King's Lynn (UK Parliament constituency)

King's Lynn was a constituency in Norfolk which was represented continuously in the House of Commons of England from 1298 to 1707, in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 until it was abolished for the February 1974 general election.

King's Lynn
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
1918–February 1974
Seats	one
Replaced by	North West Norfolk
1298–1918
Seats	two (1298–1885), one (1885–1918)
Type of constituency	Borough constituency

History

The Parliamentary Borough of King's Lynn, which was known as Lynn or Bishop's Lynn prior to 1537, returned two Members of Parliament until 1885, when its representation was reduced to one member by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. It was abolished as a Borough under the Representation of the People Act 1918 and was reconstituted as a Division of the Parliamentary County of Norfolk (from 1950, a County Constituency), absorbing the bulk of the abolished North Western Division. It was abolished for the February 1974 general election, being replaced by the re-established constituency of North West Norfolk.

Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister, was an MP for the constituency for almost the entirety of his parliamentary career, from 1702 to 1742.

Boundaries and boundary changes

1885–1918

• The existing parliamentary borough, and so much of the municipal borough of King's Lynn as was not already included in the parliamentary borough.^[1]

1918–1950

• The Borough of King's Lynn;
• The Urban Districts of New Hunstanton and Walsoken;
• The Rural Districts of Docking, Freebridge Lynn, King's Lynn, and Marshland (except the parishes of Outwell and Upwell); and
• The Rural District of Downham parishes of Wiggenhall St Germans, Wiggenhall St Mary the Virgin, Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen, and Wiggenhall St Peter.^[2]

1950–1974

• The Municipal Borough of King's Lynn;
• The Urban District of New Hunstanton; and
• The Rural Districts of Docking, Freebridge Lynn, and Marshland.^[3]

Minor changes to the boundary with South West Norfolk to align with boundaries of local authorities, which had been rationalised.  Also marginal changes to county boundaries with Isle of Ely and Parts of Holland.

Members of Parliament

MPs before 1640

Parliament	First member	Second member
1328	John de Swerdeston	Roger de Buttele[4]
1335	William de Brinton[4]
1337	John de Swerdeston	William de Secheford[4]
1338	Roger de Buttele	Geoffrey Drewe[4]
1339	Thomas de Melcheburne[4]
1375	Robert Bathe	John Waryn[4]
1377	John Dockyngg	Thomas ...[4]
1378	Nicholas de Swerdeston	Hugh de Ellyngham[4]
1379	John Brunham	Thomas de Morton[4]
1380	Richard de Honton	Henry de Betele[4]
1381	Thomas Drewe	Thomas de Morton[4]
1382	John Brunham	John Waryn[4]
1385	John de Brandon	Thomas de Morton[4]
1386	Edmund Beleyeter	Thomas Morton[5]
1388 (Feb)	Henry Betley	Thomas Morton[5]
1388 (Sep)	Edmund Beleyeter	Thomas Drew[5]
1390 (Jan)	Robert Waterden	John Wace[5]
1390 (Nov)	John Wentworth	Thomas Waterden[5]
1391	Robert Botkesham	John Kepe[5]
1393	Thomas Morton	Thomas Brigge[5]
1394	Thomas Morton	Thomas Drew[5]
1395	Thomas Waterden	John Brandon[5]
1397 (Jan)	Thomas Drew	John Brandon[5]
1397 (Sep)	John Wentworth	Roger Rawlin[5]
1399	Robert Botkesham	Thomas Waterden[5]
1401	Robert Botkesham	Thomas Waterden[5]
1402	Thomas Fawkes	Robert Brunham[5]
1404 (Jan)	Thomas Drew	John Wentworth[5]
1404 (Oct)	John Brandon	Thomas Drew[5]
1406	Thomas Brigge	Thomas Derham[5]
1407	William Lok	John Wesenham[5]
1410	John Spicer	John Brown[5]
1411	Bartholomew Sistern	Philip Frank[5]
1413 (Feb)	William Halyate	John Tilney[5]
1413 (May)	William Halyate	John Tilney[5]
1414 (Apr)	John Bilney	John Tilney[5]
1414 (Nov)	John Spicer	Andrew Swanton[5]
1415	Thomas Brigge	John Tilney[5]
1416 (Mar)	John Spicer	Thomas Brigge[5]
1416 (Oct)	William Herford	John Warner[5]
1417	Robert Brunham	Thomas Hunt[5]
1419	Philip Frank	Walter Curson[5]
1420	Thomas Brigge	Andrew Swanton[5]
1421 (May)	Bartholomew Sistern	John Parmenter[5]
1421 (Dec)	John Waterden	Robert Brandon [5]
1510	Thomas Gibbon	Francis Monford[6]
1512	Francis Monford	Thomas Wythe[6]
1515	Robert Soome	Thomas Wythe[6]
1523	Thomas Miller	Richard Bewcher[6]
1529	Thomas Miller	Richard Bewcher replaced Oct 1535 by Robert Southwell[6]
1536	Robert Southwell	William Coningsby[6]
1539	Thomas Waters	Robert Southwell[6]
1542	Thomas Waters	Thomas Miller[6]
1545	Edmund Grey	Thomas Miller[6]
1547	Thomas Gawdy	William Overend replaced Jan 1549 by George Amyas[6]
1553 (Mar)	Sir Richard Corbet	John Walpole[6]
1553 (Oct)	John Walpole	Thomas Waters[6]
1554 (Apr)	Thomas Waters	William Overend[6]
1554 (Nov)	Sir Thomas Moyle	Thomas Waters[6]
1555	Sir Nicholas L'Estrange	Thomas Waters[6]
1558	Ambrose Gilberd, died and replaced Sep 1558 by William Telverton	Thomas Waters[6]
1558/9	Thomas Hogan	Thomas Waters[7]
1562/3	(Sir) Robert Bell	Richard L'Estrange[7]
1571	(Sir) Robert Bell	John Kynne[7]
1572	(Sir) Robert Bell, died and replaced Jan 1580 by John Peyton	John Pell[7]
1584 (Mar)	John Peyton	Richard Clarke[7]
1586 (Oct)	Richard Clarke	Thomas Oxborough[7]
1588/9	Richard Clarke	Thomas Boston[7]
1593	Sir John Peyton	William Lewis[7]
1597 (Sep)	Thomas Oxborough	Nathaniel Bacon[7]
1601	Sir Robert Mansell	Thomas Oxborough[7]
1604	Thomas Oxborough	Robert Hitcham
1614	Matthew Clerke	Thomas Oxborough
1621–1622	Matthew Clerke	John Wallis
1624	John Wallis	William Doughty
1625	Thomas Gurling	John Cooke
1626	Thomas Gurling	John Cooke
1628	William Doughty	Sir John Hare
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned

