Hastings — UK General Election Results
Hastings was won by Conservative at the 1979 general election, with a majority of 8,919 votes over Labour. This page covers every general election in Hastings from 1832 to 1979.
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, 1832–1979
| Election | Elected | Votes | Vote Share | Runner-up | Majority | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1832 | Frederick North (Whig); John Ashley Warre (Whig) | 239 | 44.1% (top seat) | Howard Elphinstone (Radical) | 27 (3.4 pts) | 70.3% |
| 1835 | Frederick North (Whig); Howard Elphinstone (Radical) | 291 | 38.1% (top seat) | Joseph Planta (Conservative) | 132 (13.5 pts) | 72.9% |
| 1837 | Joseph Planta (Conservative); Robert Hollond (Radical) | 382 | 36.6% (top seat) | Musgrave Brisco (Conservative) | 70 (6.4 pts) | 59.3% |
| 1841 | Robert Hollond (Radical); Joseph Planta (Conservative) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1847 | Robert Hollond (Radical); Musgrave Brisco (Conservative) | 407 | 27.0% (top seat) | John Ashley Warre (Whig) | 20 (1.3 pts) | 86.1% |
| 1852 | Patrick Francis Robertson (Conservative); Musgrave Brisco (Conservative) | 487 | 27.1% (top seat) | John Ashley Warre (Whig) | 10 (0.5 pts) | 84.9% |
| 1857 | Frederick North (Whig); Patrick Francis Robertson (Conservative) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1859 | Frederick North (Liberal); Harry George Vane (Liberal) | 557 | 33.5% (top seat) | Patrick Francis Robertson (Conservative) | 128 (7.0 pts) | 74.0% |
| 1865 | George Waldegrave-Leslie (Liberal); Patrick Francis Robertson (Conservative) | 737 | 26.6% (top seat) | Frederick North (Liberal) | 9 (0.3 pts) | 74.9% |
| 1868 | Thomas Brassey (Liberal); Frederick North (Liberal) | 1,446 | 31.5% (top seat) | Somerset John Gough-Calthorpe (Conservative) | 479 (10.0 pts) | 85.6% |
| 1874 | Thomas Braey (Liberal); Ughtred James Kay-Shuttleworth (Liberal) | 1,495 | 31.8% (top seat) | Patrick Francis Robertson (Conservative) | 251 (4.6 pts) | 87.7% |
| 1880 | Charles James Murray (Conservative); Thomas Braey (Liberal) | 1,838 | 34.6% (top seat) | Ughtred James Kay-Shuttleworth (Liberal) | 136 (2.5 pts) | 69.3% |
| 1885 | Thomas Brassey (Liberal) | 2,712 | 51.5% | Wilson Noble (Conservative) | 162 (3.1 pts) | 92.8% |
| 1886 | Wilson Noble (Conservative) | 2,765 | 55.4% | Thomas Seymour Brand (Liberal) | 535 (10.7 pts) | 88.1% |
| 1892 | Wilson Noble (Conservative) | 3,077 | 53.9% | Charles Hare Hemphill (Liberal) | 449 (7.9 pts) | 86.8% |
| 1895 | William Lucas-Shadwell (Conservative) | 3,205 | 52.8% | Cecil Henry Blundell Ince (Liberal) | 342 (5.6 pts) | 83.2% |
| 1900 | Freeman Freeman-Thomas (Liberal) | 3,399 | 51.6% | Edward Gurney Boyle (Conservative) | 208 (3.2 pts) | 80.9% |
| 1906 | William Harvey du Cros (Conservative) | 4,348 | 52.5% | Freeman Freeman-Thomas (Liberal) | 413 (5.0 pts) | 94.6% |
| Jan 1910 | Arthur Philip Du Cros (Conservative) | 4,634 | 54.7% | Robert Tweedy-Smith (Liberal) | 801 (9.5 pts) | 93.8% |
| Dec 1910 | Arthur Philip Du Cros (Conservative) | 4,397 | 55.6% | Arthur Frederick William Johnson (Liberal) | 882 (11.2 pts) | 87.6% |
| 1918 | Laurance Lyon (Unionist) | 11,210 | 75.9% | Joseph George Butler (Labour) | 7,654 (51.8 pts) | 59.2% |
| 1922 | Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy (Unionist) | 13,991 | 68.3% | Richard Davies (Labour) | 7,499 (36.6 pts) | 71.2% |
| 1923 | Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy (Unionist) | 11,914 | 52.6% | Maria Matilda Ogilvie Gordon (Liberal) | 6,038 (26.7 pts) | 76.4% |
