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Harwich — UK General Election Results

Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30

Harwich was won by Conservative at the 2005 general election, with a majority of 920 votes over Labour. This page covers every general election in Harwich from 1832 to 2005.

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, 1832–2005

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1832 John Charles Herries (Conservative); Christopher Thomas Tower (Whig) 93 26.3% (top seat) Nicholas Philpot Leader (Conservative) 3 (0.8 pts) 86.2%
1835 John Charles Herries (Conservative); Francis Robert Bonham (Conservative) 78 46.2% (top seat) Robert Norris Verner (Whig) 43 (20.5 pts) 67.3%
1837 John Charles Herries (Conservative); Alexander Ellice (Whig) 75 25.9% (top seat) Christopher Thomas Tower (Whig) 1 (0.3 pts) 89.5%
1841 John Attwood (Conservative); William Beresford (Conservative) 94 27.2% (top seat) John Bagshaw (Whig) 10 (2.9 pts) 92.7%
1847 John Bagshaw (Whig); John Attwood (Peelite) 184 45.9% (top seat) William Knight (Conservative) 119 (25.7 pts) 78.6%
1852 George Montagu Warren Peacocke (Conservative); David Waddington (Conservative) 134 26.8% (top seat) John Bagshaw (Whig) 9 (1.8 pts) 92.6%
1857 John Bagshaw (Whig); George Drought Warburton (Independent Liberal) 147 32.6% (top seat) Henry Jervis-White-Jervis (Conservative) 34 (6.4 pts) 84.8%
1859 Henry Jervis-White-Jervis (Conservative); William Frederick Campbell (Liberal) 155 25.7% (top seat) Richard Thomas Rowley (Conservative) 3 (0.5 pts) 90.9%
1865 Henry Jervis-White-Jervis (Conservative); John Kelk (Conservative) 194 35.0% (top seat) Michael Wills (Liberal) 77 (12.9 pts) 77.3%
1868 Henry Jervis-White-Jervis (Conservative) 328 69.9% David James Jenkins (Liberal) 187 (39.9 pts) 75.4%
1874 Henry Jervis-White-Jervis (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1880 Henry Whatley Tyler (Conservative) 368 54.3% George Tomline (Liberal) 58 (8.6 pts) 89.3%
1885 James Round (Conservative) 4,584 54.5% James Jackson (Liberal) 760 (9.0 pts) 82.9%
1886 James Round (Conservative) 4,623 66.6% James Wicks (Liberal) 2,301 (33.1 pts) 68.5%
1892 James Round (Conservative) 4,113 51.9% Robert Varty (Liberal) 305 (3.9 pts) 72.5%
1895 James Round (Conservative) 4,566 63.0% Robert Varty (Liberal) 1,881 (25.9 pts) 64.2%
1900 James Round (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1906 Arthur Levy Lever (Liberal) 5,650 51.6% Harry Kottingham Newton (Conservative) 342 (3.1 pts) 83.4%
Jan 1910 Harry Kottingham Newton (Conservative) 6,757 54.6% Arthur Levy Lever (Liberal) 1,149 (9.3 pts) 86.6%
Dec 1910 Harry Kottingham Newton (Conservative) 6,470 56.4% Frank Stapledon Hay (Liberal) 1,462 (12.7 pts) 80.4%
