No representation
1450	Thomas Lyttelton	? [7]
1453	William Elton	? [7]
1460	Henry Butler	Richard Braytoft[7]
1467	Henry Butler	Richard Braytoft[7]
1472	Henry Butler	John Wildegryse[7]
1478	Henry Butler	John Wildegryse[7]
1485	Sir Robert Onley[7]
1491	Richard Cook	John Smith[7]
1495	Henry Marlar[7]
1510-1515	No names known [8]
1523	Ralph Swyllyngton	Richard Marlar[8]
1529	Roger Wigston	John Bond[8]
1536	?Roger Wigston	? [8]
1539	Roger Wigston	Baldwin Porter[8]
1542	Roger Wigston, died and replaced Jan 1544 by Edward Saunders	Henry Over alias Waver[8]
1545	Christopher Warren	Henry Porter[8]
1547	Christopher Warren	Henry Porter[8]
1553 (Mar)	James Rogers	John Talonts[8]
1553 (Oct)	John Nethermill	Thomas Bond[8]
1554 (Apr)	Thomas Keyvet	Edward Davenport[8]
1554 (Nov)	John Throckmorton	John Harford[8]
1555	John Throckmorton	Henry Porter[8]
1558	John Throckmorton	John Talonts[8]
1558–1559	John Throckmorton	John Nethermill[9]
1562–1563	Thomas Dudley	Richard Grafton[9]
1571	Henry Goodere	Edmund Brownell [9]
1572	Edmund Brownell, died and replaced Apr 1573 by Bartholemew Tate	Thomas Wight [9]
1584 (Oct)	Edward Boughton	Thomas Wight [9]
1586	Thomas Saunders	Henry Breres[9]
1588 (Oct)	Thomas Saunders	Henry Breres[9]
1593	Thomas Saunders	John Myles[9]
1597 (Sep)	Henry Kervyn	Thomas Saunders[9]
1601 (Oct)	Henry Breres	Thomas Saunders[9]
1604	Henry Breres	John Rogerson, taken ill and replaced by Sir John Harington[7]
1614	Sir Robert Coke	Sampson Hopkins[7]
1621	Sampson Hopkins	Henry Sewall[7]
1624	Sir Edward Coke	Henry Harwell[7]
1626	Henry Harwell	Isaac Walden[7]
1628	William Purefoy of Caldecote	Richard Green of Wyken[7]
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned
1640 (Apr)	William Jesson	Simon Norton[7]
1640 (Nov)	Simon Norton, died 1641 and replaced by William Jesson	John Barker excluded in 1648 in Pride's Purge [7]
1649	John Barker (readmitted 1649)	(one seat only)[7]
1653	Coventry not represented in the Barebones Parliament[7]
1654	William Purefoy	Robert Beake[7]
1656	William Purefoy	Robert Beake
1659	William Purefoy	Robert Beake

