Wells (UK Parliament constituency)

Wells was a constituency^{[n 1]} in Somerset in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Apart from between 2010–2015, Wells was represented by members of the Conservative Party since 1924.^{[n 2]}

Wells
Former county constituency and borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Wells in Somerset
Location of Somerset within England
County	Somerset
Electorate	79,989 (December 2010)[1]
1885–2024
Seats	Two then one
Created from	Mid Somerset and East Somerset
Replaced by	Wells and Mendip Hills Glastonbury and Somerton Bridgwater
1295–1868
Seats	Two
Type of constituency	Borough constituency
Replaced by	Mid Somerset

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished, with most of it being transferred to the new constituency of Wells and Mendip Hills, to be first contested at the 2024 general election.^[2]

History

The original two-member borough constituency was created in 1295, and abolished by the Reform Act 1867 with effect from the 1868 general election. Its revival saw a more comparable size of electorate across the country and across Somerset, with a large swathe of the county covered by this new seat, under the plans of the third Reform Act and the connected Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 which was enacted the following year.

Political history

The seat was largely Conservative-held during the 20th century and has never elected a Labour MP. The only other political party to have been represented is the Liberal Democrats or their predecessor, the Liberal Party, who achieved a marginal victory in 2010, see marginal seat.

Prominent frontbenchers

Sir William Hayter was chief government whip of the Commons under three Liberal Prime Ministers governing from the Lords, (Lord John) Russell, Aberdeen and Palmerston.

So too in this role was Lord Hylton from 1916 to 1922 alongside the Lord Colebrooke in the Conservative-Liberal National coalition.

Robert Sanders was Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Commons, 1918–1919, and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, 1922–1924.

Robert Boscawen was a government whip (1988–1989).

David Heathcoat-Amory was Minister for Europe (1993–1994) and later a Shadow Cabinet member (1997–2001).

Boundaries

Map of boundaries 2010–2024

1885–1918: The Borough of Wells, and the Sessional Divisions of Axbridge and Wells (except the parish of Binegar).

1918–1950: The Boroughs of Glastonbury and Wells, the Urban Districts of Shepton Mallet and Street, the Rural Districts of Shepton Mallet, Wells, and Wincanton, and in the Rural District of Frome the parishes of Cloford, Marston Bigot, Nunney, Wanstrow, Whatley, and Witharn Friary.

1950–1983: The Boroughs of Glastonbury and Wells, the Urban Districts of Frome, Shepton Mallet, and Street, and the Rural Districts of Frome, Shepton Mallet, Wells, and Wincanton.

1983–2010: The District of Mendip wards of Ashwick, Avalon, Chilcompton and Ston Easton, Ebbor, Glastonbury St Benedict's, Glastonbury St Edmund's, Glastonbury St John's, Glastonbury St Mary's, Moor, Nedge, Pylcombe, Rodney, Sheppey, Shepton Mallet, Street North, Street South, Wells Central, Wells St Cuthbert's, and Wells St Thomas, and the District of Sedgemoor wards of Axbridge, Axe Vale, Berrow, Brent, Burnham North, Burnham South, Cheddar, Highbridge, Mark, Shipham, and Wedmore.

2010–2024: The District of Mendip wards of Ashwick and Ston Easton, Avalon, Chilcompton, Glastonbury St Benedict's, Glastonbury St Edmund's, Glastonbury St John's, Glastonbury St Mary's, Knowle, Moor, Nedge, Pylcombe, Rodney and Priddy, St Cuthbert Out North and West, Shepton East, Shepton West, Street North, Street South, Street West, Wells Central, Wells St Cuthbert's, and Wells St Thomas, and the District of Sedgemoor wards of Axbridge, Axe Vale, Berrow, Brent North, Burnham North, Burnham South, Cheddar and Shipham, Highbridge, Knoll, and Wedmore and Mark.

Constituency profile

Aside from energy, transportation, retail, and distribution which are major sectors, agriculture and tourism are still important areas to this central and quite quintessential part of Somerset which includes the coastal resort of Burnham-on-Sea, the city of Wells with its cathedral, and notable natural landmarks such as the Cheddar Gorge and Glastonbury Tor. The site of the Glastonbury Festival also lies within this seat, causing a major influx of visitors in late June. The founder of the festival, Michael Eavis, stood as the Labour candidate for the 1997 election, receiving 10,204 votes, the highest for Labour since 1974.