1918 Harry Kottingham Newton (Unionist) 8,261 53.9% Edward Aylmer Digby (Liberal) 1,197 (7.8 pts) 55.9%
1922 Albert Ernest Hillary (Liberal) 10,556 51.9% Geoffrey St John Strutt (Unionist) 764 (3.8 pts) 71.6%
1923 Albert Ernest Hillary (Liberal) 12,059 54.3% Frederick Gill Rice (Unionist) 1,917 (8.6 pts) 76.2%
1924 Frederick Gill Rice (Unionist) 12,219 51.5% Albert Ernest Hillary (Liberal) 2,315 (9.8 pts) 79.0%
1929 Percy John Pybus (Liberal) 16,309 52.8% John Dixon Mayhew (Unionist) 2,700 (8.8 pts) 76.2%
1931 Percy John Pybus (National Liberal) 26,818 86.4% Ernest Lionel McKeag (Labour) 22,589 (72.8 pts) 72.6%
1935 Joseph Stanley Holmes (National Liberal) 21,716 70.3% Ambrose Erie Applebe (Labour) 12,546 (40.6 pts) 63.9%
1945 Joseph Stanley Holmes (National Liberal) 16,452 55.7% Joseph Hewitt (Labour) 3,385 (11.5 pts) 68.7%
1950 Joseph Stanley Holmes (National Liberal) 22,814 50.6% Morris Janis (Labour) 6,058 (13.4 pts) 81.9%
1951 Joseph Stanley Holmes (Conservative) 26,169 58.9% Morris Janis (Labour) 7,925 (17.8 pts) 78.8%
1955 Julian Errington Ridsdale (Conservative) 23,889 56.4% Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Catlin (Labour) 9,464 (22.4 pts) 75.6%
1959 Julian Errington Ridsdale (Conservative) 23,653 53.2% William Oscar James Robinson (Labour) 12,065 (27.1 pts) 76.5%
1964 Julian Errington Ridsdale (Conservative) 25,102 50.4% David Julian Winnick (Labour) 10,225 (20.5 pts) 75.1%
1966 Julian Ridsdale (National Liberal) 24,975 47.5% Stephen Hatch (Labour) 6,640 (12.6 pts) 74.4%
1970 Julian Ridsdale (Conservative) 32,754 53.5% Andrew Phillips (Labour) 12,831 (21.0 pts) 74.5%
Feb 1974 Julian Ridsdale (Conservative) 32,452 45.6% David William Cadman (Liberal) 12,463 (17.5 pts) 80.7%
Oct 1974 Julian Ridsdale (Conservative) 29,963 46.7% John Beresford Fryer (Labour) 10,828 (16.9 pts) 72.3%
1979 Julian Ridsdale (Conservative) 37,685 54.3% Christopher William Brooks (Labour) 20,687 (29.8 pts) 74.7%
1983 Sir Julian Ridsdale (Conservative) 27,422 54.1% Robert Martin Goodenough (Liberal) 12,502 (24.7 pts) 70.2%
1987 Sir Julian Ridsdale (Conservative) 29,344 51.8% Elizabeth Lynne (Liberal) 12,082 (21.3 pts) 73.5%
1992 Iain Sproat (Conservative) 32,369 51.9% Pauline Bevan (Liberal Democrat) 17,159 (27.5 pts) 77.7%
1997 Ivan Henderson (Labour) 20,740 38.8% Iain Sproat (Conservative) 1,216 (2.3 pts) 70.6%
2001 Ivan Henderson (Labour) 21,951 45.6% Iain Sproat (Conservative) 2,596 (5.4 pts) 62.1%
2005 Douglas Carswell (Conservative) 21,235 42.1% Ivan Henderson (Labour) 920 (1.8 pts) 62.6%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1832 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Charles Herries Conservative 9726.3% Yes
Christopher Thomas Tower Whig 9325.2% Yes
Nicholas Philpot Leader Conservative 9024.4% No
John Disney Whig 8924.1% No

