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Woolwich West — UK General Election Results

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

Woolwich West was won by Conservative at the 1979 general election, with a majority of 2,609 votes over Labour. This page covers every general election in Woolwich West from 1918 to 1979.

Full Election History, 1918–1979

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1918 Howard Kingsley Wood (Unionist) 12,348 60.1% Alexander Gordon Cameron (Labour) 5,260 (25.6 pts) 60.0%
1922 Howard Kingsley Wood (Unionist) 14,453 60.2% John Thomas Sheppard (Labour) 4,903 (20.4 pts) 70.1%
1923 Howard Kingsley Wood (Unionist) 12,380 52.2% William Barefoot (Labour) 1,023 (4.3 pts) 67.8%
1924 Howard Kingsley Wood (Unionist) 16,504 57.3% William Barefoot (Labour) 4,200 (14.6 pts) 79.7%
1929 Howard Kingsley Wood (Unionist) 17,296 45.0% William Barefoot (Labour) 332 (0.9 pts) 76.8%
1931 Howard Kingsley Wood (Conservative) 26,441 64.6% Joseph Reeves (Labour) 11,921 (29.1 pts) 77.4%
1935 Howard Kingsley Wood (Conservative) 24,649 58.7% Arthur George Wansborough (Labour) 7,276 (17.3 pts) 75.8%
1945 Henry Berry (Labour) 23,655 61.6% Francis Beech (Conservative) 8,884 (23.1 pts) 72.1%
1950 William Arthur Steward (Conservative) 21,259 46.6% Henry Berry (Labour) 140 (0.3 pts) 87.1%
1951 William Arthur Steward (Conservative) 23,385 49.3% John Ernest Silkin (Labour) 1,344 (2.8 pts) 87.5%
1955 William Arthur Steward (Conservative) 23,981 52.0% William Hamling (Labour) 1,880 (4.1 pts) 83.3%
1959 Colin William Carstairs Turner (Conservative) 24,373 52.7% William Hamling (Labour) 3,695 (8.0 pts) 84.7%
1964 William Hamling (Labour) 22,420 50.8% Colin William Carstairs Turner (Conservative) 1,781 (4.0 pts) 81.3%
1966 William Hamling (Labour) 23,344 53.7% Maurice Gaffney (Conservative) 4,088 (9.4 pts) 81.4%
1970 William Hamling (Labour) 21,036 50.7% Maurice Gaffney (Conservative) 618 (1.5 pts) 72.1%
Oct 1974 William Hamling (Labour) 19,614 47.1% Peter Bottomley (Conservative) 3,541 (8.5 pts) 73.9%
Feb 1974 William Hamling (Labour) 20,126 44.1% Peter Bottomley (Conservative) 2,436 (5.3 pts) 81.8%
1979 Peter Bottomley (Conservative) 21,222 47.3% Diana Page (Labour) 2,609 (5.8 pts) 79.6%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Howard Kingsley Wood Unionist 12,34860.1% Yes
Alexander Gordon Cameron Labour 7,08834.5% No
William Augustus Adam Independent Unionist 1,1095.4% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Howard Kingsley Wood Unionist 14,45360.2% Yes
John Thomas Sheppard Labour 9,55039.8% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Howard Kingsley Wood Unionist 12,38052.2% Yes
William Barefoot Labour 11,35747.8% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Howard Kingsley Wood Unionist 16,50457.3% Yes
William Barefoot Labour 12,30442.7% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Howard Kingsley Wood Unionist 17,29645.0% Yes
William Barefoot Labour 16,96444.2% No
Arthur Stanley Phillips Liberal 4,14010.8% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Howard Kingsley Wood Conservative 26,44164.6% Yes
Joseph Reeves Labour 14,52035.4% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Howard Kingsley Wood Conservative 24,64958.7% Yes
Arthur George Wansborough Labour 17,37341.3% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry Berry Labour 23,65561.6% Yes
Francis Beech Conservative 14,77138.4% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Arthur Steward Conservative 21,25946.6% Yes
Henry Berry Labour 21,11946.3% No
William Roden Roberts Liberal 3,2797.2% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Arthur Steward Conservative 23,38549.3% Yes
John Ernest Silkin Labour 22,04146.4% No
David Phillips Liberal 2,0404.3% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Arthur Steward Conservative 23,98152.0% Yes
William Hamling Labour 22,10148.0% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Colin William Carstairs Turner Conservative 24,37352.7% Yes
William Hamling Labour 20,67844.7% No
Ronald Mallone Fellowship 1,1892.6% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Hamling Labour 22,42050.8% Yes
Colin William Carstairs Turner Conservative 20,63946.7% No
Ronald Mallone Fellowship 1,1122.5% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Hamling Labour 23,34453.7% Yes
Maurice Gaffney Conservative 19,25644.3% No
Ronald Mallone Fellowship 9062.1% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Hamling Labour 21,03650.7% Yes
Maurice Gaffney Conservative 20,41849.3% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Hamling Labour 19,61447.1% Yes
Peter Bottomley Conservative 16,07338.6% No
John Paul Johnson Liberal 5,96214.3% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Hamling Labour 20,12644.1% Yes
Peter Bottomley Conservative 17,69038.8% No
John Paul Johnson Liberal 7,83317.2% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Peter Bottomley Conservative 21,22247.3% Yes
Diana Page Labour 18,61341.5% No
Peter John Churchill Liberal 4,3639.7% No
Malcolm Eric Leslie Skeggs National Front 6301.4% No

Margin Over Time

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

1918: Unionist margin 25.6 pts 1922: Unionist margin 20.4 pts 1923: Unionist margin 4.3 pts 1924: Unionist margin 14.6 pts 1929: Unionist margin 0.9 pts 1931: Conservative margin 29.1 pts 1935: Conservative margin 17.3 pts 1945: Labour margin 23.1 pts 1950: Conservative margin 0.3 pts 1951: Conservative margin 2.8 pts 1955: Conservative margin 4.1 pts 1959: Conservative margin 8.0 pts 1964: Labour margin 4.0 pts 1966: Labour margin 9.4 pts 1970: Labour margin 1.5 pts Oct 1974: Labour margin 8.5 pts Feb 1974: Labour margin 5.3 pts 1979: Conservative margin 5.8 pts 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 Oct 1974 Feb 1974 1979

Trend

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Woolwich West in the 1979 general election?

Conservative won Woolwich West in 1979 with 21,222 votes (47.3%), a majority of 2,609 votes over Labour in second place.

Which parties have won Woolwich West since 1918?

Since 1918, Woolwich West has been won by: Conservative, Labour, Unionist.

What was the closest result in Woolwich West?

The closest result on record for Woolwich West was 1950, when Conservative beat Labour by just 140 votes (0.3 percentage points).

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