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Woolwich East — UK General Election Results

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

Woolwich East was won by Labour at the 1979 general election, with a majority of 10,460 votes over Conservative. This page covers every general election in Woolwich East from 1918 to 1979.

Full Election History, 1918–1979

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1918 William Crooks (Labour) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1922 Harry Snell (Labour) 15,620 57.1% Robert Gee (Unionist) 3,906 (14.3 pts) 80.4%
1923 Harry Snell (Labour) 15,766 61.6% Ernest Augustus Taylor (Unionist) 5,927 (23.2 pts) 74.4%
1924 Henry Snell (Labour) 16,660 58.4% Donald Arthur Gooch (Unionist) 4,798 (16.8 pts) 81.6%
1929 Henry Snell (Labour) 20,447 63.1% Edward Shrapnell-Smith (Unionist) 8,481 (26.2 pts) 75.7%
1931 Ernest George Hicks (Labour) 16,658 50.9% John Francis Finn (Conservative) 608 (1.9 pts) 76.3%
1935 Ernest George Hicks (Labour) 17,563 58.0% John Francis Finn (Conservative) 4,842 (16.0 pts) 71.3%
1945 Ernest George Hicks (Labour) 18,983 70.9% Reginald Frederick Brittain Bennett (Conservative) 11,746 (43.8 pts) 72.7%
1950 Ernest Bevin (Labour) 26,604 61.6% John Donington Campbell (Conservative) 12,370 (28.6 pts) 83.3%
1951 Christopher Paget Mayhew (Labour) 26,982 63.6% Richard Jon Stanley Harvey (Conservative) 11,562 (27.3 pts) 82.0%
1955 Christopher Paget Mayhew (Labour) 23,275 64.3% Henry Crawford (Conservative) 10,346 (28.6 pts) 73.9%
1959 Christopher Paget Mayhew (Labour) 22,353 63.9% Edgar J Porter (Conservative) 9,715 (27.8 pts) 75.5%
1964 Christopher Paget Mayhew (Labour) 22,158 68.3% David W Clarke (Conservative) 11,855 (36.5 pts) 69.0%
1966 Christopher Mayhew (Labour) 22,241 71.7% Antony Andrews (Conservative) 13,443 (43.3 pts) 67.0%
1970 Christopher Mayhew (Labour) 19,423 65.4% John Ambrose Cope (Conservative) 9,164 (30.9 pts) 60.7%
Feb 1974 Christopher Mayhew (Labour) 20,967 55.9% Barry Watson (Conservative) 11,977 (31.9 pts) 74.2%
Oct 1974 John Cartwright (Labour) 19,812 60.3% Barry Watson (Conservative) 12,425 (37.8 pts) 64.4%
1979 John Cartwright (Labour) 21,700 58.9% Patrick Rock (Conservative) 10,460 (28.4 pts) 70.1%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Crooks Labour Unopposed Yes

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Harry Snell Labour 15,62057.1% Yes
Robert Gee Unionist 11,71442.9% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Harry Snell Labour 15,76661.6% Yes
Ernest Augustus Taylor Unionist 9,83938.4% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry Snell Labour 16,66058.4% Yes
Donald Arthur Gooch Unionist 11,86241.6% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry Snell Labour 20,44763.1% Yes
Edward Shrapnell-Smith Unionist 11,96636.9% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Ernest George Hicks Labour 16,65850.9% Yes
John Francis Finn Conservative 16,05049.1% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Ernest George Hicks Labour 17,56358.0% Yes
John Francis Finn Conservative 12,72142.0% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Ernest George Hicks Labour 18,98370.9% Yes
Reginald Frederick Brittain Bennett Conservative 7,23727.0% No
Hugh Harold Wright Independent 5712.1% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Ernest Bevin Labour 26,60461.6% Yes
John Donington Campbell Conservative 14,23433.0% No
Arthur Maxwell Sage Liberal 1,5043.5% No
Rajani Palme Dutt Communist 6011.4% No
Frank Rivers Hancock Independent 2520.6% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Christopher Paget Mayhew Labour 26,98263.6% Yes
Richard Jon Stanley Harvey Conservative 15,42036.4% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Christopher Paget Mayhew Labour 23,27564.3% Yes
Henry Crawford Conservative 12,92935.7% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Christopher Paget Mayhew Labour 22,35363.9% Yes
Edgar J Porter Conservative 12,63836.1% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Christopher Paget Mayhew Labour 22,15868.3% Yes
David W Clarke Conservative 10,30331.7% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Christopher Mayhew Labour 22,24171.7% Yes
Antony Andrews Conservative 8,79828.3% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Christopher Mayhew Labour 19,42365.4% Yes
John Ambrose Cope Conservative 10,25934.6% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Christopher Mayhew Labour 20,96755.9% Yes
Barry Watson Conservative 8,99024.0% No
David Woodhead Liberal 6,30116.8% No
Philip Hanman National Front 1,0662.8% No
John Murphy Industrial Productivity for British Exports Campaign 1910.5% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Cartwright Labour 19,81260.3% Yes
Barry Watson Conservative 7,38722.5% No
David Woodhead Liberal 4,63814.1% No
Malcolm Skeggs National Front 1,0003.0% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Cartwright Labour 21,70058.9% Yes
Patrick Rock Conservative 11,24030.5% No
David Woodhead Liberal 2,9988.1% No
Ian Steven National Front 8842.4% No

Margin Over Time

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

1922: Labour margin 14.3 pts 1923: Labour margin 23.2 pts 1924: Labour margin 16.8 pts 1929: Labour margin 26.2 pts 1931: Labour margin 1.9 pts 1935: Labour margin 16.0 pts 1945: Labour margin 43.8 pts 1950: Labour margin 28.6 pts 1951: Labour margin 27.3 pts 1955: Labour margin 28.6 pts 1959: Labour margin 27.8 pts 1964: Labour margin 36.5 pts 1966: Labour margin 43.3 pts 1970: Labour margin 30.9 pts Feb 1974: Labour margin 31.9 pts Oct 1974: Labour margin 37.8 pts 1979: Labour margin 28.4 pts 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 Feb 1974 Oct 1974 1979

Trend

Woolwich East has been contested at 18 general elections on record since 1918. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Labour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Woolwich East in the 1979 general election?

Labour won Woolwich East in 1979 with 21,700 votes (58.9%), a majority of 10,460 votes over Conservative in second place.

Which parties have won Woolwich East since 1918?

Since 1918, Woolwich East has been won by: Labour.

What was the closest result in Woolwich East?

The closest result on record for Woolwich East was 1931, when Labour beat Conservative by just 608 votes (1.9 percentage points).

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