Portsmouth Central |
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Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons |
County | Hampshire |
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Major settlements | Portsmouth |
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1918–1950 |
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Seats | One |
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Created from | Portsmouth |
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Replaced by | Portsmouth South, Portsmouth West and Portsmouth Langstone |
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Portsmouth Central was a borough constituency in Portsmouth. 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 system.
History
The constituency was created for the 1918 general election, when the Representation of the People Act 1918 divided the two-member Portsmouth constituency into three new constituencies; North, South and Central. It was abolished for the 1950 general election.
Boundaries
The County Borough of Portsmouth wards of Buckland, Fratton, Kingston, St Mary, and Town Hall.
Members of Parliament
Elections in the 1910s
Elections in the 1920s
General election 1924: Portsmouth Central Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Unionist | Harry Foster | 14,028 | 46.1 | +11.7 |
| Labour | Glenvil Hall | 10,525 | 34.5 | +7.6 |
| Liberal | Frank Gray | 5,926 | 19.4 | -19.3 |
Majority | 3,503 | 11.6 | N/A |
Turnout | 30,479 | 80.3 | +2.1 |
| Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | | |
General election 1929: Portsmouth Central Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Labour | Glenvil Hall | 15,153 | 42.4 | +7.9 |
| Unionist | Thomas Comyn-Platt | 13,628 | 38.1 | -8.0 |
| Liberal | Charles Cohen | 6,993 | 19.5 | +0.1 |
Majority | 1,525 | 4.3 | N/A |
Turnout | 35,774 | 74.3 | -6.0 |
| Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | +7.9 | |
Elections in the 1930s
General election 1935: Portsmouth Central Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Conservative | Ralph Beaumont | 21,578 | 60.0 | -2.9 |
| Labour | David Freeman | 10,733 | 29.9 | -7.2 |
| Liberal | Ernest James Thornley | 3,612 | 10.1 | New |
Majority | 10,845 | 30.1 | +5.3 |
Turnout | 35,923 | 71.1 | |
| Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Elections in the 1940s
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;
General election 1945: Portsmouth Central Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Labour | Julian Snow | 14,745 | 55.3 | +25.4 |
| Conservative | Ralph Beaumont | 11,345 | 42.6 | -17.4 |
| Democratic | Walter R C Foster | 561 | 2.1 | New |
Majority | 3,400 | 12.7 | N/A |
Turnout | 26,651 | 73.5 | +2.4 |
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +21.4 | |
References
- Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "P" (part 2)