Workless claimants who were registered jobseekers were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.1% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.^[3]

Members of Parliament

MPs 1295–1640

Parliament	First member	Second member
1386	Nicholas Cristesham	Thomas Phelpes[4]
February 1388	Richard Ferrour	Nicholas Cristesham[4]
September 1388	John Blithe	Thomas Hore[4]
January 1390	Nicholas More	Thomas Tanner[4]
November 1390
1391	John Newmaster	Roger Chapman[4]
1393	John Newmaster	John Blithe[4]
1394	John Newmaster	Thomas Hore[4]
1395	Nicholas Cristesham	John Comelond[4]
January 1397	Nicholas More	Thomas Wynchester[4]
September 1397	Roger Chapman	William Greynton[4]
1399	Thomas Tanner	John Blithe[4]
1401
1402	John Wycombe	Roger Chapman[4]
January 1404	Roger Chapman	Richard Groos[4]
October 1404	Walter Dyer	John Bowyer[4]
1406	Thomas Wey	Thomas Jay[4]
1407	Walter Duddesdon	John Newmaster[4]
1410	John Russell	Luke Wilton[4]
1411
February 1413	John Horewode I	John Podmore[4]
May 1413	John Horewode I	Luke Wilton[4]
April 1414	John Podmore	Thomas Dynt[4]
November 1414	John Hynden	Thomas Dynt[4]
1415
March 1416
October 1416	Simon Bailly	John Cutte[4]
1417	Richard Setter	Hildebrand Elwell[4]
1419	Richard Perys	Richard Langford[4]
1420	Richard Setter	Hildebrand Elwell[4]
May 1421	Hildebrand Elwell	Richard Perys[4]
December 1421	Robert Elwell	John Pedewell[4]
1510	John Welshot	John Mawdley I[5]
1512	Walter Sarger	Richard alias Robert Ruynon[5]
1515	Walter Sarger	Richard alias Robert Ruynon[5]
1523	Walter Sarger	John Mawdley I[5]
1529	John Cutte	John Mawdley II[5]
1536	?
1539	John Mawdley II	John Godwin[5]
1542	John Godwin	James Dyer[5]
1545	John Mawdley II	Anthony Gilbert[5]
1547	Thomas Clerke	John Aylworth[5]
First Parliament of 1553	John Aylworth	William Godwin
Second Parliament of 1553	Thomas Lewis	John Godwin
Parliament of 1554		John Mawdley II
Parliament of 1554–1555		William Gedney or Godwin
Parliament of 1555		Maurice Llewellyn
Parliament of 1558	John Aylworth died during the 1572 Parliament In his place Ayshton Aylworth	John Mawdley II
Parliament of 1559
Parliament of 1563–1567		John Hippisley
Parliament of 1571		Henry Newton
Parliament of 1572–1581		William Bowerman
Parliament of 1584–1585	James Bisse	George Upton
Parliament of 1586–1587	Thomas Godwyn	William Smith
Parliament of 1588–1589	Thomas Purfrey	John Ayshe
Parliament of 1593	Richard Goodwin	James Goodwin
Parliament of 1597–1598	Leonard Crosse	William Watkins
Parliament of 1601	James Kirton	George Upton
Parliament of 1604–1611		Sir Robert Stapleton (Edward Forsett)[6]
Addled Parliament (1614)	Sidney Montagu	Thomas Southworth
Parliament of 1621–1622	Sir Edward Rodney
Happy Parliament (1624–1625)
Useless Parliament (1625)		Sir Thomas Lake
Parliament of 1625–1626
Parliament of 1628–1629	Sir Ralph Hopton	John Baber
No Parliament summoned 1629–1640

