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Hereford — UK General Election Results

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

Hereford was won by Liberal Democrat at the 2005 general election, with a majority of 962 votes over Conservative. This page covers every general election in Hereford 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 Edward Bolton Clive (Whig); Robert Biddulph (Whig) 380 38.5% (top seat) Richard Blakemore (Conservative) 135 (13.3 pts) 55.3%
1835 Edward Bolton Clive (Whig); Robert Biddulph (Whig) 435 34.7% (top seat) Richard Blakemore (Conservative) 9 (0.7 pts) 74.0%
1837 Edward Bolton Clive (Whig); Daniel Higford Davall Burr (Conservative) 430 34.3% (top seat) Robert Biddulph (Whig) 10 (0.8 pts) 71.2%
1841 Edward Bolton Clive (Whig); Henry William Hobhouse (Whig) 500 39.7% (top seat) Daniel Higford Davall Burr (Conservative) 192 (14.3 pts) 69.7%
1847 Robert Price (Whig); Henry Morgan-Clifford (Whig) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1852 Robert Price (Whig); Henry Morgan-Clifford (Whig) 452 38.1% (top seat) Augustus William Henry Meyrick (Conservative) 160 (13.3 pts) 59.3%
1857 George Clive (Whig); Henry Morgan-Clifford (Whig) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1859 George Clive (Liberal); Henry Morgan-Clifford (Liberal) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1865 Richard Baggallay (Conservative); George Clive (Liberal) 499 34.2% (top seat) Henry Morgan-Clifford (Liberal) 16 (1.1 pts) 61.4%
1868 George Clive (Liberal); John William Shaw Wyllie (Liberal) 1,015 26.9% (top seat) Richard Baggallay (Conservative) 32 (0.8 pts) 82.5%
1874 Evan Pateshall (Conservative); George Clive (Liberal) 921 26.4% (top seat) George Arbuthnot (Conservative) 18 (0.5 pts) 79.1%
1880 Joseph Pulley (Liberal); Robert Threshie Reid (Liberal) 1,321 30.3% (top seat) George Arbuthnot (Conservative) 222 (4.5 pts) 87.5%
1885 Joseph Pulley (Liberal) 1,360 51.2% William Henry Barneby (Conservative) 64 (2.4 pts) 88.5%
1886 Joseph Russell Bailey (Conservative) 1,401 55.2% Joseph Pulley (Liberal) 265 (10.4 pts) 84.5%
1892 William Henry Grenfell (Liberal) 1,507 52.2% Joseph Russell Bailey (Conservative) 127 (4.4 pts) 88.4%
1895 Charles Wallwyn Radcliffe Cooke (Conservative) 1,669 55.2% Edward Robert Pearce Edgecumbe (Liberal) 313 (10.3 pts) 90.9%
1900 John Stanhope Arkwright (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1906 John Stanhope Arkwright (Conservative) 1,934 53.3% Edward Scudamore Lucas-Scudamore (Liberal) 242 (6.7 pts) 94.1%
Jan 1910 John Stanhope Arkwright (Conservative) 2,320 60.2% Evan Lewis Thomas (Liberal) 787 (20.4 pts) 94.8%
Dec 1910 John Arkwright (Conservative) 2,200 60.6% Joseph Davies (Liberal) 770 (21.2 pts) 89.3%
