Combined English Universities (UK Parliament constituency)

Combined English Universities was a university constituency represented in the United Kingdom Parliament (from 1918 until 1950). It was formed by enfranchising and combining all the English universities, except for Cambridge, Oxford and London which were already separately represented. The constituency effectively represented the red brick universities and Durham University with two members of parliament.

Combined English Universities
Former University constituency
for the House of Commons
19181950
Seats2

Boundaries

This university constituency was created by the Representation of the People Act 1918 and abolished in 1950 by the Representation of the People Act 1948.

The original proposal of the Speaker's Conference, which considered electoral reform before the 1918 legislation was prepared, was to combine all the English and Welsh universities except for Oxford and Cambridge into a three-member constituency. However, during consideration of the legislation, it was agreed that London University alone should continue to return one member. The University of Wales was also given its own seat. The other universities, which were still to be combined, had their proposed representation reduced to two members.[1]

Combined English Universities was not a physical area. Its electorate consisted of the graduates of the universities included in the seat.

The universities represented by this constituency were Birmingham, Bristol, Durham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Reading (from August 1928) and Sheffield.

The constituency returned two members of Parliament, elected at general elections by the single transferable vote method of proportional representation. However, the first past the post system was used in by-elections.

Members of Parliament

This is a list of people who were elected to represent these English universities in the Parliament of the United Kingdom between 1918 and 1950. The elections were not held on the polling dates for general elections in the territorial constituencies. The university constituency elections were held over five days, not on the ordinary polling date, so that plural voting graduates could vote in their place of residence and then visit their university to participate in its election.

  • Constituency created (1918)
ElectionFirst memberFirst partySecond memberSecond party
1918 H. A. L. FisherCoalition Liberal Sir Martin ConwayCoalition Conservative
1922 National LiberalConservative
1923 Liberal
1926 by-election Sir Alfred Hopkinson Conservative
1929 Eleanor Rathbone Independent
1931 Sir Reginald Craddock Conservative
1937 by-election Edmund Harvey Independent Progressive
1945 Kenneth Lindsay Independent
1946 by-election Henry Strauss Conservative
1950 University constituencies abolished

Elections

There were six contested STV elections. The MPs in 1935 were returned unopposed. By-elections, to fill a single seat, used the first past the post or relative majority electoral system.

1910s1920s1930s1940s

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1918: Combined English Universities (2 seats)
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
123
C Liberal H. A. L. Fisher 48.09 959    
C Unionist Martin Conway 15.20 303 465 777
Labour John A. Hobson 18.36 366 454 481
Unionist Herbert Williams 18.36 366 410 eliminated
Electorate: 2,357   Valid: 1,994   Quota: 665   Turnout: 84.60%
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1922: Combined English Universities (2 seats)
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
12345
Unionist Martin Conway 32.8 968 982 1,093    
National Liberal H. A. L. Fisher 27.7 819 821 849 883 1,009
Independent John Strong 19.4 571 575 595 611 813
Labour Leonard Woolf 12.2 361 361 365 366 eliminated
Ind. Unionist Wilfred Barnard Faraday 4.8 141 206 eliminated    
Ind. Unionist Sidney C. Lawrence 3.1 90 eliminated      
Electorate: 3,967   Valid: 2,946   Quota: 983   Turnout: 74.3  
    General election 1923: Combined English Universities (2 seats)
    Party Candidate Votes % ±%
    Unionist Martin Conway 1,711 44.1 +11.3
    Liberal H. A. L. Fisher 1,316 34.0 +5.3
    Labour Joseph John Findlay 850 21.9 +9.7
    Total votes 3,877
    Quota 1,293
    Turnout 5,008 77.4 +3.1
    • As two candidates achieved the quota only one count was necessary
    General Election 1924: Combined English Universities (2 seats)
    PartyCandidateFPv%Count
    12
    Unionist Martin Conway 50.4 2,231  
    Liberal H. A. L. Fisher 30.1 1,333 2,064
    Labour Joseph John Findlay 19.5 861 885
    Electorate: 5,655   Valid: 4,425   Quota: 1,476   Turnout: 78.2  
      1926 Combined English Universities by-election
      Party Candidate Votes % ±%
      Unionist Alfred Hopkinson 2,343 53.9 +3.5
      Liberal Ramsay Muir 2,000 46.1 +12.1
      Majority 343 7.8 N/A
      Turnout 4,343 66.7 −11.5
      Registered electors 6,513
      Unionist gain from Liberal Swing N/A
      Rathbone
      Conway
      General Election 1929: Combined English Universities (2 seats)
      PartyCandidateFPv%Count
      12
      Unionist Martin Conway 26.8 2,679 4,321
      Independent Eleanor Rathbone 33.3 3,331 3,394
      Liberal Robert Seymour Conway 22.3 2,231 2,281
      Unionist Amherst Selby-Bigge 17.6 1,762 eliminated
      Electorate: 13,775   Valid: 10,003   Quota: 3,335   Turnout: 72.6  