MPs 1640–1832

Election	First member[7]		First party	Second member[7]		Second party
April 1640		Sir Edward Rodney	Royalist		John Baber
November 1640					Sir Ralph Hopton	Royalist
August 1642	Rodney and Hopton disabled from sitting – both seats vacant
1645		Lislebone Long	Recruiter		Clement Walker
December 1648				Walker excluded in Pride's Purge – seat vacant
1653	Wells was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654		Lislebone Long		Wells had only one seat in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
1656		John Jenkyn
January 1659		Sir Lislebone Long			Thomas White
May 1659	Not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660		Henry Bull			Thomas White
1661		Sir Maurice Berkeley			Lord Richard Butler
1673					John Hall
1679		Edward Berkeley			William Coward
1680		John Hall
1685		Edward Berkeley			Thomas Wyndham (died December 1689)
January 1690					William Coward
February 1690					Hopton Wyndham
1695					William Coward
1701		Henry Seymour Portman
1705					Maurice Berkeley
1708		Edward Colston			William Coward
1710					Maurice Berkeley
1713		Sir Thomas Wroth	Tory
1715		Thomas Strangways Horner	Tory
May 1716		William Coward			William Piers	Whig
June 1716		Thomas Strangways Horner	Tory
1717		John Dodd	Whig
1719		Thomas Edwards
1722					Francis Gwyn
1727					Edward Prideaux Gwyn
1729					William Piers
1734					George Hamilton
1735		William Piers			George Speke
1741		Francis Gwyn
1747					George Hamilton
1754		Lord Digby			Charles Tudway
1757		Captain Robert Digby
1761		Lord Digby			Clement Tudway
1765		Peter Taylor
1766		Robert Child
1782		John Curtis
1784		William Beckford
1790		Henry Berkeley Portman
1796		Sir Charles Taylor	Whig[8]
1815					John Paine Tudway	Tory[8]
1830		John Edwards-Vaughan	Tory[8]		John Lee Lee	Whig[8]

MPs 1832–1868

Election	First member		First party	Second member		Second party
1832		Norman Lamont	Whig[8]		John Lee Lee	Whig[8]
1834 by-election		Nicholas Ridley-Colborne	Whig[8]
1837		Richard Blakemore	Conservative[8]		William Hayter	Whig[9][10][11][8]
1852		Robert Tudway	Conservative
1855 by-election		Hedworth Jolliffe	Conservative
1859						Liberal
1865					Arthur Hayter	Liberal
1868	borough constituency abolished

MPs 1885–2024

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Sir Richard Paget, Bt.	Conservative
	1895	Hylton Jolliffe	Conservative
	1899 by-election	Robert Edmund Dickinson	Conservative
	1906	Thomas Ball Silcock	Liberal
	January 1910	George Sandys	Conservative
	1918	Harry Greer	Coalition Conservative
	1922	Robert Bruford	Conservative
	1923	Arthur Hobhouse	Liberal
	1924	Sir Robert Sanders, Bt.	Conservative
	1929	Anthony Muirhead	Conservative
	1939	Lt. Col. Dennis Boles	Conservative
	1951	Lynch Maydon	Conservative
	1970	Robert Boscawen	Conservative
	1983	David Heathcoat-Amory	Conservative
	2010	Tessa Munt	Liberal Democrats
	2015	James Heappey	Conservative
	2024	constituency abolished: see Wells and Mendip Hills

Elections

Wells election results

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Wells^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Heappey	33,336	54.1	+4.0
	Liberal Democrats	Tessa Munt	23,345	37.9	+0.3
	Labour	Kama McKenzie	4,304	7.0	−4.7
	Independent	Dave Dobbs	373	0.6	New
	Motherworld Party	Susie Quatermass	270	0.4	New
Majority			9,991	16.2	+3.7
Turnout			61,628	73.5	−0.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.9

General election 2017: Wells^[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Heappey	30,488	50.1	+4.0
	Liberal Democrats	Tessa Munt	22,906	37.6	+4.8
	Labour	Andy Merryfield	7,129	11.7	+5.1
	CPA	Lorna Corke	320	0.5	New
Majority			7,582	12.5	−0.8
Turnout			60,843	73.95	+2.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.5

See also: Endorsements in the United Kingdom general election, 2017 § Wells

General election 2015: Wells^[15][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Heappey	26,247	46.1	+3.6
	Liberal Democrats	Tessa Munt	18,662	32.8	−11.2
	UKIP	Helen Hims	5,644	9.9	+6.8
	Labour	Chris Inchley	3,780	6.6	−0.9
	Green	Jon Cousins	2,331	4.1	+3.0
	Independent	Paul Arnold	83	0.1	New
	Birthday	Dave Dobbs	81	0.1	New
	Independent	Gypsy Watkins[17]	76	0.1	New
Majority			7,585	13.3	N/A
Turnout			56,904	71.7	+1.4
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	+7.4