MPs 1660–1885

Year	1st Member		1st Party	2nd Member		2nd Party
1660, March		Richard Hopkins			Robert Beake
1660, August					William Jesson
1661		Sir Clement Fisher, Bt			Thomas Flynt
1670					Richard Hopkins
1679, Feb		Robert Beake
1679, August		John Stratford
1685		Sir Roger Cave, Bt			Sir Thomas Norton
1689					John Stratford
1690		Richard Hopkins
1695		George Bohun			Thomas Gery
1698		Sir Christopher Hales, Bt			Richard Hopkins
1701, Jan					Thomas Hopkins
1701, Dec					Edward Hopkins
1702					Thomas Gery
1707		Sir Orlando Bridgeman, Bt	Whig		Edward Hopkins
1710, Oct		Robert Craven			Thomas Gery
1710, Dec		Clobery Bromley
1711		Sir Christopher Hales, Bt
1713					Sir Fulwar Skipwith, Bt
1715		(Sir) Adolphus Oughton[10]			Sir Thomas Samwell, Bt
1722[11]					John Neale
1734					John Bird
1737, Feb		John Neale
1737, Apr					Earl of Euston
1741		William Grove
1747, Jun					Viscount Petersham
1747, Dec					Samuel Greatheed
1761		James Hewitt			Hon. Andrew Archer
1766		Hon. Henry Seymour-Conway
1768					Sir Richard Glyn, Bt
1773					Walter Waring
1774		Edward Roe Yeo	Tory[12]
1780, Feb					John Baker Holroyd	Tory[12]
1780, Oct	Election abandoned due to rioting; both seats vacant[12]
1780, Dec[13]		Sir Thomas Hallifax	Whig[12]		Thomas Rogers	Whig[12]
1781		Edward Roe Yeo	Tory		The Lord Sheffield	Tory[12]
1783		Hon. William Seymour-Conway
1784		Sir Sampson Gideon, Bt[14]			John Eardley Wilmot
1796		William Wilberforce Bird	Whig[12]		Nathaniel Jefferys	Tory[12]
1802		Francis William Barlow	Tory[12]
1803					Peter Moore	Whig[12]
1805		William Mills	Whig[12]
1812		Joseph Butterworth	Whig[12]
1818		Edward Ellice	Whig[15][16][17][18][19][12][20]
1826		Richard Edensor Heathcote	Tory[12]		Thomas Bilcliffe Fyler	Tory[12]
1830		Edward Ellice	Whig[15][16][17][18][19][12][20]
1831					Henry Bulwer	Whig[12]
1835					William Williams	Radical[20][21][22]
1847					George James Turner	Conservative
1851					Charles Geach	Radical[23][24][25][26]
1854					Sir Joseph Paxton	Whig[27]
1859			Liberal			Liberal
1863		Morgan Treherne	Conservative
1865					Henry Eaton	Conservative
1867		Henry Jackson	Liberal
1868, March		Samuel Carter	Liberal
1868, November		Alexander Staveley Hill	Conservative
1874		Sir Henry Jackson, Bt	Liberal
1880					William Wills	Liberal
1881		Henry Eaton	Conservative
1885	representation reduced to one member

MPs 1885–1945

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Henry Eaton	Conservative
	1887 by-election	William Ballantine	Liberal
	1895	Charles James Murray	Conservative
	1906	A. E. W. Mason	Liberal
	Jan 1910	Kenneth Foster	Conservative
	Dec 1910	David Marshall Mason	Liberal
	1918	Edward Manville	Coalition Conservative
	1923	A. A. Purcell	Labour
	1924	Archibald Boyd-Carpenter	Conservative
	1929	Philip Noel-Baker	Labour
	1931	William Strickland	Conservative
1945		constituency abolished: see Coventry East & Coventry West

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Coventry (2 seats)^[12][28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Thomas Bilcliffe Fyler	Unopposed
	Whig	Edward Ellice	Unopposed
	Tory hold
	Whig gain from Tory

General election 1831: Coventry (2 seats)^[12][28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Edward Ellice	1,658	38.0	N/A
	Whig	Henry Bulwer	1,560	35.7	N/A
	Tory	Thomas Bilcliffe Fyler	1,150	26.3	N/A
Majority			410	9.4	N/A
Turnout			2,721	c. 77.7	N/A
Registered electors			c. 3,500
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A
	Whig gain from Tory		Swing	N/A

General election 1832: Coventry (2 seats)^[29][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Edward Ellice	1,613	40.8	+2.8
	Whig	Henry Bulwer	1,607	40.6	+4.9
	Tory	Thomas Bilcliffe Fyler	371	9.4	−3.8
	Tory	Morgan Thomas	366	9.2	−4.0
Majority			1,236	31.2	+21.8
Turnout			1,989	60.5	c. −17.2
Registered electors			3,285
	Whig hold		Swing	+3.4
	Whig hold		Swing	+4.4

Ellice was appointed Secretary at War, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 12 April 1833: Coventry^[29][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Edward Ellice	1,502	53.7	−27.7
	Tory	Morgan Thomas	1,208	43.2	+24.6
	Radical	John Morgan Cobbett	89	3.2	N/A
Majority			294	10.5	−20.7
Turnout			2,799	85.2	+24.7
Registered electors			3,285
	Whig hold		Swing	−26.2

