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Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1801–1983 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eye was a parliamentary constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, encompassing an area around the market town and civil parish of Eye, Suffolk.
Eye | |
---|---|
Former county constituency for the House of Commons | |
County | Suffolk |
Major settlements | Eye, Saxmundham |
1885–1983 | |
Seats | One |
Replaced by | Central Suffolk and Suffolk Coastal[1] |
1571–1885 | |
Seats | Two until 1832, then one until 1885 |
Type of constituency | Borough constituency |
Eye was once the smallest borough in the country, its claim based on the 1205 Charter of King John. The Charter was renewed in 1408, then many more times by successive monarchs. However, in 1885, the Town Clerk of Hythe, 125 miles (201 km) south by land, proved that the original Charter belonged only to Hythe in Kent, the error having arisen from the similarity of their original Old English names, both building off a related root phrase (Hythe: landing place, Eye: land by water).[2] The error was confirmed by archivists in the 1950s, but borough status was not discontinued until 1974 after government reorganization when Eye became a parish but retained a Town Council, a Mayor and the insignia.
From 1571 to 1707, the Parliamentary Borough of Eye elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) by the bloc vote system of election to the House of Commons of England, then from 1707 to 1800 to the House of Commons of Great Britain, and from 1801 to 1832 to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. By the mid eighteenth century it tended to be seen a pocket borough of Earl Cornwallis who could nominate the two MPs.[3] The Reform Act 1832 reduced its representation to one MP, elected by the first past the post system. The parliamentary borough was abolished under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, and was reconstituted as one of five single-member county divisions of the Parliamentary County of Suffolk, becoming a county constituency from the 1950 general election.
This in turn was abolished for the 1983 general election when western areas, comprising the majority, became part of the new county constituency of Central Suffolk, with eastern areas forming part of the new county constituency of Suffolk Coastal.
The seat's main claim to fame was that it was the smallest town to have a parliamentary constituency named after it as the town of Eye had only approximately 1500 voters in 1981. It had been mostly a Liberal seat until 1951, after which it became a safe Conservative seat.
Formed from parts of the abolished Eastern and Western Divisions of Suffolk and incorporating the abolished Parliamentary Borough of Eye. Apart from Eye, the main town was Saxmundham.
Gained southernmost part of the Lowestoft Division, including Halesworth, and a small area to the east of the abolished Stowmarket Division, including the town of Stowmarket itself.
Extended southwards to gain Aldeburgh and mainly rural areas from the northern part of the abolished Woodbridge Division of East Suffolk. Area previously transferred from Lowestoft (including Halesworth) now returned.
Election | Member [8] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1832 | Sir Edward Kerrison, Bt | Tory | |
1834 | Conservative | ||
1852 | Edward Kerrison[13] | Conservative | |
1866 by-election | Hon. George Barrington[14] | Conservative | |
1880 | Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett | Conservative | |
1885 | Borough abolished – name transferred to county division |
Election | Member [8] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1885 | Francis Seymour Stevenson | Liberal | |
1906 by-election | Harold Pearson | Liberal | |
1918 | Alexander Lyle-Samuel | Liberal | |
1923 | The Lord Huntingfield | Conservative | |
1929 | Edgar Granville | Liberal | |
1931 | Liberal National | ||
1942 | Independent | ||
1945 | Liberal | ||
1951 | Sir Harwood Harrison | Conservative | |
1979 | John Gummer | Conservative | |
1983 | constituency abolished: see Suffolk Central |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Edward Kerrison | Unopposed | |||
Tory | Philip Sidney | Unopposed | |||
Tory hold | |||||
Tory hold |
Sidney resigned, causing a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | William Burge | Unopposed | |||
Tory hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Edward Kerrison | Unopposed | |||
Tory | William Burge | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | c. 125 | ||||
Tory hold | |||||
Tory hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Edward Kerrison | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 253 | ||||
