Lincoln (UK Parliament constituency)

For the Canadian electoral districts in Ontario, see Lincoln (federal electoral district) and Lincoln (provincial electoral district).

Lincoln is a constituency^{[n 1]} in Lincolnshire, England represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Hamish Falconer of the Labour Party.^{[n 2]}

Lincoln
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundaries since 2024
Boundary of Lincoln in the East Midlands
County	Lincolnshire
Electorate	74,128 (2023)[1]
Major settlements	Lincoln
Current constituency
Created	1265
Member of Parliament	Hamish Falconer (Lab)
Seats	Two until 1885, then one

Since the split of the City of York seat with effect from the 2010 general election, Lincoln has been the oldest constituency in continuous existence in the UK – established in 1265. Lincoln was a bellwether between 1974 and 2017. The seat bucked the national Conservative victory in 1970 by electing a Labour MP, as it did in 2017.

The seat has been considered relative to others an ultra-marginal seat, as well as a swing seat. From 2005 until 2024, its winner's majority had not exceeded 6.9% of the vote since the 12.5% majority won in 2005 and the seat had changed hands three times since then. However, in 2024, Hamish Falconer secured a majority of 20.8%.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The existing parliamentary borough, and the parish of Bracebridge.^[2]

1918–1950: The County Borough of Lincoln, and the Urban District of Bracebridge.

1950–1974: The County Borough of Lincoln.

1974–1983: As prior but with redrawn boundaries.

1983–1997: The City of Lincoln, and the District of North Kesteven wards of Bracebridge Heath, North Hykeham Central, North Hykeham North, North Hykeham South, Skellingthorpe, and Waddington West.

1997–2010: The City of Lincoln, and the District of North Kesteven ward of Bracebridge Heath.

2010–2023: The City of Lincoln, and the District of North Kesteven wards of Bracebridge Heath and Waddington East, and Skellingthorpe.

2023–present: Following a local government boundary review in the District of North Kesteven which came into effect in May 2023,^[3][4] the constituency now comprises the following:

• The City Of Lincoln.
• In the District of Kesteven: the Bracebridge Heath ward; the majority of the Skellingthorpe & Eagle ward; and the majority of the Waddington Rural ward.^[5]

The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which was based on the ward structure in place at 1 December 2020, left the boundaries unchanged.^[6]

The constituency, as its name suggests, covers the cathedral city^{[n 3]} of Lincoln in Lincolnshire, and most of its directly adjoining villages.

History

Lincoln first sent Members to Parliament in 1265, thirty years before the first all-over coverage of cities and qualifying towns was introduced in the Model Parliament, and has done so ever since, although no records exist from before the end of the 13th century. The early elections were held at the Guildhall and the burgesses elected were usually officials of the borough.

The representation, originally two Members ("burgesses"), was reduced to one Member in 1885.

The seat was represented for five years by former Cabinet minister Margaret Jackson, later Margaret Beckett.^{[n 4]} Lincoln became the oldest constituency in the country in 2010 when the City of York constituency was divided.

Constituency profile

The seat includes the University of Lincoln. From 1945 to 1972 Lincoln was continuously held by the Labour Party, often as a safe seat. The city has good transport links with Nottingham, Leeds, Sheffield and Hull. Lincoln was a bellwether constituency from October 1974 to 2015, voting for the party which would form the government in each election. In 2017 Labour took the seat despite being the 2nd largest party nationwide.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1265–1660