MPs 1640–1885

Year		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
1640 (Apr)		William Doughty			Thomas Gurling
1640 (Nov)		John Perceval	Parliamentarian		Thomas Toll	Parliamentarian
1644	Perceval died – seat vacant
1646		Edmund Hudson
July 1647	Hudson expelled – seat vacant
1649		William Cecil (The Earl of Salisbury)[8]
1653	King's Lynn was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654		Major-General Philip Skippon			Guybon Goddard
1656					Major-General John Desborough[9]
January 1659		Griffith Lloyd			Thomas Toll
May 1659		William Cecil (The Earl of Salisbury)		One seat vacant
April 1660		Sir Ralph Hare			Edward Walpole
1661		Sir William Hovell
1668					Robert Wright
1670		John Coke
1673		Sir Francis North
1675		Robert Coke
1679		John Turner			Sir Simon Taylor
1681		Sir Henry Hobart	Whig
1685		Sir John Turner
1689					Sigismund Trafford
1690					Daniel Bedingfeld
1695					Sir Charles Turner
1702		Sir Robert Walpole[10]	Whig
1712		John Turner
1713		Sir Robert Walpole	Whig
1738					Sir John Turner
1742		Edward Bacon
1747		Horatio Walpole, junior	Whig
1757		Hon. Horace Walpole	Whig
1768		Hon. Thomas Walpole
1774					Crisp Molineux
1784		Hon. Horatio Walpole[11]
1790					Sir Martin ffolkes	Whig[12]
1809		Horatio Walpole	Tory[12]
January 1822					William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck	Tory[12]
June 1822		John Walpole	Tory[12]
1824					William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck	Tory[12]
1826					Lord William Bentinck	Tory[12]
1828					Lord George Bentinck	Whig[12]
1831		Lord William Lennox	Whig[12]
1834						Conservative[12]
1835		Sir Stratford Canning	Conservative[12]
1842 by-election		Robert Jocelyn	Conservative[12]
1847			Peelite[13][14][15][16]
1848 by-election					Hon. Edward Stanley[17]	Conservative
1854 by-election		John Henry Gurney	Whig
1859			Liberal
1865		Sir Thomas Buxton	Liberal
1868		Hon. Robert Bourke	Conservative
1869 by-election					Lord Claud Hamilton	Conservative
1880					Sir William ffolkes	Liberal
1885	Representation reduced to one Member

