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Torquay — UK General Election Results

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

Torquay was won by Conservative at the 1970 general election, with a majority of 18,048 votes over Labour. This page covers every general election in Torquay from 1885 to 1970.

Full Election History, 1885–1970

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1885 Lewis McIver (Liberal) 3,509 52.6% Richard Mallock (Conservative) 348 (5.2 pts) 86.2%
1886 Richard Mallock (Conservative) 3,135 50.6% Lewis McIver (Liberal Unionist) 80 (1.3 pts) 80.0%
1892 Richard Mallock (Conservative) 4,157 52.5% Arthur Divett Hayter (Liberal) 394 (5.0 pts) 84.2%
1895 Arthur Stephens Philpotts (Conservative) 4,205 51.1% Francis Layland-Barratt (Liberal) 175 (2.1 pts) 82.0%
1900 Francis Layland-Barratt (Liberal) 4,020 50.8% James Reginald Lea Rankin (Conservative) 129 (1.6 pts) 84.9%
1906 Francis Layland-Barratt (Liberal) 4,856 52.5% Henry Yarde Buller Lopes (Conservative) 460 (5.0 pts) 89.5%
Jan 1910 Francis Layland-Barratt (Liberal) 5,104 50.1% Henry Yarde Buller Lopes (Conservative) 11 (0.1 pts) 90.7%
Dec 1910 Charles Rosdew Burn (Liberal Unionist) 5,101 50.6% Francis Layland-Barratt (Liberal) 130 (1.3 pts) 89.6%
1918 Charles Rosdew Burn (Unionist) 14,068 66.1% Alfred Edward Yates Trestrail (Labour) 10,039 (47.2 pts) 65.3%
1922 Charles Rosdew Burn (Unionist) 14,676 52.2% Piers Gilchrist Thompson (Liberal) 1,251 (4.5 pts) 78.5%
1923 Piers Gilchrist Thompson (Liberal) 15,294 50.6% Charles Williams (Unionist) 372 (1.2 pts) 80.0%
1924 Charles Williams (Unionist) 18,119 55.2% Piers Gilschrist Thompson (Liberal) 6,161 (18.8 pts) 84.4%
1929 Charles Williams (Unionist) 21,690 49.7% Richard Thomas Dyke Acland (Liberal) 5,353 (12.3 pts) 81.7%
1931 Charles Williams (Conservative) 34,690 82.5% Hubert Moses Medland (Labour) 27,339 (65.0 pts) 74.6%
1935 Charles Williams (Conservative) 27,008 63.6% Harry Samways (Liberal) 17,935 (42.2 pts) 71.0%
1945 Charles Williams (Conservative) 25,479 48.9% George Cornes (Labour) 11,889 (22.8 pts) 71.4%
1950 Charles Williams (Conservative) 29,153 53.6% Robert Briscoe (Labour) 14,866 (27.3 pts) 82.8%
1951 Charles Williams (Conservative) 31,441 59.2% Robert Briscoe (Labour) 16,640 (31.3 pts) 80.0%
1955 Charles Williams (Conservative) 29,777 60.4% Robert Briscoe (Labour) 17,230 (34.9 pts) 75.5%
1959 Frederic Mackarness Bennett (Conservative) 29,527 56.8% William V Cooper (Labour) 17,743 (34.1 pts) 76.9%
1964 Sir Frederic Mackarness Bennett (Conservative) 28,801 52.4% Hugo Laurence Joseph Brunner (Liberal) 15,149 (27.6 pts) 75.0%
1966 Sir Frederic Bennett (Conservative) 28,693 49.4% Raymond Dash (Labour) 12,099 (20.8 pts) 77.4%
1970 Sir Frederic Bennett (Conservative) 33,996 55.6% Paul Bryers (Labour) 18,048 (29.5 pts) 73.8%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1885

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Lewis McIver Liberal 3,50952.6% Yes
Richard Mallock Conservative 3,16147.4% No

1886

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Richard Mallock Conservative 3,13550.6% Yes
Lewis McIver Liberal Unionist 3,05549.4% No

1892

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Richard Mallock Conservative 4,15752.5% Yes
Arthur Divett Hayter Liberal 3,76347.5% No

1895

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Arthur Stephens Philpotts Conservative 4,20551.1% Yes
Francis Layland-Barratt Liberal 4,03048.9% No

1900

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Francis Layland-Barratt Liberal 4,02050.8% Yes
James Reginald Lea Rankin Conservative 3,89149.2% No

