Plymouth Devonport (UK Parliament constituency)

Plymouth, Devonport was, from 1832 until 2010, a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It covered part of the city of Plymouth in South West England, including the former borough of Devonport.

Plymouth, Devonport
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Plymouth, Devonport in Devon for the 2005 general election
Location of Devon within England
County	Devon
1832–2010
Seats	One
Created from	Devon
Replaced by	Plymouth Moor View, Plymouth Sutton and Devonport

History

The constituency was created as Devonport in 1832, and elected two members until 1918, when the number was reduced to one. Following the amalgamation of Devonport into Plymouth, the constituency was renamed as Plymouth, Devonport.

Devonport has had a number of prominent MPs, including Leslie Hore-Belisha, Michael Foot (who began his Commons career in the seat), and the former SDP leader David Owen. One of its longest serving MPs was the National Liberal, later Conservative Dame Joan Vickers, who held the seat from 1955 until her defeat at the General Election of February 1974.

Abolition

Following the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies by the Boundary Commission for England, constituencies in Plymouth were reorganised, with both Plymouth Sutton and Plymouth Devonport being replaced by new constituencies of Plymouth Sutton and Devonport and Plymouth Moor View from 2010.^[1] The vast majority (nearly 90%) of the Plymouth Devonport constituency became part of the new Plymouth Moor View constituency; the exception was Devonport ward which became part of Plymouth Sutton and Devonport. ^[2]

Boundaries

1918–1950: The County Borough of Plymouth wards of Ford, Keyham, Molesworth, Nelson, St Aubyn, and St Budeaux.

1950–1951: The County Borough of Plymouth wards of Ford, Keyham, Molesworth, Mount Edgecumbe, Nelson, Pennycross, St Aubyn, St Budeaux, St Peter, and Stoke; and the parish of Tamerton Foliot in the Rural District of Plympton St Mary.

1951–1955: The County Borough of Plymouth wards of Ernesettle, Ford, Molesworth, Nelson, Peverell, St Aubyn, St Budeaux, St Peter, Stoke, Tamerton, and Trelawney.^[3]

1955–1974: The County Borough of Plymouth wards of Drake, Ernesettle, Ford, Molesworth, Nelson, St Andrew, St Aubyn, St Budeaux, St Peter, and Stoke.

1974–1983: The County Borough of Plymouth wards of Ernesettle, Ford, St Andrew, St Aubyn, St Budeaux, St Peter, and Stoke.

1983–1997: The City of Plymouth wards of Budshead, Estover, Ham, Honicknowle, Keyham, St Budeaux, and Southway.

1997–2010: The City of Plymouth wards of Budshead, Eggbuckland, Estover, Ham, Honicknowle, Keyham, St Budeaux, and Southway.

From 1950 to 1983, the constituency included Plymouth city centre.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1832–1918

Election		First member[4]	First party		Second member[4]	Second party
1832		Sir Edward Codrington	Whig[5][6]		Sir George Grey	Whig[5][7][8][9][10]
1840 by-election		Henry Tufnell	Whig[11][12][13][5]
1847					Sir John Romilly	Whig[14][15][13]
1852					Sir George Berkeley	Conservative
1854 by-election		Thomas Erskine Perry	Whig[16][17]
1857					James Wilson	Whig[18][19][20]
1859			Liberal			Liberal
1859 by-election		Sir Michael Seymour	Liberal
1859 by-election					Sir Arthur William Buller	Liberal
1863 by-election		William Ferrand	Conservative
Jun 1865 by-election					Thomas Brassey	Liberal
Jul 1865					John Fleming	Conservative
1866 by-election		Lord Eliot	Liberal		Montague Chambers	Liberal
1868		John Delaware Lewis	Liberal
1874		Sir John Henry Puleston	Conservative		George Edward Price	Conservative
1892		E. J. C. Morton	Liberal		Hudson Kearley	Liberal
1902 by-election		John Lockie	Conservative
1904 by-election		John Benn	Liberal
1910 (January)		Sir John Jackson	Conservative		Sir Clement Kinloch-Cooke	Conservative
1918	reduced to one seat