Year	First member	Second member
1307 (January)	Hugh Skarlet[7]	Henry de Windsor[7]
1369	John Sutton[8]
1372	John Sutton[8]
1373	John Sutton[8]
1381	Robert Sutton[9]
1377 (October)	John Sutton[8]
1382 (May)	Robert Sutton[9]
1383	Robert Saltby[10]
1384 (November)	Robert Sutton[9]
1385	Robert Sutton[9]
1386	Robert Sutton[9]	Robert Saltby[11]
1388 (February)	Robert Sutton[9]	John Sutton[8]
1388 (September)	Gilbert Beesby	Robert Harworth[11]
1390 (January)	Nicholas Werk	Robert Peck[11]
1390 (November)
1391	Robert Sutton[9]	Robert Ledes[11]
1393	Thomas Thornhagh	John Belasise[11]
1394	Robert Sutton[9]	Robert Messingham[11]
1395	Robert Harworth	Robert Ledes[11]
1397 (January)	Robert Sutton[9]	Robert Appleby[11]
1397 (September)	Seman Laxfield	John Thorley[11]
1399	Robert Sutton[9]	William Blyton[11]
1401	Robert Harworth	Gilbert Beesby[11]
1402	John Balderton	William Blyton[11]
1404 (January)	Seman Laxfield	William Dalderby[11]
1404 (October)	Nicholas Huddleston	Robert Appleby[11]
1406	Richard Worsop	Thomas Forster[11]
1407	Richard Worsop	Richard Bell[11]
1410	?
1411	John Bigge	John Belasise[11]
1413 (February)
1413 (May)	John Dalderby	Thomas Forster[11]
1414 (April)
1414 (November)	John Ryle	Thomas Teryng[11]
1415	Thomas Archer	Thomas Forster[11]
1416 (March)	John Bigge	Hamon Sutton[11]
1416 (October)
1417	Thomas Archer	Robert Walsh[11]
1419	?
1420	John Bigge	Hamon Sutton[11]
1421 (May)	John Bigge	Hamon Sutton[11]
1421 (December)	William Leadenham	Robert Walsh[11]
1423	Hamon Sutton
1425	Hamon Sutton
1426	Hamon Sutton
1459	Thomas Fitzwilliam[12]
1510	?
1512	Robert Alanson	Richard Clerke[13]
1515	Robert Alanson	Richard Clerke[13]
1523	Richard Clerke	John Halton[13]
1529	Vincent Grantham	William Sammes[13]
1536	Vincent Grantham	Thomas Moigne[13]
1539	Robert Dighton	Anthony Missenden[13]
1542	Anthony Missenden, died and replaced in January 1543 by George St Poll	William Alanson[13]
1545	George St Poll	William Yates[13]
1547	George St Poll	Thomas Grantham[13]
1553 (March)	?Robert Farrar	?
1553 (October)	George St Poll	Robert Farrar[13]
1554 (April)	Robert Farrar	William Rotheram[13]
1554 (November)	George St Poll	Robert Farrar[13]
1555	Robert Farrar	?[13]
1558	George St Poll	Francis Kempe[13]
1558/59	Anthony Thorold	Robert Farrar[14]
1562/63	Robert Monson	Robert Farrar[14]
1571	Thomas Wilson	Robert Monson[14]
1572 (May)	Thomas Wilson	John Welcome[14]
1584	Stephen Thymbleby	John Joye[14]
1586	John Savile	Thomas Fairfax[14]
1588/89	George Anton	Peter Eure[14]
1593	George Anton	Charles Dymoke[14]
1597	Thomas Grantham	George Anton[14]
1601 (October)	George Anton	Francis Bullingham[14]
1604	Sir Thomas Grantham	Sir Edward Tyrwhit
1614	Sir Thomas Grantham	Edward Bash
1621	Sir Lewis Watson, (1st Baronet)	Sir Edward Ayscough
1624	Sir Lewis Watson, 1st Baronet	Thomas Hatcher
1625	Sir Thomas Grantham	Sir John Monson
1626	Sir Thomas Grantham	Robert Monson
1628–1629	Sir Thomas Grantham	Sir Edward Ayscough
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned
April 1640	Thomas Grantham	John Farmery
November 1640	Thomas Grantham	John Broxholme died 1647 and replaced by Thomas Lister
1654	William Marshall	Original Peart
1656	Humphrey Walcot	Original Peart
1659	Robert Marshal	Thomas Meres