Tory hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edward Kerrison | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 282 | ||||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edward Kerrison | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 301 | ||||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edward Kerrison | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 342 | ||||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edward Kerrison | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 322 | ||||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edward Kerrison | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 356 | ||||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edward Kerrison | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 359 | ||||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edward Kerrison | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 342 | ||||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edward Kerrison | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 339 | ||||
Conservative hold |
Kerrison resigned in order to contest the 1866 by-election in East Suffolk.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | George Barrington | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | George Barrington | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 1,198 | ||||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | George Barrington | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 1,163 | ||||
Conservative hold |
Barrington was appointed Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, requiring a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | George Barrington | 656 | 63.0 | N/A | |
Liberal | Charles Easton[18] | 386 | 37.0 | New | |
Majority | 270 | 26.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 1,042 | 89.6 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 1,163 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett | 540 | 53.0 | N/A | |
Liberal | Charles Easton[18] | 478 | 47.0 | N/A | |
Majority | 62 | 6.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 1,018 | 94.2 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 1,081 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |
Bartlett was appointed a Civil Lord of the Admiralty, requiring a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett | 473 | 58.5 | +5.5 | |
Liberal | Mervyn Lanark Hawkes[19] | 336 | 41.5 | −5.5 | |
Majority | 137 | 17.0 | +11.0 | ||
Turnout | 809 | 82.3 | −11.9 | ||
Registered electors | 983 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +5.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Francis Seymour Stevenson | 5,356 | 61.5 | +14.5 | |
Conservative | Benjamin Bridges Hunter Rodwell | 3,360 | 38.5 | −14.5 | |
Majority | 1,996 | 23.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 8,716 | 79.3 | −13.9 | ||
Registered electors | 10,993 | ||||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +14.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Francis Seymour Stevenson | 4,544 | 60.7 | −0.8 | |
Liberal Unionist | James Colquhoun Revell Reade | 2,938 | 39.3 | +0.8 | |
Majority | 1,606 | 21.4 | −1.6 | ||
Turnout | 7,482 | 68.1 | −11.2 | ||
Registered electors | 10,993 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | −0.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Francis Seymour Stevenson | 4,701 | 57.8 | −2.9 | |
Conservative | Lionel Holland | 3,431 | 42.2 | +2.9 | |
Majority | 1,270 | 15.6 | −5.8 | ||
Turnout | 8,132 | 78.8 | +10.7 | ||
Registered electors | 10,321 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | −2.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Francis Seymour Stevenson | 4,437 | 55.2 | −2.6 | |
Conservative | Frederick John Francis Wootton Isaacson | 3,603 | 44.8 | +2.6 | |
Majority | 834 | 10.4 | −5.2 | ||
Turnout | 8,040 | 77.8 | −1.0 | ||
Registered electors | 10,339 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | −2.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Francis Seymour Stevenson | 4,664 | 61.3 | +6.1 | |
Conservative | Henry Harben | 2,947 | 38.7 | −6.1 | |
Majority | 1,717 | 22.6 | +12.2 | ||
Turnout | 7,611 | 74.9 | −2.9 | ||
Registered electors | 10,162 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | +6.1 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Francis Seymour Stevenson | Unopposed | |||
Liberal hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Harold Pearson | 4,568 | 51.1 | N/A | |
Conservative | James Graham | 4,371 | 48.9 | New | |
Majority | 197 | 2.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 8,939 | 87.9 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 10,166 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Harold Pearson | 4,991 | 52.0 | N/A | |
Conservative | James Graham | 4,614 | 48.0 | N/A | |
Majority | 377 | 4.0 | +1.8 | ||
Turnout | 9,605 | 90.4 | +2.5 | ||
Registered electors | 10,621 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | +0.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Harold Pearson | 4,927 | 54.2 | +2.2 | |
Liberal Unionist | George Borwick, 2nd Baron Borwick | 4,157 | 45.8 | −2.2 | |
Majority | 770 | 8.4 | +4.4 | ||
Turnout | 9,084 | 85.5 | −4.9 | ||
Registered electors | 10,621 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | +2.2 |
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 from 1914 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Liberal | Alexander Lyle-Samuel | 10,072 | 61.3 | +7.1 |
Unionist | Frederick William French | 6,362 | 38.7 | −7.1 | |
Majority | 3,710 | 22.6 | +14.2 | ||
Turnout | 16,434 | 49.2 | −36.3 | ||
