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Nelson and Colne — UK General Election Results

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

Nelson and Colne was won by Conservative at the 1979 general election, with a majority of 436 votes over Labour. This page covers every general election in Nelson and Colne from 1918 to 1979.

Full Election History, 1918–1979

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1918 Albert Smith (Labour) 14,075 62.0% Fred Greenwood (Liberal) 5,452 (24.0 pts) 52.3%
1922 Arthur Greenwood (Labour) 17,714 48.5% James Henry Sutherland Aitken (Liberal) 6,172 (16.9 pts) 83.2%
1923 Arthur Greenwood (Labour) 17,083 46.1% James Henry Sutherland Aitken (Liberal) 6,980 (18.8 pts) 83.4%
1924 Arthur Greenwood (Labour) 19,922 51.9% James Henry Sutherland Aitken (Liberal) 1,443 (3.8 pts) 85.6%
1929 Arthur Greenwood (Labour) 28,533 61.0% Linton Theodore Thorp (Unionist) 10,297 (22.0 pts) 82.8%
1931 Linton Theodore Thorp (Conservative) 28,747 57.7% Arthur Greenwood (Labour) 7,684 (15.4 pts) 87.8%
1935 Samuel Sydney Silverman (Labour) 26,011 54.5% Linton Theodore Thorp (Independent Conservative) 4,315 (9.0 pts) 84.7%
1945 Samuel Sydney Silverman (Labour) 25,610 59.4% Harmar Nicholls (Conservative) 8,126 (18.9 pts) 81.6%
1950 Samuel Sydney Silverman (Labour) 25,358 54.6% Alan Green (Conservative) 4,242 (9.1 pts) 88.6%
1951 Samuel Sydney Silverman (Labour) 25,611 54.7% Alan Green (Conservative) 4,400 (9.4 pts) 89.0%
1955 Samuel Sydney Silverman (Labour) 22,135 52.7% Mary Elaine Kellett (Conservative) 2,291 (5.5 pts) 83.4%
1959 Samuel Sydney Silverman (Labour) 20,407 49.2% John Crabtree (Conservative) 1,264 (3.0 pts) 85.5%
1964 Samuel Sydney Silverman (Labour) 20,205 53.5% David Charles Waddington (Conservative) 2,644 (7.0 pts) 80.8%
1966 Samuel Silverman (Labour) 18,406 49.3% Peter Davies (Conservative) 4,577 (12.2 pts) 80.9%
1970 David Waddington (Conservative) 19,881 51.5% Eric Hoyle (Labour) 1,140 (2.9 pts) 78.2%
Feb 1974 David Waddington (Conservative) 15,694 38.9% Eric Hoyle (Labour) 179 (0.4 pts) 84.2%
Oct 1974 Eric Hoyle (Labour) 17,505 44.7% David Waddington (Conservative) 669 (1.7 pts) 81.1%
1979 John Lee (Conservative) 17,522 45.0% Eric Hoyle (Labour) 436 (1.1 pts) 81.5%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Albert Smith Labour 14,07562.0% Yes
Fred Greenwood Liberal 8,62338.0% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Arthur Greenwood Labour 17,71448.5% Yes
James Henry Sutherland Aitken Liberal 11,54231.6% No
Frederick Norman Wainwright Unionist 7,28619.9% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Arthur Greenwood Labour 17,08346.1% Yes
James Henry Sutherland Aitken Liberal 10,10327.3% No
Amos Nelson Unionist 9,86126.6% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Arthur Greenwood Labour 19,92251.9% Yes
James Henry Sutherland Aitken Liberal 18,47948.1% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Arthur Greenwood Labour 28,53361.0% Yes
Linton Theodore Thorp Unionist 18,23639.0% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Linton Theodore Thorp Conservative 28,74757.7% Yes
Arthur Greenwood Labour 21,06342.3% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Samuel Sydney Silverman Labour 26,01154.5% Yes
Linton Theodore Thorp Independent Conservative 21,69645.5% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Samuel Sydney Silverman Labour 25,61059.4% Yes
Harmar Nicholls Conservative 17,48440.6% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Samuel Sydney Silverman Labour 25,35854.6% Yes
Alan Green Conservative 21,11645.4% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Samuel Sydney Silverman Labour 25,61154.7% Yes
Alan Green Conservative 21,21145.3% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Samuel Sydney Silverman Labour 22,13552.7% Yes
Mary Elaine Kellett Conservative 19,84447.3% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Samuel Sydney Silverman Labour 20,40749.2% Yes
John Crabtree Conservative 19,14346.2% No
Thomas Clifford Emmott Lancastrian Party 1,8894.6% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Samuel Sydney Silverman Labour 20,20553.5% Yes
David Charles Waddington Conservative 17,56146.5% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Samuel Silverman Labour 18,40649.3% Yes
Peter Davies Conservative 13,82937.0% No
Patrick Downey Independent 5,11713.7% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
David Waddington Conservative 19,88151.5% Yes
Eric Hoyle Labour 18,74148.5% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
David Waddington Conservative 15,69438.9% Yes
Eric Hoyle Labour 15,51538.4% No
Anthony Greaves Liberal 9,16622.7% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Eric Hoyle Labour 17,50544.7% Yes
David Waddington Conservative 16,83643.0% No
Anthony Greaves Liberal 4,85012.4% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Lee Conservative 17,52245.0% Yes
Eric Hoyle Labour 17,08643.9% No
David Hewitt Liberal 4,32211.1% No

Margin Over Time

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

1918: Labour margin 24.0 pts 1922: Labour margin 16.9 pts 1923: Labour margin 18.8 pts 1924: Labour margin 3.8 pts 1929: Labour margin 22.0 pts 1931: Conservative margin 15.4 pts 1935: Labour margin 9.0 pts 1945: Labour margin 18.9 pts 1950: Labour margin 9.1 pts 1951: Labour margin 9.4 pts 1955: Labour margin 5.5 pts 1959: Labour margin 3.0 pts 1964: Labour margin 7.0 pts 1966: Labour margin 12.2 pts 1970: Conservative margin 2.9 pts Feb 1974: Conservative margin 0.4 pts Oct 1974: Labour margin 1.7 pts 1979: Conservative margin 1.1 pts 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 Feb 1974 Oct 1974 1979

Trend

Nelson and Colne has been contested at 18 general elections on record since 1918. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Labour, Conservative.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Nelson and Colne in the 1979 general election?

Conservative won Nelson and Colne in 1979 with 17,522 votes (45.0%), a majority of 436 votes over Labour in second place.

Which parties have won Nelson and Colne since 1918?

Since 1918, Nelson and Colne has been won by: Conservative, Labour.

What was the closest result in Nelson and Colne?

The closest result on record for Nelson and Colne was Feb 1974, when Conservative beat Labour by just 179 votes (0.4 percentage points).

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