British Elections 1950-1970

[PASOK Leader Hashemite]

I vaguely remember the Tories doing well in Liverpool and surroundings well until the 50s or so. Any particular reason for this? Was the city economically and sociologically different back then?

[Sibboleth]

I vaguely remember the Tories doing well in Liverpool and surroundings well until the 50s or so. Any particular reason for this? Was the city economically and sociologically different back then?

It was a good deal more prosperous than it is now, but it has always been one of the poorest, roughest big cities in the country. The issue was sectarianism; Liverpool was one of the main destinations for Irish immigrants in the nineteenth century and the backlash against that was massive. Much like Belfast and Glasgow, Liverpool had an 'orange vote'. There was an economic dimension to it (obviously) with the Protestant working class being marginally better off than the Irish working class; the latter were particularly associated with the docks, while the Prods had access to more stable forms of manual employment. Famously the main dockers union was pretty much exclusively Catholic, while the carters union was exclusively Protestant. Liverpool became a Tory stronghold in the late nineteenth century in response to these sectarian pressures (Prods voted Tory, Taigs Liberal or, in the Scotland division, Irish Nationalist). The rise of Labour altered the balance, because Labour was able to appeal to certain working class Protestant districts like Everton from an early stage and could appeal to the Irish vote more effectively than the Liberals had been able to.

Btw, the orange vote in Liverpool went into terminal decline around the same time as in Glasgow. My suspicion is that part of this was linked to orange voters dying off and their children, having been exposed to politics in an age when unemployment was a bigger issue than Ulster, voted along class, rather than sectarian, lines.

There was an interesting discussion about this a few months ago. Follow from here.

[Sibboleth]

Occurred to me that it's going to be difficult to work out where's where in the forthcoming Glasgow map unless you know already, so, yeah. Also, pretty.

[afleitch]

Occurred to me that it's going to be difficult to work out where's where in the forthcoming Glasgow map unless you know already, so, yeah. Also, pretty.

Wonderful

[Vasall des Midas]

Occurred to me that it's going to be difficult to work out where's where in the forthcoming Glasgow map unless you know already, so, yeah. Also, pretty.

A similar map for the area covered by your London map would be appreciated.

[Die-hard Clockworkfan]

A similar map for the area covered by your London map would be appreciated.

Will this do?

[Vasall des Midas]

Yes - thanks! The odd outline made it hard to read for me.

I've wondered this before - why was the more southerly Hackney constituency named "Hackney Central"?

[Die-hard Clockworkfan]

Yes - thanks! The odd outline made it hard to read for me.

I've wondered this before - why was the more southerly Hackney constituency named "Hackney Central"?

Southern Hackney was part of the Bethnal Green seat at this point.

[Vasall des Midas]

Yes - thanks! The odd outline made it hard to read for me.

I've wondered this before - why was the more southerly Hackney constituency named "Hackney Central"?

Southern Hackney was part of the Bethnal Green seat at this point.

Ah. Right.

Silly me - ought to have figured that from the map. (Although that opens up the next question - why wasn't that seat named "Bethnal Green & Hackney South"? )

[Sibboleth]

So, yeah. Too big for the gallery to hold! Use the magic of right-click to see things at a larger scale.

Anyway. Descriptions! At least this time any nonsense I write can be corrected quickly enough

1. Glasgow Govan - obviously if you know anything about Scottish politics and society, you know a bit about Govan. It's iconic. A shipbuilding district on the south bank of the Clyde and a great stronghold of working class Protestantism; as you'd expect from a constituency that included Ibrox. A very safe Labour seat in all General Elections throughout this period it was, of course, famously captured by the SNP at a by-election in 1973, only to return to Labour a few months later. As usual for inner Glasgow, redevelopment resulted in a very steep fall in population; the electorate fell by 20,000 during this period.

