Preston (UK Parliament constituency)

Template:Infobox UK constituency main Preston is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2000 by Sir Mark Hendrick, a member of the Labour Party and Co-operative Party.

History

1295–1950

The seat was created for the Model Parliament and sent members until at least 1331 until a new (possibly confirmatory) grant of two members to Westminster followed. From 1529 extending unusually beyond the 19th century until the 1950 general election the seat had two-member representation. Party divisions tended to run stronger after 1931 before which two different parties' candidates frequently came first and second at elections under the bloc vote system.

In 1929, a recently elected Liberal, Sir William Jowitt decided to join the Labour Party and called for a by-election (which implies a single vacancy) to support this change of party, which he won, to take up for two years the position of Attorney General of England and Wales as part of the Government. He became the highest judge during the Attlee Ministry, the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain and Speaker of the House of Lords under a then hereditary-dominated House leading to a Conservative majority. Consequently, he was selected to be elevated to a peerage as 1st Earl Jowitt. With no sons, he was to be the last Earl and wrote the Dictionary of English Law.

1950–1983

Preston was abolished as a constituency by the Representation of the People Act 1948, being replaced by the Preston North and Preston South constituencies for the 1950 general election.

1983–present

Since the seat's revival after being split for 33 years into the larger North and South seats, all representatives have been members of the Labour Party.

The member from 1987 to 2000 was Audrey Wise, a member of the Socialist Campaign Group and reformer of maternity healthcare in opposition on the Select Committee.

Boundaries

Two-member seat

Template:Maplink 1832–1868: The old borough of Preston, and the township of Fishwick.

1868–1885: The existing parliamentary borough, excluding such part (if any) as lies on the south side of the River Ribble.

1885–1918: The existing parliamentary borough, so much of the municipal borough of Preston as was not already included in the parliamentary borough, so much of the parish of Lea, Ashton, Ingol, and Cottam, and of the parish of Penwortham, as were added to the municipal borough of Preston on 1 June 1889 by the Ribble Navigation and Preston Dock Act 1883, and the local government district of Fulwood.

1918–1950: County borough of Preston and urban district of Fulwood:

Single-member seat

1983–1997: The Borough of Preston wards of Ashton, Avenham, Brookfield, Central, Deepdale, Fishwick, Ingol, Larches, Moorbrook, Park, Ribbleton, St John's, St Matthew's, and Tulketh.

The boundaries of the re-established constituency corresponded to those of former County Borough, with Fulwood being included in the new seat of Ribble Valley.

1997–2010: The Borough of Preston wards of Ashton, Avenham, Brookfield, Central, Deepdale, Fishwick, Larches, Moor Park, Ribbleton, Riversway, St Matthew's, and Tulketh, and the Borough of South Ribble wards of Bamber Bridge Central, Bamber Bridge South, and Walton-le-Dale.

Ingol ward was transferred to Fylde. The Borough of South Ribble wards were transferred from the constituency of South Ribble.

2010–2018: The City of Preston wards of Ashton, Brookfield, Deepdale, Fishwick, Ingol, Larches, Moor Park, Ribbleton, Riversway, St George's, St Matthew's, Town Centre, Tulketh, and University.

Movements in 1997 reversed.

The ward of Lea was within the constituency of Fylde. The wards of Preston Rural North, Preston Rural East and the Fulwood wards (Cadley, College, Garrison, Greyfriars and Sharoe Green) were within the constituency of Wyre and Preston North. By the end of the review, the newly recommended Preston constituency had the smallest number of voters of an English constituency based on 2006 electorates.

2018–2024: In full: Ashton, Brookfield, City Centre, Deepdale, Fishwick and Frenchwood, Plungington, Ribbleton, St Matthews. In part: Cadley (shared with Wyre and Preston North), Ingol and Cottam (shared with Fylde), Lea and Larches (shared with Fylde).

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England modified Preston City Council's ward boundaries and names in 2018, which altered the contents, but not the boundaries of the Parliamentary constituency of Preston. Due to the changes, some wards were shared with neighbouring seats.

2024–present: The City of Preston wards of Ashton, Brookfield, Cadley, City Centre, Deepdale, Fishwick & Frenchwood, Garrison, Ingol & Cottam, Lea & Larches, Plungington, Ribbleton, and St Matthew's.

