Penrith and Cockermouth (UK Parliament constituency)

Penrith and Cockermouth was a parliamentary constituency centred on the towns of Penrith and Cockermouth in Cumberland, England. It was alternatively known as Mid Cumberland. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.

Penrith and Cockermouth
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
1918–1950
Seatsone
Created fromCockermouth and Penrith
Replaced byPenrith and The Border and Workington

History

The constituency was created for the 1918 general election, and abolished for the 1950 general election.

Boundaries

The Urban Districts of Cockermouth, Keswick, and Penrith, the Rural Districts of Alston with Garrigill, and Penrith, and part of the Rural District of Cockermouth.

Members of Parliament
ElectionMemberParty
1918 James Lowther Speaker
1921 Cecil Lowther Unionist
1922 Levi Collison Liberal
1923 Arthur Dixey Unionist
1935 Alan Dower Conservative
1950 constituency abolished: see Penrith and The Border

Elections

Elections in the 1910s
General election 1918: Penrith & Cockermouth
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Speaker James Lowther Unopposed
Speaker win (new seat)

Lowther stood as a Unionist candidate, and received the Coalition Coupon

Elections in the 1920s
1921 Penrith and Cockermouth by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Cecil Lowther 7,678 50.1 New
Liberal Levi Collison 7,647 49.9 New
Majority 31 0.2 N/A
Turnout 15,325 74.0 N/A
Unionist hold Swing N/A
General election 1922: Penrith and Cockermouth
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Levi Collison 9,114 51.1 N/A
Unionist Cecil Lowther 8,736 48.9 N/A
Majority 378 2.2 N/A
Turnout 17,850 83.0 N/A
Liberal gain from Unionist Swing
General election 1923: Penrith and Cockermouth
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Arthur Dixey 9,205 50.9 +2.0
Liberal Levi Collison 8,878 49.1 -2.0
Majority 327 1.8 4.0
Turnout 18,083 83.2 +0.2
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing +2.0
General election 1924: Penrith and Cockermouth
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Arthur Dixey 11,431 67.9 +17.0
Labour Fred Tait 5,404 32.1 New
Majority 6,027 35.8 +34.0
Turnout 16,835 75.9 +7.3
Unionist hold Swing N/A
General election 1929: Penrith and Cockermouth
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Arthur Dixey 10,595 45.2 -22.7
Liberal Arthur Holgate 8,750 37.4 New
Labour Archibald Dodd 4,073 17.4 -14.7
Majority 1,845 7.8 -28.0
Turnout 23,418 85.3 +9.4
Unionist hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1930s
General election 1931: Penrith & Cockermouth
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Arthur Dixey 12,904 53.1 +7.9
Liberal Arthur Holgate 11,412 46.9 +9.5
Majority 1,492 6.2 -1.6
Turnout 24,316 86.6 +1.3
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1935: Penrith & Cockermouth
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Alan Dower 14,496 64.3 +10.2
Labour Harold Smith 8,036 35.7 New
Majority 6,460 28.6 +22.4
Turnout 22,532 78.4 -8.2
Conservative hold Swing

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;

Elections in the 1940s
General election 1945: Penrith & Cockermouth
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Alan Dower 9,198 37.8 -26.5
Liberal Noel Francis Newsome 6,579 27.0 New
Labour Leonard Foster Browne 6,350 26.1 -9.6
National Tom Mitchell 2,204 9.1 New
Majority 2,619 10.8 -17.8
Turnout 24,331 79.3 +0.9
Conservative hold Swing N/A

References
  1. Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 23 Mar 1936

Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.

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