General election 2010: Wells^[18][19][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Tessa Munt	24,560	44.0	+6.1
	Conservative	David Heathcoat-Amory	23,760	42.5	−1.0
	Labour	Andy Merryfield	4,198	7.5	−8.1
	UKIP	Jake Baynes	1,711	3.1	+0.1
	BNP	Richard Boyce	1,004	1.8	New
	Green	Chris Briton	631	1.1	New
Majority			800	1.5	N/A
Turnout			55,864	70.3	+2.6
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	+3.6

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Wells^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Heathcoat-Amory	23,071	43.6	−0.2
	Liberal Democrats	Tessa Munt	20,031	37.8	−0.5
	Labour	Dan Whittle	8,288	15.6	+0.2
	UKIP	Steve Reed	1,575	3.0	+0.8
Majority			3,040	5.8	+0.3
Turnout			52,965	68.0	−1.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.1

General election 2001: Wells^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Heathcoat-Amory	22,462	43.8	+4.4
	Liberal Democrats	Graham Oakes	19,666	38.3	−0.2
	Labour	Andy Merryfield	7,915	15.4	−2.7
	UKIP	Steve Reed	1,104	2.2	New
	Wessex Regionalist	Colin Bex	167	0.3	New
Majority			2,796	5.5	+4.6
Turnout			51,314	69.2	−8.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Wells^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Heathcoat-Amory	22,208	39.4	−10.2
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Gold	21,680	38.5	+0.5
	Labour	Michael Eavis	10,204	18.1	+7.5
	Referendum	Patricia Phelps	2,196	3.9	New
	Natural Law	Lynn Royse	92	0.2	New
Majority			528	0.9	−10.7
Turnout			56,380	77.8	−4.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1992: Wells^[24][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Heathcoat-Amory	28,620	49.6	−3.9
	Liberal Democrats	Humphrey Temperley	21,971	38.0	+0.4
	Labour	John Pilgrim	6,126	10.6	+1.9
	Green	Mike Fenner	1,042	1.8	New
Majority			6,649	11.6	−4.4
Turnout			57,759	82.7	+3.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.2

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Wells^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Heathcoat-Amory	28,624	53.5	+0.9
	Liberal	Alan Butt-Philip	20,083	37.6	−1.4
	Labour	Peter James	4,637	8.7	+0.9
	Independent	John Fish	134	0.3	New
Majority			8,541	16.0	+2.4
Turnout			53,478	79.6	+2.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.3

General election 1983: Wells^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Heathcoat-Amory	25,385	52.6	+1.2
	Liberal	Alan Butt-Philip	18,810	39.0	+8.2
	Labour	Andrew Leigh	3,747	7.8	−9.1
	Independent	G. Livings	273	0.6	−0.1
Majority			6,575	13.6	−7.0
Turnout			48,215	77.6	−1.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.5

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Wells

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Boscawen	30,400	51.35
	Liberal	Alan Butt-Philip	18,204	30.75
	Labour	Paul Murphy	10,025	16.93
	Independent	G. Livings	421	0.71	New
	Wessex Regionalist	Viscount Weymouth	155	0.26	New
Majority			12,196	20.60	+6.59
Turnout			59,205	79.24
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Wells

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Boscawen	23,979	43.64
	Liberal	Alan Butt-Philip	16,278	29.63
	Labour	G. Mortimer	13,909	25.31
	United Democratic Party	P. Howard	778	1.42	New
Majority			7,701	14.01
Turnout			54,944	78.88
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Wells

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Boscawen	25,430	44.25
	Liberal	Alan Butt-Philip	17,645	30.70
	Labour	D.K. Pearce	14,399	25.05
Majority			7,785	13.55
Turnout			57,474	83.29
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1970: Wells

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Boscawen	25,106	49.6	+6.6
	Labour	Frank R. Thompson	16,335	32.3	−3.3
	Liberal	William Fedde J Pinching	9,174	18.1	−3.3
Majority			8,771	17.3	+9.9
Turnout			50,615	77.4	−4.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Wells

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lynch Maydon	20,528	43.0	−0.2
	Labour	John G Cousins	16,989	35.6	+4.1
	Liberal	Howard Fry	10,224	21.4	−3.9
Majority			3,539	7.4	−4.3
Turnout			47,741	81.5	−0.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1964: Wells

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lynch Maydon	20,663	43.2	−5.4
	Labour	Reginald George White	15,080	31.5	−2.7
	Liberal	Howard Fry	12,132	25.3	+8.2
Majority			5,583	11.7	−2.7
Turnout			47,875	82.4	−1.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Wells