MPs 1918–2010

Election		Member[4]	Party
	1918	Clement Kinloch-Cooke	Coalition Conservative
	1922		Conservative
	1923	Leslie Hore-Belisha	Liberal
	1931		Liberal National
	1942		National Independent
	1945	Michael Foot	Labour
	1955	Dame Joan Vickers	Conservative and National Liberal
	1964		Conservative
	Feb 1974	David Owen	Labour
	1981		SDP
	1988		SDP (1988)
	1990		Independent Social Democrat
	1992	David Jamieson	Labour
	2005	Alison Seabeck	Labour
	2010	Constituency abolished: see Plymouth Moor View and Plymouth Sutton and Devonport

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: Devonport^[21][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	George Grey	1,178	44.6
	Whig	Edward Codrington	891	33.7
	Whig	George Leach	575	21.7
Majority			316	12.0
Turnout			1,477	83.1
Registered electors			1,777
	Whig win (new seat)
	Whig win (new seat)

General election 1835: Devonport^[21][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Edward Codrington	1,114	39.3	+5.6
	Whig	George Grey	956	33.7	−10.9
	Conservative	George Robert Dawson	764	27.0	New
Majority			192	6.7	−5.3
Turnout			1,626	87.0	+3.9
Registered electors			1,870
	Whig hold
	Whig hold

General election 1837: Devonport^[21][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Edward Codrington	Unopposed
	Whig	George Grey	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,145
	Whig hold
	Whig hold

Grey was appointed Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 20 February 1839: Devonport^[21][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	George Grey	Unopposed
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1840s

Codrington resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Manor of East Hendred, causing a by-election.

By-election, 24 January 1840: Devonport^[21][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Henry Tufnell	974	56.5
	Conservative	George Robert Dawson[22]	750	43.5
Majority			224	13.0
Turnout			1,724	81.3
Registered electors			2,121
	Whig hold

General election 1841: Devonport^[21][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Henry Tufnell	966	36.1
	Whig	George Grey	932	34.8
	Conservative	George Robert Dawson	780	29.1
Majority			152	5.7
Turnout			1,724	80.9
Registered electors			2,131
	Whig hold
	Whig hold

Grey was appointed Home Secretary, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 10 July 1846: Devonport^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	George Grey	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1847: Devonport^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Henry Tufnell	1,136	37.9	+1.8
	Whig	John Romilly	1,022	34.1	−0.7
	Conservative	Joseph Sandars[23]	842	28.1	−1.0
Majority			180	6.0	+0.3
Turnout			1,921 (est)	82.0 (est)	+1.1
Registered electors			2,343
	Whig hold		Swing	+1.2
	Whig hold		Swing	−0.1

Romilly was appointed Solicitor General for England and Wales, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 3 April 1848: Devonport^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Romilly	Unopposed
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1850s

Romilly was appointed Attorney General for England and Wales, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 17 July 1850: Devonport^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Romilly	Unopposed
	Whig hold

Romilly was appointed Master of the Rolls, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 2 April 1851: Devonport^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	John Romilly	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1852: Devonport^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Henry Tufnell	1,079	25.6	−12.3
	Conservative	George Berkeley	1,056	25.1	+11.0
	Whig	John Romilly	1,046	24.8	−9.3
	Conservative	John Heron-Maxwell[24]	1,032	24.5	+10.4
Turnout			2,107 (est)	87.5 (est)	+5.5
Registered electors			2,407
Majority			47	1.1	−4.9
	Whig hold		Swing	−11.5
Majority			10	0.3	N/A
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+10.9

Tufnell resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 11 May 1854: Devonport^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Thomas Erskine Perry	1,091	61.3	+10.9
	Conservative	John Heron-Maxwell	689	38.7	−10.9
Majority			402	22.6	+21.5
Turnout			1,780	73.6	−13.9
Registered electors			2,417
	Whig hold		Swing	+10.9

General election 1857: Devonport^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Thomas Erskine Perry	Unopposed
	Whig	James Wilson	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,628
	Whig hold
	Whig gain from Conservative

General election 1859: Devonport^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Wilson	1,216	26.9	N/A
	Liberal	Thomas Erskine Perry	1,198	26.5	N/A
	Conservative	William Ferrand	1,075	23.7	New
	Conservative	Archibald Peel[25]	1,039	22.9	New
Majority			123	2.8	N/A
Turnout			2,264 (est)	82.1 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			2,759
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Wilson was appointed Vice-President of the Board of Trade, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 27 June 1859: Devonport^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Wilson	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

Perry resigned after being appointed a member of the Council of India, causing a by-election.