MPs 1660–1885

Election	Member[15]		Party	Member[15]		Party
1660		John Monson			Sir Thomas Meres
1661		Sir Robert Bolles, Bt
1664		Sir John Monson
1675		Henry Monson
1681		Sir Thomas Hussey, Bt
1685		Henry Monson
1689, January					Sir Christopher Nevile
1689, May		Sir Edward Hussey, Bt
1690					Sir John Bolles, Bt.
1695		William Monson
1698		Sir Edward Hussey, Bt
1701, January		Sir Thomas Meres
1701, December		Sir Edward Hussey, Bt
1702					Sir Thomas Meres
1705		Thomas Lister
1710					Richard Grantham
1713					John Sibthorpe
1715		Sir John Tyrwhitt, Bt	Whig		Richard Grantham
1722					Sir John Monson
1727		Charles Hall	Tory
1728					Sir John Tyrwhitt, 5th Bt	Whig
1734		Charles Monson			Coningsby Sibthorp	Tory
1741					Sir John Tyrwhitt, 6th Bt
1747					Coningsby Sibthorp	Tory
1754		George Monson			John Chaplin
1761					Coningsby Sibthorp	Tory
1768		Thomas Scrope			Constantine Phipps[16]
1774		George Lumley			Robert Vyner
1780		Sir Thomas Clarges, Bt
1783		John Fenton-Cawthorne[17]
1784					Richard Lumley-Savile
1790					Robert Hobart[18]
1796, 14 May		George Rawdon
1796, 25 May					Richard Ellison	Tory[19]
1800		Humphrey Sibthorp	Tory[19]
1806		William Monson
1808		John Savile
1812		John Nicholas Fazakerley			Sir Henry Sullivan
1814					Coningsby Waldo-Sibthorpe	Tory[19]
1818		Ralph Bernal	Whig[19]
1820		Bobus Smith	Whig[19]
1822					John Williams
1826		John Nicholas Fazakerley	Whig[19]		Charles Sibthorp	Tory[19]
1830		John Fardell	Tory[19]
1831		George Heneage	Whig[19][20][21]
1832					Edward Bulwer[22]	Whig[19][23][24]
1835		Charles Sibthorp	Conservative[19]
1841					William Rickford Collett	Conservative[19]
1847					Charles Seely[25]	Radical[20][26][27][28]
1848 by-election					Thomas Hobhouse	Radical[29][30]
1852					George Heneage	Whig[19][20][21]
1856 by-election		Gervaise Sibthorp	Conservative
1859						Liberal
1861 by-election		Charles Seely	Liberal
1862 by-election					John Bramley-Moore	Conservative
1865					Edward Heneage[31]	Liberal
1868					John Hinde Palmer	Liberal
1874					Edward Chaplin	Conservative
1880					John Hinde Palmer	Liberal
1884 by-election					Joseph Ruston	Liberal

MPs 1885–present

Election		Member[15]	Party
	1885	Joseph Ruston	Liberal
	1886		Liberal Unionist
	1886	Frederick Kerans	Conservative
	1892	William Crosfield	Liberal
	1895	Charles Seely	Liberal Unionist
	1906	Charles Roberts	Liberal
	1918	Alfred Davies	Coalition Conservative
	1924	Robert Arthur Taylor	Labour
	1931	Walter Liddall	Conservative
	1945	George Deer	Labour
	1950	Geoffrey de Freitas	Labour
	1962 by-election	Dick Taverne	Labour (until 1972) Lincoln Democratic Labour (from 1973)
	1973 by-election
	February 1974		Lincoln Democratic Labour Association
	October 1974	Margaret Jackson later Beckett	Labour
	1979	Kenneth Carlisle	Conservative
	1997	Gillian Merron	Labour
	2010	Karl McCartney	Conservative
	2017	Karen Lee	Labour
	2019	Karl McCartney	Conservative
	2024	Hamish Falconer	Labour

Elections

Lincoln election results 1983-2024

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Lincoln^[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hamish Falconer	18,470	43.8	+2.8
	Conservative	Karl McCartney	9,677	23.0	−24.9
	Reform UK	Jamie-Lee McMillan	7,602	18.0	+15.9
	Green	Sally Horscroft	2,751	6.5	+4.1
	Liberal Democrats	Clare Smalley	2,580	6.1	+1.3
	Workers Party	Linda Richardson	479	1.1	N/A
	Liberal	Charles Shaw	278	0.7	+0.1
	Independent	Laura Victoria Ashby	243	0.6	N/A
	SDP	Craig Marshall	80	0.2	N/A
Majority			8,793	20.8	N/A
Turnout			42,160	58.3	−10.0
Registered electors			72,313
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+13.8