1918 Charles Thornton Pulley (Unionist) 11,680 75.8% Sydney Box (Labour) 7,950 (51.6 pts) 54.6%
1922 Samuel Roberts (Unionist) 13,138 76.2% James Jonas Dodd (Labour) 9,044 (52.5 pts) 62.0%
1923 Samuel Roberts (Unionist) 11,448 55.3% John Howard Whitehouse (Liberal) 3,168 (15.3 pts) 72.6%
1924 Samuel Roberts (Unionist) 13,210 60.6% John Howard Whitehouse (Liberal) 4,606 (21.1 pts) 75.0%
1929 Humphrey Frank Owen (Liberal) 14,208 48.7% Frederic Carnegie Romilly (Unionist) 1,121 (3.8 pts) 78.9%
1931 James Purdon Lewes Thomas (Conservative) 19,418 60.9% Humphrey Frank Owen (Liberal) 6,953 (21.8 pts) 83.9%
1935 James Purdon Lewes Thomas (Conservative) 18,234 61.8% Walter Leslie Dingley (Liberal) 9,381 (31.8 pts) 74.7%
1945 James Purdon Lewes Thomas (Conservative) 17,439 51.8% William Pigott (Labour) 9,080 (27.0 pts) 69.2%
1950 James Purdon Lewes Thomas (Conservative) 18,314 51.6% William Pigott (Labour) 7,129 (20.1 pts) 80.5%
1951 James Purdon Lewes Thomas (Conservative) 21,204 61.3% William Pigott (Labour) 7,808 (22.6 pts) 77.6%
1955 James Purdon Lewes Thomas (Conservative) 18,058 51.8% Humphrey Frank Owen (Liberal) 9,400 (27.0 pts) 78.8%
1959 James David Gibson-Watt (Conservative) 17,763 49.3% Robin Day (Liberal) 7,578 (21.0 pts) 79.5%
1964 James David Gibson-Watt (Conservative) 17,780 45.4% Thomas JH Bishop (Labour) 5,760 (14.7 pts) 79.1%
1966 James Gibson-Watt (Conservative) 17,529 44.6% Michael Prendergast (Labour) 2,747 (7.0 pts) 77.3%
1970 James Gibson-Watt (Conservative) 22,011 53.2% Gerard Purnell (Labour) 7,601 (18.4 pts) 73.4%
Feb 1974 James Gibson-Watt (Conservative) 18,676 41.3% CB Tannant Nash (Liberal) 3,438 (7.6 pts) 78.9%
Oct 1974 Colin Shepherd (Conservative) 17,060 38.9% CB Tannant Nash (Liberal) 1,112 (2.5 pts) 75.8%
1979 Colin Shepherd (Conservative) 23,012 47.7% Christopher Green (Liberal) 4,970 (10.3 pts) 78.4%
1983 Colin Shepherd (Conservative) 23,334 48.1% Christopher Green (Liberal) 2,277 (4.7 pts) 75.8%
1987 Colin Shepherd (Conservative) 24,865 47.5% Christopher Green (Liberal) 1,413 (2.7 pts) 78.0%
1992 Colin Shepherd (Conservative) 26,727 47.2% Gwynoro Jones (Liberal Democrat) 3,413 (6.0 pts) 81.3%
1997 Paul Keetch (Liberal Democrat) 25,198 47.9% Colin Shepherd (Conservative) 6,648 (12.7 pts) 75.2%
2001 Paul Keetch (Liberal Democrat) 18,244 40.9% Virginia Taylor (Conservative) 968 (2.2 pts) 63.5%
2005 Paul Keetch (Liberal Democrat) 20,285 43.3% Virginia Taylor (Conservative) 962 (2.1 pts) 65.3%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1832 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Edward Bolton Clive Whig 39238.5% Yes
Robert Biddulph Whig 38037.4% Yes
Richard Blakemore Conservative 24524.1% No