2. Glasgow Gorbals - once again, an iconic district. But paradoxically less well known; associated simply with poverty and Irishness, when the reality was more complicated; for a long time it was also Glasgow's Jewish district. During this period the Gorbals was the centre of one of the most radical redevelopment projects as the old slums were torn down and replaced with system-built tower blocks notable mostly for their size, poor design and shoddy construction, although most of the population were re-housed elsewhere. In 1955 the constituency had the largest electorate in the city, by 1970 the second smallest. Always a very safe Labour seat, by the 1960s this was one of Labour's safest seats in Britain.

3. Glasgow Bridgeton - a densely packed constituency in the East End across the river from the Gorbals, later depopulated by slum clearances (albeit less dramatic ones than the Gorbals). Made up of predominantly Protestant Bridgeton and predominantly Catholic Calton this was always a very safe Labour seat; perhaps surprisingly so in the 1950s given the continued influence of sectarianism on voting patterns in other areas. Given that this was once Maxton's seat, it'd be nice to think this was because of his legacy in some way or other.

4. Glasgow Shettleston - a heavily Catholic constituency in the East End, stretching out from Parkhead to the Shettleston itself and including the bulk of the interwar estates at Carntyne. The population fell during this period, but not radically. Always safely Labour and one of the most 'stable' seats in Glasgow during this period.

5. Glasgow Central - covered the city centre and the slums of Townhead and Cowcaddens to its north. Redevelopment was radical and depopulation stunning; by 1970 the electorate was a mere 20,000. Already a safe Labour seat in 1955, it followed a similar electoral path to Glasgow Gorbals.

6. Glasgow Kelvingrove - a small constituency even in 1955, Kelvingrove included the slum district of Anderston and the more affluent areas around Kelvingrove Park. Depopulation here was driven by an unusually diverse range of factors and by 1970 its electorate stood just short of 19,000. Initially Unionist, Labour came close in 1959 and it was an easy gain in 1964. The majority didn't surge as in other Glasgow seats (presumably because a disproportionate number of people moving out were from the working class end of the constituency), but it was held comfortably enough even in 1970.

7. Glasgow Woodside - a small residential constituency and considerably more affluent than average for the city, Woodside was based around Woodlands and North Kelvin and also included a large part of Partick. Labour gained it in a by-election in 1962, thus explaining the unusually large swing to Labour in 1964 and the swings in the opposite direction in subsequent elections.

8. Glasgow Hillhead - the West End of the city and posh, as most West Ends still were back then. Included Kelvinside, Kelvindale, Hillhead much of Partick and so on. For the most part professional rather than managerial (it also included the Glasgow University) this was a very safe Unionist seat and then a safe Conservative one; there's curiously little indication of a long-term shift away from the Tories here, certainly when compared to the rest of the West of Scotland. The Labour candidate in 1970 was one 'V. Cable'. I wonder what he's doing now.

9. Glasgow Craigton – south of Govan, this constituency stretching down from part of Drumoyne through Craigton and Cardonald to Mosspark and Bellahouston, and a large part of, um, Pollok. A mixture of estates and suburbs the population was essentially stable during this period. Its voting patterns were predictable; Unionist by a hair in 1955, a narrow Labour gain in 1959 and a safe seat by 1964.

10. Glasgow Pollok – a very polarized constituency with an odd shape; middle class residential suburbs at Pollokshields linked – via comprehensively redeveloped Pollockshaws - with overspill estates at Nitshill, part of Pollock. A solid Unionist majority in 1959 was overturned on a large swing in 1964 as Labour claimed a crucial victory. The Tories took the seat in a by-election in 1967, but this proved a false dawn as Labour reclaimed it in 1970.

11. Glasgow Cathcart – in 1955 this was a middle class suburban constituency and had a monstrous – unbelievable even – Unionist majority. But the council decided that it was the ideal site for rehousing people moved out of the slums and the massive Castlemilk estate was developed in various stages from the middle of the decade onwards, the electoral impact of which can be seen in the astonishing fall in the Tory majority from 1955 when it stood at 45% to 1966 when it fell to 2%. From 1964 its MP was the flamboyant right-winger Teddy Taylor who built up an impressive personal vote held back the electoral tide for a further decade until he became the only Tory incumbent to lose his seat in 1979. By 1970 it had an electorate of over 70,000; massive for a Glasgow seat.