| 1924 | Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy (Unionist) | 15,217 | 71.4% | Muriel Lilah Matters (Labour) | 9,135 (42.9 pts) | 70.5% |
| 1929 | Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy (Unionist) | 15,928 | 52.3% | Thomas Austen Edwin Spearing (Liberal) | 7,924 (26.0 pts) | 73.4% |
| 1931 | Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy (Conservative) | 22,640 | 70.3% | Irene Goddard (Labour) | 17,657 (54.9 pts) | 73.8% |
| 1935 | Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy (Conservative) | 20,905 | 69.0% | William Wate Wood (Labour) | 11,501 (38.0 pts) | 66.5% |
| 1945 | Edmund McNeill Cooper-Key (Conservative) | 14,105 | 51.8% | Lewis Gassman (Labour) | 3,525 (12.9 pts) | 75.3% |
| 1950 | Edmund McNeill Cooper-Key (Conservative) | 30,035 | 52.9% | Lewis Coleman Cohen (Labour) | 12,432 (21.9 pts) | 82.1% |
| 1951 | Edmund McNeill Cooper-Key (Conservative) | 34,495 | 63.7% | Catherine Ellis Williamson (Labour) | 14,874 (27.5 pts) | 77.4% |
| 1955 | Edmund McNeill Cooper-Key (Conservative) | 20,469 | 55.8% | Reginald George White (Labour) | 8,536 (23.3 pts) | 75.7% |
| 1959 | Edmund McNeill Cooper-Key (Conservative) | 22,458 | 62.3% | James Paterson Bryant (Labour) | 8,882 (24.6 pts) | 74.2% |
| 1964 | Edmund McNeill Cooper-Key (Conservative) | 16,902 | 44.5% | Henry Arthur Fountain (Labour) | 5,578 (14.7 pts) | 76.3% |
| 1966 | Edmund Cooper-Key (Conservative) | 15,324 | 40.3% | Bernard Kissen (Labour) | 2,340 (6.2 pts) | 76.4% |
| 1970 | Kenneth Warren (Conservative) | 20,364 | 50.6% | C Bernard Kissen (Labour) | 6,815 (16.9 pts) | 72.9% |
| Feb 1974 | Kenneth Warren (Conservative) | 20,075 | 44.9% | Michael Foster (Labour) | 7,083 (15.8 pts) | 79.0% |
| Oct 1974 | Kenneth Warren (Conservative) | 18,337 | 44.9% | Michael Foster (Labour) | 4,652 (11.4 pts) | 71.6% |
| 1979 | Kenneth Warren (Conservative) | 21,311 | 51.5% | Michael Foster (Labour) | 8,919 (21.6 pts) | 71.7% |
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frederick North | Whig | 356 | 44.1% | Yes |
| John Ashley Warre | Whig | 239 | 29.6% | Yes |
| Howard Elphinstone | Radical | 212 | 26.3% | No |
1835 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frederick North | Whig | 374 | 38.1% | Yes |
| Howard Elphinstone | Radical | 291 | 29.7% | Yes |
| Joseph Planta | Conservative | 159 | 16.2% | No |
| Musgrave Brisco | Conservative | 157 | 16.0% | No |
1837 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Planta | Conservative | 401 | 36.6% | Yes |
| Robert Hollond | Radical | 382 | 34.9% | Yes |
| Musgrave Brisco | Conservative | 312 | 28.5% | No |
1841 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Hollond | Radical | Unopposed | Yes | |
| Joseph Planta | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
1847 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Hollond | Radical | 423 | 27.0% | Yes |
| Musgrave Brisco | Conservative | 407 | 26.0% | Yes |
| John Ashley Warre | Whig | 387 | 24.7% | No |
| Patrick Francis Robertson | Conservative | 348 | 22.2% | No |
| William Downing Bruce | Independent Liberal | 0 | 0.0% | No |
1852 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Francis Robertson | Conservative | 501 | 27.1% | Yes |
| Musgrave Brisco | Conservative | 487 | 26.3% | Yes |
| John Ashley Warre | Whig | 477 | 25.8% | No |
| John Locke | Radical | 386 | 20.9% | No |
1857 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frederick North | Whig | Unopposed | Yes | |
| Patrick Francis Robertson | Conservative | Unopposed | Yes | |
1859 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frederick North | Liberal | 613 | 33.5% | Yes |