General election 1835: Coventry (2 seats)^[29][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	William Williams	1,865	37.1	N/A
	Whig	Edward Ellice	1,601	31.8	−49.6
	Conservative	Morgan Thomas	1,566	31.1	+12.5
Turnout			3,206	89.6	+29.1
Registered electors			3,577
Majority			264	5.3	N/A
	Radical gain from Whig		Swing
Majority			35	0.7	−30.5
	Whig hold		Swing	−31.1

General election 1837: Coventry (2 seats)^[29][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Edward Ellice	1,778	27.5	−4.3
	Radical	William Williams	1,748	27.0	−10.1
	Conservative	Morgan Thomas	1,511	23.3	+7.8
	Conservative	John David Hay Hill[30]	1,392	21.5	+6.0
	Chartist	John Bell	43	0.7	New
Turnout			3,323	90.7	+1.1
Registered electors			3,577
Majority			30	0.5	−0.2
	Whig hold		Swing	−5.6
Majority			237	3.7	−1.6
	Radical hold		Swing	−8.5

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Coventry (2 seats)^[29][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	William Williams	1,870	37.5	+10.5
	Whig	Edward Ellice	1,829	36.7	+9.2
	Conservative	Thomas Weir	1,290	25.9	−18.9
Turnout			c. 3,140	c. 82.9	c. −7.8
Registered electors			3,789
Majority			41	0.8	−2.9
	Radical hold		Swing	+10.0
Majority			539	10.8	+10.3
	Whig hold		Swing	+9.3

General election 1847: Coventry (2 seats)^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Edward Ellice	2,901	46.1	+9.4
	Conservative	George James Turner	1,754	27.9	+2.0
	Radical	William Williams	1,633	26.0	−11.5
Turnout			3,144 (est)	77.8 (est)	−5.1
Registered electors			4,043
Majority			1,147	18.2	+7.4
	Whig hold		Swing	+5.2
Majority			121	1.9	N/A
	Conservative gain from Radical		Swing	+3.9

Elections in the 1850s

Turner resigned after being appointed Vice-Chancellor of the High Court, causing a by-election.

By-election, 8 April 1851: Coventry (1 seat)^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	Charles Geach	1,669	60.2	+34.2
	Whig	Edward Strutt[24]	1,104	39.8	−6.3
Majority			565	20.4	N/A
Turnout			2,773	65.7	−12.1
Registered electors			4,223
	Radical gain from Conservative		Swing	+20.3

General election 1852: Coventry (2 seats)^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	Charles Geach	Unopposed
	Whig	Edward Ellice	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,502
	Radical gain from Conservative
	Whig hold

Geach's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 2 December 1854: Coventry (1 seat)^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Joseph Paxton	Unopposed
	Whig gain from Radical

General election 1857: Coventry (2 seats)^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Edward Ellice	2,810	41.0	N/A
	Whig	Joseph Paxton	2,384	34.8	N/A
	Whig	John Mellor[31][32]	703	10.3	N/A
	Conservative	Morgan Treherne	599	8.7	New
	Peelite	Robert Phillimore[33][34]	356	5.2	New
Majority			1,681	24.5	N/A
Turnout			3,426 (est)	68.8 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			4,982
	Whig hold
	Whig gain from Radical

• Phillimore retired from the contest two hours into polling.^[35]

General election 1859: Coventry (2 seats)^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Ellice	3,107	41.7	+0.7
	Liberal	Joseph Paxton	2,409	32.4	−2.4
	Conservative	Morgan Treherne	1,928	25.9	+17.2
Majority			481	6.5	−18.0
Turnout			4,686 (est)	87.4 (est)	+18.6
Registered electors			5,363
	Liberal hold		Swing	−4.0
	Liberal hold		Swing	−5.5

Elections in the 1860s

Ellice's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 8 October 1863: Coventry (1 seat)^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Morgan Treherne	2,263	51.5	+25.6
	Liberal	Arthur Peel[36]	2,129	48.5	−25.6
Majority			134	3.0	N/A
Turnout			4,392	84.4	−3.0
Registered electors			5,206
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+25.6

