Liverpool (UK Parliament constituency)

Liverpool was a borough constituency in the county of Lancashire of the House of Commons for the Parliament of England to 1706 then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represented by two Members of Parliament (MPs). In 1868, this was increased to three Members of Parliament.

Liverpool
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
County	Lancashire
1295–1885
Seats	1295–1868: Two 1868–1885: Three
Replaced by	Abercromby, East Toxteth, Everton, Exchange, Kirkdale, Scotland, Walton, West Derby and West Toxteth

The borough franchise was held by the freemen of the borough. Each elector had as many votes as there were seats to be filled. Votes had to be cast by a spoken declaration, in public, at the hustings. In 1800 there were around 3000 electors, with elections in this seat being nearly always contested.

The borough returned several notable Members of Parliament including Prime Minister George Canning, William Huskisson, President of the Board of Trade, Banastre Tarleton, noted soldier in the American War of Independence and most notably, William Roscoe the abolitionist and Anti Slave Trade campaigner.

The constituency was abolished in 1885, the city being split into nine divisions of Abercromby, East Toxteth, Everton, Exchange, Kirkdale, Scotland, Walton, West Derby and West Toxteth.

History

The borough of Liverpool exercised the privilege of sending two members to Parliament in 1295 and 1307, but then for 240 years the right was wholly suspended. In the first Parliament of Edward VI, which met 4 November 1547, though Elective Franchise was restored to the two Lancashire boroughs of Liverpool and Wigan and has since continued almost without further interruption.

Representation was increased to three Members in 1868 and the constituency abolished in 1885, to be replaced by the nine new constituencies of Abercromby, East Toxteth, Everton, Exchange, Kirkdale, Scotland, Walton, West Derby and West Toxteth.

Members of Parliament

1295–1640

Parliament	First member	Second member
1295	Adam fitz Richard	Robert Pinklowe
1300–1307	Richard de la More	John de la More
1545	Nicholas Cutler	Gilbert Gerard[1]
1547	Thomas Stanley	?Francis Cave or Richard Taverner[2]
1553 (Mar)	William Bromley	Ralph Assheton[2]
1553 (Oct)	William Bromley	Sir Giles Alington[2]
1554 (Apr)	William Bromley	Sir William Norris[2]
1554 (Nov)	William Bromley	John Beaumont[2]
1555	Sir Richard Sherborn	John Beaumont[2]
1558	William Stopford	George White[2]
1559 (Jan)	Sir Thomas Smith	Ralph Browne[3]
1562–3	Sir Richard Molyneux	Ralph Sekerston[3]
1571	Thomas Avery	Ralph Sekerston[3]
1572	Ralph Sekerston, died and repl. 1576 by Thomas Greenacres, died and repl. April 1583 by Arthur Atye	Mathew Dale[3]
1584	Arthur Atye	John Molyneux[3]
1586	John Poole	William Cavendish[3]
1588 (Oct)	Edward Warren	Francis Bacon[3]
1593	Michael Doughty	John Wroth[3]
1597 (Oct)	Thomas Gerard	Peter Probie[3]
1601 (Oct)	Edward Anderson	Hugh Calverley[3]
1604	Giles Brook	Thomas Remchinge
1614	Thomas Ireland	Sir Hugh Beeston
1621–1622	Thomas May	William Johnson
1624	Sir Thomas Gerard, 2nd Baronet	George Ireland
1625	Lord Strange	Edward Moore
1626	Edward Bridgeman	Thomas Stanley
1628	Henry Jermyn	John Newdigate
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned

