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Wells — UK General Election Results

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

Wells was won by Conservative at the 2019 general election, with a majority of 9,991 votes over Liberal Democrat. This page covers every general election in Wells from 1832 to 2019.

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, 1832–2019

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1832 Norman Lamont (Whig); John Lee Lee (Whig) 167 30.2% (top seat) Nicholas William Ridley-Colborne (Whig) 3 (0.5 pts) 82.7%
1835 Nicholas William Ridley-Colborne (Whig); John Lee Lee (Whig) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1837 Richard Blakemore (Conservative); William Goodenough Hayter (Whig) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1841 Richard Blakemore (Conservative); William Goodenough Hayter (Whig) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1847 Richard Blakemore (Conservative); William Goodenough Hayter (Whig) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1852 Robert Charles Tudway (Conservative); William Goodenough Hayter (Whig) 175 40.4% (top seat) John Alexander Kinglake (Radical) 74 (16.0 pts) 71.2%
1857 William Goodenough Hayter (Whig); Hedworth Hylton Jolliffe (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1859 William Goodenough Hayter (Liberal); Hedworth Hylton Jolliffe (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1865 Arthur Divett Hayter (Liberal); Hedworth Hylton Jolliffe (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1885 Richard Horner Paget (Conservative) 4,200 55.7% Pandeli Ralli (Liberal) 865 (11.5 pts) 79.3%
1886 Richard Horner Paget (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1892 Richard Horner Paget (Conservative) 4,335 56.1% Beaumont Morice (Liberal) 940 (12.2 pts) 75.6%
1895 Hylton George Hylton Joliffe (Conservative) 4,696 58.8% Beaumont Morice (Liberal) 1,410 (17.7 pts) 74.1%
1900 Robert Edmund Dickinson (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1906 Thomas Ball Silcock (Liberal) 5,146 51.9% Robert Edmund Dickinson (Conservative) 385 (3.9 pts) 84.5%
Jan 1910 George John Sandys (Conservative) 6,167 55.9% Thomas Ball Silcock (Liberal) 1,296 (11.7 pts) 87.3%
Dec 1910 George John Sandys (Conservative) 6,178 60.1% Arthur Lane Wills (Liberal) 2,084 (20.3 pts) 81.3%
1918 Harry Greer (Unionist) 9,786 55.8% John Coleby Morland (Liberal) 2,851 (16.3 pts) 65.0%
1922 Robert Bruford (Unionist) 10,210 47.7% Arthur Lawrence Hobhouse (Liberal) 3,054 (14.3 pts) 77.8%
1923 Arthur Lawrence Hobhouse (Liberal) 10,818 48.2% Robert Bruford (Unionist) 909 (4.0 pts) 79.1%
1924 Robert Arthur Sanders (Unionist) 12,642 52.6% Arthur Lawrence Hobhouse (Liberal) 3,974 (16.5 pts) 82.2%
1929 Anthony John Muirhead (Unionist) 13,026 43.6% Arthur Lawrence Hobhouse (Liberal) 644 (2.2 pts) 82.5%
1931 Anthony John Muirhead (Conservative) 17,711 58.7% John William Howard Thompson (Liberal) 5,271 (17.5 pts) 81.9%
1935 Anthony John Muirhead (Conservative) 14,898 53.4% Arnold Jones (Liberal) 7,621 (27.3 pts) 73.7%
1945 Dennis Coleridge Boles (Conservative) 13,004 41.3% Cyril Morgan (Labour) 2,465 (7.8 pts) 74.9%
1950 Dennis Coleridge Boles (Conservative) 20,613 42.6% Catherine Edith Mary Archibald (Labour) 2,626 (5.4 pts) 86.3%
1951 Stephen Lynch Conway Maydon (Conservative) 26,524 55.3% David Llewellyn (Labour) 5,043 (10.5 pts) 84.2%
1955 Stephen Lynch Conway Maydon (Conservative) 25,624 56.5% Maxwell Bresler (Labour) 5,879 (13.0 pts) 79.5%
1959 Stephen Lynch Conway Maydon (Conservative) 23,357 48.6% Jon Antony A Evans (Labour) 6,905 (14.4 pts) 83.6%
1964 Stephen Lynch Conway Maydon (Conservative) 20,663 43.2% Reginald George White (Labour) 5,583 (11.7 pts) 81.7%
1966 Stephen Maydon (Conservative) 20,528 43.0% John Cousins (Labour) 3,539 (7.4 pts) 81.5%
1970 Robert Boscawen (Conservative) 25,106 49.6% Frank Thompson (Labour) 8,771 (17.3 pts) 77.4%
Feb 1974 Robert Boscawen (Conservative) 25,430 44.2% Alan Butt-Philip (Liberal) 7,785 (13.6 pts) 83.3%
Oct 1974 Robert Boscawen (Conservative) 23,979 43.6% Alan Butt-Philip (Liberal) 7,701 (14.0 pts) 78.9%
1979 Robert Boscawen (Conservative) 30,400 51.3% Alan Butt-Philip (Liberal) 12,196 (20.6 pts) 79.2%
1983 David Heathcoat-Armory (Conservative) 25,385 52.6% Alan Butt-Philip (Liberal) 6,575 (13.6 pts) 77.6%
1987 David Heathcoat-Amory (Conservative) 28,624 53.5% Alan Butt-Philip (Liberal) 8,541 (16.0 pts) 79.6%
1992 David Heathcoat-Amory (Conservative) 28,620 49.6% Humphrey Temperley (Liberal Democrat) 6,649 (11.5 pts) 82.7%
1997 David Heathcoat-Amory (Conservative) 22,208 39.4% Peter Gold (Liberal Democrat) 528 (0.9 pts) 78.1%
2001 David Heatcoat-Amory (Conservative) 22,462 43.8% Graham Oakes (Liberal Democrat) 2,796 (5.5 pts) 69.2%
2005 David Heathcoat-Armory (Conservative) 23,071 43.6% Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat) 3,040 (5.7 pts) 68.0%
2010 Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat) 24,560 44.0% David Heathcoat-Amory (Conservative) 800 (1.4 pts) 70.5%
2015 James Heappey (Conservative) 26,247 46.1% Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat) 7,585 (13.3 pts) 71.9%
2017 James Heappey (Conservative) 30,488 50.1% Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat) 7,582 (12.5 pts) 74.0%
2019 James Heappey (Conservative) 33,336 54.1% Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat) 9,991 (16.2 pts) 75.5%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1832 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Norman Lamont Whig 16930.2% Yes
John Lee Lee Whig 16729.9% Yes
Nicholas William Ridley-Colborne Whig 16429.3% No
John Edwards-Vaughan Conservative 5910.6% No

