Blackpool (UK Parliament constituency)
# Blackpool (UK Parliament constituency)

Blackpool was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Blackpool in Lancashire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The constituency was created for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1945 general election, when it was replaced by the new Blackpool North and Blackpool South constituencies.

## Boundaries

1885–1918: The Municipal Borough of Preston, the Sessional Divisions of Amounderness and Kirkham, and part of the Sessional Division of Leyland.

1918–1945: The County Borough of Blackpool, the Urban Districts of Bispham with Norbreck, Lytham, and St Anne's-on-Sea, and part of the parish of Carleton.

## Members of Parliament

| Year | Year | Member | Party |
| - | - | - | - |
| | 1885 | Frederick Stanley | Conservative |
| | 1886 | Sir Matthew Ridley | Conservative |
| | 1900 | Henry Worsley-Taylor | Conservative |
| | 1906 | Wilfrid Ashley | Conservative |
| | 1918 | Albert Lindsay Parkinson | Unionist |
| | 1922 | Leonard Molloy | Unionist |
| | 1923 | Hugh Meyler | Liberal |
| | 1924 | Sir Walter de Frece | Unionist |
| | 1931 | Clifford Erskine-Bolst | Conservative |
| | 1935 | Roland Robinson | Conservative |
| 1945 | 1945 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results

### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Blackpool :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Frederick Stanley | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |

General election 1886: Blackpool :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Frederick Stanley | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |

Stanley was appointed President of the Board of Trade and elevated to the peerage, becoming Lord Stanley of Preston, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 20 Aug 1886: Blackpool :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Matthew White Ridley | 6,263 | 71.4 | N/A |
| | Liberal | John Ormerod Pilkington | 2,513 | 28.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,750 | 42.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,776 | 73.7 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,903 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Blackpool :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Matthew White Ridley | 6,536 | 65.2 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Thomas Walker | 3,487 | 34.8 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,049 | 30.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,023 | 76.4 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 13,124 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |

By-election, 1895: Blackpool :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Matthew White Ridley | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |

General election 1895: Blackpool :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Matthew White Ridley | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |

### Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Blackpool :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Matthew White Ridley | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |

1900 Blackpool by-election :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Henry Worsley-Taylor | 7,059 | 55.8 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Joseph Heap | 5,589 | 44.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,470 | 11.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,648 | 5.3 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 16,807 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |

General election 1906: Blackpool :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Wilfrid Ashley | 10,139 | 58.9 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Vivian Phillipps | 7,078 | 41.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,061 | 17.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 17,217 | 84.7 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 20,339 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Blackpool :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Wilfrid Ashley | 11,567 | 59.3 | +0.4 |
| | Liberal | Samuel Hodgkinson | 7,943 | 40.7 | -0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,624 | 18.6 | +0.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 19,510 | 87.3 | +2.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +0.4 | |

General election December 1910: Blackpool :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Wilfrid Ashley | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative 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: Wilfrid Ashley
* Liberal:

General election 1918: Blackpool :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| C | Unionist | Albert Lindsay Parkinson | 15,818 | 55.9 | N/A |
| | Independent Progressive | Clive F Critchley* | 9,862 | 34.9 | New |
| | Labour | Allan Gee | 2,608 | 9.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,956 | 21.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,288 | 68.0 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 41,627 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | N/A | |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||

* supported Coalition Government and received local Liberal Party support.

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Blackpool :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Unionist | Leonard Molloy | 18,206 | 50.2 | −5.7 |
| | Liberal | Hugh Meyler | 18,040 | 49.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 166 | 0.4 | −20.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,246 | 78.3 | +10.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 46,292 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | N/A | |

General election 1923: Blackpool :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Liberal | Hugh Meyler | 22,264 | 53.7 | +3.9 |
| | Unionist | Victor Stanley | 19,192 | 46.3 | -3.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,072 | 7.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,456 | 84.8 | +6.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 48,865 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Unionist | Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +3.9 | |

General election 1924: Blackpool :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Unionist | Walter de Frece | 25,839 | 58.0 | +11.7 |
| | Liberal | Hugh Meyler | 18,712 | 42.0 | −11.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,127 | 16.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,551 | 85.8 | +1.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 51,914 | | |
| | Unionist gain from Liberal | Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | +11.7 | |

General election 1929: Blackpool :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Unionist | Walter de Frece | 32,912 | 46.8 | -11.2 |
| | Liberal | Miles Mitchell | 25,374 | 36.1 | -5.9 |
| | Labour | Ernest Alfred Machin | 12,049 | 17.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,538 | 10.7 | -5.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 70,335 | 81.1 | -4.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 86,744 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | -2.7 | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Blackpool :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Clifford Erskine-Bolst | 53,010 | 73.1 | +26.3 |
| | Liberal | Edgar Wallace | 19,524 | 26.9 | -10.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 33,486 | 46.2 | +35.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 72,534 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

* Wallace was opposed to the National Government

General election 1935: Blackpool :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Conservative | Roland Robinson | 48,514 | 65.2 | -7.9 |
| | Labour | Harvey Thorneycroft | 13,598 | 18.3 | New |
| | Liberal | Henry Purchase | 12,245 | 16.47 | -10.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 34,916 | 46.96 | +0.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 74,357 | 73.97 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative 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 from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;

* Conservative: Roland Robinson
* Liberal: Adrian Liddell Hart
* Labour: Harvey Thorneycroft