MPs 1885–1974

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Hon. Robert Bourke, later Baron Connemara	Conservative
	1886 by-election	Weston Jarvis	Conservative
	1892	Thomas Gibson Bowles	Conservative
	1906	Carlyon Bellairs	Liberal
	1906		Liberal Unionist
	January 1910	Thomas Gibson Bowles	Liberal
	December 1910	Holcombe Ingleby	Conservative
	1918	Sir Neville Jodrell	Conservative
	1923	Graham Woodwark	Liberal
	1924	Maurice Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy	Conservative
	1935	Somerset Maxwell	Conservative
	1943	Maurice Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy	Conservative
	1945	Frederick Wise	Labour
	1951	Ronald Scott-Miller	Conservative
	1959	Denys Bullard	Conservative
	1964	Derek Page	Labour
	1970	Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler	Conservative
1974		constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: King's Lynn (2 seats)^[12][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	George Bentinck	78	49.1
	Tory	John Walpole	73	45.9
	Whig	William ffolkes	8	5.0
Majority			65	40.9
Turnout			c. 80	c. 20.0
Registered electors			c. 400
	Tory hold		Swing
	Tory hold		Swing

General election 1831: King's Lynn (2 seats)^[12][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	George Bentinck	Unopposed
	Whig	William Lennox	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 400
	Whig hold
	Whig gain from Tory

General election 1832: King's Lynn (2 seats)^[12][19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	George Bentinck	Unopposed
	Whig	William Lennox	Unopposed
Registered electors			836
	Whig hold
	Whig hold

General election 1835: King's Lynn (2 seats)^[12][19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	George Bentinck	531	44.8
	Conservative	Stratford Canning	416	35.1
	Radical	John Scott Lillie	238	20.1
Majority			178	15.0
Turnout			674	77.9
Registered electors			865
	Conservative hold
	Conservative gain from Whig

General election 1837: King's Lynn (2 seats)^[12][19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Bentinck	468	38.4	−6.4
	Conservative	Stratford Canning	382	31.3	−3.8
	Whig	George Keppel	369	30.3	N/A
Majority			13	1.0	−14.0
Turnout			756	85.4	+7.5
Registered electors			885
	Conservative hold		Swing	−6.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	−3.8

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: King's Lynn (2 seats)^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stratford Canning	Unopposed
	Conservative	George Bentinck	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,144
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Canning resigned after being appointed the United Kingdom's ambassador to Turkey, causing a by-election.

By-election, 10 February 1842: King's Lynn (2 seats)^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Jocelyn	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1847: King's Lynn (2 seats)^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Bentinck	Unopposed
	Peelite	Robert Jocelyn	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,157
	Conservative hold
	Peelite gain from Conservative

Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 22 December 1848: King's Lynn^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Stanley	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: King's Lynn (2 seats)^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Peelite	Robert Jocelyn	641	40.3	N/A
	Conservative	Edward Stanley	559	35.2	N/A
	Radical	Robert Pashley[14][20][21]	390	24.5	N/A
Majority			169	10.7	N/A
Turnout			990 (est)	84.2 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			1,176
	Peelite hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Jocelyn's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 16 September 1854: King's Lynn^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Henry Gurney	Unopposed
	Whig gain from Peelite

General election 1857: King's Lynn (2 seats)^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Stanley	Unopposed
	Whig	John Henry Gurney	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,055
	Conservative hold
	Whig gain from Peelite

Stanley was appointed Secretary of State for the Colonies, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 4 March 1858: King's Lynn^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Stanley	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Stanley was appointed President of the Board of Control for the Affairs of India, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 5 June 1858: King's Lynn^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Stanley	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1859: King's Lynn (2 seats)^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Stanley	Unopposed
	Liberal	John Henry Gurney	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,019
	Conservative hold
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: King's Lynn (2 seats)^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Stanley	445	37.6	N/A
	Liberal	Thomas Buxton	401	33.8	N/A
	Conservative	Frederick Walpole[22]	339	28.6	N/A
Turnout			793 (est)	93.1 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			852
Majority			44	3.8	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
Majority			62	5.2	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Stanley was appointed Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 11 July 1866: King's Lynn (1 seat)^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Stanley	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1868: King's Lynn (2 seats)^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Stanley	1,265	37.2	−0.4
	Conservative	Robert Bourke	1,125	33.1	+4.5
	Liberal	Thomas Buxton	1,012	29.7	−4.1
Majority			113	3.4	−0.4
Turnout			2,207 (est)	87.8 (est)	−5.3
Registered electors			2,514
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.8
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+3.3

Stanley succeed to the peerage, becoming 15th Earl of Derby and causing a by-election.

