Chelsea (UK Parliament constituency)

For other uses, see Chelsea (disambiguation).

Chelsea was a borough constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Chelsea
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Chelsea 1868–1885
1868–1997
Seats	Two (1868–1885): One (1885–1997)
Created from	Middlesex
Replaced by	Kensington and Chelsea

The constituency was created by the Reform Act 1867 for the 1868 general election, when it returned two Members of Parliament (MPs), elected by the bloc vote system of election.

Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, with effect from the 1885 general election, its representation was reduced to one MP, elected by the first past the post system.

Chelsea in London 1885–1918. The constituency had two detached parts: one in what is currently known as Chelsea and a separate part in Kensal Town

Chelsea in London 1918–1950

Chelsea in London 1950–1983

Boundaries and boundary changes

1868–1885: The parishes of Chelsea, Fulham, Hammersmith, and Kensington.^[1]

1885–1918: The parish of St Luke, Chelsea.^[2]

Chelsea (after the local government changes in 1965) is a district of Inner London, comprising for administrative purposes the southern part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Its southern boundary is on the north bank of the River Thames. It adjoins Westminster to the east, Fulham to the west and Kensington to the north.

Before 1868 the area was represented in Parliament as part of the county constituency of Middlesex.

With the expansion westwards of the urban area around Westminster, the former village of Chelsea and neighbouring areas had by 1868 developed enough to be made a Parliamentary borough and given two seats in the House of Commons. The parliamentary borough comprised four civil parishes: Chelsea, Fulham, Hammersmith and Kensington.^[3]

In 1885, the existing parliamentary borough was divided into five single-member constituencies. The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 defined the redrawn Chelsea seat as comprising the parish of St Luke, Chelsea. The constituency had a detached outlier, the Kensal Green area, because of its history as a detached part of St Luke parish.^[4] (The remaining parishes became the constituencies of Fulham, Hammersmith, Kensington North and Kensington South.)

In 1889, the historic county of Middlesex was divided for administrative purposes. Chelsea became part of the County of London. No changes were made to parliamentary boundaries, however.

In the 1918 redistribution of Parliamentary seats, the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea (created as a local government unit in 1900) was represented by one MP.

In the redistribution which took effect in 1950, the then Brompton ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Kensington was added to the existing area of the constituency.

In 1965, the London County Council area was absorbed by the new Greater London Council. The constituency was included in a new London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, although the Parliamentary boundaries were not altered immediately.

In the redistribution that took effect in 1974, the Kensington and Chelsea, Chelsea constituency consisted of the then Brompton, Cheyne, Church, Earls Court, Hans Town, North Stanley, Redcliffe, Royal Hospital and South Stanley wards of Kensington and Chelsea.

The constituency shared boundaries with the Chelsea electoral division for election of councillors to the Greater London Council at elections in 1973, 1977 and 1981.

From the 1983 redistribution, Chelsea consisted of Abingdon, Brompton, Cheyne, Church, Courtfield, Earls Court, Hans Town, North Stanley, Redcliffe, Royal Hospital and South Stanley wards of Kensington and Chelsea.

98.5% of the constituency had been in the pre-1983 Chelsea and 1.5% had been part of Kensington.

In the 1997 redistribution, Chelsea ceased to exist as a constituency. The area was included in the Kensington and Chelsea constituency, which covered the central and southern portions of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, including the centres of both Kensington and Chelsea.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1868–1885

Election	1st member		1st party	2nd member		2nd party
1868		Sir Charles Dilke, Bt.	Liberal		Sir Henry Hoare, Bt	Liberal
1874					William Gordon	Conservative
1880					Joseph Bottomley Firth	Liberal
1885	Redistribution of Seats Act: representation reduced to one member

MPs 1885–1997

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Sir Charles Dilke, Bt.	Liberal
	1886	Charles Algernon Whitmore	Conservative
	1906	Emslie Horniman	Liberal
	Jan 1910	Samuel Hoare	Conservative
	1918		Coalition Conservative
	1922		Conservative
	1944 by-election	William Sidney	Conservative
	1945	Allan Noble	Conservative
	1959	John Litchfield	Conservative
	1966	Sir Marcus Worsley	Conservative
	Oct 1974	Sir Nicholas Scott	Conservative
	1997	constituency abolished: see Kensington & Chelsea