1835 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Nicholas William Ridley-Colborne Whig Unopposed Yes
John Lee Lee Whig Unopposed Yes

1837 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Richard Blakemore Conservative Unopposed Yes
William Goodenough Hayter Whig Unopposed Yes

1841 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Richard Blakemore Conservative Unopposed Yes
William Goodenough Hayter Whig Unopposed Yes

1847 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Richard Blakemore Conservative Unopposed Yes
William Goodenough Hayter Whig Unopposed Yes

1852 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Charles Tudway Conservative 18740.4% Yes
William Goodenough Hayter Whig 17537.8% Yes
John Alexander Kinglake Radical 10121.8% No

1857 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Goodenough Hayter Whig Unopposed Yes
Hedworth Hylton Jolliffe Conservative Unopposed Yes

1859 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Goodenough Hayter Liberal Unopposed Yes
Hedworth Hylton Jolliffe Conservative Unopposed Yes

1865 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Arthur Divett Hayter Liberal Unopposed Yes
Hedworth Hylton Jolliffe Conservative Unopposed Yes

1885

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Richard Horner Paget Conservative 4,20055.7% Yes
Pandeli Ralli Liberal 3,33544.3% No

1886

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Richard Horner Paget Conservative Unopposed Yes

1892

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Richard Horner Paget Conservative 4,33556.1% Yes
Beaumont Morice Liberal 3,39543.9% No

1895

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Hylton George Hylton Joliffe Conservative 4,69658.8% Yes
Beaumont Morice Liberal 3,28641.2% No

1900

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Edmund Dickinson Conservative Unopposed Yes

1906

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Ball Silcock Liberal 5,14651.9% Yes
Robert Edmund Dickinson Conservative 4,76148.1% No

