Cambridge — UK General Election Results

Cambridge was won by Labour at the 2024 general election, with a majority of 11,078 votes over Liberal Democrat. This page covers every general election in Cambridge from 1832 to 2024.

This constituency elected more than one MP at once in some years. Before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (and in a shrinking number of boroughs through 1948), most UK constituencies elected two or more MPs together by "multi-member plurality" (block vote): each elector could cast one vote per available seat, and the top vote-getters overall were all elected. In those elections below, "Elected" lists every MP returned, "Votes" is the count that secured the last seat, and "Majority" is the gap between that seat and the first candidate who missed out.

Full Election History, 1832–2024

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1832 Thomas Spring Rice (Whig); George Pryme (Whig) 709 43.9% (top seat) Edward Burtenshaw Sugden (Conservative) 169 (7.6 pts) 74.3%
1835 Thomas Spring Rice (Whig); George Pryme (Whig) 693 34.8% (top seat) James Lewis Knight (Conservative) 5 (0.2 pts) 71.4%
1837 Thomas Spring Rice (Whig); George Pryme (Whig) 678 26.7% (top seat) James Lewis Knight (Conservative) 64 (2.5 pts) 76.0%
1841 John Henry Thomas Manners-Sutton (Conservative); Alexander Cray Grant (Conservative) 722 26.8% (top seat) Richard Foster (Whig) 27 (0.9 pts) 73.0%
1847 Robert Alexander Shafto Adair (Whig); William Frederick Campbell (Whig) 727 40.5% (top seat) John Henry Thomas Manners-Sutton (Conservative) 262 (13.1 pts) 54.6%
1852 Kenneth Macaulay (Conservative); John Harvey Astell (Conservative) 803 27.1% (top seat) Robert Alexander Shafto Adair (Whig) 66 (2.2 pts) 76.5%
1857 Kenneth Macaulay (Conservative); Andrew Steuart (Conservative) 735 26.2% (top seat) Robert Alexander Shafto Adair (Radical) 6 (0.2 pts) 78.2%
1859 Kenneth Macaulay (Conservative); Andrew Steuart (Conservative) 750 26.4% (top seat) Edward Turner Boyd Twisleton (Liberal) 67 (2.4 pts) 79.4%
1865 William Forsyth (Conservative); Francis Sharp Powell (Conservative) 760 25.6% (top seat) Robert Richard Torrens (Liberal) 34 (1.1 pts) 84.0%
1868 Robert Richard Torrens (Liberal); William Fowler (Liberal) 1,857 28.6% (top seat) Francis Sharp Powell (Conservative) 421 (6.4 pts) 82.0%
1874 Alfred George Marten (Conservative); Patrick Boyle Smollett (Conservative) 1,794 25.9% (top seat) William Fowler (Liberal) 20 (0.3 pts) 80.9%
1880 William Fowler (Liberal); Hugh Shield (Liberal) 2,326 27.7% (top seat) Alfred George Marten (Conservative) 323 (3.8 pts) 89.6%
1885 Robert Uniacke-Penrose-Fitzgerald (Conservative) 2,846 51.0% William Fowler (Liberal) 107 (1.9 pts) 90.2%
1886 Robert Uniacke Penrose-Fitzgerald (Conservative) 2,937 54.2% Cyril Joseph Settle Dodd (Liberal) 458 (8.5 pts) 87.5%
1892 Robert Uniacke Penrose-Fitzgerald (Conservative) 3,299 52.0% Rudolph Chambers Lehmann (Liberal) 255 (4.0 pts) 86.2%
1895 Robert Uniacke-Penrose Fitzgerald (Conservative) 3,574 55.0% Alexander Jones David (Liberal) 654 (10.1 pts) 83.3%
1900 Robert Uniacke-Penrose Fitzgerald (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1906 Stanley Owen Buckmaster (Liberal) 4,232 51.9% Almeric Hugh Paget (Conservative) 308 (3.8 pts) 92.2%
Jan 1910 Almeric Hugh Paget (Conservative) 4,667 53.4% Stanley Owen Buckmaster (Liberal) 587 (6.7 pts) 93.1%
