King's Lynn — UK General Election Results

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

King's Lynn was won by Conservative at the 1970 general election, with a majority of 33 votes over Labour. This page covers every general election in King's Lynn from 1832 to 1970.

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, 1832–1970

Election	Elected	Votes	Vote Share	Runner-up	Majority	Turnout
1832	William George Frederick Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (Conservative); William Pitt Lennox (Whig)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1835	William George Frederick Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (Conservative); Stratford Canning (Conservative)	416	44.8% (top seat)	John Scott Lillie (Radical)	178 (15.0 pts)	68.5%
1837	William George Frederick Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (Conservative); Stratford Canning (Conservative)	382	38.4% (top seat)	George Thomas Keppel (Whig)	13 (1.1 pts)	68.9%
1841	Stratford Canning (Conservative); William George Frederick Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (Conservative)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1847	William George Frederick Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (Conservative); Robert Jocelyn (Peelite)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1852	Robert Jocelyn (Peelite); Edward Henry Stanley (Conservative)	559	40.3% (top seat)	Robert Pashley (Radical)	169 (10.6 pts)	67.6%
1857	Edward Henry Stanley (Conservative); John Henry Gurney (Whig)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1859	Edward Henry Stanley (Conservative); John Henry Gurney (Liberal)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1865	Edward Henry Stanley (Conservative); Thomas Fowell Buxton (Liberal)	401	37.6% (top seat)	Frederick Walpole (Conservative)	62 (5.2 pts)	69.5%
1868	Edward Henry Stanley (Conservative); Robert Bourke (Conservative)	1,125	37.2% (top seat)	Thomas Fowell Buxton (Liberal)	113 (3.3 pts)	67.7%
1874	Robert Bourke (Conservative); Claud John Hamilton (Conservative)	1,093	28.0% (top seat)	William Hovell Browne ffolkes (Liberal)	94 (2.3 pts)	84.7%
1880	William Hovell Browne ffolkes (Liberal); Robert Bourke (Conservative)	1,257	26.3% (top seat)	Claud John Hamilton (Conservative)	65 (1.3 pts)	87.9%
1885	Robert Bourke (Conservative)	1,472	53.1%	William Hovell Browne ffolkes (Liberal)	170 (6.1 pts)	89.7%
1886	Robert Bourke (Conservative)	1,417	55.3%	John James Briscoe (Liberal)	271 (10.6 pts)	82.8%
1892	Thomas Gibson Bowles (Conservative)	1,319	50.2%	Thomas Richardson Kemp (Liberal)	11 (0.4 pts)	88.5%
1895	Thomas Gibson Bowles (Conservative)	1,395	51.3%	Hubert George Beaumont (Liberal)	69 (2.5 pts)	91.3%
1900	Thomas Gibson Bowles (Conservative)	1,499	52.9%	Frederick Handel Booth (Liberal)	167 (5.9 pts)	88.2%
1906	Carlyon Wilfroy Bellairs (Liberal)	1,506	43.8%	Thomas Gibson Bowles (Independent Conservative)	342 (9.9 pts)	93.2%
Dec 1910	Holcombe Ingleby (Conservative)	1,765	51.4%	Thomas Gibson Bowles (Liberal)	97 (2.8 pts)	91.4%
Jan 1910	Thomas Gibson Bowles (Liberal)	1,900	53.7%	Edward Cecil George Cadogan (Conservative)	262 (7.4 pts)	94.2%
1918	Neville Paul Jodrell (Unionist)	10,146	50.9%	Robert Barrie Walker (Labour)	366 (1.8 pts)	59.7%
1922	Neville Paul Jodrell (Unionist)	9,862	37.2%	Robert Barrie Walker (Labour)	1,179 (4.5 pts)	75.5%
1923	George Graham Woodwark (Liberal)	9,943	38.7%	Neville Paul Jodrell (Unionist)	677 (2.6 pts)	71.9%
1924	Edmund Maurice Burke Roche (Unionist)	11,710	41.6%	George Graham Woodwark (Liberal)	2,526 (9.0 pts)	77.6%
1929	Edmund Maurice Burke Roche (Unionist)	14,501	40.7%	William Bertram Mitford (Liberal)	3,695 (10.4 pts)	79.1%
1931	Edmund Maurice Burke Roche (Conservative)	23,687	70.2%	David Freeman (Labour)	13,633 (40.4 pts)	72.7%
1935	Somerset Arthur Maxwell (Conservative)	17,492	50.0%	Frank Emerson (Labour)	5,430 (15.5 pts)	71.7%
1945	Frederick John Wise (Labour)	18,202	48.7%	William Donald Hamilton McCullough (Conservative)	3,274 (8.8 pts)	71.2%
1950	Frederick John Wise (Labour)	19,399	45.3%	Ronald Scott-Miller (Conservative)	270 (0.6 pts)	83.8%
1951	Ronald Scott-Miller (Conservative)	21,954	51.1%	Frederick John Wise (Labour)	937 (2.2 pts)	82.8%
1955	Ronald Scott-Miller (Conservative)	20,949	51.6%	Hugh McDowall Lawson (Labour)	1,338 (3.3 pts)	78.2%
1959	Denys Gradwell Bullard (Conservative)	21,671	52.1%	George Colin Jackson (Labour)	1,765 (4.2 pts)	79.8%
1964	John Derek Page (Labour)	21,460	50.1%	Denys Gradwell Bullard (Conservative)	104 (0.2 pts)	80.5%
1966	John Page (Labour)	23,324	52.3%	Denys Bullard (Conservative)	2,019 (4.5 pts)	82.9%
1970	Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler (Conservative)	23,822	50.0%	John Page (Labour)	33 (0.1 pts)	78.3%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1832 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
William George Frederick Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck	Conservative	Unopposed		Yes
William Pitt Lennox	Whig	Unopposed		Yes

