Honiton | |
---|---|
Former County constituency for the House of Commons | |
County | Devon |
1885–1997 | |
Seats | One |
Created from | East Devon |
Replaced by | East Devon, Tiverton and Honiton |
1640–1868 | |
Seats | Two |
Replaced by | East Devon |
Honiton was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Honiton in east Devon, formerly represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It sent members intermittently from 1300, consistently from 1640. It elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) until it was abolished in 1868. It was recreated in 1885 as a single-member constituency.
For the 1997 general election, the town of Honiton was added to the neighbouring constituency of Tiverton to form the Tiverton & Honiton constituency. The remainder continued as the East Devon constituency.
Honiton was regarded as a potwalloper borough by the time of Thomas Cochrane. It was notorious for the bribes demanded by its electors, and was therefore a very expensive seat for a candidate to seek election in. The Yonge family of Colyton, patrons of the borough, were almost ruined by representing Honiton on several occasions.[1][2] Sir William Pole, 4th Baronet (1678–1741) who had twice represented Honiton at great personal financial expense, made an "earnest request and recommendation" in his will that his son would "never stand as a candidate or if chosen will never be prevailed upon to represent or serve in Parliament for the borough of Honiton".[3]
1885–1918: The Sessional Divisions of Axminster, Honiton, Ottery, and Woodbury.
1918–1974: The Borough of Honiton, the Urban Districts of Axminster, Budleigh Salterton, Exmouth, Ottery St Mary, Seaton, and Sidmouth, the Rural Districts of Axminster and Honiton, and part of the Rural District of St Thomas.
1974–1983: The Borough of Honiton, the Urban Districts of Budleigh Salterton, Exmouth, Ottery St Mary, Seaton, and Sidmouth, the Rural Districts of Axminster and Honiton, and part of the Rural District of St Thomas.
1983–1997: The District of East Devon wards of Axminster Hamlets, Axminster Town, Beer, Budleigh Salterton, Colyton, Edenvale, Exmouth Brixington, Exmouth Halsdon, Exmouth Littleham Rural, Exmouth Littleham Urban, Exmouth Withycombe Raleigh, Exmouth Withycombe Urban, Honiton St Michael's, Honiton St Paul's, Lympstone, Newbridges, Newton Poppleford and Harpford, Otterhead, Patteson, Raleigh, Seaton, Sidmouth Rural, Sidmouth Town, Sidmouth Woolbrook, Trinity, Upper Axe, Woodbury, and Yarty.
Honiton re-enfranchised by Parliament in Nov 1640
Honiton was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament.
Second Protectorate Parliament
Long Parliament (restored)
Election | Member[4] | Party | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1885 | John Kennaway | Conservative | ||
Jan 1910 | Clive Morrison-Bell | Conservative | ||
1931 | Cedric Drewe | Conservative | ||
1955 | Robert Mathew | Conservative | Died 1966 | |
1967 by-election | Peter Emery | Conservative | ||
1997 | constituency abolished: see Tiverton and Honiton & Devon East |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | John Josiah Guest | Unopposed | |||
Tory | George Warrender | Unopposed | |||
Whig hold | |||||
Tory gain from Nonpartisan |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | George Warrender | 319 | 36.7 | ||
Nonpartisan | Harry Baines Lott | 283 | 32.6 | ||
Whig | John Josiah Guest | 259 | 29.8 | ||
Radical | John Thomas Mayne | 8 | 0.9 | ||
Turnout | 492 | c. 96.5 | |||
Registered electors | c. 510 | ||||
Majority | 36 | 4.1 | |||
Tory hold | |||||
Majority | 24 | 2.8 | |||
Nonpartisan gain from Whig |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | George Child Villiers | 360 | 46.6 | +28.3 | |