Paxton's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 21 June 1865: Coventry (1 seat)^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Eaton	2,395	52.8	+26.9
	Liberal	Thomas Mason Jones[37]	2,142	47.2	−26.9
Majority			253	5.6	N/A
Turnout			4,537	91.3	+3.9
Registered electors			4,967
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+26.9

General election 1865: Coventry (2 seats)^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Eaton	2,489	26.2	+13.2
	Conservative	Morgan Treherne	2,401	25.3	+12.3
	Liberal	Edward Fordham Flower	2,342	24.7	−17.0
	Liberal	Thomas Mason Jones[37]	2,259	23.8	−8.6
Majority			59	0.6	N/A
Turnout			4,746 (est)	95.5 (est)	+8.1
Registered electors			4,967
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+13.0
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+12.6

Treherne's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 23 July 1867: Coventry (1 seat)^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Jackson	2,429	53.4	+4.9
	Conservative	William Ferrand	2,123	46.6	−4.9
Majority			306	6.8	N/A
Turnout			4,552	91.6	−3.9
Registered electors			4,967
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+4.9

The by-election was declared void on petition due to bribery by Jackson's agent.^[38]

By-election, 26 March 1868: Coventry (1 seat)^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Samuel Carter	2,415	53.1	+4.6
	Conservative	Alexander Staveley Hill	2,134	46.9	−4.6
Majority			281	6.2	N/A
Turnout			4,549	91.6	−3.9
Registered electors			4,967
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+4.6

General election 1868: Coventry (2 seats)^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Eaton	3,781	25.7	−0.5
	Conservative	Alexander Staveley Hill	3,761	25.6	+0.3
	Liberal	Henry Jackson	3,594	24.4	−0.3
	Liberal	Samuel Carter	3,576	24.3	+0.5
Majority			167	1.2	+0.6
Turnout			7,356 (est)	92.8 (est)	−2.7
Registered electors			7,925
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.4

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Coventry (2 seats)^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Eaton	3,823	25.6	−0.1
	Liberal	Henry Jackson	3,799	25.5	+1.1
	Liberal	Samuel Carter	3,662	24.6	+0.3
	Conservative	Frederick du Pré Thornton[39]	3,628	24.3	−1.3
Turnout			7,456 (est)	92.9 (est)	+0.1
Registered electors			8,027
Majority			24	0.9	−1.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.2
Majority			171	1.2	N/A
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+1.2

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Coventry (2 seats)^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Jackson	4,184	26.1	+0.6
	Liberal	William Wills	4,105	25.6	+1.0
	Conservative	Henry Eaton	4,008	25.0	−0.6
	Conservative	Arthur Kekewich	3,715	23.2	−1.1
Majority			97	0.6	N/A
Turnout			8,006 (est)	86.9 (est)	−6.0
Registered electors			9,208
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.6
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+1.1

Jackson resigned after being appointed a judge on the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice, causing a by-election.

By-election, 14 Mar 1881: Coventry (1 seat)^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Eaton	4,011	52.9	+4.7
	Liberal	Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth	3,568	47.1	−4.6
Majority			443	0.8	N/A
Turnout			7,579	91.7	+4.8 (est)
Registered electors			8,263
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+4.6

General election 1885: Coventry (1 seat) ^[40][41][3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Eaton	4,577	51.4	+3.2
	Liberal	Courtenay Warner	4,328	48.6	−3.1
Majority			249	2.8	N/A
Turnout			8,905	91.5	+4.6 (est)
Registered electors			9,736
	Conservative win

General election 1886: Coventry ^[40][41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Eaton	4,201	52.5	+1.1
	Liberal	William Ballantine	3,796	47.5	−1.1
Majority			405	5.0	+2.2
Turnout			7,996	82.1	−9.4
Registered electors			9,736
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.1

Eaton was elevated to the peerage, becoming Lord Cheylesmore, causing a by-election.

