EveryElectionResult.com

Election results, country by country.

St Helens — UK General Election Results

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

St Helens was won by Labour at the 1979 general election, with a majority of 15,555 votes over Conservative. This page covers every general election in St Helens from 1885 to 1979.

Full Election History, 1885–1979

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1885 Henry Seton-Karr (Conservative) 3,750 50.4% David Gamble (Liberal) 57 (0.8 pts) 89.8%
1886 Henry Seton-Karr (Conservative) 3,621 51.5% Arthur Sinclair (Liberal) 217 (3.1 pts) 84.7%
1892 Henry Seton-Karr (Conservative) 4,258 50.3% William Rann Kennedy (Liberal) 59 (0.7 pts) 90.3%
1895 Henry Seton-Karr (Conservative) 4,700 53.5% John Forster (Liberal) 609 (6.9 pts) 88.4%
1900 Henry Seton-Karr (Conservative) 5,300 60.9% Charles Augustus Vansittart Conybeare (Liberal) 1,898 (21.8 pts) 80.9%
1906 Thomas Glover (Labour) 6,058 56.6% Henry Seton-Karr (Conservative) 1,411 (13.2 pts) 87.9%
Dec 1910 Rigby Philip Watson Swift (Conservative) 6,016 51.1% Thomas Glover (Labour) 264 (2.2 pts) 90.1%
Jan 1910 Thomas Glover (Labour) 6,512 53.3% Rigby Philip Watson Swift (Conservative) 795 (6.5 pts) 93.6%
1918 James Sexton (Labour) 15,583 57.1% Rigby Philip Watson Swift (Unionist) 3,894 (14.3 pts) 61.5%
1922 James Sexton (Labour) 20,731 58.7% Edward Wooll (Unionist) 6,144 (17.4 pts) 80.0%
1923 James Sexton (Labour) 20,086 55.5% Margaret Evelyn Pilkington (Unionist) 3,977 (11.0 pts) 80.5%
1924 James Sexton (Labour) 21,313 55.8% Margaret Evelyn Pilkington (Unionist) 4,405 (11.5 pts) 83.1%
1929 James Sexton (Labour) 27,665 58.6% Richard Spencer (Unionist) 8,105 (17.2 pts) 78.3%
1931 Richard Spencer (Conservative) 26,131 52.4% James Sexton (Labour) 2,430 (4.9 pts) 78.9%
1935 William Albert Robinson (Labour) 29,044 53.7% Richard Austin Spencer (Conservative) 3,981 (7.4 pts) 82.6%
1945 Hartley William Shawcross (Labour) 34,675 66.2% Frank Whitworth (Conservative) 16,989 (32.5 pts) 76.7%
1950 Hartley William Shawcross (Labour) 39,514 63.2% Alfred Hall-Davis (Conservative) 18,773 (30.0 pts) 84.9%
1951 Hartley William Shawcross (Labour) 37,688 63.3% Michael Henry Colin Hughes-Young (Conservative) 15,858 (26.6 pts) 79.7%
1955 Sir Hartlet William Shawcross (Labour) 35,737 64.3% Maxwell Caplin (Conservative) 15,883 (28.6 pts) 73.5%
1959 Leslie Spriggs (Labour) 35,961 62.1% Mark Carlisle (Conservative) 14,005 (24.2 pts) 76.9%
1964 Leslie Spriggs (Labour) 34,137 67.0% Herbert Keith Speed (Conservative) 17,311 (34.0 pts) 72.3%
1966 Leslie Spriggs (Labour) 33,325 70.8% Christopher Fielden (Conservative) 19,549 (41.5 pts) 68.6%
1970 Leslie Spriggs (Labour) 31,587 65.7% Ian McGaw (Conservative) 15,078 (31.4 pts) 64.6%
Feb 1974 Leslie Spriggs (Labour) 32,621 59.0% Allan Evelyn Lycett (Liberal) 21,716 (39.3 pts) 73.2%
Oct 1974 Leslie Spriggs (Labour) 32,620 64.1% Keith John Bridgeman (Conservative) 22,066 (43.4 pts) 66.9%
1979 Leslie Spriggs (Labour) 32,489 59.6% John Anthony Brown (Conservative) 15,555 (28.5 pts) 72.8%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1885

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry Seton-Karr Conservative 3,75050.4% Yes
David Gamble Liberal 3,69349.6% No

1886

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry Seton-Karr Conservative 3,62151.5% Yes
Arthur Sinclair Liberal 3,40448.5% No

1892

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry Seton-Karr Conservative 4,25850.3% Yes
William Rann Kennedy Liberal 4,19949.7% No

1895

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry Seton-Karr Conservative 4,70053.5% Yes
John Forster Liberal 4,09146.5% No