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Lincoln^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Karl McCartney	24,267	47.9	3.2
	Labour	Karen Lee	20,753	41.0	6.9
	Liberal Democrats	Caroline Kenyon	2,422	4.8	2.2
	Green	Sally Horscroft	1,195	2.4	1.2
	Brexit Party	Reece Wilkes	1,079	2.1	New
	Independent	Rob Bradley	609	1.2	1.2
	Liberal	Charles Shaw	304	0.6	0.6
Majority			3,514	6.9	N/A
Turnout			50,629	67.7	1.1
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	5.1

General election 2017: Lincoln^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Karen Lee	23,333	47.9	8.3
	Conservative	Karl McCartney	21,795	44.7	2.1
	UKIP	Nick Smith	1,287	2.6	9.6
	Liberal Democrats	Caroline Kenyon	1,284	2.6	1.7
	Green	Ben Loryman	583	1.2	New
	Independent	Phil Gray	312	0.6	New
	Independent	Iain Scott-Burdon	124	0.3	New
Majority			1,538	3.2	N/A
Turnout			48,718	66.6	3.4
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	3.1

See also: Opinion polling in United Kingdom constituencies, 2010–15 § Lincoln

General election 2015: Lincoln^[35][36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Karl McCartney	19,976	42.6	+5.1
	Labour	Lucy Rigby	18,533	39.6	+4.4
	UKIP	Nick Smith	5,721	12.2	+10.0
	Liberal Democrats	Ross Pepper	1,992	4.3	−15.9
	TUSC	Elaine Smith	344	0.7	New
	Lincolnshire Independent	Helen Powell	286	0.6	New
Majority			1,443	3.0	+0.7
Turnout			46,852	63.2	+1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.38

General election 2010: Lincoln^[37][38]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Karl McCartney	17,163	37.5	+4.6
	Labour	Gillian Merron	16,105	35.2	−10.2
	Liberal Democrats	Reg Shore	9,256	20.2	+2.0
	BNP	Robert West	1,367	3.0	New
	UKIP	Nick Smith	1,004	2.2	−1.3
	English Democrat	Ernest Coleman	604	1.3	New
	Independent	Gary Walker	222	0.5	New
Majority			1,058	2.3	N/A
Turnout			45,721	62.2	+4.9
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+6.75

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Lincoln^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gillian Merron	16,724	45.4	−8.5
	Conservative	Karl McCartney	12,110	32.9	+1.7
	Liberal Democrats	Lisa Gabriel	6,715	18.2	+5.5
	UKIP	Nick Smith	1,308	3.5	+1.2
Majority			4,613	12.5	−10.2
Turnout			36,856	56.5	+0.5
	Labour hold		Swing	-5.1

General election 2001: Lincoln^[40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gillian Merron	20,003	53.9	−1.0
	Conservative	Christine-Anne Talbot	11,583	31.2	+0.2
	Liberal Democrats	Lisa Gabriel	4,703	12.7	+1.9
	UKIP	Rodger Doughty	836	2.3	New
Majority			8,420	22.7	−1.2
Turnout			37,125	56.0	−15.1
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Lincoln^[41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gillian Merron	25,563	54.9	+12.1
	Conservative	Tony Brown	14,433	31.0	−16.1
	Liberal Democrats	Lisa Gabriel	5,048	10.8	+0.7
	Referendum	John Ivory	1,329	2.9	New
	Natural Law	Adrian Myers	175	0.4	New
Majority			11,130	23.9	N/A
Turnout			46,548	71.1	−8.0
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+14.1

General election 1992: Lincoln^[42][43]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Carlisle	28,792	46.1	−0.4
	Labour	Nick Butler	26,743	42.8	+9.1
	Liberal Democrats	David Harding-Price	6,316	10.1	−9.3
	Liberal	Sue Wiggin	603	1.0	+1.0
Majority			2,049	3.3	−9.5
Turnout			62,454	79.1	+3.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.8