1835 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Charles Herries Conservative 9746.2% Yes
Francis Robert Bonham Conservative 7837.1% Yes
Robert Norris Verner Whig 3516.7% No

1837 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Charles Herries Conservative 7525.9% Yes
Alexander Ellice Whig 7525.9% Yes
Christopher Thomas Tower Whig 7425.5% No
Francis Robert Bonham Conservative 6622.8% No

1841 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Attwood Conservative 9427.2% Yes
William Beresford Conservative 9427.2% Yes
John Bagshaw Whig 8424.3% No
Denis Le Marchant Whig 7321.2% No

1847 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Bagshaw Whig 21345.9% Yes
John Attwood Peelite 18439.7% Yes
William Knight Conservative 6514.0% No
Dudley St Leger Hill Conservative 20.4% No

1852 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Montagu Warren Peacocke Conservative 13526.8% Yes
David Waddington Conservative 13426.6% Yes
John Bagshaw Whig 12524.8% No
George Drought Warburton Independent Liberal 11021.8% No

1857 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Bagshaw Whig 17332.6% Yes
George Drought Warburton Independent Liberal 14727.7% Yes
Henry Jervis-White-Jervis Conservative 11321.3% No
Benjamin Buck Greene Conservative 9818.5% No

1859 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry Jervis-White-Jervis Conservative 15625.7% Yes
William Frederick Campbell Liberal 15525.5% Yes
Richard Thomas Rowley Conservative 15225.0% No
John Clark Marshman Liberal 14423.7% No

1865 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry Jervis-White-Jervis Conservative 20935.0% Yes
John Kelk Conservative 19432.5% Yes
Michael Wills Liberal 11719.6% No
James Fitzjames Stephen Liberal 7712.9% No

1868

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry Jervis-White-Jervis Conservative 32869.9% Yes
David James Jenkins Liberal 14130.1% No

1874

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry Jervis-White-Jervis Conservative Unopposed Yes

1880

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry Whatley Tyler Conservative 36854.3% Yes
George Tomline Liberal 31045.7% No

1885

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Round Conservative 4,58454.5% Yes
James Jackson Liberal 3,82445.5% No

1886

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Round Conservative 4,62366.6% Yes
James Wicks Liberal 2,32233.4% No

1892

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Round Conservative 4,11351.9% Yes
Robert Varty Liberal 3,80848.1% No

1895

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Round Conservative 4,56663.0% Yes
Robert Varty Liberal 2,68537.0% No

1900

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Round Conservative Unopposed Yes

1906

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Arthur Levy Lever Liberal 5,65051.6% Yes
Harry Kottingham Newton Conservative 5,30848.4% No

Jan 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Harry Kottingham Newton Conservative 6,75754.6% Yes
Arthur Levy Lever Liberal 5,60845.4% No

Dec 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Harry Kottingham Newton Conservative 6,47056.4% Yes
Frank Stapledon Hay Liberal 5,00843.6% No

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Harry Kottingham Newton Unionist 8,26153.9% Yes
Edward Aylmer Digby Liberal 7,06446.1% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Albert Ernest Hillary Liberal 10,55651.9% Yes
Geoffrey St John Strutt Unionist 9,79248.1% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Albert Ernest Hillary Liberal 12,05954.3% Yes
Frederick Gill Rice Unionist 10,14245.7% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Frederick Gill Rice Unionist 12,21951.5% Yes
Albert Ernest Hillary Liberal 9,90441.7% No
Alfred Barton Labour 1,6046.8% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Percy John Pybus Liberal 16,30952.8% Yes
John Dixon Mayhew Unionist 13,60944.1% No
John Elliott Independent Unionist 9463.1% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Percy John Pybus National Liberal 26,81886.4% Yes
Ernest Lionel McKeag Labour 4,22913.6% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Joseph Stanley Holmes National Liberal 21,71670.3% Yes
Ambrose Erie Applebe Labour 9,17029.7% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Joseph Stanley Holmes National Liberal 16,45255.7% Yes
Joseph Hewitt Labour 13,06744.3% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Joseph Stanley Holmes National Liberal 22,81450.6% Yes
Morris Janis Labour 16,75637.1% No
Leonard Train Liberal 5,53612.3% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Joseph Stanley Holmes Conservative 26,16958.9% Yes
Morris Janis Labour 18,24441.1% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Julian Errington Ridsdale Conservative 23,88956.4% Yes
Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Catlin Labour 14,42534.1% No
Wolf Isaac Akst Liberal 4,0109.5% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Julian Errington Ridsdale Conservative 23,65353.2% Yes
William Oscar James Robinson Labour 11,58826.0% No
Thomas E Dale Liberal 5,50712.4% No
Leonard F Rose Independent 3,7448.4% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Julian Errington Ridsdale Conservative 25,10250.4% Yes
David Julian Winnick Labour 14,87729.9% No
Thomas E Dale Liberal 9,82419.7% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Julian Ridsdale National Liberal 24,97547.5% Yes
Stephen Hatch Labour 18,33534.9% No
Thomas Dale Liberal 9,21917.6% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Julian Ridsdale Conservative 32,75453.5% Yes
Andrew Phillips Labour 19,92332.6% No
Thomas Dale Liberal 8,51913.9% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Julian Ridsdale Conservative 32,45245.6% Yes
David William Cadman Liberal 19,98928.1% No
John Beresford Fryer Labour 18,69726.3% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Julian Ridsdale Conservative 29,96346.7% Yes
John Beresford Fryer Labour 19,13529.8% No
Thomas Kellock Liberal 15,04823.5% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Julian Ridsdale Conservative 37,68554.3% Yes
Christopher William Brooks Labour 16,99824.5% No
Robert Martin Goodenough Liberal 14,09420.3% No
Albert Wallis Thomas Pearson National Front 5970.9% No