By-election, 9 August 1859: Devonport^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Michael Seymour	1,096	51.1	−2.3
	Conservative	William Ferrand	1,047	48.9	+2.3
Majority			49	2.2	−0.6
Turnout			2,143	77.7	−4.4
Registered electors			2,759
	Liberal hold		Swing	−2.3

Wilson resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 17 August 1859: Devonport^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur William Buller	1,189	51.6	−1.8
	Conservative	William Ferrand	1,114	48.4	+1.8
Majority			75	3.2	+0.4
Turnout			2,303	83.5	+1.4
Registered electors			2,759
	Liberal hold		Swing	−1.8

Elections in the 1860s

Seymour resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 12 February 1863: Devonport^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Ferrand	1,234	50.6	+4.0
	Liberal	Frederick Grey[26]	1,204	49.4	−4.0
Majority			30	1.2	N/A
Turnout			2,438	88.4	+6.3
Registered electors			2,758
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+4.0

Buller resigned in order to contest the 1865 Liskeard by-election.

By-election, 22 June 1865: Devonport^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Brassey	1,264	51.1	−2.3
	Conservative	John Fleming	1,208	48.9	+2.3
Majority			56	2.2	−0.6
Turnout			2,472	87.7	+5.6
Registered electors			2,820
	Liberal hold		Swing	−2.3

General election 1865: Devonport^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Fleming	1,307	25.5	+2.6
	Conservative	William Ferrand	1,290	25.2	+1.5
	Liberal	Thomas Brassey	1,279	25.0	−1.9
	Liberal	Thomas Phinn[27]	1,243	24.3	−2.2
Majority			11	0.2	N/A
Majority			64	1.2	N/A
Turnout			2,560 (est)	90.8 (est)	+8.7
Registered electors			2,820
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+2.4
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+1.8

The election was declared void on petition, on account of bribery and corrupt practices,^[28] causing a by-election.

By-election, 22 May 1866: Devonport^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Eliot	1,275	25.6	+0.6
	Liberal	Montague Chambers	1,269	25.5	+1.2
	Conservative	Henry Cecil Raikes	1,216	24.4	−1.1
	Conservative	Reginald Abbot[29]	1,215	24.4	−0.8
Majority			53	1.1	N/A
Majority			60	1.2	N/A
Turnout			2,488 (est)	88.2 (est)	−2.6
Registered electors			2,820
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+0.9
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+1.0

General election 1868: Devonport^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Delaware Lewis	1,541	26.6	+1.6
	Liberal	Montague Chambers	1,519	26.2	+1.9
	Conservative	William Ferrand	1,370	23.6	−1.6
	Conservative	William Palliser[30]	1,365	23.6	−1.9
Majority			149	2.6	N/A
Majority			176	3.0	N/A
Turnout			2,898 (est)	85.9 (est)	−4.9
Registered electors			3,374
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+1.6
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+1.9

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Devonport^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Henry Puleston	1,525	27.3	+3.7
	Conservative	George Edward Price	1,483	26.6	+3.0
	Liberal	John Delaware Lewis	1,327	23.8	−2.8
	Liberal	George William Culme Soltau Symons[31]	1,250	22.4	−3.8
Majority			156	2.8	N/A
Majority			275	4.9	N/A
Turnout			2,793 (est)	83.4 (est)	−2.5
Registered electors			3,348
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+3.3
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+3.4

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Devonport^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Henry Puleston	1,753	27.0	−0.3
	Conservative	George Edward Price	1,746	26.9	+0.3
	Liberal	John Delaware Lewis	1,509	23.3	−0.5
	Liberal	Alexander Craig Sellar	1,476	22.8	+0.4
Majority			237	3.6	+0.8
Turnout			3,242 (est)	85.5 (est)	+2.1
Registered electors			3,790
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.1

General election 1885: Devonport^[32][33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Edward Price	2,968	26.5	−0.4
	Conservative	John Henry Puleston	2,944	26.3	−0.7
	Liberal	George Webb Medley	2,653	23.7	+0.4
	Liberal	Thomas Terrell	2,635	23.5	+0.7
Majority			291	2.6	−1.0
Turnout			5,646	86.5	+1.0 (est)
Registered electors			6,527
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.6