12. Glasgow Provan - stretched out from the comparatively middle class and Unionist Dennistoun through to more typical eastern Glasgow council estates to an area of fields annexed relatively recently to the city that the council intended to use for housing. During this period the giant Easterhouse estate was built to rehouse former residents of the city's slum districts. Labour throughout the period, the constituency was very close in 1955 (before Easterhouse) but rapidly turned into a safe seat.

13. Glasgow Springburn - Made up of Springburn itself (an old industrial suburb and a major centre for locomotive manufacturing and other railway industries; all of which went into steep decline during this period. Though a small part of the area was actually in Maryhill for some reason), interwar council estates and fields that became the home to many, many tower blocks during this period. The electorate was basically stable (a slight decline from 1955 through to 1970) reflecting the fact that estate construction was balanced out by demolitions in Springburn itself. This was always a safe Labour seat and became extremely safe during the 1960s; on the 1974 map its only a few hundred votes off the darkest colour.

14. Glasgow Maryhill - the picture here was very similar to Springburn, though it was even more stable in terms of population and more stable in terms of voting; it was Labour's second safest seat in the city in 1955, but only its fourth in 1970.

15. Glasgow Scotstoun - initially a residential suburban constituency that also included some shipyards in the Yoker district (I think Scotstoun itself was relatively middle class, at least in the 1950s), this part of Glasgow was also transformed by massive housing projects, of which Drumchapel is the best known. An easy Labour gain in 1959, the constituency rapidly became extremely safe. You may have, by this point, noticed a pattern developing.

Haha. This is too long as well. Part two in a moment...

[Sibboleth]

part two...

16. Paisley - covered the entire Burgh, no more, no less. Paisley was a textile town with a long radical tradition and was solidly working class. A safe Labour seat throughout the period, the Liberals were briefly in second place during the 1960s as a result of a very strong by-election performance - that soon faded to nothing - in 1961.

17. East Renfrewshire - a bizarrely shaped constituency that almost entirely - though not quite - surrounded Paisley. For the most part, residential; prosperous outer-suburbs and commuter towns of Glasgow (such as Giffnock and Newton Mearns), but there were some exceptions, namely the shipbuilding town of Renfrew and the industrial town of Barrhead. This was a very safe Unionist seat and a safe Conservative one, though the swing in 1970 was noticably low.

18. Rutherglen - made up of the industrial burgh (some would argue Glasgow suburb) of Rutherglen and the mining town of Cambuslang, this was a surprising Unionist seat until 1964 and not massively safe afterwards; the Labour majority in 1970 was solid enough, but still under 10%. I don't know Rutherglen well enough to speculate on the reasons for this. Oddly, Labour gained it in a by-election in 1964, not at the General Election, as the incumbent MP was seriously ill. The psephologist F.W.S. Craig was the Unionist agent in 1964.

19. Hamilton - covered most of the south of the Lanarkshire coalfield; Hamilton itself, Blantyre and Larkhall. An extremely safe Labour seat for most of this period (and one of the most reliable Labour seats in Britain, let alone Scotland, having been held consistently since 1918), Hamilton was shockingly lost to the SNP in a by-election at the height of the Wilson government's unpopularity in 1967. It was regained easily in 1970, though the majority was considerably lower than in all other General Elections during the period.

20. Motherwell - made up of the towns of Motherwell and Wishaw and totally dominated by the steel industry, including the giant Ravenscraig works from 1954. Until the 1945 General Election, Motherwell had bizarre politics (to put it mildly) but it settled down during this period and was a safe Labour seat; though the Unionists overperformed greatly in the 1950s (although is that even worth commenting on?).