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Lincoln^[44]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Carlisle	27,097	46.5	+0.1
	Labour	Nick Butler	19,614	33.7	+6.2
	SDP	Peter Zentner	11,319	19.4	−5.7
	Unknown	Thomas Kyle	232	0.4	New
Majority			7,483	12.8	−6.1
Turnout			58,262	75.6	+1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1983: Lincoln^[45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Carlisle	25,244	46.4
	Labour	Malcolm Withers	14,958	27.5
	SDP	Freddie Stockdale	13,631	25.1
	Independent	Gilbert Blades	523	1.0	New
Majority			10,286	18.9
Turnout			54,356	74.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Lincoln

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Carlisle	17,777	41.4	+13.1
	Labour	Margaret Jackson	17,175	40.0	+2.9
	Liberal	Keith Melton	5,638	13.1	New
	Democratic Labour	Freddie Stockdale	1,743	4.1	−30.5
	National Front	J. Noble	523	1.2	New
	Revolutionary Reform	T. Kyle	77	0.2	New
Majority			602	1.4	N/A
Turnout			42,933	77.0	+2.2
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+5.1

General election October 1974: Lincoln

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Margaret Jackson	14,698	37.1	+4.6
	Democratic Labour	Dick Taverne	13,714	34.6	−1.0
	Conservative	Peter Myles Moran	11,223	28.3	−3.7
Majority			984	2.5	N/A
Turnout			39,635	74.8	−4.3
	Labour gain from Democratic Labour		Swing

General election February 1974: Lincoln

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic Labour	Dick Taverne	14,780	35.6
	Labour	Margaret Jackson	13,487	32.5
	Conservative	Peter Myles Moran	13,299	32.0
Majority			1,293	3.1
Turnout			41,566	79.1
	Democratic Labour hold		Swing

1973 Lincoln by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic Labour	Dick Taverne	21,967	58.2	+58.2
	Labour	John Dilks	8,776	23.2	−27.8
	Conservative	Jonathan Guinness	6,616	17.5	−21.5
	Democratic Conservative	Reginald Simmerson	198	0.5	New
	Majority Rule	Malcolm Waller	100	0.3	New
	Independent	Jean Justice	81	0.2	New
Majority			13,191	35.0	N/A
Turnout			37,738	72.6	−1.8
	Democratic Labour gain from Labour		Swing

General election 1970: Lincoln

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dick Taverne	20,090	51.0	−7.3
	Conservative	Richard Alexander	15,340	39.0	−2.7
	Independent Liberal	Gilbert Blades	3,937	10.0	New
Majority			4,750	12.0	−4.6
Turnout			39,367	74.4	−4.3
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Lincoln

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dick Taverne	23,006	58.3	+10.5
	Conservative	Richard Alexander	16,469	41.7	+5.3
Majority			6,537	16.6	+5.2
Turnout			39,475	78.7	−1.6
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1964: Lincoln

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dick Taverne	19,737	47.8	−7.3
	Conservative	Michael McNair-Wilson	15,015	36.4	−8.5
	Liberal	Patrick Furnell	6,519	15.8	N/A
Majority			4,722	11.4	+1.2
Turnout			41,271	80.3	−3.8
	Labour hold		Swing

1962 Lincoln by-election: Lincoln

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dick Taverne	19,038	50.51	−4.59
	Conservative	Percy Grieve	11,386	30.21	−14.69
	Liberal	Patrick Furnell	6,856	18.19	New
	Independent	A. Taylor	412	1.09	New
Majority			7,652	20.30	+10.10
Turnout			37,692
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Lincoln

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Geoffrey de Freitas	23,629	55.1	−1.1
	Conservative	Leslie Herbert Priestley	19,240	44.9	+1.1
Majority			4,389	10.2	−2.2
Turnout			42,869	84.1	−1.8
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1955: Lincoln

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Geoffrey de Freitas	23,773	56.2	+2.1
	Conservative	Peter Emery	18,551	43.8	−2.1
Majority			5,222	12.4	+4.2
Turnout			42,324	85.9	−1.9
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1951: Lincoln