The constituency was expanded to bring the electorate within the permitted range by transferring in the part wards currently in the Fylde constituency, together with the remainder of the Cadley ward and the Garrison ward from Wyre and Preston North (abolished).

Members of Parliament

MPs 1295–1640

Parliament	First member	Second member
1295	Willielmus fil' (filius) Pauli	Adam Russel
1298	Adam fil' Radulfi	Adam de Biri
1300/1	Willielmus fil' Paulini
1304/5	Robertus fil' Willelmi de Preston	Hernricus fil' Willelmi del Tounhende
1306/7	Robertus fil' Rogeri	Ricardus Banastre
1307	Henricus del Krykestyle	Ricardus Banastre
1326/7	Laurencius Travers	Willelmus de Graistok
1327 (Nov)	John Stakky	Henry Banastre
1328/9 (Feb)	Willielmus fil' Paulini	Nicholaus de Preston
1330 (Nov)	William fitz Paul	Henry de Haydock
1331 (Sep)	Johannes fil' Galfridi	Willielmus fil' Johannis
1331–1529	No returns
1529	Cristoferus Heydock	James Walton
1536–1545	No returns
1545	Sir Ralph Sadler	John Bourne
1547	George Frevil	John Hales
1552/3 (Mar)	Anthony Browne	Thomas Fleetwood
1553 (Oct)	William Gerard	Anthony Browne
1554 (Apr)	Thomas Ruthall	Willielmus Berners
1554 (Nov)	Richard Shyrburne	John Sylyard
1555	John Arundell	John Herle
1557/8	Richard Sherbourne	Robert Southwell
1559 (Jan)	Robert Aalford	Francis Goldsmith, sat for Helston, repl, by Richard Cooke
1562/3	Gilbert Moreton	James Hodgkinson
1571	Edward Baeshe	Reginald Williams
1572	James Hodgkinson	George Horsey
1584 (Nov)	William Fleetwood	Thomas Cromwell
1586	John Brograve	Sir Thomas Hesketh
1588 (Oct)	Sir Thomas Hesketh	Michael Doughty
1593	James Dalton	Thomas Bulbeck
1597 (Oct)	John Brograve	Sir John Stanhope
1601 (Oct)	John Brograve	William Waad
1604-1611	Sir Vincent Skinner	William Holte
1614	Sir Edward Mosley	Henry Banister
1621-1622	Sir Edward Mosley	Sir William Pooley
1624	Sir Edward Mosley	Sir William Pooley, sat for Sudbury, repl. by Sir William Hervey
1625	Sir William Hervey	Henry Banister
1626	George Garrard	Thomas Fanshawe
1628	Robert Carre	George Garrard
1629-1640	No Parliaments summoned