1835 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
William George Frederick Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck	Conservative	531	44.8%	Yes
Stratford Canning	Conservative	416	35.1%	Yes
John Scott Lillie	Radical	238	20.1%	No

1837 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
William George Frederick Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck	Conservative	468	38.4%	Yes
Stratford Canning	Conservative	382	31.3%	Yes
George Thomas Keppel	Whig	369	30.3%	No

1841 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Stratford Canning	Conservative	Unopposed		Yes
William George Frederick Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck	Conservative	Unopposed		Yes

1847 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
William George Frederick Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck	Conservative	Unopposed		Yes
Robert Jocelyn	Peelite	Unopposed		Yes

1852 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Robert Jocelyn	Peelite	641	40.3%	Yes
Edward Henry Stanley	Conservative	559	35.2%	Yes
Robert Pashley	Radical	390	24.5%	No

1857 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Edward Henry Stanley	Conservative	Unopposed		Yes
John Henry Gurney	Whig	Unopposed		Yes

1859 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Edward Henry Stanley	Conservative	Unopposed		Yes
John Henry Gurney	Liberal	Unopposed		Yes

1865 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Edward Henry Stanley	Conservative	445	37.6%	Yes
Thomas Fowell Buxton	Liberal	401	33.8%	Yes
Frederick Walpole	Conservative	339	28.6%	No

1868 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Edward Henry Stanley	Conservative	1,265	37.2%	Yes
Robert Bourke	Conservative	1,125	33.1%	Yes
Thomas Fowell Buxton	Liberal	1,012	29.7%	No

1874 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Robert Bourke	Conservative	1,163	28.0%	Yes
Claud John Hamilton	Conservative	1,093	26.3%	Yes
William Hovell Browne ffolkes	Liberal	999	24.1%	No
Edmond Robert Wodehouse	Liberal	895	21.6%	No

1880 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
William Hovell Browne ffolkes	Liberal	1,286	26.3%	Yes
Robert Bourke	Conservative	1,257	25.7%	Yes
Claud John Hamilton	Conservative	1,192	24.4%	No
Frank Lockwood	Liberal	1,151	23.6%	No

1885

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Robert Bourke	Conservative	1,472	53.1%	Yes
William Hovell Browne ffolkes	Liberal	1,302	46.9%	No

1886

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Robert Bourke	Conservative	1,417	55.3%	Yes
John James Briscoe	Liberal	1,146	44.7%	No

1892

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Thomas Gibson Bowles	Conservative	1,319	50.2%	Yes
Thomas Richardson Kemp	Liberal	1,308	49.8%	No

