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Hertford — UK General Election Results

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

Hertford was won by Conservative at the 1970 general election, with a majority of 9,570 votes over Labour. This page covers every general election in Hertford from 1832 to 1970.

Full Election History, 1832–1970

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1832 Henry John Chetwynd-Talbot (Conservative) 432 32.5% Philip Henry Stanhope (Conservative) 51 (3.8 pts) 94.9%
1835 Philip Henry Stanhope (Conservative) 359 35.7% William Francis Cowper (Whig) 32 (3.2 pts) 79.5%
1837 William Francis Cowper (Whig) 378 38.5% Philip Henry Stanhope (Conservative) 72 (7.3 pts) 77.7%
1841 William Francis Cowper (Whig) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1847 William Francis Cowper (Whig) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1852 William Francis Cowper (Whig) 301 32.3% Thomas Chambers (Radical) 66 (7.1 pts) 68.0%
1857 William Francis Cowper (Whig) 301 37.2% Walter Minto Townsend-Farquhar (Conservative) 28 (3.5 pts) 65.2%
1859 William Francis Cowper (Liberal) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1865 William Francis Cowper (Liberal) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1868 Robert Dimsdale (Conservative) 434 55.7% Frederick Waymouth Gibbs (Liberal) 89 (11.4 pts) 84.5%
1874 Arthur James Balfour (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1880 Arthur James Balfour (Conservative) 564 58.5% Edward Ernest Bowen (Liberal) 164 (17.0 pts) 89.2%
1885 Abel Smith (Conservative) 4,263 58.1% Henry Frederick Cowper (Liberal) 1,191 (16.2 pts) 83.0%
1886 Abel Smith (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1892 Abel Smith (Conservative) 4,276 60.3% Edwin Robert Speirs (Liberal) 1,458 (20.5 pts) 75.8%
1895 Abel Smith (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1900 Abel Smith (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1906 Abel Smith (Conservative) 4,836 50.4% Charles Roden Buxton (Liberal) 80 (0.8 pts) 86.2%
Jan 1910 John Fowke Lancelot Rolleston (Conservative) 6,147 58.0% Edmund Broughton Barnard (Liberal) 1,692 (16.0 pts) 89.6%
Dec 1910 John Fowke Lancelot Rolleston (Conservative) 5,594 57.0% George Strachan Pawle (Liberal) 1,368 (13.9 pts) 83.0%
1918 Noel Pemberton Billing (Independent) 9,628 52.1% Edmund Broughton Barnard (National Party) 2,470 (13.4 pts) 57.4%
1922 Murray Fraser Sueter (Unionist) 11,406 63.6% Thoas Greenwood (Liberal) 4,872 (27.2 pts) 54.1%
1923 Murray Fraser Sueter (Unionist) 10,660 52.2% Thomas Greenwood (Liberal) 897 (4.4 pts) 60.6%
1924 Murray Fraser Sueter (Unionist) 14,582 60.0% Thomas Morris Davies (Liberal) 8,754 (36.0 pts) 70.8%
1929 Murray Fraser Sueter (Unionist) 13,525 39.4% Noel Pemberton Billing (Independent) 3,376 (9.8 pts) 74.7%
1931 Murray Fraser Sueter (Conservative) 25,751 78.4% Roger Edwards (Labour) 18,659 (56.8 pts) 69.1%
1935 Murray Fraser Sueter (Conservative) 21,193 64.8% Roger Edwards (Labour) 9,701 (29.7 pts) 62.5%
1945 Derek Colclough Walker-Smith (Conservative) 19,877 43.4% Lynton Scutts (Labour) 2,528 (5.5 pts) 70.4%
1950 Derek Colclough Walker-Smith (Conservative) 25,074 45.9% Lynton Scutts (Labour) 5,750 (10.5 pts) 83.2%
1951 Derek Colclough Walker-Smith (Conservative) 30,519 56.3% Richard William Marsh (Labour) 6,811 (12.6 pts) 80.8%
1955 Robert Alexander Lindsay (Conservative) 25,014 56.8% John McKnight (Labour) 5,984 (13.6 pts) 82.2%
1959 Robert Alexander Lindsay (Conservative) 31,418 58.2% Gerald D Southgate (Labour) 8,821 (16.3 pts) 84.3%
1964 Robert Alexander Lindsay (Conservative) 29,134 46.2% Thomas A Deacon (Labour) 3,973 (6.3 pts) 84.6%
1966 Robert Lindsay (Conservative) 32,302 50.6% Peter Nurse (Labour) 794 (1.2 pts) 83.7%
1970 Lord Balniel (Conservative) 36,494 52.6% Yvonne Sieve (Labour) 9,570 (13.8 pts) 78.7%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1832

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry John Chetwynd-Talbot Conservative 43232.5% Yes
Philip Henry Stanhope Conservative 38128.7% No
Thomas Slingsby Duncombe Radical 32924.8% No
John Eden Spalding Radical 18614.0% No

1835

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Philip Henry Stanhope Conservative 35935.7% Yes
William Francis Cowper Whig 32732.5% No
Henry John Chetwynd-Talbot Conservative 32131.9% No

1837

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Francis Cowper Whig 37838.5% Yes
Philip Henry Stanhope Conservative 30631.2% No
John Currie Radical 29730.3% No

1841

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Francis Cowper Whig Unopposed Yes
Philip Henry Stanhope Conservative Unopposed No

1847

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Francis Cowper Whig Unopposed Yes
Philip Henry Stanhope Conservative Unopposed No

1852

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Francis Cowper Whig 30132.3% Yes
Thomas Chambers Radical 23525.2% No
Philip Henry Stanhope Conservative 21322.9% No
Charles John Dimsdale Conservative 18219.5% No