1983

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Sir Julian Ridsdale Conservative 27,42254.1% Yes
Robert Martin Goodenough Liberal 14,92029.5% No
Ralph Knight Labour 8,30216.4% No

1987

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Sir Julian Ridsdale Conservative 29,34451.8% Yes
Elizabeth Lynne Liberal 17,26230.5% No
Ralph Knight Labour 9,92017.5% No
Christopher Humphrey Independent 1610.3% No

1992

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Iain Sproat Conservative 32,36951.9% Yes
Pauline Bevan Liberal Democrat 15,21024.4% No
Ralph Knight Labour 14,51123.3% No
Eileen McGrath Natural Law 2790.4% No

1997

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Ivan Henderson Labour 20,74038.8% Yes
Iain Sproat Conservative 19,52436.5% No
Ann Elvin Liberal Democrat 7,03713.1% No
Jeffrey Titford Referendum Party 4,9239.2% No
Ralph Knight Independent 1,2902.4% No

2001

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Ivan Henderson Labour 21,95145.6% Yes
Iain Sproat Conservative 19,35540.2% No
Peter Wilcock Liberal Democrat 4,0998.5% No
Tony Finnegan-Butler UKIP 2,4635.1% No
Clive Lawrance Independent 2470.5% No

2005

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Douglas Carswell Conservative 21,23542.1% Yes
Ivan Henderson Labour 20,31540.3% No
Keith Tully Liberal Democrat 5,91311.7% No
Jeffrey Titford UKIP 2,3144.6% No
John Tipple Respect 4770.9% No
Christopher Humphrey Independent 1540.3% No

Margin Over Time

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

1832: Conservative margin 0.8 pts 1835: Conservative margin 20.5 pts 1837: Conservative margin 0.3 pts 1841: Conservative margin 2.9 pts 1847: Whig margin 25.7 pts 1852: Conservative margin 1.8 pts 1857: Whig margin 6.4 pts 1859: Conservative margin 0.5 pts 1865: Conservative margin 12.9 pts 1868: Conservative margin 39.9 pts 1880: Conservative margin 8.6 pts 1885: Conservative margin 9.0 pts 1886: Conservative margin 33.1 pts 1892: Conservative margin 3.9 pts 1895: Conservative margin 25.9 pts 1906: Liberal margin 3.1 pts Jan 1910: Conservative margin 9.3 pts Dec 1910: Conservative margin 12.7 pts 1918: Unionist margin 7.8 pts 1922: Liberal margin 3.8 pts 1923: Liberal margin 8.6 pts 1924: Unionist margin 9.8 pts 1929: Liberal margin 8.8 pts 1931: National Liberal margin 72.8 pts 1935: National Liberal margin 40.6 pts 1945: National Liberal margin 11.5 pts 1950: National Liberal margin 13.4 pts 1951: Conservative margin 17.8 pts 1955: Conservative margin 22.4 pts 1959: Conservative margin 27.1 pts 1964: Conservative margin 20.5 pts 1966: National Liberal margin 12.6 pts 1970: Conservative margin 21.0 pts Feb 1974: Conservative margin 17.5 pts Oct 1974: Conservative margin 16.9 pts 1979: Conservative margin 29.8 pts 1983: Conservative margin 24.7 pts 1987: Conservative margin 21.3 pts 1992: Conservative margin 27.5 pts 1997: Labour margin 2.3 pts 2001: Labour margin 5.4 pts 2005: Conservative margin 1.8 pts 1832 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1868 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

Trend

Harwich has been contested at 44 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Conservative, Whig, Peelite, Independent Liberal, Liberal, Unionist, National Liberal, Labour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Harwich in the 2005 general election?

Conservative won Harwich in 2005 with 21,235 votes (42.1%), a majority of 920 votes over Labour in second place.

Which parties have won Harwich since 1832?

Since 1832, Harwich has been won by: Conservative, Independent Liberal, Labour, Liberal, National Liberal, Peelite, Unionist, Whig.

What was the closest result in Harwich?

The closest result on record for Harwich was 1837, when Conservative beat Whig by just 1 votes (0.3 percentage points).

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

Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Harwich 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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