1906

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Francis Layland-Barratt Liberal 4,85652.5% Yes
Henry Yarde Buller Lopes Conservative 4,39647.5% No

Jan 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Francis Layland-Barratt Liberal 5,10450.1% Yes
Henry Yarde Buller Lopes Conservative 5,09349.9% No

Dec 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charles Rosdew Burn Liberal Unionist 5,10150.6% Yes
Francis Layland-Barratt Liberal 4,97149.4% No

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charles Rosdew Burn Unionist 14,06866.1% Yes
Alfred Edward Yates Trestrail Labour 4,02918.9% No
Russell Cooke Liberal 3,17314.9% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charles Rosdew Burn Unionist 14,67652.2% Yes
Piers Gilchrist Thompson Liberal 13,42547.8% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Piers Gilchrist Thompson Liberal 15,29450.6% Yes
Charles Williams Unionist 14,92249.4% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charles Williams Unionist 18,11955.2% Yes
Piers Gilschrist Thompson Liberal 11,95836.4% No
Arthur Moyle Labour 2,7528.4% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charles Williams Unionist 21,69049.7% Yes
Richard Thomas Dyke Acland Liberal 16,33737.5% No
Hubert Moses Medland Labour 5,57612.8% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charles Williams Conservative 34,69082.5% Yes
Hubert Moses Medland Labour 7,35117.5% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charles Williams Conservative 27,00863.6% Yes
Harry Samways Liberal 9,07321.4% No
Frank Scardifield Labour 6,38715.0% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charles Williams Conservative 25,47948.9% Yes
George Cornes Labour 13,59026.1% No
Samuel Gorley Putt Liberal 13,00325.0% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charles Williams Conservative 29,15353.6% Yes
Robert Briscoe Labour 14,28726.2% No
Henry Stuart Townend Liberal 10,98720.2% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charles Williams Conservative 31,44159.2% Yes
Robert Briscoe Labour 14,80127.8% No
Deryck Robert Endsleigh Abel Liberal 6,90413.0% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charles Williams Conservative 29,77760.4% Yes
Robert Briscoe Labour 12,54725.4% No
Peter Joseph Bessell Liberal 7,01214.2% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Frederic Mackarness Bennett Conservative 29,52756.8% Yes
William V Cooper Labour 11,78422.7% No
Thomas Oslaf Kellock Liberal 10,68520.5% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Sir Frederic Mackarness Bennett Conservative 28,80152.4% Yes
Hugo Laurence Joseph Brunner Liberal 13,65224.8% No
Thelma W Thompson Labour 12,53022.8% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Sir Frederic Bennett Conservative 28,69349.4% Yes
Raymond Dash Labour 16,59428.6% No
Hugo Brunner Liberal 12,75022.0% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Sir Frederic Bennett Conservative 33,99655.6% Yes
Paul Bryers Labour 15,94826.1% No
Keith Jenkins Liberal 11,16318.3% No

Margin Over Time

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

1885: Liberal margin 5.2 pts 1886: Conservative margin 1.3 pts 1892: Conservative margin 5.0 pts 1895: Conservative margin 2.1 pts 1900: Liberal margin 1.6 pts 1906: Liberal margin 5.0 pts Jan 1910: Liberal margin 0.1 pts Dec 1910: Liberal Unionist margin 1.3 pts 1918: Unionist margin 47.2 pts 1922: Unionist margin 4.5 pts 1923: Liberal margin 1.2 pts 1924: Unionist margin 18.8 pts 1929: Unionist margin 12.3 pts 1931: Conservative margin 65.0 pts 1935: Conservative margin 42.2 pts 1945: Conservative margin 22.8 pts 1950: Conservative margin 27.3 pts 1951: Conservative margin 31.3 pts 1955: Conservative margin 34.9 pts 1959: Conservative margin 34.1 pts 1964: Conservative margin 27.6 pts 1966: Conservative margin 20.8 pts 1970: Conservative margin 29.5 pts 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 Jan 1910 Dec 1910 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970

Trend

Torquay has been contested at 23 general elections on record since 1885. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Liberal, Conservative, Liberal Unionist, Unionist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Torquay in the 1970 general election?

Conservative won Torquay in 1970 with 33,996 votes (55.6%), a majority of 18,048 votes over Labour in second place.

Which parties have won Torquay since 1885?

Since 1885, Torquay has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Liberal Unionist, Unionist.

What was the closest result in Torquay?

The closest result on record for Torquay was Jan 1910, when Liberal beat Conservative by just 11 votes (0.1 percentage points).

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