Southampton — UK General Election Results
Southampton elected 2 MPs at the 1945 general election: Ralph Morley (Labour) and Thomas Lewis (Labour). This page covers every general election in Southampton from 1832 to 1945.
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, 1832–1945
| Election | Elected | Votes | Vote Share | Runner-up | Majority | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1832 | Arthur Atherley (Whig); James Barlow Hoy (Conservative) | 604 | 30.8% (top seat) | John Storey Penleaze (Whig) | 10 (0.5 pts) | 74.6% |
| 1835 | James Barlow Hoy (Conservative); Abel Rous Dottin (Conservative) | 492 | 28.3% (top seat) | John Easthope (Whig) | 69 (3.9 pts) | 63.9% |
| 1837 | Abel Rous Dottin (Conservative); Adam Haldane-Duncan (Whig) | 564 | 26.6% (top seat) | Charles Cecil Martyn (Conservative) | 21 (0.9 pts) | 76.9% |
| 1841 | James Bruce (Conservative); Charles Cecil Martyn (Conservative) | 645 | 27.0% (top seat) | Edward John Hutchins (Whig) | 89 (3.7 pts) | 76.9% |
| 1847 | Brodie McGhie Willcox (Whig); Alexander James Edmund Cockburn (Whig) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1852 | Brodie McGhie Willcox (Whig); Alexander James Edmund Cockburn (Whig) | 1,017 | 29.2% (top seat) | Alexander Dundas Ross Cochrane-Wishart-Baillie (Conservative) | 220 (6.0 pts) | 75.3% |
| 1857 | Brodie McGhie Willcox (Whig); Thomas Matthias Weguelin (Whig) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1859 | William Digby Seymour (Liberal); Brodie McGhie Willcox (Liberal) | 1,204 | 37.5% (top seat) | Thomas Matthias Weguelin (Liberal) | 192 (5.4 pts) | 47.5% |
| 1865 | Russell Gurney (Conservative); George Moffatt (Liberal) | 1,527 | 24.6% (top seat) | William Anderson Rose (Conservative) | 105 (1.7 pts) | 75.8% |
| 1868 | Russell Gurney (Conservative); Peter Merrick Hoare (Conservative) | 2,178 | 27.6% (top seat) | George Moffatt (Liberal) | 17 (0.2 pts) | 76.2% |
| 1874 | Frederick Perkins (Liberal); Russell Gurney (Conservative) | 2,534 | 28.1% (top seat) | George Moffatt (Liberal) | 189 (1.9 pts) | 74.2% |
| 1880 | Henry Lee (Liberal); Charles Parker Butt (Liberal) | 3,023 | 25.5% (top seat) | Alfred Giles (Conservative) | 51 (0.4 pts) | 80.8% |
| 1885 | Alfred Giles (Conservative); John Edmund Commerell (Conservative) | 5,307 | 28.0% (top seat) | Henry Lee (Liberal) | 741 (3.7 pts) | 83.8% |
| 1886 | Alfred Giles (Conservative); John Edmund Commerell (Conservative) | 4,726 | 27.7% (top seat) | John Henry Cooksey (Liberal) | 342 (1.9 pts) | 76.1% |
| 1892 | Tankerville Chamberlayne (Conservative); Francis Henry Evans (Liberal) | 5,182 | 26.9% (top seat) | Charles Burt (Liberal) | 262 (1.3 pts) | 77.1% |
| 1895 | Tankerville Chamberlayne (Conservative); John Stephen Barrington Simeon (Liberal Unionist) | 5,390 | 27.5% (top seat) | Francis Henry Evans (Liberal) | 209 (1.0 pts) | 76.8% |
| 1900 | Tankerville Chamberlayne (Conservative); John Stephen Barrington Simeon (Liberal Unionist) | 6,253 | 29.5% (top seat) | Francis Henry Evans (Liberal) | 678 (2.9 pts) | 72.6% |
| 1906 | Ivor Philipps (Liberal); William Dudley Ward (Liberal) | 6,255 | 26.3% (top seat) | Tankerville Chamberlayne (Conservative) | 501 (1.9 pts) | 80.1% |
| Dec 1910 | Ivor Philipps (Liberal); William Dudley Ward (Liberal) | 8,449 | 26.5% (top seat) | Kenneth Robert Balfour (Conservative) | 898 (2.8 pts) | 80.0% |
| Jan 1910 | Ivor Philipps (Liberal); William Dudley Ward (Liberal) | 8,830 | 26.6% (top seat) | Kenneth Robert Balfour (Conservative) | 956 (2.9 pts) | 83.5% |