Registered electors | 33,399 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | +7.1 | |||
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Alexander Lyle-Samuel | 10,556 | 60.0 | −1.3 | |
National Liberal | Gerald Howard | 7,025 | 40.0 | N/A | |
Majority | 3,531 | 20.0 | −2.6 | ||
Turnout | 17,581 | 54.0 | +4.8 | ||
Registered electors | 32,579 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | William Vanneck | 11,172 | 47.7 | New | |
Liberal | Alexander Lyle-Samuel | 9,244 | 39.5 | −20.5 | |
Labour | Charles Wye Kendall | 2,984 | 12.8 | New | |
Majority | 1,928 | 8.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 23,400 | 70.9 | +16.9 | ||
Registered electors | 32,999 | ||||
Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | William Vanneck | 13,450 | 53.3 | +5.6 | |
Liberal | Thomas Bethell | 7,441 | 29.5 | −10.0 | |
Labour | Charles Wye Kendall | 4,329 | 17.2 | +4.4 | |
Majority | 6,009 | 23.8 | +15.6 | ||
Turnout | 25,220 | 74.5 | +3.6 | ||
Registered electors | 33,841 | ||||
Unionist hold | Swing | +7.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Edgar Granville | 13,944 | 44.3 | +14.8 | |
Unionist | Arthur Gilstrap Soames | 12,880 | 40.8 | −12.5 | |
Labour | Owen Aves | 4,709 | 14.9 | −2.3 | |
Majority | 1,064 | 3.5 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 31,533 | 78.2 | +3.7 | ||
Registered electors | 40,340 | ||||
Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +13.7 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Liberal | Edgar Granville | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
National Liberal hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Liberal | Edgar Granville | 21,606 | 73.95 | N/A | |
Labour | Harry Leonard Self | 7,613 | 26.05 | New | |
Majority | 13,993 | 47.90 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 29,219 | 70.69 | N/A | ||
National Liberal hold | Swing | N/A |
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 from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Edgar Granville | 11,899 | 38.46 | ||
Conservative | Algernon Malcolm Borthwick | 10,950 | 35.39 | ||
Labour | B Collingson | 8,089 | 26.15 | +0.10 | |
Majority | 949 | 3.07 | |||
Turnout | 30,938 | 71.74 | |||
Liberal hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Edgar Granville | 17,755 | 37.27 | −1.19 | |
Conservative | Harwood Harrison | 17,128 | 36.96 | +0.57 | |
Labour | Leslie George Emsden | 12,474 | 26.19 | +0.04 | |
Communist | Lee Chadwick | 271 | 0.58 | New | |
Majority | 627 | 0.31 | −2.76 | ||
Turnout | 47,628 | 83.8 | +12.1 | ||
Liberal hold | Swing | −0.88 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Harwood Harrison | 19,791 | 40.61 | +4.65 | |
Liberal | Edgar Granville | 17,602 | 36.12 | −1.15 | |
Labour | Harold F Falconer | 11,340 | 23.27 | −2.92 | |
Majority | 2,189 | 4.49 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 48,733 | 83.28 | |||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Harwood Harrison | 21,317 | 45.04 | +4.43 | |
Labour | Edgar Granville | 20,428 | 43.16 | +19.89 | |
Liberal | Inga-Stina Robson | 5,582 | 11.79 | −24.33 | |
Majority | 898 | 1.88 | |||
Turnout | 47,327 | 82.90 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Harwood Harrison | 22,333 | 47.12 | +2.08 | |
Labour | Edgar Granville | 19,849 | 41.88 | −1.28 | |
Liberal | Inga-Stina Robson | 5,215 | 11.00 | −0.79 | |
Majority | 2,484 | 5.24 | |||
Turnout | 47,397 | 84.04 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Harwood Harrison | 21,555 | 45.74 | ||
Labour | John Wilson Fear | 16,129 | 34.23 | ||
Liberal | Donald James Newby | 9,437 | 20.03 | ||
Majority | 5,426 | 11.51 | |||
Turnout | 47,121 | 82.54 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Harwood Harrison | 21,044 | 44.65 | ||
Labour | Richard Wallis Speaight Pryke | 17,431 | 36.98 | ||
Liberal | Donald James Newby | 8,661 | 18.37 | ||
Majority | 3,613 | 7.67 | |||
Turnout | 47,136 | 81.48 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Harwood Harrison | 26,099 | 52.41 | ||
Labour | Roy Ellison Manley | 17,735 | 35.62 | ||
Liberal | Ian Stanley Temple Senior | 5,962 | 11.97 | ||
Majority | 8,364 | 16.79 | |||
Turnout | 49,796 | 78.12 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Harwood Harrison | 23,486 | 43.61 | ||
Liberal | Denys Robinson | 15,811 | 29.36 | ||
Labour | Roy Ellison Manley | 13,937 | 25.88 | ||
PEOPLE | Edward Goldsmith | 395 | 0.73 | New | |
Independent Democratic Alliance | Albert William George Kingham | 220 | 0.41 | New | |
Majority | 7,675 | 14.25 | |||
Turnout | 53,849 | 82.64 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Harwood Harrison | 22,387 | 44.01 | ||
Liberal | Denys Robinson | 14,530 | 28.57 | ||
Labour | Ranken Bushby | 13,948 | 27.42 | ||
Majority | 7,857 | 15.44 | |||
Turnout | 50,865 | 77.41 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Gummer | 28,707 | 51.96 | ||
Labour | Paul Koppel | 13,686 | 24.77 | ||
Liberal | Peter Kemsley | 12,259 | 22.19 | ||
Independent | JJ Flint | 324 | 0.59 | New | |
Anti-Common Market Conservative | Norman Rogers | 268 | 0.49 | New | |
Majority | 15,021 | 27.19 | |||
Turnout | 55,244 | 79.10 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
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