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Geoffrey de Freitas	23,400	54.1	+4.1
	Conservative	Maurice Macmillan	19,840	45.9	+4.6
Majority			3,560	8.2	−0.5
Turnout			43,240	87.8	−0.9
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1950: Lincoln^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Geoffrey de Freitas	21,537	50.0
	National Liberal	Francis Hill	17,784	41.3
	Liberal	Jean Henderson	3,753	8.7
Majority			3,753	8.7
Turnout			43,074	88.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Election in the 1940s

General election 1945: Lincoln^[47]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Deer	14,052	41.3	−4.7
	Conservative	Walter Liddall	10,414	30.5	−23.5
	Liberal	Frederick Charles Truman	9,625	28.2	New
Majority			3,638	10.8	N/A
Turnout			34,091	80.3	−3.7
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+9.4

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: Walter Liddall
• Labour: George Deer
• Liberal:
• British Union: E. H. Adams

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Lincoln^[47]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Walter Liddall	17,948	54.0	−4.9
	Labour	George Deer	15,264	46.0	+4.9
Majority			2,684	8.0	−9.8
Turnout			33,212	84.0	−4.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.9

General election 1931: Lincoln^[47]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Walter Liddall	20,688	58.9	+24.6
	Labour	Robert Taylor	14,455	41.1	−2.5
Majority			6,233	17.8	N/A
Turnout			35,123	88.9	+0.4
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+13.5

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929: Lincoln^[47]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robert Taylor	15,176	43.6	+2.3
	Unionist	Benjamin Garnet Lampard-Vachell	11,978	34.3	−6.8
	Liberal	Robert Pattinson	7,719	22.1	+4.5
Majority			3,198	9.3	+9.1
Turnout			34,873	88.5	0.0
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.5

General election 1924: Lincoln^[47]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robert Taylor	11,596	41.3	+7.1
	Unionist	George Hamilton	11,557	41.1	−0.9
	Liberal	A. G. Macdonell	4,952	17.6	−6.2
Majority			39	0.2	N/A
Turnout			28,105	88.5	+3.0
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+4.0

General election 1923: Lincoln^[47]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Alfred Davies	11,338	42.0	−17.0
	Labour	Robert Taylor	9,251	34.2	−6.8
	Liberal	A. G. Macdonell	6,447	23.8	New
Majority			2,087	7.8	−10.2
Turnout			27,036	85.5	−0.4
	Unionist hold		Swing	−5.1

General election 1922: Lincoln^[47]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Alfred Davies	15,780	59.0	+11.3
	Labour	Robert Taylor	10,951	41.0	+12.5
Majority			4,829	18.0	−1.2
Turnout			26,731	85.9	+11.5
	Unionist hold		Swing	−0.6

Elections in the 1910s

Roberts

General election 1918: Lincoln^[47]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	Alfred Davies	11,114	47.7	+0.6
	Labour	Robert Taylor	6,658	28.5	New
	Liberal	Charles Roberts	5,550	23.8	−29.1
Majority			4,456	19.2	N/A
Turnout			23,322	74.4	−15.1
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+14.8
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

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 and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Liberal: Charles Roberts
• Unionist: J. Foster

Roberts

General election December 1910: Lincoln^[48]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Roberts	5,484	52.9	+2.7
	Conservative	Robert Filmer	4,878	47.1	+17.0
Majority			606	5.8	−14.3
Turnout			10,362	89.5	−3.5
Registered electors			11,577
	Liberal hold		Swing	−7.1

General election January 1910: Lincoln^[48]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Roberts	5,402	50.2	−1.0
	Conservative	Robert Filmer	3,236	30.1	+18.5
	Free Trader	Charles Seely	2,129	19.8	−17.4
Majority			2,166	20.1	+6.1
Turnout			10,767	93.0	−0.8
Registered electors			11,577
	Liberal hold		Swing	−9.8

Seely stood as a 'Liberal Unionist in support of Free Trade'.