| 1918 | Ivor Philipps (Liberal); William Dudley Ward (Liberal) | 16,843 | 36.4% (top seat) | Edwin King Perkins (Unionist) | 1,295 (1.8 pts) | 49.0% |
| 1922 | Edwin King Perkins (Unionist); Allen Algernon Bathurst (Unionist) | 20,351 | 23.9% (top seat) | Thomas Lewis (Labour) | 5,483 (5.9 pts) | 61.3% |
| 1923 | Allen Algernon Bathurst (Unionist); Edwin King Perkins (Unionist) | 20,249 | 20.1% (top seat) | Thomas Lewis (Labour) | 3,041 (3.0 pts) | 66.4% |
| 1924 | Allen Algernon Bathurst (Unionist); Edwin King Perkins (Unionist) | 30,201 | 29.3% (top seat) | Thomas Lewis (Labour) | 8,018 (7.6 pts) | 66.6% |
| 1929 | Thomas Lewis (Labour); Ralph Morley (Labour) | 31,252 | 22.4% (top seat) | Ian Colin Maitland (Unionist) | 3,354 (2.3 pts) | 69.5% |
| 1931 | William Craven-Ellis (National); Charles Coupar Barrie (National Liberal) | 54,269 | 33.9% (top seat) | Thomas Lewis (Labour) | 27,844 (17.2 pts) | 75.2% |
| 1935 | William Craven-Ellis (National); Charles Coupar Barrie (National Liberal) | 43,697 | 30.1% (top seat) | Thomas Lewis (Labour) | 12,946 (8.7 pts) | 67.9% |
| 1945 | Ralph Morley (Labour); Thomas Lewis (Labour) | 37,054 | 28.8% (top seat) | William Craven-Ellis (National) | 12,687 (9.7 pts) | 68.0% |
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur Atherley | Whig | 645 | 30.8% | Yes |
| James Barlow Hoy | Conservative | 604 | 28.9% | Yes |
| John Storey Penleaze | Whig | 594 | 28.4% | No |
| James Mackillop | Conservative | 249 | 11.9% | No |
1835 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Barlow Hoy | Conservative | 508 | 28.3% | Yes |
| Abel Rous Dottin | Conservative | 492 | 27.4% | Yes |
| John Easthope | Whig | 423 | 23.6% | No |
| Peregrine Bingham | Whig | 371 | 20.7% | No |
1837 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abel Rous Dottin | Conservative | 587 | 26.6% | Yes |
| Adam Haldane-Duncan | Whig | 564 | 25.6% | Yes |
| Charles Cecil Martyn | Conservative | 543 | 24.6% | No |
| Clarence Edward Paget | Whig | 509 | 23.1% | No |
1841 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Bruce | Conservative | 648 | 27.0% | Yes |
| Charles Cecil Martyn | Conservative | 645 | 26.8% | Yes |
| Edward John Hutchins | Whig | 556 | 23.1% | No |
| Charles Edward Mangles | Whig | 554 | 23.1% | No |
1847 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brodie McGhie Willcox | Whig | Unopposed | Yes | |
| Alexander James Edmund Cockburn | Whig | Unopposed | Yes | |
1852 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brodie McGhie Willcox | Whig | 1,062 | 29.2% | Yes |
| Alexander James Edmund Cockburn | Whig | 1,017 | 27.9% | Yes |
| Alexander Dundas Ross Cochrane-Wishart-Baillie | Conservative | 797 | 21.9% | No |
| Augustus Arthur Vansittart | Conservative | 767 | 21.1% | No |
1857 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brodie McGhie Willcox | Whig | Unopposed | Yes | |
| Thomas Matthias Weguelin | Whig | Unopposed | Yes | |
1859 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Digby Seymour | Liberal | 1,331 | 37.5% | Yes |
| Brodie McGhie Willcox | Liberal | 1,204 | 33.9% | Yes |
| Thomas Matthias Weguelin | Liberal | 1,012 | 28.5% | No |
1865 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russell Gurney | Conservative | 1,565 | 24.6% | Yes |
| George Moffatt | Liberal | 1,527 | 24.1% | Yes |
| William Anderson Rose | Conservative | 1,422 | 22.4% | No |