21. Bothwell - a strange, diverse constituency that stretched out from the eastern suburbs of Glasgow (Garrowhill, Baillieston, Springboig and Mount Vernon; all of which were incorporated into Glasgow in the 1970s), through to the affluent town of Bothwell and then out into the coalfield around Bellshill. A safe Labour seat that swung less than many other constituencies in the area.

22. Coatbridge & Airdrie - exactly what the name implies; a constituency made up from the massively industrial towns of Coatbridge and Airdrie. And, as you'd expect from that name, a safe Labour seat for most of the period with a solid majority even in 1955. However, the seat nearly fell in 1959. It's possible that the following theory is wrong, but I note that Coatbridge was (and is) the most Catholic large town in Scotland and that Airdrie, in contrast, is Protestant. And that as late as the 1990s (with the by-election at Monklands East) sectarian tensions bubbled over into voting patterns in this part of Lanarkshire. Of course, even if that theory is nonsense and there's some other explanation, the sectarian dimension is an important thing to note about this constituency.

[Vasall des Midas]

Details on Motherwell politics pre 45 please!

[Sibboleth]

Bristol. Not a city I know all that well, so less detail than for certain other cities. The overall pattern is one worth noting; Bristol was/is the most affluent of the large 'provincial' cities, which reflects its age and history as much as anything else (while most large cities in Britain sprung up from almost nothing in a couple of decades, Bristol had been a wealthy port for centuries. In some respects it is a more 'typical' large European city than Birmingham, Manchester and the rest), although it had a strong light industrial base. This should have produced a city that swung with the national swing, but (as you can see) it was more complicated than that; Bristol was certainly more of swing city than most places (the only reason why Labour never fell below three out of six seats was favourable constituency boundaries), but its swings did not always reflect the national picture. Notably, Labour did well in 1955 but quite poorly in 1964. I don't know the reasons for this, though I do know that Bristol had very unusual local politics during the post-war period, and maybe that had an impact on things.

Anyway.

1. Bristol North West - a polarised marginal covering the city's northern suburbs. It included Avonmouth (the district around Bristol's weird suburban dock complex), post suburbs like Westbury-on-Trym, along with more humdrum owner-occupied suburbia and estates. Swings were low and majorities tiny; during this period no MP had a majority of over 5pts.

2. Bristol North East - another suburban swing constituency, stretching out from a maze of private middle suburbs and interwar estates within the boundaries of the city, to Mangotsfield (once part of a minor coalfield, but very much part of suburban Bristol by this point) just outside. Unlike North West, North East saw sizeable swings (almost certainly because it was less polarised) but its eventual electoral profile was much the same.

3. Bristol South East - yet another suburban constituency, though not a marginal. It was made up of older residential areas like St Georges and working class suburbs like Brislington, along some new estates and middle class suburbs, before breaching the city boundary to take in Kingswood UD (for which see Mangotsfield). This was a safe Labour seat, though never massively so and there was a small long-term swing against the party here. It would not be entirely accurate to say that Tony Benn (then still usually called Wedgwood Benn) was the constituency's MP throughout the period, even though he was elected every time its voters went to the polls. But I think you're all familiar with that story.

4. Bristol Central - covered, well, the centre of Bristol. This would have been an urban working class constituency with middle class pockets towards the west, though it was partially depopulated as a result of slum clearance. This was a safe - if rarely overwhelming - Labour seat, though there was a strangely strong swing in 1959 taking the majority below 10pts.

5. Bristol West - the epitome of bourgeois residential comfort. Clifton and places like that. A Tory stronghold though, paradoxically, at its strongest in 1955. There was a longterm swing against the Tories here (quite typical of places where Toryism was old-school-tie professional rather than managerial) but the majority never fell below 33pts. You get the impression that Bristol Tories might have preferred their strength to be somewhat better distributed.

6. Bristol South - dominated by solidly Labour council estates, although it also included some parts of the city's core like Southville. Labour's safest seat in the city throughout this period, it had a weird boundary because all of the river was technically in the constituency.

