British Elections 1950-1970

[MaxQue]

One comment and a question.

Comment: Please don't talk again of black pudding. I was wondering what it was, I checked and I'm disgusted to think than people actually eat that.

Question: The numbers are the numbers of coucillors on the relevant local council?

[Chancellor of the Duchy of Little Lever and Darcy Lever]

Bumpity bump and some more of the eternal S.E. Lancs descriptions. This is part three, obviously. It looks as though there will be four in total.

Excellent work as always Al which deserves a proper reply.

I actually don't know an awful lot about Bolton politics of this period, my knowledge is more about Bury - I grew up in Prestwich and went to college in Bury.

BOLTON WEST: I think I should nail one canard which is that there's a bizarrely-named suburb of Bolton called Deane-cum-Heaton.  There was, up until 2004, a bizarrely-named ward of Bolton called Deane-cum-Heaton.  However, this ward covered two different places called Deane and Heaton with an undeveloped valley between them (without so much as a road crossing it).  Deane has some history as there was a very ancient church there which had a very large parish, while Heaton is just a filthy rich suburb.  

There are several competing ideas as to how Doffcocker got its name, but most local people think it comes from the pub on Chorley Old Road called the Doffcocker...

The seat also included the rather beautiful planned mill village of Barrow Bridge, which appears under an assumed name in Disraeli's Coningsby.

BOLTON EAST: Breightmet didn't really get going until about the middle of this period - the terraces around Trinity Street railway station in the centre were cleared around then.  (I'm not sure whether these were in West or East - I would love to see a really large-scale map of the boundary).

Harper Green wasn't in this seat - it's part of Farnworth and was never part of the county borough.  However, it does look like the seat had all of Great Lever in it which would more than make up for that.  In fact, when you look at the areas which were in the seat now it's really difficult to see where the Tory vote comes from.  Astley Bridge is a given - Tonge Moor and The Haulgh would probably have been swing areas - perhaps the nicer bits of Great Lever before the white flight got going?  I think I'm going to have to go to the library and see if they have any old local results.

BURY AND RADCLIFFE: Funny you should say that about political careers lasting a long time - Frank White, who was Labour MP for this seat in the 1970s on knife-edge majorities, still sits on Bolton Council.

The really rough area of east Bury is the Dickie Bird Estate (it got built with a large gap running north to south down the middle of it, through which a motorway was built a few years later), but again that didn't really get going until the middle of this period.  There were some rather nasty slum terraces just south-east of the town centre which got cleared around that time.

I had no idea that Bury County Borough had a large Liberal group and am struggling to think where they might have been strong.  There's no Liberal vote in the town at all these days - all the Lib Dem councillors on Bury MBC come from Prestwich and have done as long as I've been following Bury elections.

BLACK PUDDING: Don't knock it till you've tried it.  But try it before you find out what the recipe is  It's worth pointing out that Bury black pudding is different from the black pudding you get elsewhere; elsewhere it tends to be fried, but Bury black pudding is boiled and served with lots and lots of mustard.

Fun fact: Bury people eat so much black pudding it's impossible to test them for colorectal cancer. (http://www.bmj.com/content/325/7378/1444.full.pdf)

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Thanks for the reply; was pretty sure that there'd be a few errors in Bolton as the changes to local government boundaries were so confusing in places that... well, you can see, can't you?

BOLTON WEST: I think I should nail one canard which is that there's a bizarrely-named suburb of Bolton called Deane-cum-Heaton.  There was, up until 2004, a bizarrely-named ward of Bolton called Deane-cum-Heaton.  However, this ward covered two different places called Deane and Heaton with an undeveloped valley between them (without so much as a road crossing it).  Deane has some history as there was a very ancient church there which had a very large parish, while Heaton is just a filthy rich suburb.

Oh well. At least there will always be a Doffcocker.

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Is there a common name for those bits of Bolton south of the town centre?

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I think it's a bit like those places east of Manchester that must have voted Tory in 1955 and 1959, something that seems barely credible now. Though the odd part wrt to Bolton East is 1970, of course. Were there particularly bad tensions over immigration in the area? Would be the right year.

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Mustard is obviously a good thing, but you should have left out the bit about 'boiled' given what it is

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I shall steal that fact.

[Chancellor of the Duchy of Little Lever and Darcy Lever]

Thanks for the reply; was pretty sure that there'd be a few errors in Bolton as the changes to local government boundaries were so confusing in places that... well, you can see, can't you?

