The City of London was a United Kingdom parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950.

Boundaries and boundary changes This borough constituency (or 'parliamentary borough/burgh') consisted of the City of London, which is at the very centre of Greater London. The only change by the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 was to include The Temple.; ; also Metropolitan Boroughs Map included with the report.

Bounded south by the Thames, the City adjoins Westminster westward, enfranchised in 1545.[The House of Commons 1509–1558, by S.T. Bindoff (Secker & Warburg 1982)] In other directions a web of tiny liberties and parishes of diverse size adjoined from medieval times until the 20th century. Most of the population of Middlesex was beyond the city's boundaries. From the 17th century three of four new 'divisions' of Ossulstone Hundred adjoined the city reflecting their relative density – Holborn division and Finsbury division to the north and Tower division to the north-east and the east, all enfranchised in 1832.

London is first known to have been enfranchised and represented in Parliament in 1298. Because it was the most important city in England it received four seats in Parliament instead of the normal two for a constituency. Previous to 1298 from the middle of that century, the intermittent first parliaments, the area's households, officially, could turn to their Middlesex "two knights of the shire" – two members of the Commons – as to their interests in Parliament as the City formed part of the geographic county yet from early times wielded independent administration, its corporation.

The city was represented by four MPs until 1885, when this was cut to two, and in 1950 the constituency was abolished.

The City of London was originally a densely populated area. Before the Reform Act 1832 the composition of the City electorate was not as democratic as that of some other borough constituencies, such as neighbouring Westminster. The right of election was held by members of the Livery Companies. However the size and wealth of the community meant that it had more voters than most other borough constituencies. Namier and Brooke estimated the size of the City electorate, in the latter part of the 18th century, at about 7,000. Only Westminster had a larger size of electorate.

During the 19th and 20th centuries the metropolitan area of London expanded greatly. The resident population of the City fell. People moved to the new definitively urban expansion and suburbs; businesses moved in. However the City authorities did not want to extend their jurisdiction beyond the traditional "square mile" so the constituency was left unchanged as its resident population fell. By 1900 almost all electors in the City qualified through Livery Company membership and lived outside of the city. The business voters were a type of plural voter which when abolished by the Representation of the People Act 1948 meant the City became immediately under-sized in electorate, akin to the least-worst examples of pre-1832 "rotten and pocket boroughs".

In 1950 the area was merged for parliamentary purposes with the eldest parts of the neighbouring City of Westminster, to form the seat Cities of London and Westminster. The pre-1900 heavily subdivided city became simplified for the period 1907 and 1965 into one civil parish, before in that year this level of local government complication was taken away. Statutory protection applied between 1986 and 2011 to prevent division of the City between seats:

Members of Parliament 1707–1950 See City of London (elections to the Parliament of England) for citizens known to have represented the City in Parliament before 1707

Parliaments of Great Britain 1707–1800 From To Name Born Died17071715Sir William Withers (T)c. 165431 January 172117081710John Ward (W)c. 165012 March 172617101715Sir Richard Hoare (T)8 September 16496 January 171917101714Sir George Newland (T)c. 164626 March 171417101715Sir John Cass (T)28 February 16615 July 171817151722Robert Heysham (W)16 August 166325 February 172317151722Sir John Ward (W)c. 165012 March 172617151724Peter Godfrey (T)166510 November 172417151722Sir Thomas Scawen (W)c. 165022 September 173017221727Richard Lockwood (T)167630 August 175617221761Sir John Barnard (W)c. 168529 August 176417221727Francis Child (T)c. 168420 April 174017241727Sir Richard Hopkins...2 January 174617271734Sir John Eyles, Bt (W)168311 March 174517271741Micajah Perry (W)...22 January 175317271741Humphry Parsons (T)c. 167621 March 174117341741Robert Willimot (T)...19 December 174617411747George Heathcote (T)7 December 17007 June 176817411747Sir Daniel Lambert (T)7 September 168513 May 175017411742Sir Robert Godschall (T)c. 169226 June 174217421754Sir William Calvert (W)c. 17033 May 176117471758Slingsby Bethell (W)16 March 16951 November 175817471754Stephen Janssen (W)...177717541773Sir Robert Ladbroke (T)c. 171331 October 177317541770William Beckford (T)19 December 170921 June 177017581768Sir Richard Glyn (T)13 June 17111 January 177317611774Hon. Thomas Harley (T)24 August 17301 December 180417681774Barlow Trecothick (RW)c. 171828 May 177517701780Richard Oliver7 January 173516 April 178417731784 Frederick Bull (R)c. 171410 January 178417741780John Sawbridge (R)173221 February 179517741781George Hayley (R)...30 August 178117801780John Kirkman174119 September 178017801790Nathaniel Newnhamc. 174126 December 180917801795John Sawbridge173221 February 179517811796Sir Watkin Lewesc. 174013 July 182117841793Brook Watson11 February 17352 October 180717901800Sir William Curtis25 January 175218 January 182917931800Sir John Anderson, Btc. 173521 May 181317951800William Lushington18 January 174711 September 182317961800Harvey Christian Combe17524 July 1818