| Thomas Miller Mackay | Liberal | 1,388 | 21.9% | No |
| William Digby Seymour | Liberal | 447 | 7.0% | No |
1868 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russell Gurney | Conservative | 2,393 | 27.6% | Yes |
| Peter Merrick Hoare | Conservative | 2,178 | 25.1% | Yes |
| George Moffatt | Liberal | 2,161 | 24.9% | No |
| Frederick Augustus Maxse | Liberal | 1,947 | 22.4% | No |
1874 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frederick Perkins | Liberal | 2,724 | 28.1% | Yes |
| Russell Gurney | Conservative | 2,534 | 26.1% | Yes |
| George Moffatt | Liberal | 2,345 | 24.2% | No |
| John Ralph Engledue | Conservative | 2,103 | 21.7% | No |
1880 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Lee | Liberal | 3,051 | 25.5% | Yes |
| Charles Parker Butt | Liberal | 3,023 | 25.3% | Yes |
| Alfred Giles | Conservative | 2,972 | 24.9% | No |
| John Edmund Commerell | Conservative | 2,902 | 24.3% | No |
1885 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfred Giles | Conservative | 5,595 | 28.0% | Yes |
| John Edmund Commerell | Conservative | 5,307 | 26.5% | Yes |
| Henry Lee | Liberal | 4,566 | 22.8% | No |
| Edwin Jones | Liberal | 4,535 | 22.7% | No |
1886 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfred Giles | Conservative | 5,023 | 27.7% | Yes |
| John Edmund Commerell | Conservative | 4,726 | 26.0% | Yes |
| John Henry Cooksey | Liberal | 4,384 | 24.1% | No |
| James Carlile McCoan | Liberal | 4,029 | 22.2% | No |
1892 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tankerville Chamberlayne | Conservative | 5,449 | 26.9% | Yes |
| Francis Henry Evans | Liberal | 5,182 | 25.5% | Yes |
| Charles Burt | Liberal | 4,920 | 24.3% | No |
| Alfred Giles | Conservative | 4,734 | 23.3% | No |
1895 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tankerville Chamberlayne | Conservative | 5,924 | 27.5% | Yes |
| John Stephen Barrington Simeon | Liberal Unionist | 5,390 | 25.0% | Yes |
| Francis Henry Evans | Liberal | 5,181 | 24.1% | No |
| Henry George Wilson | Liberal-Labour | 4,178 | 19.4% | No |
| James Ramsay MacDonald | Independent Labour | 867 | 4.0% | No |
1900 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tankerville Chamberlayne | Conservative | 6,888 | 29.5% | Yes |
| John Stephen Barrington Simeon | Liberal Unionist | 6,253 | 26.8% | Yes |
| Francis Henry Evans | Liberal | 5,575 | 23.9% | No |
| Clarendon Golding Hyde | Liberal | 4,652 | 19.9% | No |
1906 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ivor Philipps | Liberal | 7,032 | 26.3% | Yes |
| William Dudley Ward | Liberal | 6,255 | 23.4% | Yes |
| Tankerville Chamberlayne | Conservative | 5,754 | 21.5% | No |
| John Aird | Conservative | 5,535 | 20.7% | No |
| Harry Quelch | Social Democratic Federation | 2,146 | 8.0% | No |
Dec 1910 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ivor Philipps | Liberal | 8,496 | 26.5% | Yes |
| William Dudley Ward | Liberal | 8,449 | 26.4% | Yes |
| Kenneth Robert Balfour | Conservative | 7,551 | 23.6% | No |
| George Elliot Armstrong | Conservative | 7,535 | 23.5% | No |
Jan 1910 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ivor Philipps | Liberal | 8,878 | 26.6% | Yes |
| William Dudley Ward | Liberal | 8,830 | 26.4% | Yes |
| Kenneth Robert Balfour | Conservative | 7,874 | 23.6% | No |
| Charles Tyrrell Giles | Conservative | 7,841 | 23.5% | No |
1918 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ivor Philipps | Liberal | 26,884 | 36.4% | Yes |