General election 1886: Devonport^[32][33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Puleston	2,954	30.2	+3.9
	Conservative	George Price	2,943	30.1	+3.6
	Liberal	Charles Ford[34]	1,963	20.1	−3.6
	Liberal	Herbert Lionel Showers	1,918	19.6	−3.9
Majority			980	10.0	+7.4
Turnout			4,936	75.6	−10.9
Registered electors			6,527
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.8

Elections in the 1890s

Kearley

General election 1892: Devonport^[32][33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Hudson Kearley	3,354	26.4	+6.3
	Liberal	E. J. C. Morton	3,325	26.3	+6.7
	Conservative	George Price	3,012	23.8	−6.3
	Conservative	Robert Harvey	2,972	23.5	−6.7
Majority			313	2.5	N/A
Majority			382	2.9	N/A
Turnout			6,378 (est)	83.6	+8.0
Registered electors			7,629
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+6.3
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+6.7

Morton

General election 1895: Devonport^[32][33][35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Hudson Kearley	3,570	26.2	−0.2
	Liberal	E. J. C. Morton	3,511	25.7	−0.6
	Conservative	Pridham Henry Pridham Whippell	3,303	24.2	+0.4
	Conservative	TU Thynne	3,263	23.9	+0.4
Majority			208	1.5	−1.0
Turnout			6,875 (est)	86.9	+3.3
Registered electors			7,911
	Liberal hold		Swing	−0.3
	Liberal hold		Swing	−0.5

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Devonport^[32][33][35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Hudson Kearley	3,626	25.9	−0.3
	Liberal	E. J. C. Morton	3,538	25.2	−0.5
	Conservative	John Lockie	3,458	24.7	+0.5
	Conservative	F McCormick Goodheart	3,394	24.2	+0.3
Majority			80	0.5	−1.0
Turnout			14,016	85.1	−1.8
Registered electors			8,351
	Liberal hold		Swing	−0.4
	Liberal hold		Swing	−0.4

1902 Devonport by-election^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Lockie	3,785	50.2	+1.3
	Liberal	Thomas Brassey	3,757	49.8	−1.3
Majority			28	0.4	N/A
Turnout			7,542	84.3	−0.8
Registered electors			8,946
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+1.3

John Benn

1904 Devonport by-election^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Benn	6,219	54.6	+3.5
	Conservative	John Jackson	5,179	45.4	−3.5
Majority			1,040	9.2	+8.7
Turnout			11,398	79.3	−5.8
Registered electors			14,379
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.5

General election 1906: Devonport^[32][33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Hudson Kearley	6,923	29.1	+3.2
	Liberal	John Benn	6,527	27.5	+2.3
	Conservative	John Jackson	5,239	22.0	−2.7
	Conservative	F Holme-Summer	5,080	21.4	−2.8
Majority			1,288	5.5	+5.0
Turnout			23,769	81.4	−3.7
Registered electors			14,978
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.0
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.5

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Devonport^[32][33][37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Jackson	5,658	26.7	+4.7
	Conservative	Clement Kinloch-Cooke	5,286	24.9	+3.5
	Liberal	John Benn	5,146	24.2	−3.3
	Liberal	Samuel Lithgow[38]	5,140	24.2	−4.9
Majority			140	0.7	N/A
Majority			518	2.5	N/A
Turnout			21,230	89.2	+7.8
Registered electors			12,125
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+4.0
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+4.2

Godfrey Baring

General election December 1910: Devonport^[32][33][37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Jackson	5,170	26.0	−0.7
	Conservative	Clement Kinloch-Cooke	5,111	25.7	+0.8
	Liberal	Samuel Lithgow	4,841	24.3	+0.1
	Liberal	Godfrey Baring	4,782	24.0	−0.2
Majority			270	1.4	+0.7
Turnout			19,904	83.0	−6.2
Registered electors			12,125
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.5

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: Clement Kinloch-Cooke, John Jackson
• Liberal: Samuel Lithgow
• Labour:

General election 1918: Plymouth Devonport

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	Clement Kinloch-Cooke	13,240	62.2	+10.5
	Labour	Fred Bramley	4,115	19.3	New
	Liberal	Samuel Lithgow	3,930	18.5	−19.8
Majority			9,125	42.9	+41.5
Turnout			21,285	67.2	−15.8
	Unionist hold		Swing	+15.2
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Plymouth Devonport

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Clement Kinloch-Cooke	10,459	42.3	−19.9
	Liberal	Leslie Hore-Belisha	8,538	34.5	+16.0
	Labour	Barrington Bates	5,742	23.2	+3.9
Majority			1,921	7.8	−35.1
Turnout			24,739	79.1	+11.9
	Unionist hold		Swing