Note:- (a) Expelled

Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 MPs 1801–1885 ElectionMember PartyMember PartyMember PartyMember Party1801 Sir William Curtis, Bt Tory Sir John Anderson, Bt Tory William Lushington Non-partisan Harvey Christian Combe Whig 1802 Sir Charles Price Tory1806 Sir James Shaw, Bt Tory1812 John Atkins Tory1817 by-election Sir Matthew Wood, Bt Whig1818 Thomas Wilson Tory Robert Waithman Whig John Thomas Thorp Whig1820 Sir William Curtis, Bt Tory George Bridges Tory1826 William Thompson Tory Robert Waithman Whig, Liberal William Ward Tory1831 William Venables Whig1832 George Grote Radical Sir John Key, Bt WhigMarch 1833 by-election George Lyall ConservativeAugust 1833 by-election William Crawford Whig1835 James Pattison Whig1841 John Masterman Conservative George Lyall Conservative Lord John Russell Whig1843 by-election James Pattison Whig1847 Baron Lionel de Rothschild Whig1849 by-election Sir James Duke, Bt Whig1857 Robert Wigram Crawford Whig1859 Liberal Liberal Liberal Liberal1861 by-election Western Wood Liberal1863 by-election George Goschen Liberal1865 William Lawrence Liberal1868 Charles Bell Conservative1869 by-election Baron Lionel de Rothschild Liberal1874 William Cotton Conservative Philip Twells Conservative John Hubbard Conservative1880 Sir Robert Fowler, Bt Conservative William Lawrence Liberal1885 reduced to two seats

MPs 1885–1950 ElectionMember PartyMember Party1885 John Hubbard Conservative Sir Robert Fowler, Bt Conservative1887 by-election Thomas Charles Baring ConservativeApr 1891 by-election Hucks Gibbs ConservativeJun 1891 by-election Sir Reginald Hanson, Bt Conservative1892 Alban Gibbs Conservative1900 Sir Joseph Dimsdale (C) Conservative1906 Sir Edward Clarke ConservativeFeb 1906 by-election Arthur Balfour ConservativeJun 1906 by-election Sir Frederick Banbury, Bt Conservative1918 Coalition Conservative Coalition Conservative1922 by-election Edward Grenfell Conservative1922 Conservative1924 by-election Sir Vansittart Bowater, Bt Conservative1935 by-election Sir Alan Anderson Conservative1938 by-election Sir George Broadbridge, Bt Conservative1940 by-election Sir Andrew Duncan National1945 by-election Ralph Assheton Conservative1950Constituency abolished

Elections In multi-member elections the bloc voting system was used. Voters could cast a vote for one to four (or up to two in two-member elections 1885–1950) candidates, as they chose. The leading candidates with the largest number of votes were elected. In 1868 the limited vote was introduced, which restricted an individual elector to using one, two or three votes, in elections to fill four seats.

In by-elections, to fill a single-seat, the first past the post system applied.

After 1832, when registration of voters was introduced, a turnout figure is given for contested elections. In multi-member elections, when the exact number of participating voters is unknown, this is calculated by dividing the number of votes by four (to 1868), three (1868–1885) and two thereafter. To the extent that electors did not use all their votes this will be an underestimate of turnout.

Where a party had more than one candidate in one or both of a pair of successive elections change is calculated for each individual candidate, otherwise change is based on the party vote.

Candidates for whom no party has been identified are classified as non-partisan. The candidate might have been associated with a party or faction in Parliament or consider himself to belong to a particular political tradition. Political parties before the 19th century were not as cohesive or organised as they later became. Contemporary commentators (even the reputed leaders of parties or factions) in the 18th century did not necessarily agree who the party supporters were. The traditional parties, which had arisen in the late 17th century, became increasingly irrelevant to politics in the 18th century (particularly after 1760), although for some contests in some constituencies party labels were still used. It was only towards the end of the century that party labels began to acquire some meaning again, although this process was by no means complete for several more generations.

Sources: The results are based on the History of Parliament Trust's volumes on the House of Commons in various periods from 1715 to 1820, Stooks Smith from 1820 until 1832 and Craig from 1832. Where Stooks Smith gives additional information this is indicated in a note. See references below for further details of these sources.

Dates of general and by-elections from 1660 to 1715 (excluding general elections at which no new MP was returned) 27 Mar 1660 19 Mar 1661 10 Feb 1663 17 Feb 1679 15 May 1685 9 Jan 1689 14 May 1689 11 Mar 1690 2 Mar 1693 25 Oct 1695 30 Jul 1698 1 Feb 1701 20 Mar 1701 24 Nov 1701 18 Aug 1702 17 May 1705 16 Dec 1707 14 May 1708 16 Nov 1710

Parliament of Great Britain election results 1713–1800 1710s – 1720s – 1730s – 1740s – 1750s – 1760s – 1770s – 1780s – 1790s

Elections in the 1710s

6,787 voted. The losing candidates demanded a scrutiny, which did not change the result. (Source: Copy of the pollbook)

Elections in the 1720s

After a scrutiny the members returned were unchanged and vote totals were amended to Lockwood 4,025; Barnard 3,840; Godfrey 3,723; Child 3,575; Heysham 3,441; Parsons 3,393. Death of Godfrey 10 November 1724

After a scrutiny the members returned were unchanged and vote totals were amended to Eyles 3,539; Barnard 3,514; Perry 3,396; Parsons 3,255; Thompson 3,244; Lockwood 2,977; Hopkins 2,921; Williams 2,914.

Elections in the 1730s

Note (1734): Poll 7 days (Source: Stooks Smith)

Elections in the 1740s

Note (1741): Poll 7 days (Source: Stooks Smith) Death of Godschall 26 June 1742

Elections in the 1750s

Note (1754): Poll 7 days, 5,931 voted (Source: Stooks Smith) Death of Bethell 1 November 1758

Elections in the 1760s

Note (1761): Poll 7 days (Source: Stooks Smith)

Elections in the 1770s Death of Beckford 21 June 1770