| Harry George Vane | Liberal | 557 | 30.5% | Yes |
| Patrick Francis Robertson | Conservative | 429 | 23.5% | No |
| William Drew Lucas-Shadwell | Conservative | 230 | 12.6% | No |
1865 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Waldegrave-Leslie | Liberal | 746 | 26.6% | Yes |
| Patrick Francis Robertson | Conservative | 737 | 26.3% | Yes |
| Frederick North | Liberal | 728 | 26.0% | No |
| John Eldon Gorst | Conservative | 591 | 21.1% | No |
1868 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Brassey | Liberal | 1,508 | 31.5% | Yes |
| Frederick North | Liberal | 1,446 | 30.2% | Yes |
| Somerset John Gough-Calthorpe | Conservative | 967 | 20.2% | No |
| Clement Arthur Thurston | Conservative | 873 | 18.2% | No |
1874 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Braey | Liberal | 1,721 | 31.8% | Yes |
| Ughtred James Kay-Shuttleworth | Liberal | 1,495 | 27.7% | Yes |
| Patrick Francis Robertson | Conservative | 1,244 | 23.0% | No |
| Richard Nicholson | Conservative | 945 | 17.5% | No |
1880 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles James Murray | Conservative | 1,873 | 34.6% | Yes |
| Thomas Braey | Liberal | 1,838 | 34.0% | Yes |
| Ughtred James Kay-Shuttleworth | Liberal | 1,702 | 31.4% | No |
1885
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Brassey | Liberal | 2,712 | 51.5% | Yes |
| Wilson Noble | Conservative | 2,550 | 48.5% | No |
1886
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilson Noble | Conservative | 2,765 | 55.4% | Yes |
| Thomas Seymour Brand | Liberal | 2,230 | 44.6% | No |
1892
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilson Noble | Conservative | 3,077 | 53.9% | Yes |
| Charles Hare Hemphill | Liberal | 2,628 | 46.1% | No |
1895
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Lucas-Shadwell | Conservative | 3,205 | 52.8% | Yes |
| Cecil Henry Blundell Ince | Liberal | 2,863 | 47.2% | No |
1900
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freeman Freeman-Thomas | Liberal | 3,399 | 51.6% | Yes |
| Edward Gurney Boyle | Conservative | 3,191 | 48.4% | No |
1906
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Harvey du Cros | Conservative | 4,348 | 52.5% | Yes |
| Freeman Freeman-Thomas | Liberal | 3,935 | 47.5% | No |
Jan 1910
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur Philip Du Cros | Conservative | 4,634 | 54.7% | Yes |
| Robert Tweedy-Smith | Liberal | 3,833 | 45.3% | No |
Dec 1910
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur Philip Du Cros | Conservative | 4,397 | 55.6% | Yes |
| Arthur Frederick William Johnson | Liberal | 3,515 | 44.4% | No |
1918
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurance Lyon | Unionist | 11,210 | 75.9% | Yes |
| Joseph George Butler | Labour | 3,556 | 24.1% | No |
1922
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy | Unionist | 13,991 | 68.3% | Yes |
| Richard Davies | Labour | 6,492 | 31.7% | No |
1923
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy | Unionist | 11,914 | 52.6% | Yes |
| Maria Matilda Ogilvie Gordon | Liberal | 5,876 | 25.9% | No |
| Richard Davies | Labour | 4,859 | 21.5% | No |
1924
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy | Unionist | 15,217 | 71.4% | Yes |
| Muriel Lilah Matters | Labour | 6,082 | 28.6% | No |
1929
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy | Unionist | 15,928 | 52.3% | Yes |
| Thomas Austen Edwin Spearing | Liberal | 8,004 | 26.3% | No |
| Basil Noble | Labour | 6,516 | 21.4% | No |
1931
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy | Conservative | 22,640 | 70.3% | Yes |
