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Widnes — UK General Election Results

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

Widnes was won by Labour at the 1979 general election, with a majority of 10,281 votes over Conservative. This page covers every general election in Widnes from 1885 to 1979.

Full Election History, 1885–1979

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1885 Tom Cottingham Edwards-Moss (Conservative) 4,327 62.0% Edmund Knowles Muspratt (Liberal) 1,677 (24.0 pts) 84.8%
1886 Tom Cottingham Edwards-Moss (Conservative) 3,719 56.0% Augustine Birrell (Liberal) 792 (11.9 pts) 80.8%
1892 John Saunders Gilliat (Conservative) 3,866 51.4% Henry Wade Deacon (Liberal) 205 (2.7 pts) 83.5%
1895 John Saunders Gilliat (Conservative) 3,973 53.5% Henry Wade Deacon (Liberal) 517 (7.0 pts) 82.6%
1900 William Hall Walker (Conservative) 4,716 69.6% Michael Chartres Macinerney (Liberal) 2,654 (39.2 pts) 71.7%
1906 William Hall Walker (Conservative) 5,017 54.6% John Swinburne (Liberal) 852 (9.3 pts) 83.4%
Jan 1910 William Hall Walker (Conservative) 5,758 55.2% Louis Charles Bernacchi (Liberal) 1,092 (10.5 pts) 88.5%
Dec 1910 William Hall Walker (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1918 William Hall Walker (Unionist) 11,515 59.6% Thomas Williamson (Labour) 3,694 (19.1 pts) 63.0%
1922 George Christopher Clayton (Unionist) 14,679 53.2% Arthur Henderson (Labour) 1,782 (6.5 pts) 86.8%
1923 George Christopher Clayton (Unionist) 12,808 47.1% Joseph Patrick Cotter (Labour) 788 (2.9 pts) 83.0%
1924 George Christopher Clayton (Unionist) 15,476 53.7% Joseph Patrick Cotter (Labour) 2,150 (7.5 pts) 85.8%
1929 Alexander Gordon Cameron (Labour) 19,125 51.0% George Christopher Clayton (Unionist) 749 (2.0 pts) 84.8%
1931 John Roland Robinson (Conservative) 25,123 62.1% Alexander Gordon Cameron (Labour) 9,814 (24.3 pts) 87.5%
1935 Richard Antony Pilkington (Conservative) 24,457 56.0% Alexander George Cameron (Labour) 5,270 (12.1 pts) 79.7%
1945 Christopher Nyholm Shawcross (Labour) 41,980 58.8% Richard Antony Pilkington (Conservative) 12,598 (17.6 pts) 76.0%
1950 James Eugene MacColl (Conservative) 21,253 54.1% Richard Antony Pilkington (Conservative) 3,220 (8.2 pts) 88.2%
1951 James MacColl (Labour) 21,688 54.2% Francis Wilson (Conservative) 3,373 (8.4 pts) 87.4%
1955 James Eugene MacColl (Labour) 19,823 51.9% Beata Ann Brookes (Conservative) 1,449 (3.8 pts) 83.1%
1959 James Eugene MacColl (Labour) 21,218 52.0% Bruce L Butcher (Conservative) 1,598 (3.9 pts) 83.4%
1964 James Eugene MacColl (Labour) 24,446 56.8% Alan Pickering (Conservative) 5,874 (13.7 pts) 77.9%
1966 James MacColl (Labour) 26,613 60.7% Alan Pickering (Conservative) 9,378 (21.4 pts) 72.8%
1970 James MacColl (Labour) 28,384 57.7% Griffith Pierce (Conservative) 7,543 (15.3 pts) 68.8%
Feb 1974 Gordon Oakes (Labour) 35,654 65.1% Albert Henry Ken Maynard (Conservative) 16,499 (30.1 pts) 73.6%
Oct 1974 Gordon Oakes (Labour) 31,532 59.2% Albert Henry Ken Maynard (Conservative) 16,871 (31.7 pts) 70.9%
1979 Gordon Oakes (Labour) 32,033 55.2% Brian George Holder (Conservative) 10,281 (17.7 pts) 74.2%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1885

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Tom Cottingham Edwards-Moss Conservative 4,32762.0% Yes
Edmund Knowles Muspratt Liberal 2,65038.0% No

1886

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Tom Cottingham Edwards-Moss Conservative 3,71956.0% Yes
Augustine Birrell Liberal 2,92744.0% No

