Newark (UK Parliament constituency)

Newark is a constituency^{[n 1]} in Nottinghamshire, England. It is represented by Robert Jenrick of the Conservative Party, who won the seat in a by-election on 5 June 2014, following the resignation of Patrick Mercer in April 2014.^{[n 2]}

Newark
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundaries since 2024
Boundary of Newark in the East Midlands
Local government in England	Nottinghamshire
Electorate	76,478 (2023)[1]
Major settlements	Newark-on-Trent, Southwell, Bingham
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of Parliament	Robert Jenrick (Conservative)
Seats	One
1673–1885
Seats	Two
Type of constituency	Borough constituency

Boundaries

Historic

1918–1950: The Municipal Borough of Newark, and the Rural Districts of Bingham, Newark, and Southwell.

1950–1955: The Municipal Borough of Newark, the Urban District of Mansfield Woodhouse, and the Rural Districts of Newark and Southwell.^[2]

1955–1983: The Municipal Borough of Newark, and the Rural Districts of Newark and Southwell.^[3]

1983–2010: The District of Newark wards of Beacon, Bridge, Bullpit Pinfold, Castle, Caunton, Collingham, Devon, Elston, Farndon, Magnus, Meering, Milton Lowfield, Muskham, Southwell East, Southwell West, Sutton on Trent, Trent, and Winthorpe, and the District of Bassetlaw wards of East Markham, East Retford East, East Retford North, East Retford West, Elkesley, Trent, and Tuxford.

2010–2024: The District of Newark and Sherwood wards of Balderton North, Balderton West, Beacon, Bridge, Castle, Caunton, Collingham and Meering, Devon, Farndon, Lowdham, Magnus, Muskham, Southwell East, Southwell North, Southwell West, Sutton-on-Trent, Trent, and Winthorpe, the District of Bassetlaw wards of East Markham, Rampton, Tuxford, and Trent, and the Borough of Rushcliffe wards of Bingham East, Bingham West, Cranmer, Oak, and Thoroton.

Current

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency was defined as follows (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

• The District of Bassetlaw wards of: Clayworth; East Markham; Rampton; Sturton; Tuxford and Trent.
• The District of Newark & Sherwood wards of: Balderton North & Coddington; Balderton South; Beacon; Bridge; Castle; Collingham; Devon; Farndon & Fernwood; Muskham; Southwell; Sutton-on-Trent; Trent.
• The Borough of Rushcliffe wards of: Bingham East; Bingham West; Cranmer; East Bridgford; Thoroton.^{[4] 1}

The constituency saw minor boundary changes, primarily due to the redrawing of local authority ward boundaries.

¹ Following a further local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023,^[5][6] the parts in the Borough of Rushcliffe now comprise the following wards from the 2024 general election:

• Bingham North; Bingham South; Cranmer; East Bridgford; Newton (majority); and a small part of Nevile & Langar.^[7]

The constituency covers large parts of the Newark and Sherwood district which encompasses the east of Nottinghamshire, as such includes the towns of Newark-on-Trent and Southwell, and the villages of Collingham and Sutton-on-Trent. It also covers parts of the Bassetlaw and Rushcliffe areas including Markham Moor and Bingham.

History

Newark was the last borough to be added to the Unreformed House of Commons which took place in 1673, prior to the Reform Act 1832. It returned two representatives to Parliament from 1673 until 1885.

Newark petitioned for enfranchisement as a parliamentary borough in the 1660s, in recognition of the town's royalist sympathies during the English Civil War. It was eventually enfranchised by a royal charter in early 1673, which gave the rights of election to the mayor and aldermen. However, the freemen of the town contested this, and held a separate election in which they selected a different member to the aldermen. The dispute in Parliament lasted until 1677, when the charter was withdrawn and a new one issued, causing a fresh election in which all inhabitants paying scot and lot could vote. In 1685, a third charter was issued, giving the right of election to all forty-shilling freeholders.^[8] The borough constituency existed until 1885, when it was replaced by a county division of the same name under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.