1640–1868

Election	First member		First party	Second member		Second party
April 1640		Lord Cranfield			John Holcroft
November 1640		Sir Richard Wynn, Bt.	Parliamentarian		John Moore	Parliamentarian
December 1648	Wynn excluded in Pride's Purge – seat vacant[n 1]
October 1649		Thomas Birch
June 1650				Moore died June 1650 – seat left vacant
1653	Liverpool was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654		Thomas Birch		Liverpool had only one seat in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
1656
January 1659		Gilbert Ireland			Thomas Blackmore
May 1659	Liverpool was unrepresented in the restored Rump
April 1660		Sir Gilbert Ireland			William Stanley
1670					Sir William Bucknall
1675		William Banks
1677		Sir Ralph Assheton, Bt.			Richard Atherton
1679		Ruisshe Wentworth			John Dubois
1685		Sir Richard Atherton			Thomas Legh
1689		Richard Savage, Viscount Colchester	Whig		Thomas Norris
1694		Thomas Brotherton
January 1695					Jasper Maudit
November 1695		Sir William Norris, Bt.
1698					William Clayton
1701 (Dec)		(Sir) Thomas Johnson[n 2]	Whig
1708					Richard Norris
1710					John Cleiveland
1713					William Clayton
1715					Edward Norris
1722					William Cleiveland
1723		Langham Booth
April 1724					Thomas Bootle
November 1724		Thomas Brereton
1729		Sir Thomas Aston, Bt.
1734		Thomas Brereton[n 3]			Richard Gildart
1754					John Hardman
1755					(Sir) Ellis Cunliffe[n 4]
1756		Charles Pole
1761		Sir William Meredith, Bt.	Tory
1767					Richard Pennant	Tory
1780		Bamber Gascoyne	Tory[4]		Henry Rawlinson
1784					Richard Pennant	Whig[4]
1790					Banastre Tarleton	Tory[4]
1796		Isaac Gascoyne	Tory/Ultra-Tory[4]
1806					William Roscoe	Whig[4]
1807					Banastre Tarleton	Tory[4]
1812					George Canning[n 5]	Tory[4]
1823					William Huskisson	Tory[4]
November 1830					William Ewart	Radicals[5][6][7][8][9]
May 1831		Evelyn Denison[n 6]	Whig[4]
October 1831		Dudley Ryder	Tory[4]
1834			Conservative[4]
1837					Cresswell Cresswell	Conservative[4]
1842					Howard Douglas	Conservative[4]
1847		Edward Cardwell	Peelite[10][11][12][13][14][15][16]		Sir Thomas Birch, Bt	Whig[15][16][17]
1852		Charles Turner	Conservative		William Forbes Mackenzie	Conservative
1853		Thomas Horsfall	Conservative		Henry Liddell	Conservative
1855					Joseph Christopher Ewart	Whig[18][19]
1859						Liberal
1865					Samuel Robert Graves	Conservative

1868–1885

• Constituency increased to three Members (1868)

Election	First member		First party	Second member		Second party	Third member		Third party
1868		Samuel Robert Graves	Conservative		Viscount Sandon	Conservative		William Rathbone	Liberal
1873 by-election		John Torr	Conservative
Feb 1880 by-election		Edward Whitley	Conservative
1880								John Ramsay	Liberal
Aug 1880 by-election								Lord Claud Hamilton	Conservative
1882 by-election					Samuel Smith	Liberal
1885	Constituency abolished (Redistribution of Seats Act 1885)

Elections

Pre-1832

General election 1830: Liverpool (2 seats)^[4][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Isaac Gascoyne	191	40.5
	Tory	William Huskisson	188	39.8
	Radical	George Williams	93	19.7
Majority			95	20.1
Turnout			c. 283	c. 5.3
Registered electors			c. 5,350
	Tory hold		Swing
	Tory hold		Swing

Huskisson's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 30 November 1830: Liverpool^[4][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	William Ewart	2,215	50.3	+30.6
	Whig	Evelyn Denison	2,186	49.7	N/A
Majority			29	0.6	N/A
Turnout			4,401	c. 82.3	c. +77.0
Registered electors			c. 5,350
	Radical gain from Tory		Swing	N/A

• The by-election was declared void but no new writ was issued before dissolution

General election 1831: Liverpool (2 seats)^[4][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	William Ewart	1,919	43.5	+23.8
	Whig	Evelyn Denison	1,890	42.8	N/A
	Tory	Isaac Gascoyne	607	13.7	−66.6
Turnout			2,721	c. 50.9	c. +45.6
Registered electors			c. 5,350
Majority			29	0.7	N/A
	Radical gain from Tory		Swing	+28.9
Majority			1,283	29.1	N/A
	Whig gain from Tory		Swing	N/A

Denison was also elected for Nottinghamshire and chose to sit there, causing a by-election.