MPs 1640–1950

Year		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
April 1640	rowspan="4" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Richard Shuttleworth	Parliamentarian	rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Thomas Standish	Parliamentarian
November 1640
November 1642	Standish died November 1642 - seat vacant
1645		William Langton
December 1648	Shuttleworth excluded in Pride's Purge - seat vacant			Langton not recorded as sitting after Pride's Purge
1653	Preston was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654		Colonel Richard Shuttleworth		Preston had only one seat in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
1656
January 1659					Colonel Richard Standish
May 1659	Not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660		Alexander Rigby			Richard Standish
August 1660		Edward Rigby			Edward Fleetwood
1661					Geoffrey Rishton
1667					John Otway
February 1679					Sir Robert Carr
April 1679					Sir John Otway
1681		Sir Robert Carr			Sir Gervase Elwes
April 1685		Sir Thomas Chicheley			Edward Fleetwood
June 1685	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Hon. Andrew Newport	Tory
1689		James Stanley			Thomas Patten
March 1690		Lord Willoughby de Eresby			Christopher Greenfield
December 1690		Sir Edward Chisenhall
1695		Sir Thomas Stanley			Thomas Molyneux
1698		Henry Ashhurst
January 1701					Edward Rigby
December 1701					Thomas Molyneux
1702		Charles Zedenno Stanley			Sir Cyril Wyche
1705		Francis Annesley			Edward Rigby
1706					Arthur Maynwaring
1708		Henry Fleetwood
1710					Sir Henry Hoghton
1713					Edward Southwell
1715					Sir Henry Hoghton
1722		Daniel Pulteney			Thomas Hesketh
1727					Sir Henry Hoghton
1732		Nicholas Fazackerley
1741					James Shuttleworth
1754					Edmund Starkie
1767		Sir Peter Leicester
April 1768					Sir Frank Standish
November 1768	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Brigadier John Burgoyne	Whig	rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Sir Henry Hoghton	Tory
1792	rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	William Shawe	Non-partisan
1795	rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |			Sir Henry Hoghton	Whig
1796	rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Edward Smith-Stanley	Whig
1802	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |			John Horrocks	Tory
1804	rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |			Samuel Horrocks	Tory
1812	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Edmund Hornby	Whig
1826	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Hon. Edward Smith-Stanley	Whig	rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	John Wood	Whig
December 1830	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Henry Hunt	Radical
1832	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	(Sir) Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood	Conservative	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Hon. Henry Smith-Stanley	Whig
1837	rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |		Whig	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Robert Townley Parker	Conservative
1841	rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |			Sir George Strickland	Whig
1847	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Charles Grenfell	Whig
1852	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Robert Townley Parker	Conservative
1857	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Charles Grenfell	Whig	rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	R. A. Cross	Conservative
1859	rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |		Liberal
1862 by-election	rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |			Sir Thomas Hesketh	Conservative
1865	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Hon. Frederick Stanley	Conservative
1868	rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Edward Hermon	Conservative
1872 by-election	rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |			(Sir) John Holker	Conservative
1881 by-election	rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	William Farrer Ecroyd	Conservative
February 1882 by-election	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |			Henry Cecil Raikes	Conservative
November 1882 by-election	rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |			(Sir) William Tomlinson	Conservative
1885	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Robert William Hanbury	Conservative
1903 by-election	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	John Kerr	Conservative
1906	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	John Thomas Macpherson	Labour	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Harold Cox	Liberal
January 1910	rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Major the Hon. George Stanley	Conservative	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Alfred Tobin	Conservative
1915 by-election	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |			Urban H. Broughton	Conservative
1918	rowspan="5" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |			Thomas Shaw	Labour
1922	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	James Hodge	Liberal
1924	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Alfred Ravenscroft Kennedy	Conservative
1929	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Sir William Jowitt	Liberal
1929 by-election	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |		Labour
1931	rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Adrian Moreing	Conservative	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	William Kirkpatrick	Conservative
1936 by-election	rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |			Edward Cobb	Conservative
1940 by-election	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Randolph Churchill	Conservative
1945	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	John William Sunderland	Labour	rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Samuel Segal	Labour
1946 by-election	style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	Edward Shackleton	Labour

MPs since 1983

Election		Member	Party	Notes
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1983	Stan Thorne	Labour	Previously MP for Preston South 1974–1983
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	1987	Audrey Wise	Labour	Previously MP for Coventry South West 1974–1979. Died September 2000
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" |	2000 by-election	Sir Mark Hendrick	Labour and Co-operative	Became a Knight Bachelor in 2018 New Year Honours

Overview

Representatives have sat in Parliament for Preston for nearly 800 years, the first recorded names being Willielmus fil' Pauli and Adam Russel. Prior to being reformed as "Preston" in 1983, the former Preston North and Preston South seats were amongst the most marginal in the country - in 1979, Conservative Robert Atkins won Preston North by 29 votes.

With the suburban, middle class former Fulwood Urban District area within Ribble Valley (and from 2010 Wyre and Preston North), the southern portion has awarded MPs with much healthier and secure majorities. Almost all of Preston's representatives from 1915 to 1950, and since its recreation as a single constituency in 1983, have been Labour candidates.

Between 1918 and 1949, the two-seat constituency of Preston was formed by the County Borough of Preston and the Urban District of Fulwood. In 1997, Audrey Wise secured a majority of over 18,000. The collapse of the Conservative vote - 10 percentage points down from 1992 - was firmly with the pattern of the Tory fortunes in that year.

The death of Audrey Wise in 2000 triggered a by-election. At that Preston by-election, Mark Hendrick, former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Lancashire Central constituency with Preston at its heart, secured a victory with a 4,400 majority. The surprise of the night was the result of the fledgling Socialist Alliance, for whom Terry Cartright saved his deposit.