The future Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone, began his political career as Member of Parliament for Newark from 1832 to 1845. More recently, the Labour Party held Newark (on substantially different boundaries to the present ones) from 1950 until 1979, when it was taken by the Conservatives' Richard Alexander. Alexander lost his seat during Labour's landslide victory at the 1997 general election. The victorious Labour candidate, Fiona Jones, was convicted of electoral fraud and expelled from the House of Commons in 1999 over misrepresented election expenses. The conviction was later overturned upon appeal and she returned to Parliament. However, Jones lost her seat at the 2001 general election to Patrick Mercer of the Conservatives, who held it until 2014.

Mercer held the position of Shadow Minister for Homeland Security from June 2003 until March 2007, when he was forced to resign following racially contentious comments made to The Times.^[9]

The Newark constituency in 2010 lost the town of Retford to the Bassetlaw constituency (although Newark still has a smaller part of the Bassetlaw district), but gained land in and around Bingham from the Rushcliffe constituency, thus making it much safer Conservative territory.

Following an investigation by Commons authorities finding that Mr Mercer had engaged in paid lobbying, not properly reported the income or declared his interest, and repeatedly seriously denigrated other members, Patrick Mercer stepped down as MP for Newark on 30 April 2014.^[10]

Robert Jenrick was elected in the subsequent by-election, in the Conservative Party's largest by-election majority for four decades. He was appointed on 24 July 2019 as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government under Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Constituency profile

Many towns are historic in architecture^[11] with many well-preserved listed buildings^[12] whereas much of the council housing in the constituency has been privately acquired under the right to buy.^[13] Nonetheless, there is a minority of social housing but the proportion is lower than the national average across the three districts.^[14]

Labour held the seat for one term following their 1997 landslide victory, but subsequent major boundary changes have brought in more rural areas and made the seat into one of the most strongly Conservative voting in the UK, with it now being the only Conservative seat in Nottinghamshire after the 2024 General Election result.

Members of Parliament

MPs before 1885

Election		Member[15]	Party[16][17]		Member[15]	Party
1673		Henry Savile			Sir Paul Neile
1677					Sir Richard Rothwell
Feb 1679		Robert Leke			Sir Robert Markham
Aug 1679		Sir Richard Rothwell
1685		Henry Savile			Philip Darcy
1689		William Savile			Nicholas Saunderson
1693					Sir Francis Molyneux, 4th Baronet
1695		Sir George Markham, 3rd Baronet
1698		James Saunderson
1700					John Rayner
Jan 1701		Sir George Markham, 3rd Baronet
Nov 1701		Sir Matthew Jenison			James Saunderson
1705		John Digby
1708		Richard Sutton
1710		Sir Thomas Willoughby, 2nd Baronet			Richard Newdigate
1712		Richard Sutton
1715					Conyers Darcy
1722					James Pelham
1738 by-election		Lord William Manners
1741					Job Staunton Charlton
1754		John Manners
1761					Thomas Thoroton
1768					John Shelley
1774		George Manners-Sutton			Henry Clinton	Tory[17]
1780		Lord George Manners-Sutton	Tory[17]
1783 by-election		John Manners-Sutton	Tory[17]
1784					Constantine Phipps	Tory[17]
1790					William Crosbie	Tory[17]
1796		Thomas Manners-Sutton	Tory[17]		Mark Wood	Tory[17]
1802					Sir Charles Pole
1805 by-election		Henry Willoughby	Tory[17]
1806					Sir Stapleton Cotton, Bt	Tory[17]
1814 by-election					George Hay Dawkins-Pennant
1818					Sir William Henry Clinton	Tory[17]
1829 by-election					Michael Thomas Sadler	Tory[17]
Feb 1831 by-election		William Farnworth Handley	Tory[17]
May 1831					Thomas Wilde	Whig[17][18][19]
1832					William Ewart Gladstone	Tory[17]
1834			Conservative[17]			Conservative[17]
1835		Thomas Wilde	Whig[17][18][19]
1841		Lord John Manners	Conservative[17]
1846 by-election					John Stuart	Conservative
1847		John Manners-Sutton	Conservative
1852					Granville Harcourt-Vernon	Peelite[20][21]
1857		Earl of Lincoln	Peelite[22][23]		John Handley	Peelite[22][23]
1859		Grosvenor Hodgkinson	Liberal			Liberal
1865					Lord Arthur Pelham-Clinton	Liberal
1868					Edward Denison	Liberal
1870 by-election					Samuel Bristowe	Liberal
1874		Thomas Earp	Liberal
1880					William Newzam Nicholson	Conservative
1885	Representation reduced to one member