Dec 1910 Almeric Hugh Paget (Conservative) 4,427 52.0% Stanley Owen Buckmaster (Liberal) 343 (4.0 pts) 90.6%
1918 Eric Campbell Geddes (Unionist) 11,553 75.3% Thomas Rhondda Williams (Liberal) 7,764 (50.6 pts) 61.0%
1922 George Douglas Cochrane Newton (Unionist) 11,238 48.7% Sydney Cope Morgan (Liberal) 4,233 (18.4 pts) 81.2%
1923 George Douglas Cochrane Newton (Unionist) 9,814 41.9% Sydney Cope Morgan (Liberal) 1,962 (8.4 pts) 80.9%
1924 George Douglas Cochrane Newton (Unionist) 12,628 52.5% Alex Sandy Firth (Liberal) 5,884 (24.5 pts) 81.9%
1929 George Douglas Cochrane Newton (Unionist) 13,867 43.2% David Rennie Hardman (Labour) 3,751 (11.7 pts) 79.8%
1931 George Douglas Cochrane Newton (Conservative) 23,347 73.2% Wood (Labour) 14,795 (46.4 pts) 75.6%
1935 Richard Lionel Tufnell (Conservative) 18,927 58.5% Wood (Labour) 5,491 (17.0 pts) 73.2%
1945 Arthur Leslie Symonds (Labour) 19,671 50.9% Richard Lionel Tufnell (Conservative) 682 (1.8 pts) 69.2%
1950 Hamilton William Kerr (Conservative) 25,151 49.5% Arthur Leslie Symonds (Labour) 4,854 (9.6 pts) 86.5%
1951 Hamilton William Kerr (Conservative) 26,570 52.4% Arthur Leslie Symonds (Labour) 5,677 (11.2 pts) 84.4%
1955 Sir Hamilton William Kerr (Conservative) 27,059 57.6% Arthur Leslie Symonds (Labour) 7,127 (15.2 pts) 78.5%
1959 Sir Hamilton William Kerr (Conservative) 24,350 51.1% Robert Malcolm Deryck Davies (Labour) 6,807 (14.3 pts) 79.8%
1964 Sir Hamilton William Kerr (Conservative) 20,720 43.4% Robert Malcolm Deryck Davies (Labour) 1,389 (2.9 pts) 79.1%
1966 Robert Davies (Labour) 21,963 45.5% David Lane (Conservative) 991 (2.1 pts) 80.0%
1970 David Lane (Conservative) 26,252 55.3% George Bazeley Scurfield (Labour) 5,061 (10.7 pts) 72.4%
Feb 1974 David Lane (Conservative) 24,119 40.6% James Curran (Labour) 4,676 (7.9 pts) 78.7%
Oct 1974 David Lane (Conservative) 21,790 41.3% James Curran (Labour) 2,773 (5.2 pts) 69.6%
1979 Robert James (Conservative) 25,568 45.7% Martin Smith (Labour) 4,796 (8.6 pts) 72.0%
1983 Robert James (Conservative) 20,931 41.5% Matthew Oakeshott (Social Democratic Party) 5,968 (11.8 pts) 75.2%
1987 Robert James (Conservative) 21,624 40.0% Shirley Williams (Social Democratic Party) 5,060 (9.3 pts) 78.0%
1992 Anne Campbell (Labour) 20,039 39.7% Mark Bishop (Conservative) 580 (1.1 pts) 73.2%
1997 Anne Campbell (Labour) 27,436 53.4% David Platt (Conservative) 14,137 (27.5 pts) 71.6%
2001 Anne Campbell (Labour) 19,316 45.1% David Howarth (Liberal Democrat) 8,579 (20.0 pts) 60.6%
2005 David Howarth (Liberal Democrat) 19,152 44.0% Anne Campbell (Labour) 4,339 (10.0 pts) 62.1%
2010 Julian Huppert (Liberal Democrat) 19,621 39.1% Nick Hillman (Conservative) 6,792 (13.6 pts) 67.3%
2015 Daniel Zeichner (Labour) 18,646 36.0% Julian Huppert (Liberal Democrat) 599 (1.2 pts) 62.3%
2017 Daniel Zeichner (Labour) 29,032 51.9% Julian Huppert (Liberal Democrat) 12,661 (22.6 pts) 71.4%
2019 Daniel Zeichner (Labour) 25,776 48.0% Rod Cantrill (Liberal Democrat) 9,639 (17.9 pts) 67.4%
2024 Daniel Zeichner (Labour) 19,614 46.6% Cheney Payne (Liberal Democrat) 11,078 (26.3 pts) 60.4%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1832 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Spring Rice Whig 97943.9% Yes
George Pryme Whig 70931.8% Yes
Edward Burtenshaw Sugden Conservative 54024.2% No

1835 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Spring Rice Whig 73634.8% Yes
George Pryme Whig 69332.7% Yes
James Lewis Knight Conservative 68832.5% No