BOLTON WEST: I think I should nail one canard which is that there's a bizarrely-named suburb of Bolton called Deane-cum-Heaton.  There was, up until 2004, a bizarrely-named ward of Bolton called Deane-cum-Heaton.  However, this ward covered two different places called Deane and Heaton with an undeveloped valley between them (without so much as a road crossing it).  Deane has some history as there was a very ancient church there which had a very large parish, while Heaton is just a filthy rich suburb.

Oh well. At least there will always be a Doffcocker.

To be fair, you're not the first person to have been confused by Deane-cum-Heaton - I keep seeing it in constituency profiles written by people who should know better. 

If you're going to list weirdly named suburbs of Bolton it is incumbent on you to mention Darcy Lever and Daubhill (which is pronounced Dobble).

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Is there a common name for those bits of Bolton south of the town centre?
[/quote]

Well, it's basically all covered by the current Great Lever ward but then there are various sub-districts of that like Rose Hill and Burnden.

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I think it's a bit like those places east of Manchester that must have voted Tory in 1955 and 1959, something that seems barely credible now. Though the odd part wrt to Bolton East is 1970, of course. Were there particularly bad tensions over immigration in the area? Would be the right year.
[/quote]

No idea, sorry.  I'll mention this to my quiz team-mate who knows everything about the town ever

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Map for all of Tyneside already up, but here's a more detailed set for Newcastle:



Descriptions and so on will appear at some point, perhaps. For now, it should be pointed out that Newcastle West extended beyond the city boundary to include Newburn UD.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

As always you can see a bigger image if you remember how to right click. Possibility of minor errors. Boundaries a bit impressionistic in a couple of places for entirely unavoidable reasons.

[doktorb]

One comment and a question.

Comment: Please don't talk again of black pudding. I was wondering what it was, I checked and I'm disgusted to think than people actually eat that.

Question: The numbers are the numbers of coucillors on the relevant local council?

Black pudding freshly boiled, drowned in vinegar and eaten with nothing else is a bloody good treat in my house, I tell you that.

[Kushahontas]

One comment and a question.

Comment: Please don't talk again of black pudding. I was wondering what it was, I checked and I'm disgusted to think than people actually eat that.

Question: The numbers are the numbers of coucillors on the relevant local council?

Black pudding freshly boiled, drowned in vinegar and eaten with nothing else is a bloody good treat in my house, I tell you that.

yum!

[Filuwaúrdjan]

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Sheffield:

[YL]

Those really were a strange set of boundaries.  How long did it take to draw those lines in the central area?

The relative Tory strength in Heeley compared to what happened afterwards has a lot to do with the transfer of Dore (and also Nether Edge, which was a Tory stronghold back then) to Hallam in the 1974 boundary changes.  There was also some building of new housing in the constituency in this period which may have something to do with it going from a pretty safe Tory seat in 1955 to marginal in 1966/70.

The "zombie review" actually proposed restoring Dore and Nether Edge to Heeley, recreating something quite similar to the 1955-74 incarnation.  It would have been notionally Lib Dem in 2010, but would have been an easy Labour gain in 2015.

[DistingFlyer]

Ha! I just got the meaning of the color-coding. A little slow today, I guess.

This 1955-74 (and 1945, I must say too, from the other thread) is really a fine piece of work. Have you any intentions of making one for 1950-55 (or any post-1974?)

(I only wonder because I'm keen to use my shading system to make as complete a post-war set as I can with one single style of map. At any rate, this is still a marvelous mapmaking job!)

[DistingFlyer]

Ha! I just got the meaning of the color-coding. A little slow today, I guess.

This 1955-74 (and 1945, I must say too, from the other thread) is really a fine piece of work. Have you any intentions of making one for 1950-55 (or any post-1974?)

(I only wonder because I'm keen to use my shading system to make as complete a post-war set as I can with one single style of map. At any rate, this is still a marvelous mapmaking job!)

One question - something I just noticed - where is the border between Jarrow & South Shields?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I've forgotten to include it because of an error Will fix it at some point.

As to 1950-55, thats something I would very much like to do and am slowly putting things together to make it possible. Can't give any indication on timescale tho'.

[Grand Wizard Lizard of the Klan]

Great maps. What graphic programe you use? In October I must return to the map-making and I wonder how you create yours.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

[Filuwaúrdjan]

[YL]

2015: a big mass of dark red.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Derbyshire:



Witness the incredible shrinking electoral position of George Brown...