1835 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Edward Bolton Clive Whig 45734.7% Yes
Robert Biddulph Whig 43533.0% Yes
Richard Blakemore Conservative 42632.3% No

1837 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Edward Bolton Clive Whig 44434.3% Yes
Daniel Higford Davall Burr Conservative 43033.2% Yes
Robert Biddulph Whig 42032.5% No

1841 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Edward Bolton Clive Whig 53139.7% Yes
Henry William Hobhouse Whig 50037.3% Yes
Daniel Higford Davall Burr Conservative 30823.0% No

1847 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Price Whig Unopposed Yes
Henry Morgan-Clifford Whig Unopposed Yes

1852 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Price Whig 45838.1% Yes
Henry Morgan-Clifford Whig 45237.6% Yes
Augustus William Henry Meyrick Conservative 29224.3% No

1857 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Clive Whig Unopposed Yes
Henry Morgan-Clifford Whig Unopposed Yes

1859 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Clive Liberal Unopposed Yes
Henry Morgan-Clifford Liberal Unopposed Yes

1865 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Richard Baggallay Conservative 51034.2% Yes
George Clive Liberal 49933.4% Yes
Henry Morgan-Clifford Liberal 48332.4% No

1868 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Clive Liberal 1,05526.9% Yes
John William Shaw Wyllie Liberal 1,01525.9% Yes
Richard Baggallay Conservative 98325.0% No
George Arbuthnot Conservative 87222.2% No

1874 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Evan Pateshall Conservative 97826.4% Yes
George Clive Liberal 92124.9% Yes
George Arbuthnot Conservative 90324.4% No
Joseph Pulley Liberal 90224.4% No

1880 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Joseph Pulley Liberal 1,50530.3% Yes
Robert Threshie Reid Liberal 1,32126.6% Yes
George Arbuthnot Conservative 1,09922.1% No
Frederick Dixon Dixon-Hartland Conservative 1,04121.0% No

1885

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Joseph Pulley Liberal 1,36051.2% Yes
William Henry Barneby Conservative 1,29648.8% No

1886

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Joseph Russell Bailey Conservative 1,40155.2% Yes
Joseph Pulley Liberal 1,13644.8% No

1892

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Henry Grenfell Liberal 1,50752.2% Yes
Joseph Russell Bailey Conservative 1,38047.8% No

1895

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charles Wallwyn Radcliffe Cooke Conservative 1,66955.2% Yes
Edward Robert Pearce Edgecumbe Liberal 1,35644.8% No

1900

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Stanhope Arkwright Conservative Unopposed Yes

1906

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Stanhope Arkwright Conservative 1,93453.3% Yes
Edward Scudamore Lucas-Scudamore Liberal 1,69246.7% No

Jan 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Stanhope Arkwright Conservative 2,32060.2% Yes
Evan Lewis Thomas Liberal 1,53339.8% No

Dec 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Arkwright Conservative 2,20060.6% Yes
Joseph Davies Liberal 1,43039.4% No

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charles Thornton Pulley Unionist 11,68075.8% Yes
Sydney Box Labour 3,73024.2% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Samuel Roberts Unionist 13,13876.2% Yes
James Jonas Dodd Labour 4,09423.8% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Samuel Roberts Unionist 11,44855.3% Yes
John Howard Whitehouse Liberal 8,28040.0% No
Sydney Box Labour 9814.7% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Samuel Roberts Unionist 13,21060.6% Yes
John Howard Whitehouse Liberal 8,60439.4% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Humphrey Frank Owen Liberal 14,20848.7% Yes
Frederic Carnegie Romilly Unionist 13,08744.8% No
Henry Cooper Labour 1,9016.5% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Purdon Lewes Thomas Conservative 19,41860.9% Yes
Humphrey Frank Owen Liberal 12,46539.1% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Purdon Lewes Thomas Conservative 18,23461.8% Yes
Walter Leslie Dingley Liberal 8,85330.0% No
George Clarke Labour 2,3978.1% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Purdon Lewes Thomas Conservative 17,43951.8% Yes
William Pigott Labour 8,35924.8% No
Archibald Pellow Marshall Liberal 7,87123.4% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Purdon Lewes Thomas Conservative 18,31451.6% Yes
William Pigott Labour 11,18531.5% No
Albert Edward Farr Liberal 5,96516.8% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Purdon Lewes Thomas Conservative 21,20461.3% Yes
William Pigott Labour 13,39638.7% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Purdon Lewes Thomas Conservative 18,05851.8% Yes
Humphrey Frank Owen Liberal 8,65824.8% No
Patricia Seers Labour 8,15423.4% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James David Gibson-Watt Conservative 17,76349.3% Yes
Robin Day Liberal 10,18528.3% No
John W Wardle Labour 8,09722.5% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James David Gibson-Watt Conservative 17,78045.4% Yes
Thomas JH Bishop Labour 12,02030.7% No
Kenneth Vaus Liberal 9,32223.8% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Gibson-Watt Conservative 17,52944.6% Yes
Michael Prendergast Labour 14,78237.6% No
Kenneth Vaus Liberal 6,99617.8% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Gibson-Watt Conservative 22,01153.2% Yes
Gerard Purnell Labour 14,41034.8% No
Thomas Crowther Liberal 4,95312.0% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Gibson-Watt Conservative 18,67641.3% Yes
CB Tannant Nash Liberal 15,23833.7% No
Ivan Ernest Geffen Labour 11,29925.0% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Colin Shepherd Conservative 17,06038.9% Yes
CB Tannant Nash Liberal 15,94836.4% No
Michael Prendergast Labour 10,82024.7% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Colin Shepherd Conservative 23,01247.7% Yes
Christopher Green Liberal 18,04237.4% No
Ian Robert Adshead Labour 7,15014.8% No