By-election, 9 December 1869: King's Lynn (1 seat)^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Claud Hamilton	1,051	50.5	−15.8
	Liberal	Richard Young[23]	1,032	49.5	+15.8
Majority			19	1.0	−2.4
Turnout			2,083	82.9 (est)	−4.9
Registered electors			2,514
	Conservative hold		Swing	−15.7

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: King's Lynn (2 seats)^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Bourke	1,163	28.0	−5.1
	Conservative	Claud Hamilton	1,093	26.3	−10.9
	Liberal	William ffolkes	999	24.1	+9.2
	Liberal	Edmond Wodehouse[24]	895	21.6	+6.7
Majority			94	2.2	−1.2
Turnout			2,075 (est)	84.7 (est)	−3.1
Registered electors			2,450
	Conservative hold		Swing	−7.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	−8.8

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: King's Lynn (2 seats)^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William ffolkes	1,286	26.3	+2.2
	Conservative	Robert Bourke	1,257	25.7	−2.3
	Conservative	Claud Hamilton	1,192	24.4	−1.9
	Liberal	Frank Lockwood	1,151	23.6	+2.0
Turnout			2,443 (est)	87.9 (est)	+3.2
Registered electors			2,779
Majority			84	1.9	N/A
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.1
Majority			106	2.1	−0.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.2

• representation reduced to one member

Sir William ffolkes

General election 1885: King's Lynn^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Bourke	1,472	53.1	+3.0
	Liberal	William ffolkes	1,302	46.9	−3.0
Majority			170	6.2	+4.1
Turnout			2,774	89.7	+1.8 (est)
Registered electors			3,094
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.0

General election 1886: King's Lynn^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Bourke	1,417	55.3	+2.2
	Liberal	John Briscoe	1,146	44.7	−2.2
Majority			271	10.6	+4.4
Turnout			2,563	82.8	−6.9
Registered electors			3,094
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.2

Bourke's resignation on appointment as Governor of Madras caused a by-election.

By-election, 25 Aug 1886: King's Lynn^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Weston Jarvis	1,423	54.9	−0.4
	Liberal	James Harris Sanders[26]	1,168	45.1	+0.4
Majority			255	9.8	−0.8
Turnout			2,591	83.7	+0.9
Registered electors			3,094
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.4

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: King's Lynn ^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Gibson Bowles	1,319	50.2	−5.1
	Liberal	Thomas R. Kemp	1,308	49.8	+5.1
Majority			11	0.4	−10.2
Turnout			2,627	88.5	+5.7
Registered electors			2,970
	Conservative hold		Swing	−5.1

Beaumont

General election 1895: King's Lynn ^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Gibson Bowles	1,395	51.3	+1.1
	Liberal	Hubert Beaumont	1,326	48.7	−1.1
Majority			69	2.6	+2.2
Turnout			2,721	91.3	+2.8
Registered electors			2,979
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.1

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: King's Lynn ^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Gibson Bowles	1,499	52.9	+1.6
	Liberal	Handel Booth	1,332	47.1	−1.6
Majority			167	5.8	+3.2
Turnout			2,831	88.2	−3.1
Registered electors			3,209
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.6

C. W. Bellairs

General election 1906: King's Lynn ^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Carlyon Bellairs	1,506	43.8	−3.3
	Ind. Conservative	Thomas Gibson Bowles	1,164	33.8	−19.1
	Conservative	Alan Burgoyne	772	22.4	−30.5
Majority			342	10.0	N/A
Turnout			3,442	93.2	+5.0
Registered electors			3,692
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+13.6

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: King's Lynn ^[27][28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Gibson Bowles	1,900	53.7	+9.9
	Conservative	Edward Cadogan	1,638	46.3	+23.9
Majority			262	7.4	−2.6
Turnout			3,538	94.2	+1.0
Registered electors			3,755
	Liberal hold		Swing	−7.0

General election December 1910: King's Lynn ^[27][28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Holcombe Ingleby	1,765	51.4	+5.1
	Liberal	Thomas Gibson Bowles	1,668	48.6	−5.1
Majority			97	2.8	N/A
Turnout			3,433	91.4	−2.8
Registered electors			3,755
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+5.1

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;

• Unionist: Holcombe Ingleby
• Liberal:

General election 1918: King's Lynn

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	Neville Jodrell	10,146	50.9	−0.5
	Labour	Robert Barrie Walker	9,780	49.1	New
Majority			366	1.8	−1.0
Turnout			19,926	59.7	−31.7
Registered electors			33,349
	Unionist hold		Swing
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: King's Lynn

