Whitehaven (UK Parliament constituency)

Whitehaven was a constituency centred on the town of Whitehaven in Cumberland, which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Whitehaven
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
Boundaries for Whitehaven between 1974–1983
County	1832–1974: Cumberland 1974–1983: Cumbria
Major settlements	Whitehaven
1832–1983
Seats	One
Created from	Cumberland
Replaced by	Copeland

It was created in 1832 and renamed Copeland at the 1983 general election.

Boundaries

The boundaries were unaffected in 1885, under the second Great Reform agreed the previous year, its key limb of The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 not yet absorbing the bulk of the area of Egremont or 'the Western Division of Cumberland'.^[1] The latter mainly rural area, much larger than Whitehaven borough which formed the existing seat, was added to the seat under the Representation of the People Act 1918.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1832	Matthias Attwood	Tory[2]
	1834		Conservative[2]
	1847	Robert Hildyard	Conservative
	1857 by-election	George Lyall	Conservative
	1865	George Cavendish-Bentinck	Conservative
	1891	Sir James Bain	Conservative
	1892	Thomas Shepherd Little	Liberal
	1895	Augustus Helder	Conservative
	1906	William Burnyeat	Liberal
	Jan. 1910	John Arthur Jackson	Conservative
	Dec. 1910	Thomas Richardson	Labour
	1918	James Augustus Grant	Coalition Conservative
	1922	Thomas Gavan Duffy	Labour
	1924	Robert Hudson	Conservative
	1929	M. Philips Price	Labour
	1931	William Nunn	Conservative
	1935	Frank Anderson	Labour
	1959 by-election	Joseph Symonds	Labour
	1970	Jack Cunningham	Labour
	1983	constituency renamed (with unchanged boundaries), see Copeland

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: Whitehaven^[3][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	Matthias Attwood	210	54.7
	Whig	Isaac Littledale	174	45.3
Majority			36	9.4
Turnout			384	83.8
Registered electors			458
	Tory win (new seat)

General election 1835: Whitehaven^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Matthias Attwood	Unopposed
Registered electors			460
	Conservative hold

General election 1837: Whitehaven^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Matthias Attwood	Unopposed
Registered electors			476
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Whitehaven^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Matthias Attwood	Unopposed
Registered electors			558
	Conservative hold

General election 1847: Whitehaven^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Hildyard	Unopposed
Registered electors			543
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Whitehaven^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Hildyard	Unopposed
Registered electors			512
	Conservative hold

General election 1857: Whitehaven^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Hildyard	Unopposed
Registered electors			555
	Conservative hold

Hildyard's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 17 December 1857: Whitehaven^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Lyall	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1859: Whitehaven^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Lyall	Unopposed
Registered electors			571
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Whitehaven^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Cavendish-Bentinck	Unopposed
Registered electors			648
	Conservative hold

General election 1868: Whitehaven^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Cavendish-Bentinck	1,125	59.3	N/A
	Liberal	Anthony Benn Steward[4]	771	40.7	New
Majority			354	18.6	N/A
Turnout			1,896	76.0	N/A
Registered electors			2,495
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Whitehaven^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Cavendish-Bentinck	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,431
	Conservative hold

Cavendish-Bentinck was appointed Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces, causing a by-election.

By-election, 18 Dec 1875: Whitehaven^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Cavendish-Bentinck	1,503	82.8	N/A
	Liberal	Charles Thompson[5]	313	17.2	New
Majority			1,190	65.6	N/A
Turnout			1,816	69.9	N/A
Registered electors			2,599
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Whitehaven^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Cavendish-Bentinck	1,204	52.9	N/A
	Liberal	William Gully	1,072	47.1	N/A
Majority			132	5.8	N/A
Turnout			2,276	86.8	N/A
Registered electors			2,622
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1885: Whitehaven^[6][7][8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Cavendish-Bentinck	1,336	54.3	+1.4
	Liberal	William Gully	1,125	45.7	−1.4
Majority			211	8.6	+2.8
Turnout			2,461	91.6	+4.8
Registered electors			2,687
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.4

General election 1886: Whitehaven^[6][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Cavendish-Bentinck	1,216	52.3	−2.0
	Liberal	Henry Gordon Shee	1,110	47.7	+2.0
Majority			106	4.6	−4.0
Turnout			2,326	86.6	−5.0
Registered electors			2,687
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.0

Elections in the 1890s

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

By-election, 24 Apr 1891: Whitehaven^[6][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Bain	1,338	54.8	+2.5
	Liberal	Henry Gordon Shee	1,105	45.2	−2.5
Majority			233	9.6	+5.0
Turnout			2,443	90.0	+3.4
Registered electors			2,713
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.5

General election 1892: Whitehaven^[6][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Shepherd Little	1,306	54.6	+6.9
	Conservative	James Bain	1,088	45.4	−6.9
Majority			218	9.2	N/A
Turnout			2,394	88.7	+2.1
Registered electors			2,700
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+6.9

General election 1895: Whitehaven^[6][7][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Augustus Helder	1,380	55.3	+9.9
	Liberal	Thomas Shepherd Little	1,114	44.7	−9.9
Majority			266	10.6	N/A
Turnout			2,494	90.8	+2.1
Registered electors			2,746
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+9.9

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Whitehaven^[6][7][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Augustus Helder	1,553	63.9	+8.6
	Liberal	W McGowan	876	36.1	−8.6
Majority			677	27.8	+17.2
Turnout			2,429	86.0	−4.8
Registered electors			2,824
	Conservative hold		Swing	+8.6