Whig | James Ruddell-Todd | 302 | 39.1 | +9.3 | |
Tory | James Peel Cockburn | 110 | 14.2 | −4.2 | |
Turnout | 492 | 96.3 | c. −0.2 | ||
Registered electors | 511 | ||||
Majority | 58 | 7.5 | +3.4 | ||
Tory hold | Swing | +11.8 | |||
Majority | 192 | 24.9 | N/A | ||
Whig gain from Nonpartisan | Swing | −1.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Hugh Duncan Baillie | 332 | 42.6 | −4.0 | |
Conservative | Arthur Chichester | 226 | 29.0 | +14.8 | |
Whig | James Ruddell-Todd | 221 | 28.4 | −10.7 | |
Majority | 5 | 0.6 | −6.9 | ||
Turnout | 446 | 94.7 | −1.6 | ||
Registered electors | 471 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +0.7 | |||
Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | +10.1 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Hugh Duncan Baillie | 294 | 40.7 | −1.9 | |
Whig | James Stewart | 225 | 31.2 | +2.8 | |
Conservative | Alexander Grant | 203 | 28.1 | −0.9 | |
Turnout | 435 | 94.6 | −0.1 | ||
Registered electors | 460 | ||||
Majority | 69 | 9.5 | +8.9 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | −1.7 | |||
Majority | 22 | 3.1 | N/A | ||
Whig gain from Conservative | Swing | +2.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Hugh Duncan Baillie | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | Forster Alleyne McGeachy | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 440 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative gain from Whig |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | James Hogg | Unopposed | |||
Whig | Joseph Locke | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 446 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Whig gain from Conservative |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Joseph Locke | 166 | 37.6 | N/A | |
Conservative | James Hogg | 152 | 34.5 | N/A | |
Conservative | Richard Gard[17] | 123 | 27.9 | N/A | |
Majority | 14 | 3.1 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 221 (est) | 76.8 (est) | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 287 | ||||
Whig hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Joseph Locke | 214 | 47.6 | +10.0 | |
Conservative | Archibald Stuart-Wortley | 119 | 26.4 | −1.5 | |
Conservative | James Hogg | 117 | 26.0 | −8.5 | |
Majority | 95 | 21.2 | +18.1 | ||
Turnout | 225 (est) | 85.2 (est) | +8.4 | ||
Registered electors | 264 | ||||
Whig hold | Swing | +10.0 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | −6.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Joseph Locke | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | Alexander Baillie-Cochrane | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 287 | ||||
Liberal hold | |||||
Conservative hold |
Locke's death caused a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | George Moffatt | Unopposed | |||
Liberal hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Frederick Goldsmid | 171 | 42.9 | N/A | |
Conservative | Alexander Baillie-Cochrane | 140 | 35.1 | N/A | |
Liberal | Evan Matthew Richards[18] | 88 | 22.1 | N/A | |
Turnout | 200 (est) | 74.7 (est) | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 267 | ||||
Majority | 31 | 7.8 | N/A | ||
Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Majority | 52 | 13.0 | N/A | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |
Goldsmid's death caused a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Julian Goldsmid | Unopposed | |||
Liberal hold |
In 1868, the seat was absorbed into East Devon. It was later recreated for 1885.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Kennaway | 4,540 | 60.6 | ||
Liberal | John Budd Phear | 2,957 | 39.4 | ||
Majority | 1,583 | 21.2 | |||
Turnout | 7,497 | 83.2 | |||
Registered electors | 9,012 | ||||