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lynch Maydon	23,357	48.6	−7.8
	Labour	Jon Antony A Evans	16,452	34.2	−9.3
	Liberal	Paul R Hobhouse	8,220	17.1	New
Majority			6,905	14.4	+1.5
Turnout			48,029	83.6	+4.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1955: Wells

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lynch Maydon	25,624	56.4	+1.2
	Labour	Maxwell Bresler	19,745	43.5	−1.3
Majority			5,879	12.9	+2.5
Turnout			45,369	79.5	−4.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1951: Wells

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lynch Maydon	26,524	55.2	+12.6
	Labour	David Llewellyn	21,481	44.8	+7.6
Majority			5,043	10.4	+5.0
Turnout			48,005	84.2	−3.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1950: Wells

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dennis Boles	20,613	42.6
	Labour	Dorothy Archibald	17,987	37.2
	Liberal	Anthony Marreco	9,771	20.2
Majority			2,626	5.4
Turnout			48,371	87.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Election in the 1940s

General election 1945: Wells

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dennis Boles	13,004	41.3	−12.1
	Labour	Cyril Morgan	10,539	33.5	+13.0
	Liberal	Violet Bonham Carter	7,910	25.2	−0.9
Majority			2,465	7.8	−19.5
Turnout			31,453	75.0	+1.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

1939 Wells by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dennis Boles	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Conservative hold

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 and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

• Conservative: Anthony Muirhead
• Liberal: James A Brown ^[28]
• Labour:

General election 1935: Wells

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Anthony Muirhead	14,898	53.4	−5.3
	Liberal	Arnold Hilward Jones	7,277	26.1	−15.2
	Labour	William James Waring	5,716	20.5	New
Majority			7,621	27.3	+9.9
Turnout			27,891	73.7	−13.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1931: Wells

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Anthony Muirhead	17,711	58.7	+15.1
	Liberal	John Thompson	12,440	41.3	−0.1
Majority			5,271	17.4	+15.2
Turnout			30,151	87.5	+5.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

Arthur Hobhouse

General election 1929: Wells

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Anthony Muirhead	13,026	43.6	−9.0
	Liberal	Arthur Hobhouse	12,382	41.4	+5.3
	Labour	Ruby Davies	4,472	15.0	+3.7
Majority			644	2.2	−14.3
Turnout			29,880	82.5	+0.3
	Unionist hold		Swing	-7.2

General election 1924: Wells

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Robert Sanders	12,642	52.6	+8.4
	Liberal	Arthur Hobhouse	8,668	36.1	+11.9
	Labour	Wilfred Thomas Young	2,726	11.3	+3.7
Majority			3,974	16.5	N/A
Turnout			24,036	82.2	+3.1
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing

General election 6 December 1923: Wells

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Hobhouse	10,818	48.2	+14.8
	Unionist	Robert Bruford	9,909	44.2	−3.5
	Labour	Charles Henry Whitlow	1,713	7.6	−11.3
Majority			909	4.0	N/A
Turnout			22,440	79.1	+1.3
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+9.1

General election 1922: Wells

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Robert Bruford	10,210	47.7	−8.1
	Liberal	Arthur Hobhouse	7,156	33.4	−6.2
	Labour	Len Smith	4,048	18.9	New
Majority			3,054	14.3	−1.9
Turnout			21,414	77.8	+12.8
	Unionist hold		Swing

Election results 1885–1918

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Wells ^[29][30][31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Paget	4,200	55.7
	Liberal	Pandeli Ralli	3,335	44.3
Majority			865	11.4
Turnout			7,535	79.3
Registered electors			9,501
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election 1886: Wells ^[29][31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Paget	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Wells ^[29][31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Paget	4,335	56.1	N/A
	Liberal	Beaumont Morice	3,395	43.9	New
Majority			940	12.2	N/A
Turnout			7,730	75.6	N/A
Registered electors			10,230
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1895: Wells ^[29][32][31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Hylton Jolliffe	4,696	58.8	+2.7
	Liberal	Beaumont Morice	3,286	41.2	−2.7
Majority			1,410	17.6	+5.4
Turnout			7,982	74.1	−1.5
Registered electors			10,771
	Conservative hold		Swing	−5.4

Joliffe's elevation to the peerage, becoming Lord Hylton, caused a by-election.