MPs since 1885

	Election	Member[15]	Party
	1885	Charles Pierrepont	Conservative
	1895	Harold Finch-Hatton	Conservative
	1898 by-election	Charles Pierrepont	Conservative
	1900 by-election	Charles Welby	Conservative
	1906	John Starkey	Conservative
	1922	William Cavendish-Bentinck	Conservative
	1943 by-election	Sidney Shephard	Conservative
	1950	George Deer	Labour
	1964	Ted Bishop	Labour
	1979	Richard Alexander	Conservative
	1997	Fiona Jones	Labour
	March 1999		Independent
	April 1999		Labour
	2001	Patrick Mercer	Conservative
	2013		Independent
	2014 by-election	Robert Jenrick	Conservative

Elections

Newark election results 1983-2024

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Newark^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Jenrick	20,968	39.2	−23.9
	Labour	Saj Ahmad	17,396	32.5	+8.6
	Reform UK	Robert Palmer	8,280	15.5	+15.2
	Liberal Democrats	David Watts	3,026	5.7	−3.9
	Green	Michael Ackroyd	2,345	4.4	+1.3
	Ind. Network	Adrian Amer	809	1.5	N/A
	Independent	Lyn Galbraith	329	0.6	N/A
	English Democrat	Matthew Darrington	156	0.3	N/A
	Workers Party	Collan Siddique	150	0.3	N/A
Majority			3,572	6.7	33.1
Turnout			53,459	67.0	5.2
Registered electors			80,028
	Conservative hold		Swing	16.6

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Newark^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Jenrick	34,660	63.3	0.6
	Labour	James Baggaley	12,844	23.5	6.2
	Liberal Democrats	David Watts	5,308	9.7	4.6
	Green	Jay Henderson	1,950	3.6	New
Majority			21,816	39.8	6.8
Turnout			54,762	72.2	0.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.4

General election 2017: Newark^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Jenrick	34,493	62.7	5.7
	Labour	Chantal Lee	16,344	29.7	8.0
	Liberal Democrats	David Watts	2,786	5.1	0.5
	UKIP	Xandra Arundel	1,419	2.6	9.4
Majority			18,149	33.0	2.3
Turnout			55,042	72.9	2.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.2

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

General election 2015: Newark^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Jenrick	29,834	57.0	+3.1
	Labour	Michael Payne	11,360	21.7	−0.6
	UKIP	Brian Mapletoft	6,294	12.0	+8.2
	Liberal Democrats	David Dobbie[28]	2,385	4.6	−15.4
	Green	Elayne Forster	1,792	3.4	N/A
	Consensus – The Community Party	Helen Tyrer	637	1.2	New
Majority			18,474	35.3	+3.7
Turnout			52,302	70.9	−0.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.9