Less than a year later, the 2001 general election returned Mark Hendrick with a much healthier 12,200 majority, up against South Ribble councillor Graham O'Hare for the Conservatives and the then local Liberal Democrat leader Bill Chadwick. In real terms, all three main parties lost support from 1997 - Labour down by over 8,000 votes, Conservatives reduced by over 2,200 and Lib Dems 2,300 lower. One notable candidate in 2001 was David Braid, also a candidate in a number of other seats that year, who had been the "Battle for Britain" candidate in the previous year's by-election.

The 2005 general election was notable for the changes in share of the vote of the minor parties. The first ever Respect candidate, local councillor Michael Lavalette, firmly saved his deposit with nearly 7% of the vote. The Liberal Democrats had chosen former Conservative County Councillor William Parkinson, and had their best result since 1997. Fiona Bryce for the Conservatives, remained in second place seeing her share of the vote remain stable despite the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) polling over 1,000 votes. Mark Hendrick secured another term as MP, although his vote total was 3,000 less than 2001 and 12,000 less than Audrey Wise in 1997.

Labour continued to represent Preston at the elections of 2010, 2015, and 2017. Whilst Mark Hendrick secured less than 50% of the votes cast in 2010, the first time this has occurred at a Preston election since 1983, subsequent results had much stronger Labour majorities. Second place went back to the Conservative Party, regaining from the Liberal Democrats who took second place for the first time in 2010.

Elections

File:Preston Constituency Election Results, Party Vote Share 1983 - 2024.png

Preston constituency election results, 1983–2024

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Preston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Mark Hendrick	Template:Replace	35.0
		Michael Lavalette	8,715	21.8
		James Elliot	5,738	14.3
		Trevor Hart	5,212	13.0
		Neil Darby	3,195	8.0
		Isabella Metcalf-Riener	1,751	4.4
		Yousuf Bhailok	891	2.2
		Joseph O'Meachair	216	0.5
	Alliance for Democracy and Freedom	David Brooks	145	0.4
		Derek Kileen	124	0.3
Majority			5,291	13.2
Turnout			39,993	51.7
	hold		Swing

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Preston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Mark Hendrick	Template:Replace	61.8
		Michele Scott	8,724	25.8
		Rob Sherratt	1,799	5.3
		Neil Darby	1,737	5.1
		Michael Welton	660	2.0
Majority			12,146	36.0
Turnout			33,790	56.6
	hold		Swing	−4.1

General election 2017: Preston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Mark Hendrick	Template:Replace	68.0
		Kevin Beaty	8,487	23.8
		Simon Platt	1,348	3.8
		Neil Darby	1,204	3.4
		Anne Power	348	1.0
Majority			15,723	44.2
Turnout			35,597	61.6
	hold		Swing	+4.0

General election 2015: Preston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Mark Hendrick	Template:Replace	56.0
		Richard Holden	6,688	20.0
		James Barker	5,139	15.4
		Gemma Christie	1,643	4.9
		Jo Barton	1,244	3.7
Majority			12,067	36.0
Turnout			33,469	55.8
	hold		Swing	+4.8

General election 2010: Preston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Mark Hendrick	Template:Replace	48.2
		Mark Jewell	7,935	24.4
		Nerissa Warner-O'Neill	7,060	21.7
		Richard Muirhead	1,462	4.5
		George Ambroze	272	0.8
		Krishna Tayya	108	0.3
Majority			7,733	23.8
Turnout			32,505	52.0
	hold		Swing	−5.0

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Preston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Mark Hendrick	Template:Replace	50.5
		Fiona Bryce	7,803	22.9
		William Parkinson	5,701	16.7
		Michael Lavalette	2,318	6.8
		Ellen Boardman	1,049	3.1
Majority			9,407	27.6
Turnout			34,081	53.8
	hold		Swing	−3.2

General election 2001: Preston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Mark Hendrick	Template:Replace	57.0
		Graham O'Hare	8,272	23.0
		William Chadwick	4,746	13.2
		Bilal Patel	1,241	3.4
		Richard Merrick	1,019	2.8
		David Franklin-Braid	223	0.6
Majority			12,268	34.0
Turnout			36,041	49.2
	hold		Swing	−2.5