[Sibboleth]

Done mostly for the sake of prettyness. Of course the most important election in that part of the world in the early fifties was the 1952 municipal election in Birmingham when Labour took control (and would retain it for fourteen years; the longest hold any party had on the city between the fall of the Unionist regime in 1945/6 and the Knowles-to-Bore era which lasted for twenty).

[Sibboleth]

Anyway, I'm currently working on outline maps for quite a few metropolitan areas, mostly as something to keep things ticking over between my actual work (which, hahaha, relates to the politics of this period, though at a local level). Currently trying to work out whether to include Bolton in the Manchester map or the central South Lancs map. Leaning towards the latter, can be persuaded otherwise. Or I could included it in both, but only include descriptives in the latter.

[Kuu ülevaade olulisematest]

Very interesting, though I don't have much to say other than that there are too many orange UK avatars in this thread now that Lewis has one too.

[Die-hard Clockworkfan]

Anyway, I'm currently working on outline maps for quite a few metropolitan areas, mostly as something to keep things ticking over between my actual work (which, hahaha, relates to the politics of this period, though at a local level). Currently trying to work out whether to include Bolton in the Manchester map or the central South Lancs map. Leaning towards the latter, can be persuaded otherwise. Or I could included it in both, but only include descriptives in the latter.

Fine decision there.  TBH I think Bolton belongs better in the Manchester map - way, way before this period it was part of the Salford Hundred which covered SE Lancs as it properly is.  Here be the ancient parish boundaries in Salfordshire (lol at Middleton):

[Senator MaxQue]

If I checked well on a UK map, on the Birmingham map, the unnamed city on the southeast with "North" "East" and "Southwest" is Coventry? That isn't written on your map, so I'm not sure.

Or am I bad at reading UK maps?

[Vasall des Midas]

If I checked well on a UK map, on the Birmingham map, the unnamed city on the southeast with "North" "East" and "Southwest" is Coventry?

Yes!

Where was the old Meriden seat, Al - did that curve around Coventry from south of Solihull to east of Nuneaton?

EDIT: Lol. Just noticed it says 50-55... so the Meriden seat was created from the rural parts of Sutton Coldfield here, plus parts of Nuneaton, in 1955. And my question of why it isn't on the map is answered.

[Harry Hayfield]

Could you identify the constituency of the following villages please (as it has been causing me a lot of grief). Nether Whitacre, Coleshill, Shustoke and Arley

[Die-hard Clockworkfan]

Could you identify the constituency of the following villages please (as it has been causing me a lot of grief). Nether Whitacre, Coleshill, Shustoke and Arley

Al's map puts all four villages in Sutton Coldfield at this time.

Vision of Britain shows them as in Meriden from 1949 to 1982, but that seems to be an error as the Meriden seat wasn't created until 1955.

[Sibboleth]

Sussex. I'm afraid that there are few parts of Britain that I know less about than Sussex, so my descriptions will be pretty brief. We do have a poster who lives there, so maybe more detail can be provided through other means than me.

The general picture is easy enough though; Sussex was an ancient Tory stronghold (the bulk of the county was very Anglican; the area that wasn't - the rural northern parts of East Sussex - still had an unusually high Liberal vote in this period) with the bulk of the county's population living in the various resort, military and retirement towns along the coast. Back then it was all pretty staid and conservative; if you'd mentioned to someone in 1959 (say) that Brighton would later emerge as a centre for alternative lifestyles of all sorts, they'd probably have laughed. It should be easy to work out where is where from descriptions...

West Sussex

1. Worthing - that extremely safe urban seat; only once in the period did the majority drop below 45%. At the upper end of 'safest Tory seats in the country'. An extremely conservative elephants graveyard by the sea.

2. Arundel & Shoreham - the safe Tory seat that surrounded Worthing. Basically more bourgeois retirement towns (Shoreham and Littlehampton) combined with the deeply Anglican countryside around Arundel.

3. Chichester - another extremely safe Tory seat; Chichester itself is a deeply conservative (and highly Conservative) ancient city, and the constituency also included Bognor Regis (or royal last words fame). I think there was a military element to the constituency as well, but I may be wrong.