By-election, 21 October 1831: Liverpool^[4][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Dudley Ryder	1,519	69.4	+55.7
	Radical	Thomas Thornely	670	30.6	−12.9
Majority			849	38.8	N/A
Turnout			2,189	c. 40.9	c. −10.0
Registered electors			c. 5,350
	Tory gain from Whig		Swing	+34.3

1832–1868

General election 1832: Liverpool (2 seats)^[21][4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	William Ewart	4,931	29.8	+8.1
	Tory	Dudley Ryder	4,260	25.8	+19.0
	Radical	Thomas Thornely[22][23]	4,096	24.8	+3.1
	Tory	Howard Douglas	3,249	19.6	+12.8
Turnout			8,851	78.4	c. +27.5
Registered electors			11,283
Majority			671	4.0	+3.3
	Radical hold		Swing	−3.9
Majority			164	1.0	N/A
	Tory gain from Whig		Swing	+1.3

General election 1835: Liverpool (2 seats)^[21][4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dudley Ryder	4,407	27.6	+1.8
	Radical	William Ewart	4,075	25.5	−29.1
	Conservative	Howard Douglas	3,869	24.2	+4.6
	Whig	James Morris	3,627	22.7	N/A
Turnout			8,167	65.4	−13.0
Registered electors			12,492
Majority			332	2.1	+1.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+8.2
Majority			206	1.3	−2.7
	Radical hold		Swing	−16.2

General election 1837: Liverpool (2 seats)^[21][4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dudley Ryder	4,786	26.6	−1.0
	Conservative	Cresswell Cresswell	4,652	25.8	+1.6
	Radical	William Ewart	4,381	24.3	+11.6
	Radical	Howard Elphinstone	4,206	23.3	+10.6
Majority			271	1.5	−0.6
Turnout			9,091	81.3	+15.9
Registered electors			11,179
	Conservative hold		Swing	−6.1
	Conservative gain from Radical		Swing	−4.8

General election 1841: Liverpool (2 seats)^[21][4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dudley Ryder	5,979	28.7	+2.1
	Conservative	Cresswell Cresswell	5,792	27.8	+2.0
	Whig	Joshua Walmsley	4,647	22.3	N/A
	Whig	Henry Temple	4,431	21.3	N/A
Majority			1,145	5.5	+4.0
Turnout			10,425 (est)	67.1 (est)	c. −14.2
Registered electors			15,539
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Cresswell resigned after being appointed a judge of the Court of Common Pleas, causing a by-election.

By-election, 8 February 1842: Liverpool^[21][4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Howard Douglas	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1847: Liverpool (2 seats)^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Peelite	Edward Cardwell	5,581	32.9	New
	Whig	Thomas Birch	4,882	28.8	−14.8
	Conservative	Sir Digby Mackworth, 4th Baronet	4,089	24.1	−4.6
	Conservative	John Manners	2,413	14.2	−13.6
Turnout			8,483 (est)	49.9 (est)	−17.2
Registered electors			17,004
Majority			699	4.1	N/A
	Peelite gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A
Majority			793	4.7	N/A
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	−2.9

General election 1852: Liverpool (2 seats)^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Turner	6,693	28.8	+4.7
	Conservative	William Forbes Mackenzie	6,367	27.4	+13.2
	Peelite	Edward Cardwell	5,247	22.6	−10.3
	Whig	Joseph Christopher Ewart	4,910	21.1	−7.7
Majority			1,120	4.8	N/A
Turnout			11,609 (est)	66.6 (est)	+16.7
Registered electors			17,433
	Conservative gain from Peelite		Swing	+6.9
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+11.1

Election declared void on petition, due to bribery and treating by Mackenzie and Turner, causing a by-election.^[24]

By-election, 9 July 1853: Liverpool (2 seats)^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Horsfall	6,034	34.4	+5.6
	Conservative	Henry Liddell	5,543	31.6	+4.2
	Whig	Thomas Erskine Perry[25][26]	4,673	26.7	+5.6
	Ind. Conservative	John Bramley-Moore[27]	1,274	7.3	New
Majority			870	4.9	+0.1
Turnout			10,462 (est)	64.7 (est)	−1.9
Registered electors			16,182
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.7

Liddell succeeded to the peerage, becoming 2nd Baron Ravensworth and causing a by-election.