1857

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Francis Cowper Whig 30137.2% Yes
Walter Minto Townsend-Farquhar Conservative 27333.7% No
Thomas Chambers Radical 23529.0% No

1859

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Francis Cowper Liberal Unopposed Yes
Walter Minto Townsend-Farquhar Conservative Unopposed No

1865

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Francis Cowper Liberal Unopposed Yes
Walter Minto Townsend-Farquhar Conservative Unopposed No

1868

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Dimsdale Conservative 43455.7% Yes
Frederick Waymouth Gibbs Liberal 34544.3% No

1874

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Arthur James Balfour Conservative Unopposed Yes

1880

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Arthur James Balfour Conservative 56458.5% Yes
Edward Ernest Bowen Liberal 40041.5% No

1885

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Abel Smith Conservative 4,26358.1% Yes
Henry Frederick Cowper Liberal 3,07241.9% No

1886

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Abel Smith Conservative Unopposed Yes

1892

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Abel Smith Conservative 4,27660.3% Yes
Edwin Robert Speirs Liberal 2,81839.7% No

1895

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Abel Smith Conservative Unopposed Yes

1900

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Abel Smith Conservative Unopposed Yes

1906

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Abel Smith Conservative 4,83650.4% Yes
Charles Roden Buxton Liberal 4,75649.6% No

Jan 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Fowke Lancelot Rolleston Conservative 6,14758.0% Yes
Edmund Broughton Barnard Liberal 4,45542.0% No

Dec 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Fowke Lancelot Rolleston Conservative 5,59457.0% Yes
George Strachan Pawle Liberal 4,22643.0% No

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Noel Pemberton Billing Independent 9,62852.1% Yes
Edmund Broughton Barnard National Party 7,15838.8% No
Cyril Harding Labour 1,6799.1% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Murray Fraser Sueter Unionist 11,40663.6% Yes
Thoas Greenwood Liberal 6,53436.4% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Murray Fraser Sueter Unionist 10,66052.2% Yes
Thomas Greenwood Liberal 9,76347.8% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Murray Fraser Sueter Unionist 14,58260.0% Yes
Thomas Morris Davies Liberal 5,82824.0% No
Ernest Salley Labour 3,88516.0% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Murray Fraser Sueter Unionist 13,52539.4% Yes
Noel Pemberton Billing Independent 10,14929.6% No
Thomas Evander Evans Liberal 6,41918.7% No
Roger Edwards Labour 4,19312.2% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Murray Fraser Sueter Conservative 25,75178.4% Yes
Roger Edwards Labour 7,09221.6% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Murray Fraser Sueter Conservative 21,19364.8% Yes
Roger Edwards Labour 11,49235.2% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Derek Colclough Walker-Smith Conservative 19,87743.4% Yes
Lynton Scutts Labour 17,34937.9% No
Thomas Peter Hughes Liberal 7,58716.6% No
Arthur Bernard Swain Independent 1,0052.2% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Derek Colclough Walker-Smith Conservative 25,07445.9% Yes
Lynton Scutts Labour 19,32435.4% No
Thomas Peter Hughes Liberal 10,23418.7% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Derek Colclough Walker-Smith Conservative 30,51956.3% Yes
Richard William Marsh Labour 23,70843.7% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Alexander Lindsay Conservative 25,01456.8% Yes
John McKnight Labour 19,03043.2% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Alexander Lindsay Conservative 31,41858.2% Yes
Gerald D Southgate Labour 22,59741.8% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Alexander Lindsay Conservative 29,13446.2% Yes
Thomas A Deacon Labour 25,16139.9% No
Anna Charlotte Malcolm Harman Liberal 8,72213.8% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Lindsay Conservative 32,30250.6% Yes
Peter Nurse Labour 31,50849.4% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Lord Balniel Conservative 36,49452.6% Yes
Yvonne Sieve Labour 26,92438.8% No
John Malcolm Melling Liberal 5,9948.6% No

Margin Over Time

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

1832: Conservative margin 3.8 pts 1835: Conservative margin 3.2 pts 1837: Whig margin 7.3 pts 1852: Whig margin 7.1 pts 1857: Whig margin 3.5 pts 1868: Conservative margin 11.4 pts 1880: Conservative margin 17.0 pts 1885: Conservative margin 16.2 pts 1892: Conservative margin 20.5 pts 1906: Conservative margin 0.8 pts Jan 1910: Conservative margin 16.0 pts Dec 1910: Conservative margin 13.9 pts 1918: Independent margin 13.4 pts 1922: Unionist margin 27.2 pts 1923: Unionist margin 4.4 pts 1924: Unionist margin 36.0 pts 1929: Unionist margin 9.8 pts 1931: Conservative margin 56.8 pts 1935: Conservative margin 29.7 pts 1945: Conservative margin 5.5 pts 1950: Conservative margin 10.5 pts 1951: Conservative margin 12.6 pts 1955: Conservative margin 13.6 pts 1959: Conservative margin 16.3 pts 1964: Conservative margin 6.3 pts 1966: Conservative margin 1.2 pts 1970: Conservative margin 13.8 pts 1832 1835 1837 1852 1857 1868 1880 1885 1892 1906 Jan 1910 Dec 1910 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970

Trend

Hertford has been contested at 35 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Conservative, Whig, Liberal, Independent, Unionist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Hertford in the 1970 general election?

Conservative won Hertford in 1970 with 36,494 votes (52.6%), a majority of 9,570 votes over Labour in second place.

Which parties have won Hertford since 1832?

Since 1832, Hertford has been won by: Conservative, Independent, Liberal, Unionist, Whig.

What was the closest result in Hertford?

The closest result on record for Hertford was 1906, when Conservative beat Liberal by just 80 votes (0.8 percentage points).

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