East Staffordshire (UK Parliament constituency)

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East Staffordshire
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
CountyStaffordshire
18681885
SeatsTwo
Created fromSouth Staffordshire
North Staffordshire
Replaced byHandsworth
Lichfield
Burton

East Staffordshire or Staffordshire East (formally the Eastern division of Staffordshire) was a county constituency in the county of Staffordshire. 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.

History[edit]

The constituency was first created by the Second Reform Act for the 1868 general election, and abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election.

Boundaries[edit]

1868–1885: The Hundreds of Offlow (North) and Offlow (South) (excluding the Townships of Willenhall and Wednesfield), and the parish of Rushall.[1][2]

Members of Parliament[edit]

Election 1st Member 1st Party 2nd Member 2nd Party
1868 Michael Bass Liberal John Robinson McClean Liberal Party
1873 by-election Samuel Allsopp Conservative
1880 Henry Wiggin Liberal
1885 constituency abolished

Election results[edit]

Elections in the 1860s[edit]

General election 1868: East Staffordshire[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Michael Bass 3,885 36.9
Liberal John Robinson McClean 3,675 34.9
Conservative John Hartley[4] 2,972 28.2
Majority 703 6.7
Turnout 6,752 (est) 69.9 (est)
Registered electors 9,658
Liberal win (new seat)
Liberal win (new seat)

Elections in the 1870s[edit]

McClean's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 8 Aug 1873: East Staffordshire[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Samuel Allsopp 3,630 57.4 +29.2
Liberal John Jaffray[5] 2,693 42.6 −29.2
Majority 937 14.8 N/A
Turnout 6,323 67.3 −2.6
Registered electors 9,402
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +29.2
General election 1874: East Staffordshire[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Michael Bass Unopposed
Conservative Samuel Allsopp Unopposed
Registered electors 9,484
Liberal hold
Conservative gain from Liberal

Elections in the 1880s[edit]

General election 1880: East Staffordshire[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Michael Bass 4,809 29.5 N/A
Liberal Henry Wiggin 4,617 28.4 N/A
Conservative Samuel Allsopp 3,552 21.8 N/A
Conservative John Hardy 3,306 20.3 N/A
Majority 1,065 6.6 N/A
Turnout 8,142 (est) 75.4 (est) N/A
Registered electors 10,799
Liberal hold Swing N/A
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing N/A

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Representation of the People Act 1867" (PDF). Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  2. ^ "The Statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 31 & 32 Victoria, 1867-8. The Boundary Act, 1868". London: Eyre and Spottiswoode. 1868. pp. 119–166. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. p. 455. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
  4. ^ "The Representation of East Staffordshire". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 10 November 1868. p. 5. Retrieved 18 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "East Staffordshire Nomination". Newcastle Journal. 1 August 1873. p. 3. Retrieved 21 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.