1983

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Colin Shepherd Conservative 23,33448.1% Yes
Christopher Green Liberal 21,05743.4% No
John Raymond Peter Evans Labour 3,6907.6% No
Victoria Campbell Murray Green 4631.0% No

1987

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Colin Shepherd Conservative 24,86547.5% Yes
Christopher Green Liberal 23,45244.8% No
Vivian Stanley Woodell Labour 4,0317.7% No

1992

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Colin Shepherd Conservative 26,72747.2% Yes
Gwynoro Jones Liberal Democrat 23,31441.2% No
Josephine Elizabeth Kelly Labour 6,00510.6% No
Christopher Thomas Mattingly Green 5961.1% No

1997

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Paul Keetch Liberal Democrat 25,19847.9% Yes
Colin Shepherd Conservative 18,55035.3% No
Chris Chappell Labour 6,59612.6% No
Clive Easton Referendum Party 2,2094.2% No

2001

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Paul Keetch Liberal Democrat 18,24440.9% Yes
Virginia Taylor Conservative 17,27638.7% No
David Hallam Labour 6,73915.1% No
Clive Easton UKIP 1,1842.7% No
David Gillett Green 1,1812.6% No

2005

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Paul Keetch Liberal Democrat 20,28543.3% Yes
Virginia Taylor Conservative 19,32341.2% No
Thomas Calver Labour 4,80010.2% No
Brian Lunt Green 1,0522.2% No
Christopher Kingsley UKIP 1,0302.2% No
Peter Morton Independent 4040.9% No

Margin Over Time

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

1832: Whig margin 13.3 pts 1835: Whig margin 0.7 pts 1837: Whig margin 0.8 pts 1841: Whig margin 14.3 pts 1852: Whig margin 13.3 pts 1865: Conservative margin 1.1 pts 1868: Liberal margin 0.8 pts 1874: Conservative margin 0.5 pts 1880: Liberal margin 4.5 pts 1885: Liberal margin 2.4 pts 1886: Conservative margin 10.4 pts 1892: Liberal margin 4.4 pts 1895: Conservative margin 10.3 pts 1906: Conservative margin 6.7 pts Jan 1910: Conservative margin 20.4 pts Dec 1910: Conservative margin 21.2 pts 1918: Unionist margin 51.6 pts 1922: Unionist margin 52.5 pts 1923: Unionist margin 15.3 pts 1924: Unionist margin 21.1 pts 1929: Liberal margin 3.8 pts 1931: Conservative margin 21.8 pts 1935: Conservative margin 31.8 pts 1945: Conservative margin 27.0 pts 1950: Conservative margin 20.1 pts 1951: Conservative margin 22.6 pts 1955: Conservative margin 27.0 pts 1959: Conservative margin 21.0 pts 1964: Conservative margin 14.7 pts 1966: Conservative margin 7.0 pts 1970: Conservative margin 18.4 pts Feb 1974: Conservative margin 7.6 pts Oct 1974: Conservative margin 2.5 pts 1979: Conservative margin 10.3 pts 1983: Conservative margin 4.7 pts 1987: Conservative margin 2.7 pts 1992: Conservative margin 6.0 pts 1997: Liberal Democrat margin 12.7 pts 2001: Liberal Democrat margin 2.2 pts 2005: Liberal Democrat margin 2.1 pts 1832 1835 1837 1841 1852 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

Trend

Hereford has been contested at 44 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Whig, Conservative, Liberal, Unionist, Liberal Democrat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Hereford in the 2005 general election?

Liberal Democrat won Hereford in 2005 with 20,285 votes (43.3%), a majority of 962 votes over Conservative in second place.

Which parties have won Hereford since 1832?

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

What was the closest result in Hereford?

The closest result on record for Hereford was 1874, when Conservative beat Conservative by just 18 votes (0.5 percentage points).

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

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