1892

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Saunders Gilliat Conservative 3,86651.4% Yes
Henry Wade Deacon Liberal 3,66148.6% No

1895

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Saunders Gilliat Conservative 3,97353.5% Yes
Henry Wade Deacon Liberal 3,45646.5% No

1900

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Hall Walker Conservative 4,71669.6% Yes
Michael Chartres Macinerney Liberal 2,06230.4% No

1906

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Hall Walker Conservative 5,01754.6% Yes
John Swinburne Liberal 4,16545.4% No

Jan 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Hall Walker Conservative 5,75855.2% Yes
Louis Charles Bernacchi Liberal 4,66644.8% No

Dec 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Hall Walker Conservative Unopposed Yes

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Hall Walker Unionist 11,51559.6% Yes
Thomas Williamson Labour 7,82140.4% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Christopher Clayton Unionist 14,67953.2% Yes
Arthur Henderson Labour 12,89746.8% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Christopher Clayton Unionist 12,80847.1% Yes
Joseph Patrick Cotter Labour 12,02044.2% No
Harry Trevor Ellis Liberal 2,3558.7% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Christopher Clayton Unionist 15,47653.7% Yes
Joseph Patrick Cotter Labour 13,32646.3% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Gordon Cameron Labour 19,12551.0% Yes
George Christopher Clayton Unionist 18,37649.0% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Roland Robinson Conservative 25,12362.1% Yes
Alexander Gordon Cameron Labour 15,30937.9% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Richard Antony Pilkington Conservative 24,45756.0% Yes
Alexander George Cameron Labour 19,18744.0% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Christopher Nyholm Shawcross Labour 41,98058.8% Yes
Richard Antony Pilkington Conservative 29,38241.2% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Eugene MacColl Conservative 21,25354.1% Yes
Richard Antony Pilkington Conservative 18,03345.9% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James MacColl Labour 21,68854.2% Yes
Francis Wilson Conservative 18,31545.8% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Eugene MacColl Labour 19,82351.9% Yes
Beata Ann Brookes Conservative 18,37448.1% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Eugene MacColl Labour 21,21852.0% Yes
Bruce L Butcher Conservative 19,62048.0% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Eugene MacColl Labour 24,44656.8% Yes
Alan Pickering Conservative 18,57243.2% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James MacColl Labour 26,61360.7% Yes
Alan Pickering Conservative 17,23539.3% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James MacColl Labour 28,38457.7% Yes
Griffith Pierce Conservative 20,84142.3% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Gordon Oakes Labour 35,65465.1% Yes
Albert Henry Ken Maynard Conservative 19,15534.9% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Gordon Oakes Labour 31,53259.2% Yes
Albert Henry Ken Maynard Conservative 14,66127.5% No
Anthony Turner Liberal 7,06713.3% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Gordon Oakes Labour 32,03355.2% Yes
Brian George Holder Conservative 21,75237.5% No
Lesley Annette Self Liberal 4,2907.4% No

Margin Over Time

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

1885: Conservative margin 24.0 pts 1886: Conservative margin 11.9 pts 1892: Conservative margin 2.7 pts 1895: Conservative margin 7.0 pts 1900: Conservative margin 39.2 pts 1906: Conservative margin 9.3 pts Jan 1910: Conservative margin 10.5 pts 1918: Unionist margin 19.1 pts 1922: Unionist margin 6.5 pts 1923: Unionist margin 2.9 pts 1924: Unionist margin 7.5 pts 1929: Labour margin 2.0 pts 1931: Conservative margin 24.3 pts 1935: Conservative margin 12.1 pts 1945: Labour margin 17.6 pts 1950: Conservative margin 8.2 pts 1951: Labour margin 8.4 pts 1955: Labour margin 3.8 pts 1959: Labour margin 3.9 pts 1964: Labour margin 13.7 pts 1966: Labour margin 21.4 pts 1970: Labour margin 15.3 pts Feb 1974: Labour margin 30.1 pts Oct 1974: Labour margin 31.7 pts 1979: Labour margin 17.7 pts 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 Jan 1910 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 Feb 1974 Oct 1974 1979

Trend

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Widnes in the 1979 general election?

Labour won Widnes in 1979 with 32,033 votes (55.2%), a majority of 10,281 votes over Conservative in second place.

Which parties have won Widnes since 1885?

Since 1885, Widnes has been won by: Conservative, Labour, Unionist.

What was the closest result in Widnes?

The closest result on record for Widnes was 1929, when Labour beat Unionist by just 749 votes (2.0 percentage points).

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