Preston by-election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Mark Hendrick	Template:Replace	45.7
		Graham O'Hare	5,339	25.0
		Bill Chadwick	3,454	16.2
		Terry Cartwright	1,210	5.7
		Gregg Beaman	458	2.1
		Richard Merrick	441	2.1
		Peter Garrett	416	2.0
		Chris Jackson	229	1.1
		David Franklin-Braid	51	0.2
Majority			4,426	20.7
Turnout			21,363	29.4
	hold		Swing	−9.1

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Preston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Audrey Wise	Template:Replace	60.8
		Paul S. Gray	10,540	21.9
		William Chadwick	7,045	14.7
		John C. Porter	924	1.9
		John Ashforth	345	0.7
Majority			18,680	38.9
Turnout			48,074	65.8
	hold		Swing	+6.2

General election 1992: Preston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Audrey Wise	Template:Replace	54.3
		Simon G. O'Toole	12,808	27.8
		William Chadwick	7,897	17.2
		Janet Aycliffe	341	0.7
Majority			12,175	26.5
Turnout			46,029	71.7
	hold		Swing	+1.3

Elections of the 1980s

General election 1987: Preston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Audrey Wise	Template:Replace	52.5
		Raj Chandran	12,696	28.5
		John Wright	8,452	19.0
Majority			10,645	24.0
Turnout			44,489	71.0
	hold		Swing	+4.6

General election 1983: Preston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Stan Thorne	Template:Replace	46.7
		Tom N. Huntley	14,832	31.8
		Michael Connolly	10,039	21.5
Majority			6,978	14.9
Turnout			46,681	71.8
	win (new seat)

Elections in the 1940s

1946 Preston by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Edward Shackleton	Template:Replace	55.6
		Harmar Nicholls	25,718	44.4
Majority			6,471	11.2
Turnout			57,907
	hold		Swing

General election 1945: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Samuel Segal	Template:Replace	24.2
		John William Sunderland	Template:Replace	24.1
		Randolph Churchill	29,129	21.4
		Julian Amery	27,885	20.4
		J Maurice Toulmin	8,251	6.1
		P.J. Devine	5,168	3.8
Majority			3,760	2.8
Turnout			136,375	77.0
	hold		Swing

Preston by-election September 1940

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Randolph Churchill	Template:Replace	N/A
	hold		Swing

For the general election expected to take place in 1939/1940, the following candidates had been selected;

• Conservative: Adrian Moreing, Edward Cobb
• Labour: P.C. Hoffman, John William Sunderland

Elections in the 1930s

1936 Preston by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Edward Cobb	Template:Replace	48.8
		Frank Bowles	30,970	46.4
		F. White	3,221	4.8
Majority			1,605	2.4
Turnout			63,746	79.0
	hold		Swing

General election 1935: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Adrian Moreing	Template:Replace	26.9
		William Kirkpatrick	Template:Replace	26.7
		Robert Arthur Lyster	32,225	23.3
		Richard Reiss	31,827	23.1
Majority			4,572	3.4
Turnout			138,068	81.9
	hold		Swing

General election 1931: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		William Kirkpatrick	Template:Replace	32.5
		Adrian Moreing	Template:Replace	32.2
		Tom Shaw	25,710	18.0
		Edward Porter	24,660	17.3
Majority			20,133	14.2
Turnout			142,489	84.6
	gain from		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

1929 Preston by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		William Jowitt	Template:Replace	54.6
		Alfred Howitt	29,168	44.8
		S. M. Holden	410	0.6
Majority			6,440	9.8
Turnout			65,186	79.6
	hold		Swing

General election 1929: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Tom Shaw	Template:Replace	29.5
		William Jowitt	Template:Replace	24.4
		Alfred Howitt	29,116	22.8
		Charles Emmott	27,754	21.7
		S. M. Holden	2,111	1.6
Majority			8,589	1.6
Turnout			127,963	78.2
	hold		Swing
	gain from		Swing

General election 1924: Preston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Tom Shaw	Template:Replace	26.3
		Alfred Ravenscroft Kennedy	Template:Replace	25.2
		James Hodge	25,327	24.6
		G Barnes	24,557	23.9
Majority			560	0.6
Turnout			102,780
	hold		Swing
	gain from		Swing