By-election, 7 Dec 1899: Wells^[29][32][31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Edmund Dickinson	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Wells ^[29][32][31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Edmund Dickinson	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Silcock

General election 1906: Wells ^[29][31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Ball Silcock	5,146	51.9	New
	Conservative	Robert Edmund Dickinson	4,761	48.1	N/A
Majority			385	3.8	N/A
Turnout			9,907	84.5	N/A
Registered electors			11,725
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Wells ^[33][31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Sandys	6,167	55.9	+7.8
	Liberal	Thomas Ball Silcock	4,871	44.1	−7.8
Majority			1,296	11.8	N/A
Turnout			11,038	87.3	+2.8
Registered electors			12,642
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+7.8

General election December 1910: Wells ^[33][31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Sandys	6,178	60.1	+4.2
	Liberal	Arthur Lane Wills	4,094	39.9	−4.2
Majority			2,084	20.2	+8.4
Turnout			10,272	81.3	−6.0
Registered electors			12,642
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.2

General Election 1914–15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Unionist: George Sandys
• Liberal: Charles Conybeare

General election 1918: Wells

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	Harry Greer	9,786	55.8	−4.3
	Liberal	John Coleby Morland	6,935	39.6	−0.3
	National	G.C.S. Hodgson	804	4.6	New
Majority			2,851	16.2	−4.0
Turnout			17,525	65.0	−16.3
Registered electors			26,951
	Unionist hold		Swing	−2.0
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Election results 1832–1868

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: Wells^[8][34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Norman Lamont (MP for Wells)	169	30.2
	Whig	John Lee Lee	167	29.9
	Whig	Nicholas Ridley-Colborne	164	29.3
	Tory	John Edwards-Vaughan	59	10.6
Majority			3	0.6
Turnout			318	94.1
Registered electors			338
	Whig hold
	Whig gain from Tory

• Edwards-Vaughan resigned on the first day of polling

Lamont's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 5 May 1834: Wells^[8][34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Nicholas Ridley-Colborne	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1835: Wells^[8][34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Nicholas Ridley-Colborne	Unopposed
	Whig	John Lee Lee	Unopposed
Registered electors			377
	Whig hold
	Whig hold

General election 1837: Wells^[34][8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Richard Blakemore	Unopposed
	Whig	William Hayter	Unopposed
Registered electors			402
	Conservative gain from Whig
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Wells^[34][8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Blakemore	Unopposed
	Whig	William Hayter	Unopposed
Registered electors			346
	Conservative hold
	Whig hold

General election 1847: Wells^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Blakemore	Unopposed
	Whig	William Hayter	Unopposed
Registered electors			375
	Conservative hold
	Whig hold

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

By-election, 27 December 1847: Wells^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	William Hayter	Unopposed
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Wells^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Tudway	187	40.4	N/A
	Whig	William Hayter	175	37.8	N/A
	Radical	John Alexander Kinglake[35]	101	21.8	N/A
Turnout			232 (est)	71.2 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			325
Majority			12	2.6	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
Majority			74	16.0	N/A
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

Tudway's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 21 November 1855: Wells^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Hedworth Jolliffe	146	54.7	+14.3
	Radical	John Alexander Kinglake[36]	121	45.3	+23.5
Majority			25	9.4	+6.8
Turnout			267	70.3	−0.9
Registered electors			380
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.6

General election 1857: Wells^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	William Hayter	Unopposed
	Conservative	Hedworth Jolliffe	Unopposed
Registered electors			343
	Whig hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1859: Wells^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Hayter	Unopposed
	Conservative	Hedworth Jolliffe	Unopposed
Registered electors			327
	Liberal hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Wells^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Hayter	Unopposed
	Conservative	Hedworth Jolliffe	Unopposed
Registered electors			274
	Liberal hold
	Conservative hold

Elections before 1832

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Wells^[8][37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	John Edwards-Vaughan	196	38.0
	Whig	John Lee Lee	195	37.8
	Tory	Richard Blakemore	125	24.2
Turnout			308	c. 88.0
Registered electors			c. 350
Majority			1	0.2
	Tory hold		Swing
Majority			70	13.6
	Whig hold		Swing

General election 1831: Wells^[8][37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	John Edwards-Vaughan	Unopposed
	Whig	John Lee Lee	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 350
	Tory hold
	Whig hold

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Somerset

Notes

1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.