1837 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Spring Rice Whig 69026.7% Yes
George Pryme Whig 67826.3% Yes
James Lewis Knight Conservative 61423.8% No
John Henry Thomas Matters-Sutton Conservative 59923.2% No

1841 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Henry Thomas Manners-Sutton Conservative 75826.8% Yes
Alexander Cray Grant Conservative 72225.5% Yes
Richard Foster Whig 69524.5% No
Cosmo Russell Whig 65623.2% No

1847 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Alexander Shafto Adair Whig 81140.5% Yes
William Frederick Campbell Whig 72736.3% Yes
John Henry Thomas Manners-Sutton Conservative 46523.2% No

1852 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Kenneth Macaulay Conservative 82127.1% Yes
John Harvey Astell Conservative 80326.5% Yes
Robert Alexander Shafto Adair Whig 73724.3% No
Francis Mowatt Radical 67322.2% No

1857 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Kenneth Macaulay Conservative 77026.2% Yes
Andrew Steuart Conservative 73525.0% Yes
Robert Alexander Shafto Adair Radical 72924.8% No
John Tomlinson Hibbert Radical 70223.9% No

1859 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Kenneth Macaulay Conservative 75326.4% Yes
Andrew Steuart Conservative 75026.3% Yes
Edward Turner Boyd Twisleton Liberal 68323.9% No
Francis Mowatt Liberal 66923.4% No

1865 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Forsyth Conservative 76225.6% Yes
Francis Sharp Powell Conservative 76025.6% Yes
Robert Richard Torrens Liberal 72624.4% No
William Dougal Christie Liberal 72524.4% No

1868 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Richard Torrens Liberal 1,87928.6% Yes
William Fowler Liberal 1,85728.3% Yes
Francis Sharp Powell Conservative 1,43621.9% No
John Eldon Gorst Conservative 1,38921.2% No

1874 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alfred George Marten Conservative 1,85625.9% Yes
Patrick Boyle Smollett Conservative 1,79425.0% Yes
William Fowler Liberal 1,77424.8% No
Robert Richard Torrens Liberal 1,73824.3% No

1880 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Fowler Liberal 2,38627.7% Yes
Hugh Shield Liberal 2,32627.0% Yes
Alfred George Marten Conservative 2,00323.2% No
Patrick Boyle Smollett Conservative 1,90222.1% No

1885

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Uniacke-Penrose-Fitzgerald Conservative 2,84651.0% Yes
William Fowler Liberal 2,73949.0% No

1886

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Uniacke Penrose-Fitzgerald Conservative 2,93754.2% Yes
Cyril Joseph Settle Dodd Liberal 2,47945.8% No

1892

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Uniacke Penrose-Fitzgerald Conservative 3,29952.0% Yes
Rudolph Chambers Lehmann Liberal 3,04448.0% No

1895

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Uniacke-Penrose Fitzgerald Conservative 3,57455.0% Yes
Alexander Jones David Liberal 2,92045.0% No

1900

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Uniacke-Penrose Fitzgerald Conservative Unopposed Yes

1906

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Stanley Owen Buckmaster Liberal 4,23251.9% Yes
Almeric Hugh Paget Conservative 3,92448.1% No

Jan 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Almeric Hugh Paget Conservative 4,66753.4% Yes
Stanley Owen Buckmaster Liberal 4,08046.6% No

Dec 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Almeric Hugh Paget Conservative 4,42752.0% Yes
Stanley Owen Buckmaster Liberal 4,08448.0% No