By-election, 29 March 1855: Liverpool^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Joseph Christopher Ewart	5,718	57.3	+36.2
	Conservative	George Bonham	4,262	42.7	−13.5
Majority			1,456	14.6	N/A
Turnout			9,980	56.1	−10.5
Registered electors			17,795
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	+24.9

General election 1857: Liverpool (2 seats)^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Horsfall	7,566	36.0	+7.2
	Whig	Joseph Christopher Ewart	7,121	33.9	+12.8
	Conservative	Charles Turner	6,316	30.1	+2.7
Turnout			10,502 (est)	57.3 (est)	−9.3
Registered electors			18,314
Majority			445	2.1	−2.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.4
Majority			805	3.8	N/A
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	+1.5

General election 1859: Liverpool (2 seats)^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Joseph Christopher Ewart	Unopposed
	Conservative	Thomas Horsfall	Unopposed
Registered electors			18,779
	Liberal hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1865: Liverpool (2 seats)^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Horsfall	7,866	34.9	N/A
	Conservative	Samuel Robert Graves	7,500	33.3	N/A
	Liberal	Joseph Christopher Ewart	7,160	31.8	N/A
Majority			340	1.5	N/A
Turnout			14,843 (est)	72.0 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			20,618
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

1868–1885

Seat increased to three members

General election 1868: Liverpool (3 seats)^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Samuel Robert Graves	16,766	26.5	−6.8
	Conservative	Dudley Ryder	16,222	25.6	−9.3
	Liberal	William Rathbone	15,337	24.2	+8.3
	Liberal	William Nathaniel Massey[28]	15,017	23.7	+7.8
Majority			885	1.4	−0.1
Turnout			31,671 (est)	79.9 (est)	+7.9
Registered electors			39,645
	Conservative hold		Swing	−7.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	−8.6
	Liberal win (new seat)

Graves' death caused a by-election.

By-election, 10 February 1873: Liverpool^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Torr	18,702	52.7	+0.6
	Liberal	William Sproston Caine	16,790	47.3	−0.6
Majority			1,912	5.4	+4.0
Turnout			35,492	67.1	−12.8
Registered electors			52,912
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.6

General election 1874: Liverpool (3 seats)^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dudley Ryder	20,206	27.0	+1.4
	Conservative	John Torr	19,763	26.4	−0.1
	Liberal	William Rathbone	16,706	22.3	−1.9
	Liberal	William Sproston Caine	15,801	21.1	−2.6
	Lib-Lab	William Shaw Simpson	2,435	3.3	N/A
Majority			3,057	4.1	+2.7
Turnout			38,673 (est)	70.4 (est)	−9.5
Registered electors			54,952
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.2
	Liberal hold		Swing	−1.3

Ryder was appointed Vice-President of the Committee of the Council on Education, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 14 March 1874: Liverpool^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dudley Ryder	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Torr's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 6 February 1880: Liverpool^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Whitley	26,106	52.2	−1.2
	Liberal	John Ramsay	23,885	47.8	+4.4
Majority			2,221	4.4	+0.3
Turnout			49,991	78.2	+7.8
Registered electors			63,946
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.8

General election 1880: Liverpool (3 seats)^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Ramsay	Unopposed
	Conservative	Dudley Ryder	Unopposed
	Conservative	Edward Whitley	Unopposed
Registered electors			63,946
	Liberal hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Ramsay succeeded to the peerage, becoming Earl of Dalhousie, causing a by-election.

By-election, 9 August 1880: Liverpool^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Claud Hamilton	21,019	52.4	N/A
	Liberal	Samuel Plimsoll	19,118	47.6	N/A
Majority			1,901	4.8	N/A
Turnout			40,137	62.8	N/A
Registered electors			63,946
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

Ryder succeeded to the peerage, becoming Earl of Harrowby, causing a by-election.