General election 1923: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Tom Shaw	Template:Replace	34.4
		James Hodge	Template:Replace	33.6
		William Kirkpatrick	23,953	32.0
Majority			1,854	2.4
Majority			1,193	1.6
Turnout			74,924	87.2
	hold		Swing
	hold		Swing

General election 1922: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Tom Shaw	Template:Replace	27.9
		James Hodge	Template:Replace	26.4
		George Stanley	22,574	24.0
		Alfred Robert MacLean Camm	20,410	21.7
Majority			3,685	3.9
	hold		Swing
Majority			2,224	2.4
	gain from		Swing
Turnout			94,041	81.1
Registered electors			57,953

Elections in the 1910s

• For all General Elections from 1906 to 1929 the Liberal and Labour parties ran only one candidate each, and these candidates ran in harness.

File:George F Stanley.jpg

Stanley

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link coalition 1918Template:Election box candidate with party link coalition 1918Template:Election box end 1918

General election 1918: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Green tickYTom Shaw	Template:Replace	25.8
		John O'Neill	18,485	24.8
Majority			1,285	1.8
	gain from		Swing	+2.1
Majority			485	0.6
	hold		Swing	N/A
Turnout			74,596	64.5
Registered electors			57,795

Template:Election box winning candidate unopposed with party link

By-election, 1915: Preston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	hold

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 the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Unionist: George Stanley and Alfred Tobin
• Labour: Tom Shaw
• Liberal: Frederick Llewellyn-Jones

File:Edward Hilton Young.jpg

Young

General election December 1910: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		George Stanley	Template:Replace	26.8
		Alfred Tobin	Template:Replace	26.3
		Hilton Young	8,193	23.9
		William Henry Carr	7,855	23.0
Majority			800	2.4
Turnout			34,225	88.9
Registered electors			19,521
	hold		Swing	−3.2
	hold		Swing	−0.7

General election January 1910: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		George Stanley	Template:Replace	27.1
		Alfred Tobin	Template:Replace	26.0
		John Thomas Macpherson	7,539	21.4
		John Eldon Gorst	6,281	17.8
		Harold CoxTemplate:Asterisk	2,704	7.7
Majority			1,621	4.6
Turnout			32,506	94.4
Registered electors			19,521
	gain from		Swing	+7.2
	gain from		Swing	+6.7

Template:Asterisk Cox was replaced as Liberal candidate by Gorst - due to his frequent criticism of Liberal social policy - but chose to run independently.

Elections in the 1900s

File:Harold Cox.jpg

Cox

General election 1906: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		John Thomas Macpherson	Template:Replace	30.9
		Harold Cox	Template:Replace	26.0
		John Kerr	7,303	22.2
		William Tomlinson	6,856	20.9
Turnout			32,878	96.2
Registered electors			18,626
Majority			2,878	8.7
	gain from		Swing	+13.8
Majority			1,682	5.1
	gain from		Swing	N/A

File:John Hodge.JPG

Hodge

1903 Preston by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		John Kerr	Template:Replace	57.1
		John Hodge	6,490	42.9
Majority			2,149	14.2
Turnout			15,129	84.2
Registered electors			17,973
	hold		Swing	−20.8

Template:Election box winning candidate unopposed with party link

By-election, 1900: Preston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	hold

File:Hardie elect.jpg

Hardie

General election 1900: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Robert William Hanbury	Template:Replace	41.0
		William Tomlinson	Template:Replace	36.9
		Keir Hardie	4,834	22.1
Majority			3,233	14.8
Turnout			21,845	76.4
Registered electors			16,867
	hold		Swing	N/A
	hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1890s

File:William Tomlinson.jpg

Tomlinson

General election 1895: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Robert William Hanbury	Template:Replace	41.9
		William Tomlinson	Template:Replace	35.7
		James Tattersall	4,781	22.4
Majority			2,841	13.3
Turnout			12,508	76.3
Registered electors			16,395
	hold		Swing	N/A
	hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1892: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Robert William Hanbury	Template:Replace	36.6
		William Tomlinson	Template:Replace	35.3
		Charles Weld-Blundell	6,182	28.1
Majority			1,582	7.2
Turnout			14,003	87.7
Registered electors			15,959
	hold		Swing	+6.4
	hold		Swing	+5.3