| Irene Goddard | Labour | 4,983 | 15.5% | No |
| Thomas Austen Edwin Spearing | Liberal | 4,561 | 14.2% | No |
1935
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy | Conservative | 20,905 | 69.0% | Yes |
| William Wate Wood | Labour | 9,404 | 31.0% | No |
1945
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmund McNeill Cooper-Key | Conservative | 14,105 | 51.8% | Yes |
| Lewis Gassman | Labour | 10,580 | 38.8% | No |
| Sydney Muller Parkman | Independent Progressive | 2,564 | 9.4% | No |
1950
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmund McNeill Cooper-Key | Conservative | 30,035 | 52.9% | Yes |
| Lewis Coleman Cohen | Labour | 17,603 | 31.0% | No |
| Peter Hurd | Liberal | 9,122 | 16.1% | No |
1951
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmund McNeill Cooper-Key | Conservative | 34,495 | 63.7% | Yes |
| Catherine Ellis Williamson | Labour | 19,621 | 36.3% | No |
1955
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmund McNeill Cooper-Key | Conservative | 20,469 | 55.8% | Yes |
| Reginald George White | Labour | 11,933 | 32.5% | No |
| John Montgomerie | Liberal | 4,303 | 11.7% | No |
1959
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmund McNeill Cooper-Key | Conservative | 22,458 | 62.3% | Yes |
| James Paterson Bryant | Labour | 13,576 | 37.7% | No |
1964
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmund McNeill Cooper-Key | Conservative | 16,902 | 44.5% | Yes |
| Henry Arthur Fountain | Labour | 11,324 | 29.8% | No |
| Jeremy J Arnold | Liberal | 9,716 | 25.6% | No |
1966
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmund Cooper-Key | Conservative | 15,324 | 40.3% | Yes |
| Bernard Kissen | Labour | 12,984 | 34.1% | No |
| Jeremy Arnold | Liberal | 9,744 | 25.6% | No |
1970
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenneth Warren | Conservative | 20,364 | 50.6% | Yes |
| C Bernard Kissen | Labour | 13,549 | 33.7% | No |
| Pamela Shields | Liberal | 6,324 | 15.7% | No |
Feb 1974
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenneth Warren | Conservative | 20,075 | 44.9% | Yes |
| Michael Foster | Labour | 12,992 | 29.0% | No |
| Morris Gerald Cass | Liberal | 11,690 | 26.1% | No |
Oct 1974
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenneth Warren | Conservative | 18,337 | 44.9% | Yes |
| Michael Foster | Labour | 13,685 | 33.5% | No |
| Albert Edward Leggett | Liberal | 8,793 | 21.5% | No |
1979
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenneth Warren | Conservative | 21,311 | 51.5% | Yes |
| Michael Foster | Labour | 12,392 | 30.0% | No |
| Albert Edward Leggett | Liberal | 6,474 | 15.7% | No |
| Gordon Louis McNally | Independent | 839 | 2.0% | No |
| Margaret Joan Anderson | National Front | 344 | 0.8% | No |
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Hastings has been contested at 38 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Whig, Radical, Conservative, Liberal, Unionist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Hastings in the 1979 general election?
Conservative won Hastings in 1979 with 21,311 votes (51.5%), a majority of 8,919 votes over Labour in second place.
Which parties have won Hastings since 1832?
Since 1832, Hastings has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Radical, Unionist, Whig.
What was the closest result in Hastings?
The closest result on record for Hastings was 1865, when Liberal beat Liberal by just 9 votes (0.3 percentage points).
Did Hastings ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Hastings 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.