Southwark — UK General Election Results

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

Southwark was won by Labour at the 1970 general election, with a majority of 9,794 votes over Conservative. This page covers every general election in Southwark 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 Brougham (Whig); John Humphery (Whig)	1,708	45.2% (top seat)	Lancelot Baugh Allen (Whig)	668 (13.3 pts)	58.8%
1835	John Humphery (Whig); Daniel Whittle Harvey (Radical)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1837	John Humphery (Whig); Daniel Whittle Harvey (Radical)	1,927	41.1% (top seat)	John Richards (Conservative)	1,080 (22.9 pts)	43.1%
1841	John Humphery (Whig); Benjamin Wood (Whig)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1847	John Humphery (Whig); William Molesworth (Radical)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1852	William Molesworth (Radical); Apsley Pellatt (Radical)	3,887	36.7% (top seat)	George Scovell (Radical)	978 (9.1 pts)	56.8%
1857	Charles John Napier (Radical); John Locke (Radical)	3,647	39.4% (top seat)	Apsley Pellatt (Radical)	1,148 (11.3 pts)	49.8%
1859	Charles John Napier (Liberal); John Locke (Liberal)	4,255	38.9% (top seat)	Apsley Pellatt (Liberal)	1,525 (13.3 pts)	53.9%
1865	John Locke (Liberal); Austen Henry Layard (Liberal)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1868	John Locke (Liberal); Austen Henry Layard (Liberal)	5,908	41.8% (top seat)	William James Richmond Cotton (Conservative)	3,413 (23.6 pts)	40.8%
1874	John Locke (Liberal); Francis Marcus Beresford (Conservative)	5,716	32.4% (top seat)	George Odger (Liberal-Labour)	2,220 (12.2 pts)	38.8%
1880	Arthur Cohen (Liberal); James Edwin Thorold Rogers (Liberal)	9,521	27.7% (top seat)	Edward George Clarke (Conservative)	1,358 (3.9 pts)	74.7%
1950	George Alfred Isaacs (Labour)	35,049	68.3%	James Mantle Greenwood (Conservative)	22,378 (43.6 pts)	74.0%
1951	George Alfred Isaacs (Labour)	36,586	72.3%	James Mantle Greenwood (Conservative)	22,554 (44.6 pts)	72.3%
1955	George Alfred Isaacs (Labour)	28,174	70.3%	James Mantle Greenwood (Conservative)	17,230 (43.0 pts)	60.2%
1959	Raymond Jones Gunter (Labour)	25,036	64.0%	James Mantle Greenwood (Conservative)	12,340 (31.5 pts)	63.4%
1964	Raymond Jones Gunter (Labour)	22,426	68.8%	Anthony Paul R Noble (Conservative)	13,863 (42.5 pts)	55.9%
1966	Ray Gunter (Labour)	21,855	73.6%	Paul Noble (Conservative)	15,401 (51.8 pts)	54.0%
1970	Ray Gunter (Labour)	16,834	67.3%	Jeffrey Gordon (Conservative)	9,794 (39.2 pts)	48.2%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1832 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
William Brougham	Whig	2,264	45.2%	Yes
John Humphery	Whig	1,708	34.1%	Yes
Lancelot Baugh Allen	Whig	1,040	20.8%	No
Thomas Lamie Murray	Radical	0	0.0%	No

1835 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
John Humphery	Whig	Unopposed		Yes
Daniel Whittle Harvey	Radical	Unopposed		Yes

1837 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
John Humphery	Whig	1,941	41.1%	Yes
Daniel Whittle Harvey	Radical	1,927	40.9%	Yes
John Richards	Conservative	847	18.0%	No
Benjamin Harrison	Conservative	2	0.0%	No

1841 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
John Humphery	Whig	Unopposed		Yes
Benjamin Wood	Whig	Unopposed		Yes

1847 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
John Humphery	Whig	Unopposed		Yes
William Molesworth	Radical	Unopposed		Yes

1852 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
William Molesworth	Radical	3,941	36.7%	Yes
Apsley Pellatt	Radical	3,887	36.2%	Yes
George Scovell	Radical	2,909	27.1%	No

1857 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Charles John Napier	Radical	3,991	39.4%	Yes
John Locke	Radical	3,647	36.0%	Yes
Apsley Pellatt	Radical	2,499	24.7%	No

1859 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Charles John Napier	Liberal	4,446	38.9%	Yes
John Locke	Liberal	4,255	37.2%	Yes
Apsley Pellatt	Liberal	2,730	23.9%	No

1865 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
John Locke	Liberal	Unopposed		Yes
Austen Henry Layard	Liberal	Unopposed		Yes

1868 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
John Locke	Liberal	6,027	41.8%	Yes
Austen Henry Layard	Liberal	5,908	40.9%	Yes
William James Richmond Cotton	Conservative	2,495	17.3%	No

1874 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
John Locke	Liberal	5,901	32.4%	Yes
Francis Marcus Beresford	Conservative	5,716	31.3%	Yes
George Odger	Liberal-Labour	3,496	19.2%	No
Andrew Dunn	Liberal	3,121	17.1%	No

1880 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Arthur Cohen	Liberal	9,693	27.7%	Yes
James Edwin Thorold Rogers	Liberal	9,521	27.2%	Yes
Edward George Clarke	Conservative	8,163	23.3%	No
Mark Cattley	Conservative	7,674	21.9%	No

1950

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
George Alfred Isaacs	Labour	35,049	68.3%	Yes
James Mantle Greenwood	Conservative	12,671	24.7%	No
Lionel Fowler	Liberal	2,950	5.7%	No
Spencer John Bent	Communist	668	1.3%	No

1951

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
George Alfred Isaacs	Labour	36,586	72.3%	Yes
James Mantle Greenwood	Conservative	14,032	27.7%	No

1955

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
George Alfred Isaacs	Labour	28,174	70.3%	Yes
James Mantle Greenwood	Conservative	10,944	27.3%	No
Spencer John Bent	Communist	959	2.4%	No

1959

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Raymond Jones Gunter	Labour	25,036	64.0%	Yes
James Mantle Greenwood	Conservative	12,696	32.4%	No
Spencer John Bent	Communist	1,395	3.6%	No

1964

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Raymond Jones Gunter	Labour	22,426	68.8%	Yes
Anthony Paul R Noble	Conservative	8,563	26.3%	No
Spencer John Bent	Communist	1,599	4.9%	No

1966

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Ray Gunter	Labour	21,855	73.6%	Yes
Paul Noble	Conservative	6,454	21.7%	No
Joe Bent	Communist	1,404	4.7%	No

1970

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Ray Gunter	Labour	16,834	67.3%	Yes
Jeffrey Gordon	Conservative	7,040	28.2%	No
Earle Hume	Communist	1,128	4.5%	No

Margin Over Time

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

Trend

Southwark has been contested at 19 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Whig, Radical, Liberal, Conservative, Labour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Southwark in the 1970 general election?

Labour won Southwark in 1970 with 16,834 votes (67.3%), a majority of 9,794 votes over Conservative in second place.

Which parties have won Southwark since 1832?

Since 1832, Southwark has been won by: Conservative, Labour, Liberal, Radical, Whig.

What was the closest result in Southwark?

The closest result on record for Southwark was 1880, when Liberal beat Conservative by just 1,358 votes (3.9 percentage points).

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

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