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Eastern West Riding of Yorkshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Eastern West Riding of Yorkshire was a parliamentary constituency covering part of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire. It returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the bloc vote system.

Eastern West Riding of Yorkshire
Former county constituency
for the House of Commons
CountyWest Riding of Yorkshire
1868–1885
SeatsTwo
Created fromSouthern West Riding of Yorkshire
Replaced byBarkston Ash, Osgoldcross, Otley, Pudsey, Ripon and Spen Valley

History

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The constituency was created in 1868 when the West Riding of Yorkshire was redistributed from two divisions into three. The two-member West Riding of Yorkshire constituency had been divided for the 1865 general election into two new constituencies, each returning two members: Northern West Riding of Yorkshire and Southern West Riding of Yorkshire. The extra seats were taken from parliamentary boroughs which had been disenfranchised for corruption. In the redistribution which took effect for the 1868 general election the Eastern division was created and the Northern and Southern divisions modified. Each of the three divisions returned two members.

All three were abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election. The Eastern division was replaced by six new single-member constituencies: Barkston Ash, Osgoldcross, Otley, Pudsey, Ripon and Spen Valley.

Boundaries

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The Reform Act 1867, as amended by the Boundary Act 1868, defined the constituency as the wapentakes of Claro, Skyrack, Barkston Ash and Osgoldcross with the part of Morley not in the Northern division.[1][2] Skyrack is the wapentake centred on Leeds. The other areas included a number of small towns and the surrounding rural parishes.

Members of Parliament

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Election 1st Member 1st Party 2nd Member 2nd Party
1868 Christopher Beckett Denison Conservative Joshua Fielden Conservative
1880 Sir Andrew Fairbairn Liberal Sir John Ramsden, Bt Liberal
1885 Constituency abolished: see Barkston Ash, Osgoldcross, Otley, Pudsey, Ripon and Spen Valley

Election results

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Each voter had as many votes as there were seats to be filled. Before the introduction of the secret ballot, in 1872, votes had to be cast by a spoken declaration. Voting took place in public, at the hustings, which were at the place of election for the constituency which was in Leeds.

Elections in the 1880s

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General election 31 March–27 April 1880: Eastern West Riding of Yorkshire (2 seats)[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Andrew Fairbairn 9,518 26.9 +3.5
Liberal John Ramsden 9,406 26.6 +3.0
Conservative Christopher Beckett Denison 8,341 23.5 −3.2
Conservative Henry Lascelles 8,157 23.0 −3.2
Majority 1,361 3.9 N/A
Majority 1,065 3.1 N/A
Turnout 17,711 (est) 81.8 (est) +4.3
Registered electors 21,640
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +3.4
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +3.1

Elections in the 1870s

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General election 31 January-17 February 1874: Eastern West Riding of Yorkshire (2 seats)[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Christopher Beckett Denison 8,240 26.7 +0.6
Conservative Joshua Fielden 8,077 26.2 +1.2
Liberal John Ramsden 7,285 23.6 −1.1
Liberal Isaac Holden 7,218 23.4 −0.7
Majority 792 2.6 +2.3
Turnout 15,410 (est) 77.5 (est) +0.5
Registered electors 19,882
Conservative hold Swing +0.8
Conservative hold Swing +1.1

Elections in the 1860s

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General election 17 November-7 December 1868: Eastern West Riding of Yorkshire (2 seats)[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Christopher Beckett Denison 7,437 26.1
Conservative Joshua Fielden 7,135 25.0
Liberal Harry Thompson[4] 7,047 24.7
Liberal Isaac Holden 6,867 24.1
Majority 88 0.3
Turnout 14,243 (est) 77.0 (est)
Registered electors 18,494
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)

References

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  1. ^ "Representation of the People Act 1867" (PDF). Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  2. ^ "A Collection of the Public General Statutes: 1867/68. Cap. XLVI. An Act to settle and describe the Limits of certain Boroughs and the Divisions of certain Counties in England and Wales, in so far as respects the Election of Members to serve in Parliament". London: Eyre and Spottiswoode. 1868. pp. 119–166. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. p. 492. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
  4. ^ "The Elections West Riding Eastern Division". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 28 November 1868.
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