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Brown's majorities in Belper (which had the same boundaries from 1950 onwards) during the postwar period...

1950 16.1
1951 14.2
1955 11.2
1959   7.4
1964   9.8
1966   6.6
1970  -3.0

eep

Meanwhile (and not unrelated) the electorate rose from 65k in 1950 to 86k by 1970. Most of this growth was in the 60s: in 1959 the electorate was 69k.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

There is a delicious irony though: let us do the same for Wilson in Huyton...

1950    1.9
1951    2.6
1955    5.4
1959    9.8
1964  29.2
1966  33.8
1970  29.1

Electorate of 52k in 1950 and 107k (!) in 1970.

[Harry Hayfield]

I am very slowly working my way through these elections (and by-elections) and am still only halfway through 1951! But that said, here's the complete tally of results for 1950

Great Britain
Labour 13,197,830 votes (46.80%) winning 313 seats
Conservatives 12,173,457 votes (43.17%) winning 291 seats
Liberals 2,624,506 votes (9.31%) winning 9 seats
Communists 89,665 votes (0.32%) winning 0 seats
Independents 42,804 votes (0.15%) winning 0 seats
Independent Labour 30,507 votes (0.11%) winning 0 seats
Plaid Cymru 19,722 votes (0.07%) winning 0 seats
Scottish National Party 12,584 votes (0.04%) winning 0 seats
Anti-Partition Candidates 5,045 votes (0.02%) winning 0 seats
Independent Conservatives 3,411 votes (0.01%) winning 0 seats
Socialists 933 votes (0.00%) winning 0 seats
Social Credit 551 votes (0.00%) winning 0 seats
Christian Democrat 503 votes (0.00%) winning 0 seats
Turnout: 84.07%

Northern Ireland
Ulster Unionists 352,334 votes (62.76%) winning 10 seats
Labour 120,521 votes (21.47%) winning 0 seats
Sinn Fein 23,362 votes (4.16%) winning 0 seats
Irish Nationalists 65,211 votes (11.62%) winning 2 seats
Turnout: 77.48%

By-Elections
Labour 249,716 votes (49.55% -1.52% on 1950) winning 8 seats (unchanged)
Conservatives 248,960 votes (49.40% +6.51% on 1950) winning 6 seats (unchanged)
Liberals 2,752 votes (0.55% -4.83% on 1950) winning 0 seats (unchanged)
Independent Labour 1,369 votes (0.27% +0.27% on 1950) winning 0 seats (unchanged)
Communists 729 votes (0.14% -0.48% on 1950) winning 0 seats (unchanged)
Total Votes Cast: 503,979 (-119,297 on 1950)
Independents 453 votes (0.09% +0.05% on 1950) winning 0 seats (unchanged)

[stepney]

There is a delicious irony though: let us do the same for Wilson in Huyton...

1950    1.9
1951    2.6
1955    5.4
1959    9.8
1964  29.2
1966  33.8
1970  29.1

Electorate of 52k in 1950 and 107k (!) in 1970.

Of course, they kept building Allestree and Mickleover in Belper (surely he would have been saved by the 1968 boundary review, but I daresay most of Labour was relieved he'd gone) whereas they kept building Kirkby in yer darlin' 'Arold's seat. It's very easy in 2015 to mistakenly assume 'personal votes' in an era of mass national plebiscites coupled with enormous demographic change.

Very nice work on the maps, indeed excellent work, by the way - much better than the existing standard map. For the benefit of the boys and girls (and perhaps you, in doing 1950?) I've used your map to show the seats that (green) were unchanged from 1950, (yellow) had 'minor alterations' from 1950, and (orange) were new or significantly altered seats. *



As for 1950, I've got the English Commission's report and maps here. I have offered them to Vision of Britain; but if you wanted a lend, or for me to scan them into them, let me know.

* NB. That is, according to the reports of the Commissions. One particular error is pointed out here.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Of course, they kept building Allestree and Mickleover in Belper (surely he would have been saved by the 1968 boundary review, but I daresay most of Labour was relieved he'd gone) whereas they kept building Kirkby in yer darlin' 'Arold's seat. It's very easy in 2015 to mistakenly assume 'personal votes' in an era of mass national plebiscites coupled with enormous demographic change.

Yes, the electoral implications of rapid population growth in a particular constituency depend entirely on who exactly it is that's moving in...

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Ah, interesting. Something to keep in mind.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

There's already a London area map up from ages ago, but here's just the area covered by the London County Council (abolished 1965)...