        Elections in the 1930s

        General Election 1931: Combined English Universities (2 seats)
        PartyCandidateFPv%Count
        1234
        Independent Eleanor Rathbone 37.2 5,096      
        Conservative Reginald Craddock 26.5 3,633 3,685 3,754 4,858
        National Labour William Jowitt 20.1 2,759 3,003 3,207 3,632
        Conservative Herbert Williams 12.8 1,748 1,819 1,922 eliminated
        New Party Harold Nicolson 3.4 461 623 eliminated  
        Electorate: 19,109   Valid: 13,697   Quota: 4,567   Turnout: 71.7  
          General election 1935: Combined English Universities (2 seats)
          Party Candidate Votes % ±%
          Conservative Reginald Craddock Unopposed N/A N/A
          Independent Eleanor Rathbone Unopposed N/A N/A
          1937 Combined English Universities by-election
          Party Candidate Votes % ±%
          Independent Progressive Edmund Harvey 6,596 47.4 New
          Conservative Francis Oswald Lindley 4,952 35.6 N/A
          Independent Liberal Henry Britten Brackenbury 2,373 17.0 New
          Majority 1,644 11.8 N/A
          Turnout 13,921 48.3 N/A
          Registered electors 28,808
          Independent Progressive gain from Conservative Swing N/A

          Elections in the 1940s

          General Election 1945: Combined English Universities (2 seats)
          PartyCandidateFPv%Count
          12345
          Independent Progressive Eleanor Rathbone 53.3 11,176        
          Independent Kenneth Lindsay 9.2 1,923 3,503 3,856 4,528 5,826
          Independent Labour Stanley Wormald 15.3 3,212 3,973 4,081 4,473 4,675
          National Eric Cuthbert Arden 11.6 2,433 3,073 3,389 3,829 eliminated
          Independent John Henry Richardson 5.3 1,124 1,995 2,341 eliminated  
          Independent A.R. Foxall 5.3 1,105 1,437 eliminated    
          Electorate: 41,976   Valid: 20,973   Quota: 6,992   Turnout: 50.0  
            By-Election 13–18 March 1946: Combined English Universities
            Party Candidate Votes % ±%
            Conservative Henry Strauss 5,483 30.0 N/A
            Independent Progressive Mary Stocks 5,124 28.0 N/A
            Independent Liberal Ernest Simon 4,028 22.0 N/A
            Independent Labour Stanley Wormald 3,414 18.7 N/A
            British People's Gerard Stephen Oddie 239 1.3 New
            Majority 359 2.0 N/A
            Turnout 18,288 42.1 −7.9
            Registered electors 43,438
            Conservative gain from Independent Swing N/A

            Notes

            References

            • Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1972). Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885–1972. Parliamentary Reference Publications.
            • Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949. Macmillan.
            • Pugh, Martin (1978). Electoral Reform in War and Peace 1906–18. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
            • Stenton, M.; Lees, S., eds. (1979). Who's Who of British members of parliament: Volume III 1919–1945. The Harvester Press.
            • Stenton, M.; Lees, S., eds. (1981). Who's Who of British members of parliament, Volume IV 1945–1979. The Harvester Press.
            • Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 5)
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