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1886: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		William Tomlinson	Template:Replace	30.6
		Robert William Hanbury	Template:Replace	29.7
		John Ormerod Pilkington	4,982	20.3
		George Potter	4,771	19.4
Majority			2,314	9.4
Turnout			12,473 (est)	83.9
Registered electors			14,876
	hold		Swing	−2.8
	hold		Swing	−1.7

File:Thomas W Russell.jpg

Russell

General election 1885: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		William Tomlinson	Template:Replace	38.5
		Robert William Hanbury	Template:Replace	36.4
		Thomas Russell	5,491	25.1
Majority			2,480	11.3
Turnout			13,550 (est)	91.1
Registered electors			14,876
	hold		Swing	+4.4
	hold		Swing	+1.6

By-election, 25 Nov 1882: Preston (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		William Tomlinson	Template:Replace	60.4
		Robert William Hanbury	4,167	39.6
Majority			2,184	20.8
Turnout			10,518	81.0
Registered electors			12,978
	hold		Swing	N/A

• Caused by Raikes' resignation to seek election in the 1882 Cambridge University by-election.

By-election, 4 Feb 1882: Preston (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Henry Cecil Raikes	Template:Replace	58.9
		William Simpson	4,212	41.1
Majority			1,833	17.8
Turnout			10,257	79.0
Registered electors			12,978
	hold		Swing	−10.0

• Caused by Holker's resignation upon appointment as a Lord Justice of Appeal.

1881 Preston by-election (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		William Farrer Ecroyd	Template:Replace	58.0
		Henry Yates Thompson	4,340	42.0
Majority			1,664	16.0
Turnout			10,344	88.0
Registered electors			11,748
	hold		Swing	-10.9

• Caused by Hermon's death.

General election 1880: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Edward Hermon	Template:Replace	36.2
		John Holker	Template:Replace	32.7
		George William Bahr	5,355	31.1
Majority			286	1.6
Turnout			11,594 (est)	95.8 (est)
Registered electors			12,108
	hold		Swing	-4.7
	hold		Swing	-2.2

Elections in the 1870s

Template:Election box winning candidate unopposed with party link

By-election, 24 Apr 1874: Preston (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	hold

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

General election 1874: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Edward Hermon	Template:Replace	42.1
		John Holker	Template:Replace	33.7
		Thomas Mottershead	3,756	24.3
Majority			1,455	9.4
Turnout			9,618 (est)	79.7 (est)
Registered electors			12,073
	hold		Swing	+12.3
	hold		Swing	+8.4

By-election, 16 Sep 1872: Preston (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		John Holker	Template:Replace	54.3
		James German	3,824	45.7
Majority			718	8.6
Turnout			8,366	81.9
Registered electors			10,214
	hold		Swing	−0.8

• Caused by Hesketh's death.

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1868: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Edward Hermon	Template:Replace	27.8
		Thomas Fermor-Hesketh	Template:Replace	27.3
		Joseph Leese	4,741	22.7
		Edward Fitzalan-Howard	4,663	22.3
Majority			959	4.6
Turnout			10,454 (est)	97.1 (est)
Registered electors			10,763
	hold		Swing	N/A
	hold		Swing	N/A

Template:Election box winning candidate unopposed with party linkTemplate:Election box winning candidate unopposed with party link

General election 1865: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Registered electors			2,562
	hold
	gain from

By-election, 4 April 1862: Preston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Thomas Hesketh	Template:Replace	60.1
		George Melly	1,014	39.9
Majority			513	20.2
Turnout			2,541	91.6
Registered electors			2,773
	hold		Swing	−9.1

• Caused by Cross' resignation.