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Eric Campbell Geddes Unionist 11,55375.3% Yes
Thomas Rhondda Williams Liberal 3,78924.7% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Douglas Cochrane Newton Unionist 11,23848.7% Yes
Sydney Cope Morgan Liberal 7,00530.4% No
Alec Sandy Firth Labour 4,81020.9% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Douglas Cochrane Newton Unionist 9,81441.9% Yes
Sydney Cope Morgan Liberal 7,85233.5% No
Alec Sandy Firth Labour 5,74124.5% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Douglas Cochrane Newton Unionist 12,62852.5% Yes
Alex Sandy Firth Liberal 6,74428.1% No
Frank Reyner Salter Labour 4,67019.4% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Douglas Cochrane Newton Unionist 13,86743.2% Yes
David Rennie Hardman Labour 10,11631.5% No
Percy Maurice Maclardie Sheldon Amos Liberal 8,12425.3% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Douglas Cochrane Newton Conservative 23,34773.2% Yes
Wood Labour 8,55226.8% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Richard Lionel Tufnell Conservative 18,92758.5% Yes
Wood Labour 13,43641.5% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Arthur Leslie Symonds Labour 19,67150.9% Yes
Richard Lionel Tufnell Conservative 18,98949.1% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Hamilton William Kerr Conservative 25,15149.5% Yes
Arthur Leslie Symonds Labour 20,29740.0% No
Francis Josephy Liberal 5,35510.5% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Hamilton William Kerr Conservative 26,57052.4% Yes
Arthur Leslie Symonds Labour 20,89341.2% No
Francis Josephy Liberal 3,2576.4% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Sir Hamilton William Kerr Conservative 27,05957.6% Yes
Arthur Leslie Symonds Labour 19,93242.4% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Sir Hamilton William Kerr Conservative 24,35051.1% Yes
Robert Malcolm Deryck Davies Labour 17,54336.8% No
Arnold Geoffroy de Montmorency Liberal 5,79212.1% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Sir Hamilton William Kerr Conservative 20,72043.4% Yes
Robert Malcolm Deryck Davies Labour 19,33140.5% No
Michael WB O'Loughlin Liberal 7,72316.2% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Davies Labour 21,96345.5% Yes
David Lane Conservative 20,97243.4% No
Michael O'Loughlin Liberal 4,92810.2% No
Peter King Independent 4390.9% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
David Lane Conservative 26,25255.3% Yes
George Bazeley Scurfield Labour 21,19144.7% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
David Lane Conservative 24,11940.6% Yes
James Curran Labour 19,44332.7% No
Michael O'Loughlin Liberal 15,49126.1% No
Susan Inkster Independent 3690.6% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
David Lane Conservative 21,79041.3% Yes
James Curran Labour 19,01736.0% No
Michael O'Loughlin Liberal 11,12921.1% No
Christopher Curry United Democratic Party 8851.7% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert James Conservative 25,56845.7% Yes
Martin Smith Labour 20,77237.1% No
John Wakelin Liberal 9,28516.6% No
Derek Holland National Front 3110.6% No

1983

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert James Conservative 20,93141.5% Yes
Matthew Oakeshott Social Democratic Party 14,96329.7% No
Janet Jones Labour 14,24028.2% No
John Dougrez-Lewis Monster Raving Loony 2860.6% No

1987

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert James Conservative 21,62440.0% Yes
Shirley Williams Social Democratic Party 16,56430.6% No
Christopher Howard Labour 15,31928.3% No
Margaret Wright Green 5971.1% No

1992

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Anne Campbell Labour 20,03939.7% Yes
Mark Bishop Conservative 19,45938.5% No
David Howarth Liberal Democrat 10,03719.9% No
Tim Cooper Green 7201.4% No
Richard Brettell-Winnington Monster Raving Loony 1750.3% No
Roger Chalmers Natural Law 830.2% No

1997

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Anne Campbell Labour 27,43653.4% Yes
David Platt Conservative 13,29925.9% No
Geoffrey Heathcock Liberal Democrat 8,28716.1% No
William Burrows Referendum Party 1,2622.5% No
Margaret Wright Green 6541.3% No
Anna Johnstone ProLife Alliance 1910.4% No
Raymond Athow Workers Revolutionary 1070.2% No
Patrice Gladwin Natural Law 1030.2% No

2001

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Anne Campbell Labour 19,31645.1% Yes
David Howarth Liberal Democrat 10,73725.1% No
Graham Stuart Conservative 9,82922.9% No
Stephen Lawrence Green 1,4133.3% No
Howard Senter Socialist Alliance 7161.7% No
Len Baynes UKIP 5321.2% No
Clare Underwood ProLife Alliance 2320.5% No
Margaret Courtney Workers Revolutionary 610.1% No

2005

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
David Howarth Liberal Democrat 19,15244.0% Yes
Anne Campbell Labour 14,81334.0% No
Ian Lyon Conservative 7,19316.5% No
Martin Lucas-Smith Green 1,2452.9% No
Helene Davies UKIP 5691.3% No
Tom Woodcock Respect 4771.1% No
Suzon Forscey-Moore Independent 600.1% No
Graham Wilkinson Independent 600.1% No

2010

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Julian Huppert Liberal Democrat 19,62139.1% Yes
Nick Hillman Conservative 12,82925.6% No
Daniel Zeichner Labour 12,17424.3% No
Tony Juniper Green 3,8047.6% No
Peter Burkinshaw UKIP 1,1952.4% No
Martin Booth Cambridge Socialists 3620.7% No
Old Holborn Independent 1450.3% No