Conservative win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Kennaway | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Kennaway | 4,591 | 64.2 | N/A | |
Liberal | William Hickman Smith Aubrey | 2,565 | 35.8 | New | |
Majority | 2,026 | 28.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 7,156 | 78.1 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 9,167 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Kennaway | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Kennaway | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Kennaway | 4,854 | 56.7 | N/A | |
Liberal | William Balkwill Luke | 3,711 | 43.3 | New | |
Majority | 1,143 | 13.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 8,565 | 87.4 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 9,797 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Clive Morrison-Bell | 5,604 | 60.0 | +3.3 | |
Liberal | William Balkwill Luke | 3,733 | 40.0 | −3.3 | |
Majority | 1,871 | 20.0 | +6.6 | ||
Turnout | 9,337 | 88.7 | +1.3 | ||
Registered electors | 10,522 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +3.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Clive Morrison-Bell | 5,348 | 60.9 | +0.9 | |
Liberal | Harry Geen | 3,439 | 39.1 | −0.9 | |
Majority | 1,909 | 21.8 | +1.8 | ||
Turnout | 8,787 | 83.5 | −5.2 | ||
Registered electors | 10,522 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +0.9 |
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;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Unionist | Clive Morrison-Bell | Unopposed | ||
Unionist hold | |||||
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Clive Morrison-Bell | 12,972 | 55.5 | N/A | |
Liberal | John George Hawkins Halse | 10,404 | 44.5 | New | |
Majority | 2,568 | 11.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 23,376 | 79.1 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 29,546 | ||||
Unionist hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Clive Morrison-Bell | 12,470 | 50.6 | −4.9 | |
Liberal | John George Hawkins Halse | 12,177 | 49.4 | +4.9 | |
Majority | 293 | 1.2 | −9.8 | ||
Turnout | 24,647 | 81.0 | +1.9 | ||
Registered electors | 30,443 | ||||
Unionist hold | Swing | −4.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Clive Morrison-Bell | 14,804 | 55.2 | +4.6 | |
Liberal | John George Hawkins Halse | 12,025 | 44.8 | −4.6 | |
Majority | 2,779 | 10.4 | +9.2 | ||
Turnout | 26,829 | 85.5 | +4.5 | ||
Registered electors | 31,388 | ||||
Unionist hold | Swing | +4.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Clive Morrison-Bell | 17,911 | 50.9 | −4.3 | |
Liberal | John George Hawkins Halse | 16,353 | 46.5 | +1.7 | |
Labour | Rose Davies | 915 | 2.6 | New | |
Majority | 1,558 | 4.4 | −6.0 | ||
Turnout | 35,179 | 84.3 | −1.2 | ||
Registered electors | 41,723 | ||||
Unionist hold | Swing | −3.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Cedric Drewe | 21,854 | 60.0 | +9.1 | |
Liberal | John George Hawkins Halse | 14,563 | 40.0 | -6.5 | |
Majority | 7,291 | 20.0 | +15.6 | ||
Turnout | 36,417 | 83.5 | -0.8 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +7.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Cedric Drewe | 22,805 | 71.9 | +11.9 | |
Labour | J R Morris | 8,916 | 28.1 | New | |
Majority | 13,889 | 43.8 | +23.8 | ||
Turnout | 31,721 | 69.6 | -13.9 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |
General Election 1939–40: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Cedric Drewe | 24,499 | 65.8 | -6.1 | |
Labour | Henry Thomas Langdon | 12,739 | 34.2 | +6.1 | |
Majority | 11,760 | 31.6 | -12.2 | ||
Turnout | 37,238 | 70.3 | +0.7 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | -6.1 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Cedric Drewe | 26,767 | 57.78 | ||
