Gravesend was a county constituency centred on the town of Gravesend, Kent which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1868 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election. It is most notable for being a bellwether, with the winner of Gravesend (and its successor Gravesham) winning every election from 1918 through to the present day except for 1929, 1951, and 2005.
Boundaries 1868–1885: The parishes of Gravesend, Milton, and Northfleet.
1918–1950: The Borough of Gravesend, the Urban District of Northfleet, and the Rural Districts of Hoo and Strood.
1950–1955: The Borough of Gravesend, the Urban Districts of Northfleet and Swanscombe,In 1955 Swanscombe was returned to the westerly Dartford seat where it was temporarily removed from and where it remains. and the Rural District of Strood.
1955–1983: The Borough of Gravesend, the Urban District of Northfleet, and the Rural District of Strood.
Members of Parliament ElectionMemberParty 1868 Sir Charles John Wingfield Liberal 1874 Bedford Pim Conservative 1880 Thomas Bevan Liberal 1880 by-election Sir Sydney Waterlow Liberal 1885 John Bazley White Conservative 1892 James Dampier Palmer Conservative 1898 by-election John Ryder Conservative 1900 Sir Gilbert Parker Conservative 1918 by-election Sir Alexander Richardson Conservative 1923 George Isaacs Labour 1924 Sir Irving Albery Conservative 1945 Garry Allighan Labour 1947 by-election Sir Richard Acland Labour 1955 Peter Kirk Conservative 1964 Albert Murray Labour 1970 Roger White Conservative Feb 1974 John Ovenden Labour 1979 Tim Brinton Conservative 1983 constituency abolished: see Gravesham
Election results Elections in the 1860s
Elections in the 1870s
Elections in the 1880s
The 1880 election was declared void on account of bribery, whereby Bevan had "given his men a holiday and paid them their wages".
Elections in the 1890s
Palmer resigned, causing a by-election.
Elections in the 1900s
Elections in the 1910s
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; Unionist: Gilbert Parker Liberal:
Elections in the 1920s
* Davies stood for election as an 'Anti-Waste' candidate, but was not officially supported by the Anti-Waste League
Elections in the 1930s
Elections in the 1940s
Elections in the 1950s
Elections in the 1960s
Elections in the 1970s
See also 1947 Gravesend by-election
References
Bibliography