Jan 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George John Sandys Conservative 6,16755.9% Yes
Thomas Ball Silcock Liberal 4,87144.1% No

Dec 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George John Sandys Conservative 6,17860.1% Yes
Arthur Lane Wills Liberal 4,09439.9% No

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Harry Greer Unionist 9,78655.8% Yes
John Coleby Morland Liberal 6,93539.6% No
G C S Hodgson National Party 8044.6% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Bruford Unionist 10,21047.7% Yes
Arthur Lawrence Hobhouse Liberal 7,15633.4% No
Leonard Smith Labour 4,04818.9% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Arthur Lawrence Hobhouse Liberal 10,81848.2% Yes
Robert Bruford Unionist 9,90944.2% No
Charles Henry Whitlow Labour 1,7137.6% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Arthur Sanders Unionist 12,64252.6% Yes
Arthur Lawrence Hobhouse Liberal 8,66836.1% No
Wilfred Thomas Young Labour 2,72611.3% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Anthony John Muirhead Unionist 13,02643.6% Yes
Arthur Lawrence Hobhouse Liberal 12,38241.4% No
Ruby Docie Quarrell Davies Labour 4,47215.0% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Anthony John Muirhead Conservative 17,71158.7% Yes
John William Howard Thompson Liberal 12,44041.3% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Anthony John Muirhead Conservative 14,89853.4% Yes
Arnold Jones Liberal 7,27726.1% No
William James Waring Labour 5,71620.5% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Dennis Coleridge Boles Conservative 13,00441.3% Yes
Cyril Morgan Labour 10,53933.5% No
Violet Bonham Carter Liberal 7,91025.1% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Dennis Coleridge Boles Conservative 20,61342.6% Yes
Catherine Edith Mary Archibald Labour 17,98737.2% No
Anthony Freire Marreco Liberal 9,77120.2% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Stephen Lynch Conway Maydon Conservative 26,52455.3% Yes
David Llewellyn Labour 21,48144.7% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Stephen Lynch Conway Maydon Conservative 25,62456.5% Yes
Maxwell Bresler Labour 19,74543.5% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Stephen Lynch Conway Maydon Conservative 23,35748.6% Yes
Jon Antony A Evans Labour 16,45234.3% No
Paul R Hobhouse Liberal 8,22017.1% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Stephen Lynch Conway Maydon Conservative 20,66343.2% Yes
Reginald George White Labour 15,08031.5% No
Howard Levett Fry Liberal 12,13225.3% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Stephen Maydon Conservative 20,52843.0% Yes
John Cousins Labour 16,98935.6% No
Howard Fry Liberal 10,22421.4% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Boscawen Conservative 25,10649.6% Yes
Frank Thompson Labour 16,33532.3% No
William Pinching Liberal 9,17418.1% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Boscawen Conservative 25,43044.2% Yes
Alan Butt-Philip Liberal 17,64530.7% No
Davis Kenneth Pearce Labour 14,39925.1% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Boscawen Conservative 23,97943.6% Yes
Alan Butt-Philip Liberal 16,27829.6% No
Geoffrey Mortimer Labour 13,90925.3% No
Penny Howard United Democratic 7781.4% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Boscawen Conservative 30,40051.3% Yes
Alan Butt-Philip Liberal 18,20430.7% No
Paul Murphy Labour 10,02516.9% No
Graham Edward Livings Independent 4210.7% No
Alexander Thynn Wessex Regionalist 1550.3% No

1983

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
David Heathcoat-Armory Conservative 25,38552.6% Yes
Alan Butt-Philip Liberal 18,81039.0% No
Andrew Martin Leigh Labour 3,7477.8% No
Graham Edward Livings Independent 2730.6% No

1987

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
David Heathcoat-Amory Conservative 28,62453.5% Yes
Alan Butt-Philip Liberal 20,08337.6% No
Peter James Labour 4,6378.7% No
John Fish Independent 1340.3% No

1992

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
David Heathcoat-Amory Conservative 28,62049.6% Yes
Humphrey Temperley Liberal Democrat 21,97138.0% No
John Pilgrim Labour 6,12610.6% No
Mike Fenner Green 1,0421.8% No