1895

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Thomas Gibson Bowles	Conservative	1,395	51.3%	Yes
Hubert George Beaumont	Liberal	1,326	48.7%	No

1900

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Thomas Gibson Bowles	Conservative	1,499	52.9%	Yes
Frederick Handel Booth	Liberal	1,332	47.1%	No

1906

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Carlyon Wilfroy Bellairs	Liberal	1,506	43.8%	Yes
Thomas Gibson Bowles	Independent Conservative	1,164	33.8%	No
Alan Hughes Burgoyne	Conservative	772	22.4%	No

Dec 1910

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Holcombe Ingleby	Conservative	1,765	51.4%	Yes
Thomas Gibson Bowles	Liberal	1,668	48.6%	No

Jan 1910

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Thomas Gibson Bowles	Liberal	1,900	53.7%	Yes
Edward Cecil George Cadogan	Conservative	1,638	46.3%	No

1918

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Neville Paul Jodrell	Unionist	10,146	50.9%	Yes
Robert Barrie Walker	Labour	9,780	49.1%	No

1922

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Neville Paul Jodrell	Unionist	9,862	37.2%	Yes
Robert Barrie Walker	Labour	8,683	32.7%	No
George Graham Woodwark	Liberal	7,970	30.1%	No

1923

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
George Graham Woodwark	Liberal	9,943	38.7%	Yes
Neville Paul Jodrell	Unionist	9,266	36.1%	No
John Stevenson	Labour	6,488	25.2%	No

1924

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Edmund Maurice Burke Roche	Unionist	11,710	41.6%	Yes
George Graham Woodwark	Liberal	9,184	32.6%	No
John Stevenson	Labour	7,280	25.8%	No

1929

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Edmund Maurice Burke Roche	Unionist	14,501	40.7%	Yes
William Bertram Mitford	Liberal	10,806	30.3%	No
Herbert Maynard	Labour	10,356	29.0%	No

1931

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Edmund Maurice Burke Roche	Conservative	23,687	70.2%	Yes
David Freeman	Labour	10,054	29.8%	No

1935

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Somerset Arthur Maxwell	Conservative	17,492	50.0%	Yes
Frank Emerson	Labour	12,062	34.5%	No
Frank Ongley Darvall	Liberal	5,418	15.5%	No

1945

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Frederick John Wise	Labour	18,202	48.7%	Yes
William Donald Hamilton McCullough	Conservative	14,928	39.9%	No
Alexander Peckover Doyle Penrose	Liberal	3,796	10.2%	No
Geoffrey Bowles	Independent	444	1.2%	No

1950

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Frederick John Wise	Labour	19,399	45.3%	Yes
Ronald Scott-Miller	Conservative	19,129	44.7%	No
Richard Arden Winch	Liberal	4,266	10.0%	No

1951

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Ronald Scott-Miller	Conservative	21,954	51.1%	Yes
Frederick John Wise	Labour	21,017	48.9%	No

1955

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Ronald Scott-Miller	Conservative	20,949	51.6%	Yes
Hugh McDowall Lawson	Labour	19,611	48.4%	No

1959

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Denys Gradwell Bullard	Conservative	21,671	52.1%	Yes
George Colin Jackson	Labour	19,906	47.9%	No

1964

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
John Derek Page	Labour	21,460	50.1%	Yes
Denys Gradwell Bullard	Conservative	21,356	49.9%	No

1966

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
John Page	Labour	23,324	52.3%	Yes
Denys Bullard	Conservative	21,305	47.7%	No

1970

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler	Conservative	23,822	50.0%	Yes
John Page	Labour	23,789	50.0%	No

Margin Over Time

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

Trend

King's Lynn has been contested at 35 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Conservative, Whig, Peelite, Liberal, Unionist, Labour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won King's Lynn in the 1970 general election?

Conservative won King's Lynn in 1970 with 23,822 votes (50.0%), a majority of 33 votes over Labour in second place.

Which parties have won King's Lynn since 1832?

Since 1832, King's Lynn has been won by: Conservative, Labour, Liberal, Peelite, Unionist, Whig.

What was the closest result in King's Lynn?

The closest result on record for King's Lynn was 1970, when Conservative beat Labour by just 33 votes (0.1 percentage points).

Did King's Lynn ever elect more than one MP at a time?

Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, King's Lynn 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.