General election 1923: Plymouth Devonport

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Leslie Hore-Belisha	12,269	45.7	+11.2
	Unionist	Clement Kinloch-Cooke	10,428	38.8	−3.5
	Labour	Joseph Harris	4,158	15.5	−7.7
Majority			1,841	6.9	N/A
Turnout			26,855	82.7	+3.6
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+7.3

General election 1924: Plymouth Devonport

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Leslie Hore-Belisha	11,115	39.7	−6.0
	Unionist	Samuel Gluckstein	10,534	37.6	−1.2
	Labour	Holford Knight	6,350	22.7	+7.2
Majority			581	2.1	−4.8
Turnout			27,999	84.4	+1.7
	Liberal hold		Swing	-2.4

General election 1929: Plymouth Devonport

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Leslie Hore-Belisha	15,233	45.7	+6.0
	Unionist	Samuel Gluckstein	10,688	32.0	−5.6
	Labour	Donald B. Fraser	7,428	22.3	−0.4
Majority			4,545	13.7	+11.6
Turnout			33,349	82.3	−2.1
	Liberal hold		Swing	+5.8

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Plymouth Devonport

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	Leslie Hore-Belisha	23,459	72.19
	Labour	Paul Reed	9,039	27.81
Majority			14,420	44.38
Turnout			32,498	78.18
	National Liberal hold		Swing

General election 1935: Plymouth Devonport

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	Leslie Hore-Belisha	20,852	68.13	−4.06
	Labour	John Brown	9,756	31.87	+4.06
Majority			11,096	36.26	−8.12
Turnout			30,608	72.27	−5.91
	National Liberal hold		Swing	+4.06

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;

• Liberal National: Leslie Hore-Belisha
• Labour: Michael Foot

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Plymouth Devonport

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Foot	13,395	54.06	+22.19
	National	Leslie Hore-Belisha	11,382	45.94	−22.19
Majority			2,013	8.12	N/A
Turnout			24,777	71.11	−1.16
	Labour gain from National Liberal		Swing	+22.19

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Plymouth, Devonport

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Foot	30,812	50.59	−3.47
	National Liberal	Randolph Churchill	27,329	44.87	−1.07
	Liberal	Alfred Charles Cann	2,766	4.54	New
Majority			3,483	5.72	−2.40
Turnout			60,907	87.16	+16.05
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.20

General election 1951: Plymouth, Devonport

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Foot	32,158	51.93	+1.34
	National Liberal	Randolph Churchill	29,768	48.07	+3.20
Majority			2,390	3.86	−1.86
Turnout			61,926	85.28	−1.88
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.93

General election 1955: Plymouth, Devonport

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	Joan Vickers	24,821	47.15	−0.92
	Labour	Michael Foot	24,721	46.96	−4.97
	Liberal	Arthur Russell Mayne	3,100	5.89	New
Majority			100	0.19	N/A
Turnout			52,642	77.15	−8.13
	National Liberal gain from Labour		Swing	+2.03

General election 1959: Plymouth, Devonport

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	Joan Vickers	28,481	56.39	+9.24
	Labour	Michael Foot	22,027	43.61	−3.35
Majority			6,454	12.78	+12.59
Turnout			50,508	78.63	+1.48
	National Liberal hold		Swing	+6.26

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Plymouth, Devonport

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Joan Vickers	24,241	54.04	−2.35
	Labour	Rowland Edward Crabb	20,615	45.96	+2.35
Majority			3,626	8.08	−4.70
Turnout			44,856	73.58	−5.05
	Conservative hold		Swing	–2.35

General election 1966: Plymouth, Devonport

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Joan Vickers	22,760	50.35	−3.69
	Labour	Rowland Edward Crabb	22,441	49.65	+3.69
Majority			319	0.70	−7.38
Turnout			45,201	76.21	+2.73
	Conservative hold		Swing	–3.69

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Plymouth, Devonport

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Joan Vickers	21,843	51.62	+1.27
	Labour	F Keith Taylor	20,471	48.38	−1.27
Majority			1,372	3.24	+2.54
Turnout			42,314	70.95	−5.26
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.27