1900

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry Seton-Karr Conservative 5,30060.9% Yes
Charles Augustus Vansittart Conybeare Liberal 3,40239.1% No

1906

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Glover Labour 6,05856.6% Yes
Henry Seton-Karr Conservative 4,64743.4% No

Dec 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Rigby Philip Watson Swift Conservative 6,01651.1% Yes
Thomas Glover Labour 5,75248.9% No

Jan 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Glover Labour 6,51253.3% Yes
Rigby Philip Watson Swift Conservative 5,71746.7% No

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Sexton Labour 15,58357.1% Yes
Rigby Philip Watson Swift Unionist 11,68942.9% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Sexton Labour 20,73158.7% Yes
Edward Wooll Unionist 14,58741.3% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Sexton Labour 20,08655.5% Yes
Margaret Evelyn Pilkington Unionist 16,10944.5% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Sexton Labour 21,31355.8% Yes
Margaret Evelyn Pilkington Unionist 16,90844.2% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Sexton Labour 27,66558.6% Yes
Richard Spencer Unionist 19,56041.4% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Richard Spencer Conservative 26,13152.4% Yes
James Sexton Labour 23,70147.6% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Albert Robinson Labour 29,04453.7% Yes
Richard Austin Spencer Conservative 25,06346.3% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Hartley William Shawcross Labour 34,67566.2% Yes
Frank Whitworth Conservative 17,68633.8% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Hartley William Shawcross Labour 39,51463.2% Yes
Alfred Hall-Davis Conservative 20,74133.2% No
Joseph H Winskill Liberal 2,2633.6% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Hartley William Shawcross Labour 37,68863.3% Yes
Michael Henry Colin Hughes-Young Conservative 21,83036.7% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Sir Hartlet William Shawcross Labour 35,73764.3% Yes
Maxwell Caplin Conservative 19,85435.7% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Leslie Spriggs Labour 35,96162.1% Yes
Mark Carlisle Conservative 21,95637.9% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Leslie Spriggs Labour 34,13767.0% Yes
Herbert Keith Speed Conservative 16,82633.0% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Leslie Spriggs Labour 33,32570.8% Yes
Christopher Fielden Conservative 13,77629.2% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Leslie Spriggs Labour 31,58765.7% Yes
Ian McGaw Conservative 16,50934.3% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Leslie Spriggs Labour 32,62159.0% Yes
Allan Evelyn Lycett Liberal 10,90519.7% No
Keith John Bridgeman Conservative 10,75219.5% No
May Pike Independent Labour 9911.8% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Leslie Spriggs Labour 32,62064.1% Yes
Keith John Bridgeman Conservative 10,55420.7% No
Allan Evelyn Lycett Liberal 7,68915.1% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Leslie Spriggs Labour 32,48959.6% Yes
John Anthony Brown Conservative 16,93431.1% No
Ian Smith Liberal 4,5878.4% No
James Boylan Workers Revolutionary 4710.9% No

Margin Over Time

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

1885: Conservative margin 0.8 pts 1886: Conservative margin 3.1 pts 1892: Conservative margin 0.7 pts 1895: Conservative margin 6.9 pts 1900: Conservative margin 21.8 pts 1906: Labour margin 13.2 pts Dec 1910: Conservative margin 2.2 pts Jan 1910: Labour margin 6.5 pts 1918: Labour margin 14.3 pts 1922: Labour margin 17.4 pts 1923: Labour margin 11.0 pts 1924: Labour margin 11.5 pts 1929: Labour margin 17.2 pts 1931: Conservative margin 4.9 pts 1935: Labour margin 7.4 pts 1945: Labour margin 32.5 pts 1950: Labour margin 30.0 pts 1951: Labour margin 26.6 pts 1955: Labour margin 28.6 pts 1959: Labour margin 24.2 pts 1964: Labour margin 34.0 pts 1966: Labour margin 41.5 pts 1970: Labour margin 31.4 pts Feb 1974: Labour margin 39.3 pts Oct 1974: Labour margin 43.4 pts 1979: Labour margin 28.5 pts 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 Dec 1910 Jan 1910 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 Feb 1974 Oct 1974 1979

Trend

St Helens has been contested at 26 general elections on record since 1885. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Conservative, Labour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won St Helens in the 1979 general election?

Labour won St Helens in 1979 with 32,489 votes (59.6%), a majority of 15,555 votes over Conservative in second place.

Which parties have won St Helens since 1885?

Since 1885, St Helens has been won by: Conservative, Labour.

What was the closest result in St Helens?

The closest result on record for St Helens was 1892, when Conservative beat Liberal by just 59 votes (0.7 percentage points).

Related Pages