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1906: Lincoln^[48]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Roberts	5,110	51.2	+1.6
	Free Trader	Charles Seely	3,718	37.2	+37.2
	Conservative	Henry Croft	1,162	11.6	−38.8
Majority			1,392	14.0	N/A
Turnout			9,990	93.8	+4.1
Registered electors			10,645
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing	+20.2

General election 1900: Lincoln^[48]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Charles Seely	4,002	50.4	−1.1
	Liberal	Charles Roberts	3,935	49.6	+1.1
Majority			67	0.8	−2.2
Turnout			7,937	89.7	−2.0
Registered electors			8,846
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	−1.1

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1895: Lincoln^[48]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Charles Seely	3,808	51.5	+3.2
	Liberal	William Crosfield	3,590	48.5	−3.2
Majority			218	3.0	N/A
Turnout			7,398	91.7	+2.1
Registered electors			8,068
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+3.2

General election 1892: Lincoln^[48]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Crosfield	3,410	51.7	+4.3
	Conservative	Frederick Kerans	3,186	48.3	−4.3
Majority			224	3.4	N/A
Turnout			6,596	89.6	+8.9
Registered electors			7,358
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+4.3

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1886: Lincoln^[48]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Kerans	3,159	52.6	+10.6
	Liberal	William Crosfield	2,851	47.4	−10.6
Majority			308	5.2	N/A
Turnout			6,010	80.7	−5.6
Registered electors			7,444
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+10.6

General election 1885: Lincoln^[48]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Joseph Ruston	3,726	58.0	−16.9
	Conservative	Frederick Kerans	2,701	42.0	+16.9
Majority			1,025	16.0	+5.2
Turnout			6,427	86.3	−1.0 (est)
Registered electors			7,444
	Liberal hold		Swing	−16.9

By-election, 16 Jun 1884: Lincoln (1 seat)^[49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Joseph Ruston	3,234	58.8	−16.1
	Conservative	Richard Hall[50]	2,263	41.2	+16.1
Majority			971	17.6	+6.8
Turnout			5,497	81.2	−6.1 (est)
Registered electors			6,769
	Liberal hold		Swing	−16.1

• Caused by Palmer's death.

General election 1880: Lincoln (2 seats)^[49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Seely	3,401	39.0	+6.1
	Liberal	John Hinde Palmer	3,128	35.9	+5.1
	Conservative	Edward Chaplin	2,190	25.1	−11.2
Majority			938	10.8	N/A
Turnout			5,591 (est)	87.3 (est)	+3.0
Registered electors			6,402
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+5.9
	Liberal hold		Swing	+5.4

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Lincoln (2 seats)^[49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Chaplin	2,107	36.3	New
	Liberal	Charles Seely	1,907	32.9	N/A
	Liberal	John Hinde Palmer	1,784	30.8	N/A
Majority			223	5.5	N/A
Turnout			3,953 (est)	84.3 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			4,689
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1868: Lincoln (2 seats)^[49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Seely	Unopposed
	Liberal	John Hinde Palmer	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,243
	Liberal hold
	Liberal hold

General election 1865: Lincoln (2 seats)^[49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Seely	878	34.9	+3.9
	Liberal	Edward Heneage	870	34.6	+2.1
	Conservative	John Bramley-Moore	765	30.4	−6.1
Majority			105	4.2	N/A
Turnout			1,639 (est)	95.7 (est)	−0.7
Registered electors			1,713
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.5
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.6

By-election, 12 February 1862: Lincoln^[49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Bramley-Moore	715	50.9	+14.4
	Liberal	John Hinde Palmer	690	49.1	−14.4
Majority			25	1.8	−2.2
Turnout			1,405	94.3	−2.1
Registered electors			1,490
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+14.4

• Caused by Heneage's resignation.

By-election, 9 November 1861: Lincoln^[49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Seely	Unopposed
	Liberal gain from Conservative

• Caused by Sibthorp's death.

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1859: Lincoln (2 seats)^[49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gervaise Sibthorp	740	36.5	−4.7
	Liberal	George Heneage	658	32.5	+0.6
	Liberal	John Hinde Palmer	629	31.0	+4.1
Majority			82	4.0	−5.3
Turnout			1,384 (est)	96.4 (est)	+24.8
Registered electors			1,435
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.7
	Liberal hold		Swing	+1.5

General election 1857: Lincoln (2 seats)^[49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gervaise Sibthorp	829	41.2	−1.2
	Whig	George Heneage	641	31.9	−1.5
	Radical	John Hinde Palmer	541	26.9	+2.7
Turnout			1,006 (est)	71.6 (est)	−1.0
Registered electors			1,405
Majority			188	9.3	+0.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.3
Majority			100	5.0	−4.2
	Whig hold		Swing	−1.4

By-election, 16 January 1856: Lincoln^[49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gervaise Sibthorp	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

• Caused by Sibthorp's death.