By-Election 2014: Newark^[29][30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Jenrick	17,431	45.0	−8.9
	UKIP	Roger Helmer	10,028	25.9	+22.1
	Labour	Michael Payne	6,842	17.7	−4.6
	Independent	Paul Baggaley	1,891	4.9	New
	Green	David Kirwan	1,057	2.7	New
	Liberal Democrats	David Watts	1,004	2.6	−17.4
	Monster Raving Loony	Nick The Flying Brick	168	0.4	New
	Independent	Andy Hayes	117	0.3	New
	Bus-Pass Elvis	David Bishop	87	0.2	New
	Common Good	Dick Rodgers	64	0.2	New
	Patriotic Socialist Party	Lee Woods	18	0.1	New
Majority			7,403	19.1	−12.5
Turnout			38,707	52.79	−18.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 2010: Newark^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Patrick Mercer	27,590	53.9	+3.4
	Labour	Ian Campbell	11,438	22.3	−6.0
	Liberal Democrats	Pauline Jenkins	10,246	20.0	+1.6
	UKIP	Tom Irvine	1,954	3.8	+1.0
Majority			16,152	31.6	+9.4
Turnout			51,228	71.4	+8.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.7

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Newark^[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Patrick Mercer	21,946	48.0	+1.5
	Labour	Jason Reece	15,482	33.9	−3.6
	Liberal Democrats	Stuart Thompstone	7,276	15.9	+2.7
	UKIP	Charlotte Creasy	992	2.2	New
Majority			6,464	14.1	+5.1
Turnout			45,696	63.2	−0.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.6

General election 2001: Newark^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Patrick Mercer	20,983	46.5	+7.1
	Labour	Fiona Jones	16,910	37.5	−7.7
	Liberal Democrats	David Harding-Price	5,970	13.2	+1.7
	Independent	Donald Haxby	822	1.8	New
	Socialist Alliance	Ian Thomson	462	1.0	New
Majority			4,073	9.0	N/A
Turnout			45,147	63.5	−11.0
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Newark^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Fiona Jones	23,496	45.2	+9.4
	Conservative	Richard Alexander	20,480	39.4	−11.0
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Harris	5,960	11.5	−1.5
	Referendum	Graham Creedy	2,035	3.9	New
Majority			3,016	5.8	N/A
Turnout			51,971	74.5	−7.7
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General election 1992: Newark^[35][36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Alexander	28,494	50.4	−3.1
	Labour	David Barton	20,265	35.8	+8.1
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Harris	7,342	13.0	−5.8
	Green	Patricia Wood	435	0.8	New
Majority			8,229	14.6	−11.2
Turnout			56,536	82.2	+4.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	−5.6

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Newark^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Alexander	28,070	53.5	−0.3
	Labour	David Barton	14,527	27.7	+3.1
	SDP	George Emerson	9,833	18.8	−1.8
Majority			13,543	25.8	−3.4
Turnout			52,430	77.6	+1.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1983: Newark^[38]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Alexander	26,334	53.8
	Labour	John McGuiggan	12,051	24.6
	SDP	Stuart Thompstone	10,076	20.6
	Ecology	Patricia Hewis	463	1.0	New
Majority			14,283	29.2
Turnout			48,924	76.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Newark

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Alexander	27,711	45.9	+8.4
	Labour	Edward Bishop	25,960	43.0	−4.9
	Liberal	J. Baker	6,773	11.2	−3.4
Majority			1,751	2.9	N/A
Turnout			60,444	79.9	+2.0
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

General election October 1974: Newark

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Edward Bishop	26,598	47.9	−5.9
	Conservative	David H. Cargill	20,827	37.5	−8.7
	Liberal	I. G. M. Jones	8,116	14.6	New
Majority			5,771	10.4	+2.8
Turnout			55,541	77.9	−5.1
	Labour hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Newark

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Edward Bishop	31,586	53.8	−12,4
	Conservative	David H. Cargill	27,089	46.2	−6.6
Majority			4,497	7.6	+5.2
Turnout			58,675	83.0	+7.0
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1970: Newark

