Birmingham East (UK Parliament constituency)

Birmingham East was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Birmingham, England. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system.

Birmingham East
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
CountyWarwickshire
1885–1918
Number of membersOne
Replaced byBirmingham Yardley, Birmingham Sparkbrook
Created fromBirmingham

The constituency was created upon the abolition of the Birmingham constituency in 1885, and was itself abolished for the 1918 general election.

Boundaries

Before 1885 Birmingham, in the county of Warwickshire, had been a three-member constituency (see Birmingham (UK Parliament constituency) for further details). Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 the parliamentary borough of Birmingham was split into seven single-member divisions, one of which was Birmingham East. It consisted of the wards of Duddeston and Nechells, the local government district of Saltley, and the hamlet of Little Bromwich.

The division was bounded to the west by Birmingham North, to the north by Aston Manor, to the east by Tamworth and to the south (from west to east) by Birmingham Central, Birmingham South and Birmingham Bordesley.

In the 1918 redistribution of parliamentary seats, the Representation of the People Act 1918 provided for twelve new Birmingham divisions. The East division was abolished.

Members of Parliament
ElectionMemberParty
1885 William Cook Liberal
1886 Henry Matthews Conservative
1895 Sir John Benjamin Stone Conservative
1910 (Jan) Arthur Steel-Maitland Conservative
1918 Constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1880s
William Cook
General election 1885: Birmingham East [1][2][3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Cook 4,277 58.6
Conservative Francis Lowe 3,025 41.4
Majority 1,252 17.2
Turnout 7,302 77.8
Registered electors 9,382
Liberal win (new seat)
Matthews
General election 1886: Birmingham East [1][2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Matthews 3,341 56.7 +15.3
Liberal William Cook 2,552 43.3 -15.3
Majority 789 13.4 N/A
Turnout 5,893 62.8 -15.0
Registered electors 9,382
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +15.3

Matthews was appointed Home Secretary, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 11 Aug 1886: Birmingham East[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Matthews Unopposed
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1890s
Fulford
General election 1892: Birmingham East [1][2][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Matthews 5,041 61.7 +5.0
Liberal Henry Charles Fulford 2,832 34.7 −8.6
Independent Liberal Daniel Shilton Collin[n 1] 296 3.6 New
Majority 2,209 27.0 +13.6
Turnout 8,169 78.5 +15.7
Registered electors 10,404
Conservative hold Swing +6.8
Stone
General election 1895: Birmingham East [1][2][5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Benjamin Stone Unopposed
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1900s
General election 1900: Birmingham East [1][2][5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Benjamin Stone 4,989 63.8 N/A
Lib-Lab John Valentine Stevens 2,835 36.2 New
Majority 2,154 27.6 N/A
Turnout 7,824 59.9 N/A
Registered electors 13,070
Conservative hold Swing N/A
General election 1906: Birmingham East [1][2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Benjamin Stone 5,928 52.6 −11.2
Labour Repr. Cmte. James Holmes 5,343 47.4 +11.2
Majority 585 5.2 −22.4
Turnout 11,271 77.9 +18.0
Registered electors 14,469
Conservative hold Swing −11.2

Elections in the 1910s
General election January 1910: Birmingham East [1][6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Arthur Steel-Maitland 8,460 68.1 +15.5
Labour J. J. Stephenson 3,958 31.9 -15.5
Majority 4,502 36.2 +31.0
Turnout 12,418 81.5 +1.6
Conservative hold Swing 15.5
General election December 1910: Birmingham East [1][6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Arthur Steel-Maitland 6,639 67.5 -0.6
Lib-Lab John Valentine Stevens 3,190 32.5 +0.6
Majority 3,449 35.0 -1.2
Turnout 9,829 64.5 -17.0
Conservative hold Swing -1.2

General Election 1914/15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

Birmingham East was used in BBC sitcom Yes, Minister, and Jim Hacker was its MP. Although Hacker's Party was left unspecified, he was shown to be elected in the fictional 1981 general election, defeating a Conservative and Labour challenger.

1981 general election: Birmingham East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
n/a James George Hacker 21,793 48.2
n/a Arthur William Gaunt 19,321 42.7
n/a David Lloyd Evans 4,106 9.1
Majority 2,472 5.5
Turnout 45,220
n/a hold Swing

See also
  • List of former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies

Notes and References

Notes

  1. Collin was associated with the United Kingdom Alliance

References

  1. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
  2. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
  3. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
  4. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1896
  5. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
  6. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
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