1997

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
David Heathcoat-Amory Conservative 22,20839.4% Yes
Peter Gold Liberal Democrat 21,68038.5% No
Michael Eavis Labour 10,20418.1% No
Patricia Phelps Referendum Party 2,1963.9% No
Lynn Royse Natural Law 920.2% No

2001

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
David Heatcoat-Amory Conservative 22,46243.8% Yes
Graham Oakes Liberal Democrat 19,66638.3% No
Andy Merryfield Labour 7,91515.4% No
Steve Reed UKIP 1,1042.2% No
Colin Bex Wessex Regionalist 1670.3% No

2005

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
David Heathcoat-Armory Conservative 23,07143.6% Yes
Tessa Munt Liberal Democrat 20,03137.8% No
Dan Whittle Labour 8,28815.6% No
Steve Reed UKIP 1,5753.0% No

2010

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Tessa Munt Liberal Democrat 24,56044.0% Yes
David Heathcoat-Amory Conservative 23,76042.5% No
Andy Merryfield Labour 4,1987.5% No
Jake Baynes UKIP 1,7113.1% No
Richard Boyce BNP 1,0041.8% No
Chris Briton Green 6311.1% No

2015

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Heappey Conservative 26,24746.1% Yes
Tessa Munt Liberal Democrat 18,66232.8% No
Helen Hims UKIP 5,6449.9% No
Chris Inchley Labour 3,7806.6% No
Jon Cousins Green 2,3314.1% No
Paul Arnold Independent 830.1% No
Dave Dobbs The Birthday Party 810.1% No
Gypsy Watkins Independent 760.1% No

2017

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Heappey Conservative 30,48850.1% Yes
Tessa Munt Liberal Democrat 22,90637.6% No
Andy Merryfield Labour 7,12911.7% No
Lorna Corke Christian Peoples Alliance 3200.5% No

2019

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Heappey Conservative 33,33654.1% Yes
Tessa Munt Liberal Democrat 23,34537.9% No
Kama McKenzie Labour 4,3047.0% No
Dave Dobbs Independent 3730.6% No
Susie Quatermass Motherworld Party 2700.4% No

Margin Over Time

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

1832: Whig margin 0.5 pts 1852: Conservative margin 16.0 pts 1885: Conservative margin 11.5 pts 1892: Conservative margin 12.2 pts 1895: Conservative margin 17.7 pts 1906: Liberal margin 3.9 pts Jan 1910: Conservative margin 11.7 pts Dec 1910: Conservative margin 20.3 pts 1918: Unionist margin 16.3 pts 1922: Unionist margin 14.3 pts 1923: Liberal margin 4.0 pts 1924: Unionist margin 16.5 pts 1929: Unionist margin 2.2 pts 1931: Conservative margin 17.5 pts 1935: Conservative margin 27.3 pts 1945: Conservative margin 7.8 pts 1950: Conservative margin 5.4 pts 1951: Conservative margin 10.5 pts 1955: Conservative margin 13.0 pts 1959: Conservative margin 14.4 pts 1964: Conservative margin 11.7 pts 1966: Conservative margin 7.4 pts 1970: Conservative margin 17.3 pts Feb 1974: Conservative margin 13.6 pts Oct 1974: Conservative margin 14.0 pts 1979: Conservative margin 20.6 pts 1983: Conservative margin 13.6 pts 1987: Conservative margin 16.0 pts 1992: Conservative margin 11.5 pts 1997: Conservative margin 0.9 pts 2001: Conservative margin 5.5 pts 2005: Conservative margin 5.7 pts 2010: Liberal Democrat margin 1.4 pts 2015: Conservative margin 13.3 pts 2017: Conservative margin 12.5 pts 2019: Conservative margin 16.2 pts 1832 1852 1885 1892 1895 1906 Jan 1910 Dec 1910 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 Feb 1974 Oct 1974 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017 2019

Trend

Wells has been contested at 45 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Whig, Conservative, Liberal, Unionist, Liberal Democrat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Wells in the 2019 general election?

Conservative won Wells in 2019 with 33,336 votes (54.1%), a majority of 9,991 votes over Liberal Democrat in second place.

Which parties have won Wells since 1832?

Since 1832, Wells has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Liberal Democrat, Unionist, Whig.

What was the closest result in Wells?

The closest result on record for Wells was 1832, when Whig beat Whig by just 3 votes (0.5 percentage points).

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

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

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