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Edward Bishop	26,455	51.2	−5.5
	Conservative	Donald G. Allen	25,235	48.8	+5.5
Majority			1,220	2.4	−11.0
Turnout			51,690	76.0	−5.1
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Newark

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Edward Bishop	27,402	56.72
	Conservative	Peter Jenkin-Jones	20,913	43.28
Majority			6,489	13.44
Turnout			48,315	81.09
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1964: Newark

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Edward Bishop	26,171	54.36
	Conservative	Peter Jenkin-Jones	21,975	45.64
Majority			4,196	8.72
Turnout			48,146	83.15
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Newark

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Deer	24,072	51.91
	Conservative	Peter Jenkin-Jones	22,300	48.09
Majority			1,772	3.82
Turnout			46,372	84.94
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1955: Newark

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Deer	23,057	52.43
	Conservative	Ronald H. Watson	20,916	47.57
Majority			2,141	4.86
Turnout			43,973	83.51
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1951: Newark

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Deer	30,476	57.19
	Conservative	Ronald H. Watson	22,817	42.81
Majority			7,659	14.38
Turnout			53,293	85.47
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1950: Newark

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Deer	28,959	54.20
	Conservative	Sidney Shephard	21,522	40.28
	Liberal	Ernest Harold Pickering	2,950	5.52
Majority			7,437	13.92	N/A
Turnout			53,431	88.08
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Newark

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sidney Shephard	18,580	45.09
	Labour	Hugh Champion de Crespigny	17,448	42.35
	Liberal	Harold Francis Calladine	5,175	12.56	New
Majority			1,132	2.74
Turnout			41,203	73.11
	Conservative hold		Swing

1943 Newark by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sidney Shephard	20,120	61.17	−1.24
	Independent	Alan Dawrant	7,110	21.62	New
	Common Wealth	Edward Moeran	3,189	9.70	New
	Independent Liberal	John Thomas Pepper	2,473	7.52	New
Majority			13,010	39.55	+14.73
Turnout			32,892
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Newark^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Cavendish-Bentinck	21,793	62.41
	Labour	Archibald Ward Sharman	13,127	37.59
Majority			8,666	24.82
Turnout			34,920	69.92
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1931: Newark^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Cavendish-Bentinck	25,445	70.13
	Labour	John Rotherford Bellerby	10,840	29.87
Majority			14,605	40.26
Turnout			36,285	75.93
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929: Newark^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	William Cavendish-Bentinck	15,707	45.5	−15.0
	Liberal	James Haslam	10,768	31.2	+13.5
	Labour	William Richard Grosvenor Haywood	8,060	23.3	+1.5
Majority			4,939	14.3	−24.4
Turnout			34,535	77.0	+2.8
	Unionist hold		Swing	-14.3

General election 1924: Newark^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	William Cavendish-Bentinck	14,129	60.5	+4.6
	Labour	H. Varley	5,076	21.8	New
	Liberal	James Haslam	4,124	17.7	−26.4
Majority			9,053	38.7	+26.9
Turnout			23,329	74.2	+1.8
	Unionist hold		Swing

General election 1923: Newark^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	William Cavendish-Bentinck	12,357	55.9	−8.9
	Liberal	Lawrence Priestley	9,741	44.1	New
Majority			2,616	11.8	−17.8
Turnout			22,098	72.4	−7.5
	Unionist hold		Swing

General election 1922: Newark^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	William Cavendish-Bentinck	15,423	64.8	N/A
	Labour	Henry Nixon	8,378	35.2	New
Majority			7,045	29.6	N/A
Turnout			23,801	79.9	N/A
	Unionist hold		Swing

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Newark^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	John Starkey	Unopposed
	Unionist hold
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;

• Unionist: Arthur Colefax
• Liberal: Robert Burley Wallis

General election December 1910: Newark ^[40][41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Starkey	5,049	54.0	−0.3
	Liberal	Robert Burley Wallis	4,307	46.0	+0.3
Majority			742	8.0	−0.6
Turnout			9,356	82.7	−6.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.3

