Plymouth Drake (UK Parliament constituency)

Plymouth Drake was a borough constituency in the city of Plymouth, in Devon. It elected one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the first past the post system of election.

History

The first Drake constituency was created for the 1918 general election, and abolished for the 1950 general election. For most of this time it was held by the Conservative Party. It was a Labour gain in the Attlee landslide of 1945, although it had been held by Labour once before, in the 1929–31 Parliament.

The second incarnation of the constituency was created for the February 1974 general election. For the whole of its 23-year existence it was represented by just one MP, Dame Janet Fookes of the Conservative Party. It was always a marginal seat during this period, but Dame Janet managed to survive many strong challenges at each general election she fought, including winning with a majority of just 34 in October 1974 – making Drake the most marginal Conservative seat at that election. She served as a Deputy Speaker of the House to Betty Boothroyd from 1992 until she retired from the Commons in 1997.

The constituency was abolished for the 1997 general election, with its wards being transferred to the redrawn constituency of Plymouth Sutton, which was gained by the Labour Party in the Blair landslide of that year. Most of the territory of Drake is now covered by the constituency of Plymouth Sutton and Devonport.

Boundaries

1918–1950: The County Borough of Plymouth wards of Drake, Mount Edgcumbe, Mutley, Pennycross, St Peter, Stoke, and Valletort.

1974–1983: The County Borough of Plymouth wards of Compton, Drake, Honicknowle, Pennycross, Tamerton, Trelawny, and Whitleigh.

1983–1997: The City of Plymouth wards of Compton, Drake, St Peter, Stoke, Sutton, and Trelawny.

In its 1918 and 1983 incarnations the constituency included Plymouth city centre, which was transferred in 1997 to Plymouth Sutton and in 2010 to Plymouth Sutton and Devonport.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1918–1950

Election		Member	Party
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1918	Arthur Benn	Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1929	James Moses	Labour
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1931	Frederick Guest	Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1937 by-election	Henry Guest	Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1945	Hubert Medland	Labour
	1950	constituency abolished

MPs 1974–1997

Election		Member	Party
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Feb 1974	Janet Fookes	Conservative
	1997	constituency abolished: see Plymouth Sutton

Election results

Elections in the 1910s

File:Arthur Shirley Benn.jpg

Arthur Benn

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link coalition 1918 no changeTemplate:Election box majority no changeTemplate:Election box registered electors no changeTemplate:Election box new seat win no changeTemplate:Election box end 1918

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1918: Plymouth Drake

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Thomas Dobson		26.6
Turnout			23,413

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link

General election 1922: Plymouth Drake

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		James Gorman	8,359	31.4
		Samuel Robins	6,594	24.7
Majority			3,339	12.5
Turnout			26,651	74.4
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	hold		Swing

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link

General election 1923: Plymouth Drake

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		James Moses	11,849	41.9
		Edward Ernest Henry Atkin	4,082	14.4
Majority			496	1.8
Turnout			28,276	77.9
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	hold		Swing	-5.3

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link

General election 1924: Plymouth Drake

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		James Moses	12,161	39.9
		Solomon Stephens	3,645	12.0
Majority			2,508	8.2
Turnout			30,475
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	hold		Swing

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link

General election 1929: Plymouth Drake

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Arthur Benn	14,673	39.0
		Hugh MacDonald Pratt	6,309	16.7
Majority			2,011	5.3
Turnout			37,666	80.5
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link

General election 1931: Plymouth Drake

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		James Moses	12,669	33.6
Majority			12,394	32.8
Turnout			37,732	79.6
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link

General election 1935: Plymouth Drake

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		James Moses	15,368	41.7
Majority			6,078	16.5
Turnout			36,814	74.8
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	hold		Swing

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link

1937 Plymouth Drake by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Geoffrey Garratt	11,044	41.18
Majority			4,734	17.64
Turnout			26,822
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

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: Henry Guest
• Labour: Leonard Matters

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link

General election 1945: Plymouth Drake

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Henry Guest	12,871	43.4
		Edgar Trout	1,681	5.7
Majority			2,199	7.4
Turnout			29,622	71.6
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+12.0

Elections in the 1970s

1970 notional result
Party		Vote	%
	Conservative	19,800	51.0
	Labour	19,000	49.0
Turnout		38,800	71.7
Electorate		54,119

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link

General election February 1974: Plymouth Drake

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		FK Taylor	15,806	36.8
		Maureen Castle	8,784	20.4
Majority			2,611	6.1
Turnout			43,007	78.0
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	hold		Swing	+2.0

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link

General election October 1974: Plymouth Drake

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		BW Fletcher	17,253	41.2
		Maureen Castle	7,354	17.6
Majority			34	0.1
Turnout			41,894	75.4
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	hold		Swing	−3.0

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link

General election 1979: Plymouth Drake

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		BW Fletcher	17,515	40.7
		Anthony Puttick	3,452	8.0
		C Bradbury	279	0.7
Majority			4,244	9.9
Turnout			43,005	77.2
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	hold		Swing	+4.9

1979 notional result
Party		Vote	%
	Conservative	21,917	53.9
	Labour	15,220	37.4
	Liberal	3,205	7.9
	Others	341	0.8
Turnout		40,683
Electorate

Elections in the 1980s

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General election 1983: Plymouth Drake

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Will Fitzgerald	11,133	28.6
		Sally Creswell	7,921	20.3
		C Bradbury	163	0.4
Majority			8,585	22.1
Turnout			38,935	74.3
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	hold		Swing	−12.0

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link

General election 1987: Plymouth Drake

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		David Astor	13,070	33.3
		David Jamieson	9,451	24.1
		Tracey Barber	493	1.3
Majority			3,125	8.0
Turnout			39,209	76.6
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	hold		Swing	–7.0

Elections in the 1990s

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General election 1992: Plymouth Drake

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Peter Telford	15,062	38.6
		Valerie Cox	5,893	15.1
		DM Stanbury	476	1.2
		AE Harrison	441	1.1
		TJ Pringle	95	0.2
Majority			2,013	5.2
Turnout			39,042	75.6
Registered electors			Template:Ifnumber
	hold		Swing	–6.0

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Devon