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1859: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		R. A. Cross	Template:Replace	39.4
		Charles Grenfell	Template:Replace	30.8
		John Talbot Clifton	1,168	29.8
Turnout			1,959 (est)	73.7 (est)
Registered electors			2,657
Majority			334	8.6
	hold		Swing	+3.5
Majority			40	1.0
	hold		Swing	−6.5

General election 1857: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Charles Grenfell	Template:Replace	37.3
		R. A. Cross	Template:Replace	35.6
		George Strickland	1,094	27.1
Turnout			2,015 (est)	72.1 (est)
Registered electors			2,793
Majority			70	1.7
	hold		Swing	+4.5
Majority			339	8.5
	hold		Swing	+0.1

General election 1852: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Robert Townley Parker	Template:Replace	30.3
		George Strickland	Template:Replace	28.4
		Charles Grenfell	1,127	25.6
		James German	692	15.7
Turnout			2,204 (est)	77.2 (est)
Registered electors			2,854
Majority			208	4.7
	gain from		Swing	+5.3
Majority			561	12.7
	hold		Swing	−2.1

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1847: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		George Strickland	Template:Replace	33.9
		Charles Grenfell	Template:Replace	33.3
		Robert Townley Parker	1,361	32.9
Majority			17	0.4
Turnout			2,752 (est)	90.4 (est)
Registered electors			3,044
	hold		Swing	+5.6
	hold		Swing	+5.1

General election 1841: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood	Template:Replace	28.5
		George Strickland	Template:Replace	28.0
		Robert Townley Parker	1,270	21.9
		Charles Swainson	1,255	21.6
Majority			359	6.1
Turnout			2,905 (est)	86.2 (est)
Registered electors			3,371
	hold		Swing	−11.5
	hold		Swing	−2.2

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1837: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood	Template:Replace	44.6
		Robert Townley Parker	Template:Replace	29.8
		John Crawfurd	1,562	25.5
		Feargus O'Connor	5	0.1
Turnout			3,264	89.3
Registered electors			3,656
Majority			905	14.8
	hold		Swing	+15.2
Majority			259	4.3
	hold		Swing	−11.4

General election 1835: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood	Template:Replace	33.7
		Henry Smith-Stanley	Template:Replace	32.5
		Thomas Perronet Thompson	1,385	21.5
		Thomas Smith	789	12.3
Turnout			3,350	89.7
Registered electors			3,734
Majority			73	1.2
	hold		Swing	+2.3
Majority			707	11.0
	hold		Swing	+2.1

Template:Election box registered electors no change

General election 1832: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood		31.4
		Henry Smith-Stanley		30.5
		Henry Hunt		19.1
		John Forbes		17.9
		Charles John Crompton		1.1
Turnout			5,538	87.2
Majority			1,318	12.3
	gain from
Majority			1,219	11.4
	hold

Template:Election box winning candidate unopposed with party linkTemplate:Election box winning candidate unopposed with party link

General election 1831: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	hold
	gain from

By-election, 17 December 1830: Preston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Henry Hunt	Template:Replace	52.4
		Edward Smith-Stanley	3,392	47.6
Majority			338	4.8
Turnout			7,122
	gain from		Swing	+32.9

• Caused by Smith-Stanley's appointment as Chief Secretary for Ireland

General election 1830: Preston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Edward Smith-Stanley	Template:Replace	44.8
		John Wood	Template:Replace	35.7
		Henry Hunt	1,308	19.5
Majority			1,081	16.2
Turnout			c. 3,347
	hold		Swing
	hold		Swing

Elections in the 1810s

General election 1818: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Samuel Horrocks	Template:Replace	37.3
		Edmund Hornby	Template:Replace	35.2
	Reformer	Peter Crompton	1,245	27.4
Majority			449	9.9
Turnout			4,537
	hold		Swing
	hold		Swing

General election 1812: Preston (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Samuel Horrocks	Template:Replace	39.7
		Edmund Hornby	Template:Replace	39.4
	Independent	Edward Hanson	727	20.9
Majority			652	18.8
Turnout			3,474

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Lancashire
• 1915 Preston by-election
• 1929 Preston by-election
• 1936 Preston by-election
• 1940 Preston by-election
• 2000 Preston by-election

Sources

• Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) [1]
• D Brunton & D H Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
• Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808) [2]
• The Constitutional Year Book for 1913 (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913)
• F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
• F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949 (Glasgow: Political Reference Publications, 1969)
• Maija Jansson (ed.), Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons) (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988)
• J E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
• J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
• Henry Stooks Smith, The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847 (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig - Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973)

External links

• Preston UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
• Preston UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
• Preston UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK