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Whitehaven — UK General Election Results

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

Whitehaven was won by Labour at the 1979 general election, with a majority of 5,455 votes over Conservative. This page covers every general election in Whitehaven from 1832 to 1979.

Full Election History, 1832–1979

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1832 Matthias Attwood (Conservative) 210 54.7% Isaac Littledale (Whig) 36 (9.4 pts) 83.8%
1835 Matthias Attwood (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1837 Matthias Attwood (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1841 Matthias Attwood (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1847 Robert Charles Hildyard (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1852 Robert Charles Hildyard (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1857 Robert Charles Hildyard (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1859 George Lyall (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1865 George Augustus Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1868 George Augustus Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck (Conservative) 1,125 59.3% Anthony Benn Steward (Liberal) 354 (18.7 pts) 76.0%
1874 George Augustus Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1880 George Augustus Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck (Conservative) 1,204 52.9% William Court Gully (Liberal) 132 (5.8 pts) 86.8%
1885 George Augustus Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck (Conservative) 1,336 54.3% William Court Gully (Liberal) 211 (8.6 pts) 91.6%
1886 George Augustus Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck (Conservative) 1,216 52.3% Henry Gordon Shee (Liberal) 106 (4.6 pts) 86.6%
1892 Thomas Shepherd Little (Liberal) 1,306 54.6% James Bain (Conservative) 218 (9.1 pts) 88.7%
1895 Augustus Helder (Conservative) 1,380 55.3% Thomas Shepherd Little (Liberal) 266 (10.7 pts) 90.8%
1900 Augustus Helder (Conservative) 1,553 63.9% William McGowan (Liberal) 677 (27.9 pts) 86.0%
1906 William John Dalzell Burnyeat (Liberal) 1,507 55.8% James Robertson-Walker (Conservative) 313 (11.6 pts) 91.7%
Dec 1910 Thomas Richardson (Labour) 1,414 53.7% John Arthur Jackson (Conservative) 194 (7.4 pts) 86.4%
Jan 1910 John Arthur Jackson (Conservative) 1,188 41.5% William Hood Wandless (Liberal) 336 (11.7 pts) 93.9%
1918 James Augustus Grant (Unionist) 10,736 54.4% Thomas Gavan-Duffy (Labour) 1,720 (8.7 pts) 72.0%
1922 Thomas Gavan-Duffy (Labour) 10,935 45.4% James Augustus Grant (Unionist) 1,979 (8.2 pts) 87.0%
1923 Thomas Gavan-Duffy (Labour) 12,419 53.0% Robert Spear Hudson (Unionist) 1,390 (5.9 pts) 83.1%
1924 Robert Spear Hudson (Unionist) 13,149 52.8% Thomas Gavan-Duffy (Labour) 1,408 (5.7 pts) 88.2%
1929 Morgan Philips Price (Labour) 14,034 46.8% Robert Spear Hudson (Unionist) 1,652 (5.5 pts) 88.1%
1931 William Nunn (Conservative) 16,286 53.3% Morgan Philips Price (Labour) 2,031 (6.7 pts) 89.6%
1935 Frank Anderson (Labour) 14,794 48.9% William Nunn (Conservative) 352 (1.2 pts) 87.3%
1945 Frank Anderson (Labour) 18,568 61.1% William Owens Hill (Conservative) 6,747 (22.2 pts) 82.8%
1950 Frank Anderson (Labour) 22,850 60.0% William Nunn (Conservative) 7,617 (20.0 pts) 87.0%
1951 Frank Anderson (Labour) 23,190 59.2% Godfrey William Iredell (Conservative) 7,200 (18.4 pts) 85.2%
1955 Frank Anderson (Labour) 22,348 58.0% Godfrey William Iredell (Conservative) 6,194 (16.1 pts) 83.8%
1959 Joseph Bede Symonds (Labour) 22,783 57.8% Howard J Pedraza (Conservative) 6,130 (15.5 pts) 84.5%
1964 Joseph Bede Symonds (Labour) 23,267 60.1% Edmund Brudenell (Conservative) 7,827 (20.2 pts) 82.0%
1966 Joseph Symonds (Labour) 22,726 62.0% John Kevill (Conservative) 8,791 (24.0 pts) 78.8%
1970 Jack Cunningham (Labour) 22,974 58.3% William Graham McKay (Conservative) 6,556 (16.6 pts) 78.3%
Feb 1974 Jack Cunningham (Labour) 23,229 59.4% Peter Brownhill Vose (Conservative) 7,362 (18.8 pts) 77.5%
Oct 1974 Jack Cunningham (Labour) 21,832 55.6% Peter Brownhill Vose (Conservative) 9,933 (25.3 pts) 77.1%
1979 Jack Cunningham (Labour) 22,626 52.4% John Joseph Somers (Conservative) 5,455 (12.6 pts) 81.7%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1832

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Matthias Attwood Conservative 21054.7% Yes
Isaac Littledale Whig 17445.3% No

1835

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Matthias Attwood Conservative Unopposed Yes

1837

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Matthias Attwood Conservative Unopposed Yes

1841

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Matthias Attwood Conservative Unopposed Yes

1847

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Charles Hildyard Conservative Unopposed Yes

1852

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Charles Hildyard Conservative Unopposed Yes

1857

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Charles Hildyard Conservative Unopposed Yes

1859

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Lyall Conservative Unopposed Yes

1865

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Augustus Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck Conservative Unopposed Yes

1868

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Augustus Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck Conservative 1,12559.3% Yes
Anthony Benn Steward Liberal 77140.7% No

1874

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Augustus Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck Conservative Unopposed Yes

1880

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Augustus Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck Conservative 1,20452.9% Yes
William Court Gully Liberal 1,07247.1% No

1885

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Augustus Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck Conservative 1,33654.3% Yes
William Court Gully Liberal 1,12545.7% No

1886

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Augustus Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck Conservative 1,21652.3% Yes
Henry Gordon Shee Liberal 1,11047.7% No

1892

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Shepherd Little Liberal 1,30654.6% Yes
James Bain Conservative 1,08845.4% No

1895

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Augustus Helder Conservative 1,38055.3% Yes
Thomas Shepherd Little Liberal 1,11444.7% No

1900

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Augustus Helder Conservative 1,55363.9% Yes
William McGowan Liberal 87636.1% No

1906

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William John Dalzell Burnyeat Liberal 1,50755.8% Yes
James Robertson-Walker Conservative 1,19444.2% No

Dec 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Richardson Labour 1,41453.7% Yes
John Arthur Jackson Conservative 1,22046.3% No

Jan 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Arthur Jackson Conservative 1,18841.5% Yes
William Hood Wandless Liberal 85229.7% No
Andrew Sharp Labour 82528.8% No

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Augustus Grant Unionist 10,73654.4% Yes
Thomas Gavan-Duffy Labour 9,01645.6% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Gavan-Duffy Labour 10,93545.4% Yes
James Augustus Grant Unionist 8,95637.2% No
Henry Kenyon Campbell Liberal 4,20917.5% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Gavan-Duffy Labour 12,41953.0% Yes
Robert Spear Hudson Unionist 11,02947.0% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Spear Hudson Unionist 13,14952.8% Yes
Thomas Gavan-Duffy Labour 11,74147.2% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Morgan Philips Price Labour 14,03446.8% Yes
Robert Spear Hudson Unionist 12,38241.3% No
Henry Darnley Naylor Liberal 3,55811.9% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Nunn Conservative 16,28653.3% Yes
Morgan Philips Price Labour 14,25546.7% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Frank Anderson Labour 14,79448.9% Yes
William Nunn Conservative 14,44247.8% No
Tom Stephenson Independent Labour 1,0043.3% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Frank Anderson Labour 18,56861.1% Yes
William Owens Hill Conservative 11,82138.9% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Frank Anderson Labour 22,85060.0% Yes
William Nunn Conservative 15,23340.0% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Frank Anderson Labour 23,19059.2% Yes
Godfrey William Iredell Conservative 15,99040.8% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Frank Anderson Labour 22,34858.0% Yes
Godfrey William Iredell Conservative 16,15442.0% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Joseph Bede Symonds Labour 22,78357.8% Yes
Howard J Pedraza Conservative 16,65342.2% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Joseph Bede Symonds Labour 23,26760.1% Yes
Edmund Brudenell Conservative 15,44039.9% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Joseph Symonds Labour 22,72662.0% Yes
John Kevill Conservative 13,93538.0% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Jack Cunningham Labour 22,97458.3% Yes
William Graham McKay Conservative 16,41841.7% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Jack Cunningham Labour 23,22959.4% Yes
Peter Brownhill Vose Conservative 15,86740.6% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Jack Cunningham Labour 21,83255.6% Yes
Peter Brownhill Vose Conservative 11,89930.3% No
Michael Gilbert Liberal 5,56314.2% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Jack Cunningham Labour 22,62652.4% Yes
John Joseph Somers Conservative 17,17139.8% No
Roy Edward Akister Liberal 2,5595.9% No
William Dixon Independent 7901.8% No

Margin Over Time

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

1832: Conservative margin 9.4 pts 1868: Conservative margin 18.7 pts 1880: Conservative margin 5.8 pts 1885: Conservative margin 8.6 pts 1886: Conservative margin 4.6 pts 1892: Liberal margin 9.1 pts 1895: Conservative margin 10.7 pts 1900: Conservative margin 27.9 pts 1906: Liberal margin 11.6 pts Dec 1910: Labour margin 7.4 pts Jan 1910: Conservative margin 11.7 pts 1918: Unionist margin 8.7 pts 1922: Labour margin 8.2 pts 1923: Labour margin 5.9 pts 1924: Unionist margin 5.7 pts 1929: Labour margin 5.5 pts 1931: Conservative margin 6.7 pts 1935: Labour margin 1.2 pts 1945: Labour margin 22.2 pts 1950: Labour margin 20.0 pts 1951: Labour margin 18.4 pts 1955: Labour margin 16.1 pts 1959: Labour margin 15.5 pts 1964: Labour margin 20.2 pts 1966: Labour margin 24.0 pts 1970: Labour margin 16.6 pts Feb 1974: Labour margin 18.8 pts Oct 1974: Labour margin 25.3 pts 1979: Labour margin 12.6 pts 1832 1868 1880 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

Whitehaven has been contested at 38 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Conservative, Liberal, Labour, Unionist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Whitehaven in the 1979 general election?

Labour won Whitehaven in 1979 with 22,626 votes (52.4%), a majority of 5,455 votes over Conservative in second place.

Which parties have won Whitehaven since 1832?

Since 1832, Whitehaven has been won by: Conservative, Labour, Liberal, Unionist.

What was the closest result in Whitehaven?

The closest result on record for Whitehaven was 1935, when Labour beat Conservative by just 352 votes (1.2 percentage points).

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