General election 1852: Lincoln (2 seats)^[49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Sibthorp	840	42.4	−7.1
	Whig	George Heneage	661	33.4	+10.3
	Radical	Charles Seely	478	24.2	−3.2
Turnout			990 (est)	72.6 (est)	−1.8
Registered electors			1,363
Majority			179	9.0	+1.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	−8.7
Majority			183	9.2	N/A
	Whig gain from Radical		Swing	+6.8

Elections in the 1840s

By-election, 16 March 1848: Lincoln^[49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	Thomas Hobhouse	552	52.2	+1.7
	Conservative	Lebbeus Charles Humfrey[51]	505	47.8	−1.7
Majority			47	4.4	−8.3
Turnout			1,057	83.2	+8.8
Registered electors			1,271
	Radical hold		Swing	+1.7

• Caused by Seely's election being declared void on petition, due to bribery by his agent, on 10 March 1848^[52]

General election 1847: Lincoln (2 seats)^[49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Sibthorp	659	34.8	+4.8
	Radical	Charles Seely	518	27.4	+8.6
	Whig	Edward Bulwer-Lytton	436	23.1	−1.4
	Conservative	William Rickford Collett	278	14.7	−11.9
Turnout			946 (est)	74.4 (est)	−11.0
Registered electors			1,271
Majority			141	7.4	+5.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.6
Majority			240	12.7	N/A
	Radical gain from Conservative		Swing	+6.1

General election 1841: Lincoln (2 seats)^[19][49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Sibthorp	541	30.0	−0.7
	Conservative	William Rickford Collett	481	26.6	+3.2
	Whig	Edward Bulwer-Lytton	443	24.5	−1.6
	Radical	Charles Seely	340	18.8	N/A
Majority			38	2.1	−8.9
Turnout			932	85.4	+2.4
Registered electors			1,091
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.1
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+2.0

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1837: Lincoln (2 seats)^[19][49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Sibthorp	514	30.7	+9.1
	Whig	Edward Bulwer-Lytton	436	26.1	−5.0
	Conservative	Henry Ellis[53]	392	23.4	+1.8
	Whig	Charles Henry Churchill[54]	330	19.7	−6.0
Turnout			864	83.0	+4.3
Registered electors			1,041
Majority			184	11.0	−1.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.3
Majority			44	2.7
	Whig hold		Swing	−5.2

General election 1835: Lincoln (2 seats)^[19][49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Sibthorp	565	43.3	+15.3
	Whig	Edward Bulwer-Lytton	406	31.1	−3.0
	Whig	Charles Beaumont Phipps[55]	335	25.7	−12.1
Majority			159	12.2	N/A
Turnout			885	78.7	−5.5
Registered electors			1,124
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+15.2
	Whig hold		Swing	−5.3

General election 1832: Lincoln (2 seats)^[19][49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	George Heneage	543	37.8
	Whig	Edward Bulwer-Lytton	490	34.1
	Tory	Charles Sibthorp	402	28.0
Majority			88	6.1
Turnout			878	84.2
Registered electors			1,043
	Whig hold
	Whig gain from Tory

General election 1831: Lincoln (2 seats)^[19][56]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	Charles Sibthorp	Unopposed
	Whig	George Heneage	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 1,400
	Tory hold
	Whig gain from Tory

General election 1830: Lincoln (2 seats)^[19][56]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	John Fardell (MP)	Unopposed
	Tory	Charles Sibthorp	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 1,400
	Tory hold
	Tory gain from Whig

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Lincolnshire

Notes

1. A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
3. Lincoln Cathedral was from 1311 until an intense storm in 1549 the world's tallest building
4. Changed seat in 1983 to serve Derby South which she has held to date (winning most recently in 2019)