By-election, 9 Jul 1887: Coventry ^[40][41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Ballantine	4,229	50.1	+2.6
	Conservative	Herbert Eaton	4,213	49.9	−2.6
Majority			16	0.2	N/A
Turnout			8,442	85.6	+3.5
Registered electors			9,867
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.6

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Coventry ^[40][41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Ballantine	4,754	50.8	+3.3
	Conservative	Charles James Murray	4,611	49.2	−3.3
Majority			143	1.6	N/A
Turnout			9,365	86.4	+4.3
Registered electors			10,838
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+3.3

Murray

General election 1895: Coventry ^[40][41][42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles James Murray	4,974	51.8	+2.6
	Liberal	William Ballantine	4,624	48.2	−2.6
Majority			350	3.6	N/A
Turnout			9,598	87.8	+1.4
Registered electors			10,926
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+2.6

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Coventry ^[40][41][42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles James Murray	5,257	55.7	+3.9
	Liberal	L Cowen	4,188	44.3	−3.9
Majority			1,069	11.4	+7.8
Turnout			9,445	77.8	−10.0
Registered electors			12,145
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.9

Mason

General election 1906: Coventry ^[40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	A. E. W. Mason	6,554	54.5	+10.2
	Conservative	Kenneth Foster	5,462	45.5	−10.2
Majority			1,092	9.0	N/A
Turnout			12,016	86.0	+8.2
Registered electors			13,965
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+10.2

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Coventry^[40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Foster	7,369	50.7	+5.2
	Liberal	Silas Hocking	7,153	49.3	−5.2
Majority			216	1.4	N/A
Turnout			14,522	88.2	+2.2
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+5.2

Mason

General election December 1910: Coventry^[40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	David Marshall Mason	7,351	51.8	+2.5
	Conservative	Kenneth Foster	6,828	48.2	−2.5
Majority			523	3.6	N/A
Turnout			14,179	86.1	−2.1
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.5

General election 1918: Coventry ^[43]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	Edward Manville	17,380	44.8	−3.4
	Labour	R. C. Wallhead	10,298	26.6	New
	Liberal	Courtenay Mansel	4,128	10.7	−41.1
	Independent	Arthur Charles Bannington	3,806	9.8	New
	Independent Liberal	David Marshall Mason	3,145	8.1	New
Majority			7,082	18.2	N/A
Turnout			38,757	62.4	−23.7
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Mason had opposed the war and was replaced as Liberal candidate by Mansel who supported the Coalition Government. Bannington was the candidate of the National Federation of Discharged and Demobilized Sailors and Soldiers.^[43]

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Coventry^[43]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Edward Manville	20,986	42.6	−2.2
	Labour	Robert Williams	16,289	33.1	+6.5
	Liberal	John Edward Darnton	11,985	24.3	+13.6
Majority			4,697	9.5	−8.7
Turnout			49,260	80.8	+18.4
	Unionist hold		Swing	-4.3

General election 1923: Coventry ^[43]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. A. Purcell	16,346	34.2	+1.1
	Unionist	Edward Manville	15,726	32.9	−9.7
	Liberal	Henry Paterson Gisborne	15,716	32.9	+8.6
Majority			620	1.3	N/A
Turnout			47,788	77.1	−3.7
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+5.4

General election 1924: Coventry^[43]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Archibald Boyd-Carpenter	22,712	42.4	+9.5
	Labour	A. A. Purcell	17,888	33.4	−0.8
	Liberal	Henry Paterson Gisborne	12,953	24.2	−8.7
Majority			620	9.0	N/A
Turnout			53,553	84.9	+7.8
	Unionist gain from Labour		Swing	+5.4

General election 1929: Coventry ^[43]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Philip Noel-Baker	34,255	49.4	+16.0
	Unionist	Archibald Boyd-Carpenter	22,536	32.5	−9.9
	Liberal	James Wiseman McKay	12,516	18.1	−6.1
Majority			11,719	16.9	N/A
Turnout			69,307	82.2	−2.7
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+13.0

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Coventry

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Strickland	44,305	61.0	+28.5
	Labour	Philip Noel-Baker	28,311	39.0	−10.4
Majority			15,994	22.0	N/A
Turnout			72,616	82.7	+0.5
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+23.4

General election 1935: Coventry

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Strickland	37,313	51.7	−9.3
	Labour	Philip Noel-Baker	34,841	48.3	+9.3
Majority			2,472	3.4	−18.6
Turnout			72,154	81.0	−1.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	-9.3