4. Horsham - covered the north of the county and was merely a safe Tory seat. Majorities were relatively low here (hey, Labour cut it to below 10% in 1966!) due to the existence (and growth) of Crawley New Town; the rest of the constituency would have been every bit as Conservative as the rest of West Sussex. By 1970 the electorate here was well over 100,000. There may have been a London commuter element, but I don't know how far south that had spread by this period.

East Sussex

1. Hastings - Hastings is an ancient borough and has reinvented itself a fair bit over its long history. At this point it was basically a seaside resort and usually safely Conservative; Labour did well to cut the majority down so far in 1966. There was also a residual Liberal vote here.

2. Rye - the name is deceptive; the largest town was Bexhill-on-Sea, the elephants graveyard to end all elephants graveyards. It would have been ridiculously Conservative. The Liberals sometimes came second here; some of the rural areas must have been quite strong for them, though I've no idea which. One of the safest Tory seats, etc.

3. East Grinstead - I know almost nothing about this constituency other than the fact that it was safely Tory and that there was a further long-term movement towards them during this period. I presume a rural area coming under the influence of London commuters. Presume. East Grinstead is not a big place; the boundary commission seem to have been oddly keen to name Sussex constituencies after small towns.

4. Eastbourne - is, of course, a posh Victorian seaside resort and retirement centre. It was safely Conservative, but the Liberals started to poll well and by 1970 were 'only' about 10pts behind. This seems like a short entry, so I'll pad it out by noting that Eastbourne was home to John Bodkin Adams; doctor to the rich and famous, active Conservative... and serial killer. His wikipedia page is worth reading if you ever want to abandon the silly notion that politics was so much more wholesome than now back in the good old fifties.

5. Lewes - the constituency that looped around Brighton. A safe Tory seat (the pope-burning capital of those parts of the universe outside eastern Ulster combined with various coastal towns that I presume are/were yet another cluster of resorts and retirement centres) and the personal property (pretty much literally) of the Beamish family. The MP during this period was the gloriously named Sir Tufton Victor Hamilton Beamish.

6. Hove - Hove as it used to be. So, yeah. The post bit of Brighton (though a distinct borough). Which in the 50s and 60s meant that...

7. Brighton Pavilion - Brighton proper was divided eastern and western constituencies, but because the centre was on the western side (despite it being more residential overall; I think), it was given an amusingly grand name. By the standards of most of the country this was a very safe Tory seat, by the standards of Sussex... merely safe. Brighton remained what it had always been since its emergence as a major resort. But change was coming; in the University of Sussex was founded in 1961.

8. Brighton Kemptown - covered the eastern half of Brighton proper, the eastern third of Brighton-with-Hove. A mixed constituency, covering new estates, interwar suburbs and still (I think) some fairly run down areas near the centre of the town. Tory with strong majorities in 1955 and 1959, it shockingly fell to Labour on a large swing in 1964. Posties union official Dennis Hobden won by seven votes (the second smallest majority during this period) and became the first ever Labour MP for a Sussex constituency. He increased his majority to a towering 831 in 1966, before inevitable defeat in 1970.

[Vasall des Midas]

Were there any other Labour MPs from Sussex before 1997?
Also, "the pope-burning capital of those parts of the universe outside eastern Ulster" wtf?

[YL]

This seems strange today, but Sheffield elected two Tory MPs at every election in this period except 1966.  I think the 1974 boundary changes put a stop to that.

Also, "the pope-burning capital of those parts of the universe outside eastern Ulster" wtf?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewes_Bonfire

[Bro-mentum]

I'll add more later, but regarding Lewes Bonfire night: I went there last week and the parades still include burning crosses and 'No Popery' signs. It's bloody weird actually.. This combined with the extent of raucousness of a much larger town centre on a typical friday night, with the explosions and the odd fire, gives it a sort of light apocalyptic feeling.