| William Dudley Ward | Liberal | 16,843 | 22.8% | Yes |
| Edwin King Perkins | Unionist | 15,548 | 21.0% | No |
| Thomas Lewis | Labour | 7,828 | 10.6% | No |
| Frederick Perriman | Labour | 6,776 | 9.2% | No |
1922 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edwin King Perkins | Unionist | 22,054 | 23.9% | Yes |
| Allen Algernon Bathurst | Unionist | 20,351 | 22.0% | Yes |
| Thomas Lewis | Labour | 14,868 | 16.1% | No |
| Ernest Henry Murly Stancomb | Health | 14,193 | 15.4% | No |
| Ivor Philipps | National Liberal | 11,576 | 12.5% | No |
| William Dudley Ward | National Liberal | 9,318 | 10.1% | No |
1923 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allen Algernon Bathurst | Unionist | 20,453 | 20.1% | Yes |
| Edwin King Perkins | Unionist | 20,249 | 19.9% | Yes |
| Thomas Lewis | Labour | 17,208 | 16.9% | No |
| Reginald William Sorensen | Labour | 16,679 | 16.4% | No |
| Francis Jefferies Spranger | Liberal | 13,724 | 13.5% | No |
| Charles Neville Douglas Dixey | Liberal | 13,657 | 13.4% | No |
1924 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allen Algernon Bathurst | Unionist | 30,703 | 29.3% | Yes |
| Edwin King Perkins | Unionist | 30,201 | 28.8% | Yes |
| Thomas Lewis | Labour | 22,183 | 21.2% | No |
| Reginald William Sorensen | Labour | 21,768 | 20.8% | No |
1929 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Lewis | Labour | 32,249 | 22.4% | Yes |
| Ralph Morley | Labour | 31,252 | 21.7% | Yes |
| Ian Colin Maitland | Unionist | 27,898 | 19.4% | No |
| Alec Stratford Cunningham-Reid | Unionist | 26,801 | 18.6% | No |
| John Howard Whitehouse | Liberal | 12,966 | 9.0% | No |
| Arthur Thomas Lamsley | Liberal | 12,836 | 8.9% | No |
1931 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Craven-Ellis | National | 54,699 | 33.9% | Yes |
| Charles Coupar Barrie | National Liberal | 54,269 | 33.6% | Yes |
| Thomas Lewis | Labour | 26,425 | 16.4% | No |
| Ralph Morley | Labour | 26,061 | 16.1% | No |
1935 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Craven-Ellis | National | 44,896 | 30.1% | Yes |
| Charles Coupar Barrie | National Liberal | 43,697 | 29.3% | Yes |
| Thomas Lewis | Labour | 30,751 | 20.6% | No |
| Ralph Morley | Labour | 30,028 | 20.1% | No |
1945 (2 seats)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ralph Morley | Labour | 37,556 | 28.8% | Yes |
| Thomas Lewis | Labour | 37,054 | 28.4% | Yes |
| William Craven-Ellis | National | 24,367 | 18.7% | No |
| William Stanley Russell Thomas | National Liberal | 22,650 | 17.4% | No |
| Reginald Fulljames | Liberal | 8,878 | 6.8% | No |
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Southampton has been contested at 28 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Whig, Conservative, Liberal, Liberal Unionist, Unionist, Labour, National, National Liberal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Southampton in the 1945 general election?
Ralph Morley (Labour), Thomas Lewis (Labour) won Southampton in 1945.
Which parties have won Southampton since 1832?
Since 1832, Southampton has been won by: Conservative, Labour, Liberal, Liberal Unionist, National, National Liberal, Unionist, Whig.
What was the closest result in Southampton?
The closest result on record for Southampton was 1868, when Conservative beat Liberal by just 17 votes (0.2 percentage points).
Did Southampton ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Southampton 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.