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Neville Jodrell	9,862	37.2	−13.7
	Labour	Robert Barrie Walker	8,683	32.7	−16.4
	Liberal	Graham Woodwark	7,970	30.1	New
Majority			1,179	4.5	+2.7
Turnout			26,515	75.5	+15.8
Registered electors			35,131
	Unionist hold		Swing	+1.4

General election 1923: King's Lynn

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Graham Woodwark	9,943	38.7	+8.6
	Unionist	Neville Jodrell	9,266	36.1	−1.1
	Labour	John Stevenson	6,488	25.2	−6.5
Majority			677	2.6	N/A
Turnout			25,697	71.9	−3.6
Registered electors			35,754
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+4.9

General election 1924: King's Lynn

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Maurice Roche	11,710	41.6	+5.5
	Liberal	Graham Woodwark	9,184	32.6	−6.1
	Labour	John Stevenson	7,280	25.8	+0.6
Majority			2,526	9.0	N/A
Turnout			28,714	77.6	+5.7
Registered electors			36,289
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+5.8

General election 1929: King's Lynn

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Maurice Roche	14,501	40.7	−0.9
	Liberal	William Bertram Mitford	10,806	30.3	−2.3
	Labour	John Maynard	10,356	29.0	+3.2
Majority			3,695	10.4	+1.4
Turnout			35,663	79.1	+1.5
Registered electors			45,103
	Unionist hold		Swing	+0.7

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: King's Lynn

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Maurice Roche	23,687	70.2	+29.5
	Labour	David Freeman	10,054	29.8	+0.8
Majority			13,633	40.4	+30.0
Turnout			33,741	72.6	−6.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1935: King's Lynn

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Somerset Maxwell	17,492	50.0	−20.2
	Labour	F Emerson	12,062	34.5	+4.7
	Liberal	Frank Ongley Darvall	5,418	15.5	New
Majority			5,430	15.5	−24.9
Turnout			34,972	71.7	−0.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

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;

• Conservative: Somerset Maxwell
• Labour: Frederick Wise
• Liberal: Robert Hugh Kerkham
• British Union: A E Ilett

1943 King's Lynn by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edmund Roche	10,696	54.2	+4.2
	Independent Labour	Frederick Wise	9,027	45.8	New
Majority			1,669	8.4	−7.1
Turnout			9,723	39.8	−31.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1945: King's Lynn

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frederick Wise	18,202	48.7	+14.2
	Conservative	Donald McCullough	14,928	39.9	−10.1
	Liberal	Alexander Peckover Doyle Penrose	3,796	10.2	−5.3
	Independent	Geoffrey Bowles	444	1.2	New
Majority			3,274	8.8	N/A
Turnout			37,370	73.3	+1.6
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: King's Lynn^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frederick Wise	19,399	45.33	−3.37
	Conservative	Ronald Scott-Miller	19,129	44.70	+4.80
	Liberal	Richard Arden Winch	4,266	9.97	−0.23
Majority			270	0.63	−8.17
Turnout			42,794	83.84	+10.54
Registered electors			51,043
	Labour hold		Swing	−4.09

General election 1951: King's Lynn^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ronald Scott-Miller	21,954	51.09	+6.39
	Labour	Frederick Wise	21,017	48.91	+3.58
Majority			937	2.18	N/A
Turnout			42,791	82.77	−1.07
Registered electors			51,914
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+1.41

General election 1955: King's Lynn^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ronald Scott-Miller	20,949	51.65	+0.56
	Labour	Hugh Lawson	19,611	48.35	−0.56
Majority			1,338	3.30	+1.12
Turnout			40,560	78.20	−4.57
Registered electors			51,867
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.56

General election 1959: King's Lynn^[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Denys Bullard	21,671	52.12	+0.47
	Labour	Colin Jackson	19,906	47.88	−0.47
Majority			1,765	4.24	+0.94
Turnout			41,577	79.76	+1.56
Registered electors			52,125
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.47

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: King's Lynn^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Derek Page	21,460	50.12	+2.24
	Conservative	Denys Bullard	21,356	49.88	−2.24
Majority			104	0.24	N/A
Turnout			42,816	80.50	+0.74
Registered electors			53,186
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.24

General election 1966: King's Lynn^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Derek Page	23,324	52.26	+2.14
	Conservative	Denys Bullard	21,305	47.74	−2.14
Majority			2,019	4.52	+4.28
Turnout			44,629	82.90	+2.40
Registered electors			53,832
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.14

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: King's Lynn^[35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler	23,822	50.03	+2.29
	Labour	Derek Page	23,789	49.97	−2.29
Majority			33	0.06	N/A
Turnout			47,611	78.23	−4.67
Registered electors			60.857
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+2.29