2015

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Daniel Zeichner Labour 18,64636.0% Yes
Julian Huppert Liberal Democrat 18,04734.9% No
Chamali Fernando Conservative 8,11715.7% No
Rupert Read Green 4,1097.9% No
Patrick O'Flynn UKIP 2,6685.2% No
Keith Garrett Rebooting Democracy 1870.4% No

2017

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Daniel Zeichner Labour 29,03251.9% Yes
Julian Huppert Liberal Democrat 16,37129.3% No
John Hayward Conservative 9,13316.3% No
Stuart Tuckwood Green 1,2652.3% No
Keith Garrett Rebooting Democracy 1330.2% No

2019

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Daniel Zeichner Labour 25,77648.0% Yes
Rod Cantrill Liberal Democrat 16,13730.0% No
Russell Perrin Conservative 8,34215.5% No
Jeremy Caddick Green 2,1644.0% No
Peter Dawe Brexit Party 1,0411.9% No
Miles Hurley Independent 1110.2% No
Jane Robins Social Democratic Party 910.2% No
Keith Garrett Rebooting Democracy 670.1% No

2024

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Daniel Zeichner Labour 19,61446.6% Yes
Cheney Payne Liberal Democrat 8,53620.3% No
Sarah Nicmanis Green 6,84216.3% No
Shane Manning Conservative 5,07312.0% No
Khalid Abu-Tayyem Workers Party of Britain 9512.3% No
David Carmona Independent 8191.9% No
Keith Garrett Rebooting Democracy 2650.6% No

Margin Over Time

Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.

1832: Whig margin 7.6 pts 1835: Whig margin 0.2 pts 1837: Whig margin 2.5 pts 1841: Conservative margin 0.9 pts 1847: Whig margin 13.1 pts 1852: Conservative margin 2.2 pts 1857: Conservative margin 0.2 pts 1859: Conservative margin 2.4 pts 1865: Conservative margin 1.1 pts 1868: Liberal margin 6.4 pts 1874: Conservative margin 0.3 pts 1880: Liberal margin 3.8 pts 1885: Conservative margin 1.9 pts 1886: Conservative margin 8.5 pts 1892: Conservative margin 4.0 pts 1895: Conservative margin 10.1 pts 1906: Liberal margin 3.8 pts Jan 1910: Conservative margin 6.7 pts Dec 1910: Conservative margin 4.0 pts 1918: Unionist margin 50.6 pts 1922: Unionist margin 18.4 pts 1923: Unionist margin 8.4 pts 1924: Unionist margin 24.5 pts 1929: Unionist margin 11.7 pts 1931: Conservative margin 46.4 pts 1935: Conservative margin 17.0 pts 1945: Labour margin 1.8 pts 1950: Conservative margin 9.6 pts 1951: Conservative margin 11.2 pts 1955: Conservative margin 15.2 pts 1959: Conservative margin 14.3 pts 1964: Conservative margin 2.9 pts 1966: Labour margin 2.1 pts 1970: Conservative margin 10.7 pts Feb 1974: Conservative margin 7.9 pts Oct 1974: Conservative margin 5.2 pts 1979: Conservative margin 8.6 pts 1983: Conservative margin 11.8 pts 1987: Conservative margin 9.3 pts 1992: Labour margin 1.1 pts 1997: Labour margin 27.5 pts 2001: Labour margin 20.0 pts 2005: Liberal Democrat margin 10.0 pts 2010: Liberal Democrat margin 13.6 pts 2015: Labour margin 1.2 pts 2017: Labour margin 22.6 pts 2019: Labour margin 17.9 pts 2024: Labour margin 26.3 pts 1832 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1906 Jan 1910 Dec 1910 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 Feb 1974 Oct 1974 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017 2019 2024

Trend

Cambridge has been contested at 49 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Whig, Conservative, Liberal, Unionist, Labour, Liberal Democrat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Cambridge in the 2024 general election?

Labour won Cambridge in 2024 with 19,614 votes (46.6%), a majority of 11,078 votes over Liberal Democrat in second place.

Which parties have won Cambridge since 1832?

Since 1832, Cambridge has been won by: Conservative, Labour, Liberal, Liberal Democrat, Unionist, Whig.

What was the closest result in Cambridge?

The closest result on record for Cambridge was 1835, when Whig beat Conservative by just 5 votes (0.2 percentage points).

Did Cambridge ever elect more than one MP at a time?

Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Cambridge elected multiple MPs at once in some elections on this page (a system called multi-member plurality, or 'block vote'), each voter casting one vote per available seat.

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