General election January 1910: Newark ^[40][41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Starkey	5,497	54.3	+2.5
	Liberal	Robert Burley Wallis	4,618	45.7	−2.5
Majority			879	8.6	+5.0
Turnout			10,115	89.4	+4.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.5

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1906: Newark ^[40][42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Starkey	4,772	51.8	N/A
	Liberal	Alexis Moreton Mandeville	4,444	48.2	New
Majority			328	3.6	N/A
Turnout			9,216	84.8	N/A
Registered electors			10,863
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1900: Newark ^[40][42][43]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Welby	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Stanger

1900 Newark by-election^[44][40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Welby	5,162	64.3	N/A
	Liberal	Henry Yorke Stanger	2,871	35.7	New
Majority			2,291	28.6	N/A
Turnout			8,033	77.9	N/A
Registered electors			10,310
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1890s

By-election, 11 May 1898: Newark ^[45][44]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Pierrepont	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

• Caused by Finch-Hatton's resignation.

General election 1895: Newark ^[45][44]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Harold Finch-Hatton	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1892: Newark ^[45][44]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Pierrepont	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1886: Newark^[44][45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Pierrepont	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1885: Newark (1 seat)^[44][45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Pierrepont	5,283	60.0	+11.0
	Liberal	Thomas Earp	3,529	40.0	−10.9
Majority			1,764	20.0	+19.7
Turnout			8,812	86.3	−1.5 (est)
Registered electors			10,214
	Conservative hold		Swing	+11.0

General election 1880: Newark (2 seats)^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Earp	1,073	26.6	−1.0
	Conservative	William Nicholson	993	24.6	+1.2
	Conservative	Murray Finch-Hatton	985	24.4	+1.3
	Liberal	Samuel Bristowe	982	24.3	−1.6
Turnout			2,017 (est)	87.8 (est)	−1.4
Registered electors			2,297
Majority			80	2.0	−0.5
	Liberal hold		Swing	−1.2
Majority			11	0.3	N/A
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+1.4

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Newark (2 seats)^[46][47]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Earp	973	27.6	−9.5
	Liberal	Samuel Bristowe	912	25.9	−8.8
	Conservative	Edward Field	824	23.4	N/A
	Conservative	Henry Eyre	813	23.1	N/A
Majority			88	2.5	−4.0
Turnout			1,761 (est)	89.2 (est)	+7.9
Registered electors			1,974
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

By-election, 1 Apr 1870: Newark (1 seat)^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Samuel Bristowe	827	54.0	+17.8
	Conservative	William Campbell Sleigh	653	42.6	New
	Independent Liberal	George Grey[48]	52	3.4	−24.8
Majority			174	11.4	+4.9
Turnout			1,532	85.0	+3.7
Registered electors			1,803
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

• Caused by Denison's death.

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1868: Newark (2 seats)^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Grosvenor Hodgkinson	1,089	37.1	N/A
	Liberal	Edward Denison	1,017	34.7	N/A
	Independent Liberal	Philip Handley[49][50]	826	28.2	New
Majority			191	6.5	N/A
Turnout			1,466 (est)	81.3 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			1,803
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1865: Newark (2 seats)^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Grosvenor Hodgkinson	Unopposed
	Liberal	Arthur Pelham-Clinton	Unopposed
Registered electors			710
	Liberal hold
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1859: Newark (2 seats)^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Grosvenor Hodgkinson	489	36.5	N/A
	Liberal	John Handley	435	32.5	N/A
	Conservative	Henry Pelham-Clinton[51]	416	31.0	N/A
Majority			19	1.5	N/A
Turnout			670 (est)	87.8 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			763
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1857: Newark (2 seats)^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Peelite	John Handley	Unopposed
	Peelite	Henry Pelham-Clinton	Unopposed
Registered electors			763
	Peelite hold
	Peelite gain from Conservative