By-election, 11 December 1882: Liverpool^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Samuel Smith	18,198	50.4	N/A
	Conservative	Arthur Forwood	17,889	49.6	N/A
Majority			309	0.8	N/A
Turnout			36,087	58.2	N/A
Registered electors			62,039
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A

Notes and references

Notes

1. Wynn died in July 1649, and a by-election was held to replace him.
2. Knighted 1708.
3. Changed his surname to Salusbury on inheriting an estate from his father-in-law in 1734.
4. Created a baronet, March 1759.
5. The future Prime Minister (in 1827), the Right Hon. George Canning was also returned in 1812 for the Irish borough of Sligo. He elected to sit for Liverpool.
6. Denison was also elected for Nottinghamshire, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Liverpool.

References

1. "Gerard, Sir Gilbert (d.1593), of Ince, Lancs. and Gerrard's Bromley, Staffs.". History of Parliament. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
2. "Constituencies: Liverpool (1509–1558)". History of Parliament. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
3. "Constituencies: Liverpool (1558–1603)". History of Parliament. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
4. Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 180–184. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
5. Dod, Charles Roger; Dod, Robert Phipps (1847). Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Volume 15. Dod's Parliamentary Companion. p. 164 – via Internet Archive.
6. Boase, George Clement (1889). "Ewart, William" . In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 18. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
7. Farrell, S. M. (9 January 2014) [2004]. "Ewart, William (1798–1869)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9011.
8. "Leeds Intelligencer". 31 July 1841. p. 7 – via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "Dumfries Burghs". Northern Star and Leeds General Advertiser. 10 July 1841. p. 7 – via British Newspaper Archive.
10. Smith, Goldwin (1887). "Cardwell, Edward (1813-1886)" . In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 9. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
11. "Cardwell, Viscount (UK, 1874 - 1886)". Cracroft's Peerage. Heraldic Media Limited. 7 March 2012.
12. Collins, Neil (2017). Politics and Elections in Nineteenth-Century Liverpool. Abingdon: Routledge. p. 73. ISBN 978-1-85928-076-8.
13. Neal, Frank (1988). "Heightened Religious Tension". Sectarian Violence: The Liverpool Experience 1819-1914. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 154. ISBN 0-7190-1483-2.
14. "Edward Cardwell". Oxford Reference. Oxford University Press.
15. "Liverpool". Dublin Weekly Nation. 31 July 1847. p. 12 – via British Newspaper Archive.
16. "Electioneering News". Belfast News-Letter. 3 August 1847. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive.
17. "The Dissolution". Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal. 23 July 1847. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.
18. "Liverpool Election". Newry Examiner and Louth Advertiser. 31 March 1855. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.
19. "Bell's Weekly Messenger". 31 March 1855. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive.
20. Escott, Margaret. "Liverpool". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
21. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. pp. 191–192. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
22. The Christian Reform; Or, Unitarian Magazine and Review: New Series, Vol. XVIII. London: Edward T. Whitfield. 1862. pp. 361–384 – via Internet Archive.
23. Turner, Michael J. (2014). Liberty and Liberticide: The Role in Nineteenth-Century British Radicalism. Lanham: Lexington Books. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-7391-7817-1 – via Google Books.
24. "Local and Provincial". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 30 July 1853. p. 9 – via British Newspaper Archive.
25. Atkinson, Diane (2012). The Criminal Conversation of Mrs Norton. London: Arrow Books. p. 390. ISBN 9780099556480.
26. Stubbings, Matthew (October 2016). "British Conservatism and the Indian Revolt: The Annexation of Awadh and the Consequences of Liberal Empire, 1856–1858". Journal of British Studies. 55 (4): 728–749. doi:10.1017/jbr.2016.73. S2CID 152098641.
27. "Liverpool Election". The Evening Freeman. 11 July 1853. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.
28. "Obituary". The Times. London. 27 October 1881. p. 9.

• Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807)
• D. Brunton & D. H. Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
• Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808)
• F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
• J. E. Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 3)