General election 1906: Whitehaven^[6][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Burnyeat	1,507	55.8	+19.7
	Conservative	J. Robertson-Walker	1,194	44.2	−19.7
Majority			313	11.6	N/A
Turnout			2,701	91.7	+5.7
Registered electors			2,945
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+19.7

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Whitehaven^[10][11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Jackson	1,188	41.5	−2.7
	Liberal	William Hood Wandless	852	29.7	−26.1
	Labour	Andrew Sharp	825	28.8	New
Majority			336	11.8	N/A
Turnout			2,865	83.9	+2.2
Registered electors			3,050
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+11.7

General election December 1910: Whitehaven^[10][11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Richardson	1,414	53.7	+24.9
	Conservative	John Jackson	1,220	46.3	+4.8
Majority			194	7.4	N/A
Turnout			2,634	86.4	−7.5
Registered electors			3,050
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+10.1

General election 1918: Whitehaven^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	James Grant	10,736	54.4	+8.1
	Labour	Thomas Gavan-Duffy	9,016	45.6	−8.1
Majority			1,720	8.8	N/A
Turnout			19,752	72.0	−14.4
	Unionist gain from Labour		Swing	+8.1
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Whitehaven^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Gavan-Duffy	10,935	45.3	−0.3
	Unionist	James Grant	8,956	37.2	−17.2
	Liberal	Henry Kenyon Campbell	4,209	17.5	New
Majority			1,979	8.1	N/A
Turnout			24,100	87.0	+15.0
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+8.4

General election 1923: Whitehaven^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Gavan-Duffy	12,419	53.0	+7.7
	Unionist	Robert Hudson	11,029	47.0	+9.8
Majority			1,390	6.0	−2.1
Turnout			23,448	83.1	−3.9
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.0

General election 1924: Whitehaven^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Robert Hudson	13,149	52.8	+5.8
	Labour	Thomas Gavan-Duffy	11,741	47.2	−5.8
Majority			1,408	5.6	N/A
Turnout			24,890	88.2	−0.9
	Unionist gain from Labour		Swing

Naylor

General election 1929: Whitehaven^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Philips Price	14,034	46.8	−0.4
	Unionist	Robert Hudson	12,382	41.3	−11.5
	Liberal	Henry Naylor	3,558	11.9	New
Majority			1,652	5.5	N/A
Turnout			29,974	88.1	−0.1
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Whitehaven

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Nunn	16,286	53.3	+12.0
	Labour	M. Philips Price	14,255	46.7	−0.1
Majority			2,031	6.6	N/A
Turnout			30,541	89.6	+1.5
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

General election 1935: Whitehaven

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Anderson	14,794	48.9	+2.2
	Conservative	William Nunn	14,442	47.8	−5.5
	Ind. Labour Party	Tom Stephenson	1,004	3.3	New
Majority			352	1.1	N/A
Turnout			30,240	87.3	−2.3
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Election in the 1940s

General election 1945: Whitehaven

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Anderson	18,568	61.1	+12.2
	Conservative	W.O. Hill	11,821	38.9	−8.9
Majority			6,747	22.2	+21.1
Turnout			30,389	82.8	−4.5
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Whitehaven^[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Anderson	22,850	60.00
	Conservative	William Nunn	15,233	40.00
Majority			7,617	20.00
Turnout			38,083	87.04
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1951: Whitehaven^[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Anderson	23,190	59.19
	Conservative	Godfrey William Iredell	15,990	40.81
Majority			7,200	18.38
Turnout			39,180	85.24
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1955: Whitehaven^[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Anderson	22,348	58.04
	Conservative	Godfrey William Iredell	16,154	41.96
Majority			6,194	16.08
Turnout			38,502	83.78
	Labour hold		Swing

1959 Whitehaven by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joseph Symonds	21,457	58.61	+0.57
	Conservative	Godfrey William Iredell	15,151	41.39	−0.57
Majority			6,306	17.22	+1.14
Turnout			36,608
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1959: Whitehaven^[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joseph Symonds	22,783	57.77
	Conservative	Howard Jardine Pedraza	16,653	42.23
Majority			6,130	15.54
Turnout			39,436	84.54
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Whitehaven^[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joseph Symonds	23,267	60.11
	Conservative	Edmund Brudenell	15,440	39.89
Majority			7,827	20.22
Turnout			38,707	82.02
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1966: Whitehaven^[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joseph Symonds	22,726	61.99
	Conservative	John A Kevill	13,935	38.01
Majority			8,791	23.98
Turnout			36,661	78.79
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Whitehaven^[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jack Cunningham	22,974	58.32
	Conservative	W Graham McKay	16,418	41.68
Majority			6,556	16.64
Turnout			39,392	78.27
	Labour hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Whitehaven

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jack Cunningham	23,229	59.42
	Conservative	P.B. Vose	15,867	40.58
Majority			7,362	18.84
Turnout			39,096	77.50
	Labour hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Whitehaven

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jack Cunningham	21,832	55.56
	Conservative	P.B. Vose	11,899	30.28
	Liberal	M. Gilbert	5,563	14.16	New
Majority			9,933	25.28
Turnout			39,294	77.10
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1979: Whitehaven

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jack Cunningham	22,626	52.44
	Conservative	John Somers	17,171	39.80
	Liberal	E. Akister	2,559	5.93
	Independent	W. Dixon	790	1.83	New
Majority			5,455	12.64
Turnout			43,146	81.74
	Labour hold		Swing

Sources

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 3)
• Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 330. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
• Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 208. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
• Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 317. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.