General election 1852: Newark (2 seats)^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Peelite	Granville Harcourt-Vernon	545	39.3	N/A
	Conservative	John Manners-Sutton	479	34.6	−5.2
	Radical	Marcus Mereweather Turner[52][20]	362	26.1	N/A
Turnout			693 (est)	79.9 (est)	−1.3
Registered electors			867
Majority			66	4.7	N/A
	Peelite gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A
Majority			117	8.5	+5.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1847: Newark (2 seats)^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Manners-Sutton	614	39.8	+1.8
	Conservative	John Stuart	487	31.5	N/A
	Conservative	George Hussey Packe[53]	443	28.7	N/A
Majority			44	2.8	−11.4
Turnout			772 (est)	81.2 (est)	−8.8
Registered electors			951
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

By-election, 29 January 1846: Newark^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Stuart	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

• Caused by Gladstone's appointment as Secretary of State for War and the Colonies

By-election, 14 September 1841: Newark^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Ewart Gladstone	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

• Caused by Gladstone's appointment as Vice-President of the Board of Trade and Master of the Mint

General election 1841: Newark (2 seats)^[46][17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Ewart Gladstone	633	38.2	N/A
	Conservative	John Manners	630	38.0	N/A
	Whig	Thomas Hobhouse[54]	394	23.8	N/A
Majority			236	14.2	N/A
Turnout			1,004	90.0	N/A
Registered electors			1,116
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	N/A

By-election, 25 January 1840: Newark^[46][17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Thomas Wilde	541	50.4	N/A
	Conservative	Frederic Thesiger	532	49.6	N/A
Majority			9	0.8	N/A
Turnout			1,073	95.0	N/A
Registered electors			1,130
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

• Caused by Wilde's appointment as Solicitor General for England and Wales

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1837: Newark (2 seats)^[46][17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	William Ewart Gladstone	Unopposed
	Whig	Thomas Wilde	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,221
	Conservative hold
	Whig hold

General election 1835: Newark (2 seats)^[46][17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	William Ewart Gladstone	Unopposed
	Whig	Thomas Wilde	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,273
	Conservative hold
	Whig gain from Conservative

General election 1832: Newark (2 seats)^[46][17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	William Ewart Gladstone	887	36.8	+4.0
	Tory	William Farnworth Handley	798	33.1	+3.3
	Whig	Thomas Wilde	726	30.1	−7.3
Majority			73	3.0	N/A
Turnout			1,519	96.4	c. +8.6
Registered electors			1,575
	Tory hold		Swing	+3.8
	Tory gain from Whig		Swing	+3.5

General election 1831: Newark (2 seats)^[17][55]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Thomas Wilde	849	37.4	+7.4
	Tory	William Farnworth Handley	746	32.8	−2.9
	Tory	Roger Gresley	678	29.8	−4.5
Majority			171	7.6	N/A
Turnout			1,492	c. 87.8	c. +7.7
Registered electors			c. 1,700
	Whig gain from Tory		Swing	+7.4
	Tory hold		Swing	−3.3

By-election, 21 February 1831: Newark^[17][55]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	William Farnworth Handley	833	60.3	−9.7
	Whig	Thomas Wilde	547	39.6	+9.6
	Radical	Charles Wilkins	2	0.1	N/A
Majority			286	20.7	+16.4
Turnout			1,382	c. 81.3	c. +1.2
Registered electors			c. 1,700
	Tory hold		Swing	−9.7

• Caused by Willoughby's resignation

General election 1830: Newark (2 seats)^[17][55]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Henry Willoughby (MP)	775	35.7
	Tory	Michael Thomas Sadler	746	34.3
	Whig	Thomas Wilde	652	30.0
Majority			94	4.3
Turnout			1,361	c. 80.1
Registered electors			c. 1,700
	Tory hold		Swing
	Tory hold		Swing

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Nottinghamshire

Notes

1. A county 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.