General election February 1974: Plymouth, Devonport^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Owen	15,819	42.2	−6.2
	Conservative	Joan Vickers	15,382	41.0	−10.6
	Liberal	Nicholas Westbrook	6,298	16.8	New
Majority			437	1.2	N/A
Turnout			37,499	75.3	+4.4
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.2

General election October 1974: Plymouth, Devonport^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Owen	17,398	47.3	+5.1
	Conservative	Joan Vickers	15,139	41.1	+0.1
	Liberal	N E Westbrook	3,953	10.7	−6.1
	Independent Liberal	J N Hill	312	0.9	New
Majority			2,259	6.2	+5.0
Turnout			36,490	73.5	−1.8
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.5

General election 1979: Plymouth, Devonport^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Owen	16,545	47.4	+0.1
	Conservative	Kenneth Hughes	15,544	44.6	+3.5
	Liberal	Michael James	2,360	6.8	−3.9
	National Front	Leonard Bearsford-Walker	243	0.7	New
	Independent	Richard Stoner	203	0.6	New
Majority			1,001	2.8	−2.4
Turnout			34,895	72.3	−1.2
	Labour hold		Swing	−1.7

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Plymouth, Devonport^[40][41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SDP (Alliance)	David Owen	20,843	44.3
	Conservative	Ann Widdecombe	15,907	33.8
	Labour	Julian Priestley	9,845	21.0
	Ind. Conservative	James Sullivan	292	0.6
	BNP	Robert Bearsford-Walker	72	0.2
	Christian Democrat	Faith Hill	51	0.1
Majority			4,936	10.5
Turnout			47,010	76.1
	SDP gain from Labour		Swing

• This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1979 and 1983 general elections and thus calculation of change in vote share is not meaningful.

General election 1987: Plymouth, Devonport^[42][41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SDP (Alliance)	David Owen	21,039	42.3	−2.0
	Conservative	Tom Jones	14,569	29.3	−4.5
	Labour	Ian Flintoff	14,166	28.4	+7.4
Majority			6,470	13.0	+2.5
Turnout			49,774	77.2	+1.1
	SDP hold		Swing	+3.3

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Plymouth, Devonport^[43][41][44]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Jamieson	24,953	48.7	+20.3
	Conservative	Keith Simpson	17,541	34.3	+5.0
	Liberal Democrats	Murdoch MacTaggart	6,315	12.3	−30.0
	SDP	Harold Luscombe	2,152	4.2	−38.1
	Natural Law	Francis Lyons	255	0.5	New
Majority			7,412	14.4	+1.4
Turnout			51,216	77.8	+0.6
	Labour gain from Social Democratic		Swing	+7.7

General election 1997: Plymouth, Devonport^[45][46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Jamieson	31,629	60.9	+13.8
	Conservative	Anthony Johnson	12,562	24.2	−11.4
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Corpus	5,570	10.7	−2.5
	Referendum	Clive Norsworthy	1,486	2.9	New
	UKIP	Caroline Farrand	478	0.9	New
	National Democrats	Stephen Ebbs	238	0.4	New
Majority			19,067	36.7	+25.2
Turnout			51,963	69.8	−9.0
	Labour hold		Swing	+12.6

This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1992 and 1997 general elections and thus change in share of vote is based on a notional calculation.

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Plymouth, Devonport^[47][46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Jamieson	24,322	58.3	−2.6
	Conservative	John Glen	11,289	27.1	+2.9
	Liberal Democrats	Keith Baldry	4,513	10.8	+0.1
	UKIP	Michael Parker	958	2.3	+1.4
	Socialist Alliance	Tony Staunton	334	0.8	New
	Socialist Labour	Rob Hawkins	303	0.7	New
Majority			13,033	31.2	−5.5
Turnout			41,719	56.6	−13.2
	Labour hold		Swing	−2.7

General election 2005: Plymouth, Devonport^[48][49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alison Seabeck	18,612	44.3	−14.0
	Conservative	Richard Cuming	10,509	25.0	−2.1
	Liberal Democrats	Judith Jolly	8,000	19.1	+8.3
	UKIP	Bill Wakeham	3,324	7.9	+5.6
	Independent	Keith Greene	747	1.8	New
	Socialist Labour	Rob Hawkins	445	1.1	+0.4
	Respect	Tony Staunton	376	0.9	New
Majority			8,103	19.3	―11.9
Turnout			41,982	57.6	+1.0
	Labour hold		Swing	−6.0

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Devon