Tunbridge (UK Parliament constituency)

Tunbridge was a parliamentary constituency in Kent, centred on the town of Tonbridge. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Tunbridge
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
1885–1918
Number of members	one
Created from	Mid Kent

It was created for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1918 general election, when it was replaced by the new Tonbridge constituency.

Boundaries

The Sessional Divisions of Tunbridge and Tunbridge Wells, and part of the Sessional Division of Malling.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Robert Norton	Conservative
	1892	Arthur Griffith-Boscawen	Conservative
	1906	Alfred Paget Hedges	Liberal
	1910	Herbert Spender-Clay	Conservative
1918		constituency abolished: see Tonbridge

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

Verney

General election 1885: Tunbridge[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Norton	4,533	51.8
	Liberal	Frederick Verney	4,210	48.2
Majority			323	3.6
Turnout			8,743	81.7
Registered electors			10,703
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election 1886: Tunbridge[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Norton	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1890s

Frederick Pavy

General election 1892: Tunbridge[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Griffith-Boscawen	4,821	55.4	N/A
	Liberal	Frederick William Pavy	3,888	44.6	New
Majority			933	10.8	N/A
Turnout			8,709	69.7	N/A
Registered electors			12,494
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1895: Tunbridge[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Griffith-Boscawen	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1900s

Griffith-Boscawen

General election 1900: Tunbridge[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Griffith-Boscawen	5,576	61.5	N/A
	Liberal	C Cory	3,494	38.5	New
Majority			2,082	23.0	N/A
Turnout			9,070	67.1	N/A
Registered electors			13,519
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Alfred Hedges

General election 1906: Tunbridge[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Alfred Paget Hedges	7,170	54.9	+16.4
	Conservative	Arthur Griffith-Boscawen	5,887	45.1	−16.4
Majority			1,283	9.8	N/A
Turnout			13,057	84.2	+17.1
Registered electors			15,500
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+16.4

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Tunbridge[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Herbert Spender-Clay	9,240	60.5	+15.4
	Liberal	Alfred Paget Hedges	6,030	39.5	-15.4
Majority			3,210	21.0	N/A
Turnout			15,270	89.2	+5.0
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+15.4

General election December 1910: Tunbridge[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Herbert Spender-Clay	8,286	57.4	-3.1
	Liberal	Alfred Paget Hedges	6,159	42.6	+3.1
Majority			2,127	14.8	-6.2
Turnout			14,445	84.4	-4.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

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 the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Unionist: Herbert Spender-Clay
• Liberal:

References

1. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. p. 309. ISBN 9781349022984.

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 2)