Labour | GR Sargeant | 10,816 | 23.35 | ||
Liberal | Guy Barrington | 8,742 | 18.87 | New | |
Majority | 15,951 | 34.43 | |||
Turnout | 46,295 | 84.43 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Cedric Drewe | 27,015 | 58.42 | ||
Liberal | John B Halse | 9,858 | 21.32 | ||
Labour | Norman L Stevens | 9,369 | 20.26 | ||
Majority | 17,157 | 37.10 | |||
Turnout | 46,242 | 82.54 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Mathew | 25,808 | 57.63 | ||
Liberal | John B Halse | 11,067 | 24.71 | ||
Labour | Frederick W Thornton | 7,907 | 17.66 | ||
Majority | 14,741 | 32.92 | |||
Turnout | 44,782 | 79.68 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Mathew | 25,959 | 56.69 | ||
Liberal | John B Halse | 12,906 | 28.18 | ||
Labour | Frederick W Morgan | 6,928 | 15.13 | ||
Majority | 13,053 | 28.51 | |||
Turnout | 45,793 | 80.10 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Mathew | 26,475 | 55.04 | ||
Liberal | Warwick Deal | 12,354 | 25.68 | ||
Labour | Marjorie Clark | 9,273 | 19.28 | ||
Majority | 14,121 | 29.36 | |||
Turnout | 48,102 | 78.77 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Mathew | 26,966 | 54.4 | -0.6 | |
Labour | Marjorie Clark | 13,257 | 26.7 | +7.4 | |
Liberal | Raymond Hicks | 9,342 | 18.9 | -6.8 | |
Majority | 13,707 | 27.7 | -1.7 | ||
Turnout | 49,565 | 78.6 | -0.2 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Peter Emery | 26,501 | 57.0 | +2.6 | |
Liberal | Bridget Trethewey | 10,509 | 22.6 | +3.7 | |
Labour | Marjorie Clark | 9,501 | 20.4 | -6.3 | |
Majority | 15,992 | 34.4 | +6.7 | ||
Turnout | 46,511 | 72.6 | -6.0 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | -0.7 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Peter Emery | 32,885 | 59.48 | ||
Liberal | Bridget Trethewey | 11,330 | 20.49 | ||
Labour | Malyn DD Newitt | 11,072 | 20.03 | ||
Majority | 21,555 | 38.99 | |||
Turnout | 55,287 | 76.66 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Peter Emery | 32,429 | 54.48 | ||
Liberal | Victor Howell | 18,306 | 30.75 | ||
Labour | Malyn DD Newitt | 8,791 | 14.77 | ||
Majority | 14,123 | 23.73 | |||
Turnout | 59,526 | 81.98 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Peter Emery | 29,720 | 53.77 | ||
Liberal | Victor Howell | 16,500 | 29.85 | ||
Labour | RL Spiller | 9,048 | 16.37 | ||
Majority | 13,220 | 23.92 | |||
Turnout | 55,268 | 75.64 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Peter Emery | 37,832 | 62.42 | ||
Liberal | R Ruffle | 12,601 | 20.79 | ||
Labour | T Luesby | 8,756 | 14.45 | ||
Ecology | MH Bacon | 1,423 | 2.35 | New | |
Majority | 25,231 | 41.63 | |||
Turnout | 60,612 | 77.41 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Peter Emery | 32,602 | 60.58 | ||
SDP | Alistair Sampson | 17,833 | 33.14 | ||
Labour | Raymond Sharpe | 3,377 | 6.28 | ||
Majority | 14,769 | 27.44 | |||
Turnout | 53,812 | 74.50 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Peter Emery | 34,931 | 59.2 | -1.4 | |
SDP | Gerald Tatton-Brown | 18,369 | 31.1 | -2.0 | |
Labour | Simon Pollentine | 4,988 | 8.5 | +2.2 | |
Monster Raving Loony | Stuart Hughes | 747 | 1.3 | New | |
Majority | 16,562 | 28.05 | +0.6 | ||
Turnout | 59,035 | 76.41 | +1.91 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Peter Emery | 33,533 | 52.4 | −6.8 | |
Liberal Democrats | JM Sharratt | 17,022 | 26.6 | −4.5 | |
Labour | R Davison | 8,142 | 12.7 | +4.2 | |
Ind. Conservative | DA Owen | 2,175 | 3.4 | New | |
Raving Loony Green Giant | Stuart Basil Fawlty Hughes | 1,442 | 2.3 | New | |
Liberal | Gerald Halliwell | 1,005 | 1.6 | New | |
Green | Alan Tootill | 650 | 1.0 | New | |
Majority | 16,511 | 25.8 | −2.2 | ||
Turnout | 63,969 | 80.7 | +4.3 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | −1.1 |