Elections

Elections in the 1990s

• Constituency abolished 1997

General election 1992: Chelsea^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nicholas Scott	17,471	65.1	+0.5
	Labour	Rima Horton	4,692	17.5	+2.1
	Liberal Democrats	Susan N. Broidy	4,101	15.3	-2.6
	Green	Niki Kortvelyessy	485	1.8	-0.3
	Anti-Federalist League	Douglas Armstrong	88	0.3	New
Majority			12,789	47.6	+1.0
Turnout			26,837	63.3	+5.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Chelsea^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nicholas Scott	18,443	64.6	+1.4
	Liberal	Jennifer Ware	5,124	17.9	-5.6
	Labour	David Ward	4,406	15.4	+2.6
	Green	Niki Kortvelyessy	587	2.1	New
Majority			13,319	46.6	+6.8
Turnout			28,560	57.7	+1.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1983: Chelsea^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nicholas Scott	19,122	63.2	-2.9
	Liberal	Jonathan Fryer	7,101	23.5	+9.7
	Labour	Nick Palmer	3,876	12.8	-5.7
	Independent	Amanda Feilding	139	0.5	+0.3
Majority			12,021	39.8	-7.8
Turnout			30,238	56.1	-1.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

• Minor boundary change affecting less than 5% of electors

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Kensington and Chelsea, Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nicholas Scott	21,782	66.1	+5.1
	Labour	R. M. Pandy	6,092	18.5	-1.7
	Liberal	P. G. Driver	4,544	13.8	-4.1
	National Front	A. Reeve	342	1.0	New
	Independent	B. Fellowes	146	0.4	New
	Independent	Amanda Feilding	49	0.2	New
Majority			15,690	47.6	+6.8
Turnout			57,515	57.3	+7.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.4

General election October 1974: Kensington and Chelsea, Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nicholas Scott	19,674	61.0	+0.6
	Labour	G. A. Colerick	6,507	20.2	+2.5
	Liberal	N. L. Clarke	5,758	17.9	-2.9
	Independent	R. E. Byron	321	1.0	New
Majority			13,167	40.8	+1.1
Turnout			64,548	50.0	-10.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election February 1974: Kensington and Chelsea, Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Marcus Worsley	23,320	60.4	-5.0
	Liberal	N. L. Clarke	8,012	20.8	+12.0
	Labour	S. K. Ward	6,839	17.7	-6.0
	Ind. Conservative	A. J. E. Barclay	416	1.1	New
Majority			15,308	39.7	-2.0
Turnout			64,338	60.0	+5.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1970: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Marcus Worsley	15,852	65.4	+5.5
	Labour	Richard John Madeley	5,737	23.7	-4.4
	Liberal	Anthony Hugh Shirley Beavan	2,136	8.8	-3.2
	Independent	Nicholas Luard	514	2.1	New
Majority			10,115	41.7	+9.9
Turnout			44,038	55.0	-8.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.0

• Boundary change

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Marcus Worsley	16,337	59.9	-1.6
	Labour	Roderick N. Tyler	7,674	28.1	+2.9
	Liberal	Paul Smith	3,285	12.0	-1.3
Majority			8,663	31.8	-4.6
Turnout			43,336	63.0	+0.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.3

General election 1964: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Litchfield	16,802	61.5	-6.3
	Labour	James Dickens	6,868	25.2	+4.8
	Liberal	Anthony Clive S. Thomas	3,635	13.3	+1.5
Majority			9,934	36.4	-11.0
Turnout			43,515	62.8	-3.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	-5.5

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Litchfield	20,985	67.8	-5.6
	Labour	Leo Goldstone	6,308	20.4	-6.2
	Liberal	Kenneth Grenville Wellings	3,662	11.8	New
Majority			14,677	47.4	+0.6
Turnout			47,077	65.8	+0.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.9

General election 1955: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Allan Noble	23,598	73.4	+3.5
	Labour	Stewart Fordyce	8,546	26.6	-3.5
Majority			15,052	46.8	+7.0
Turnout			49,049	65.5	-4.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.5

General election 1951: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Allan Noble	25,034	69.9	+5.7
	Labour	Frederick Lionel Tonge	10,784	30.1	+2.8
Majority			14,250	39.8	+2.9
Turnout			51,433	69.6	-1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.23

General election 1950: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Allan Noble	23,471	64.2	+0.5
	Labour	Frederick Lionel Tonge	9,987	27.3	-3.8
	Liberal	Leo Cayley Robertson	3,116	8.5	New
Majority			13,484	36.9	+4.3
Turnout			51,789	70.6	+7.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.1

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Allan Noble	12,043	63.7	-11.3
	Labour	Margaret Douglas Shufeldt	5,874	31.1	+6.0
	Common Wealth	Dorothy Anderton Sharpe	984	5.2	New
Majority			6,169	32.6	-17.3
Turnout			30,095	62.8	+1.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	-8.6

• Note 1 (1945): Changes and swing calculated from 1935 to 1945.
• Note 2 (1945): Counting of votes took place on 26 July 1945
• Boundary change
• Creation of Hoare as 1st Viscount Templewood

By-election 11 October 1944: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Sidney	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1930s

General election 14 November 1935: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Samuel Hoare	18,992	75.0	-8.0
	Labour	George Somerville Sandilands	6,348	25.1	+8.1
Majority			12,644	49.9	-16.0
Turnout			41,061	61.7	-3.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	-8.0

General election 27 October 1931: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Samuel Hoare	23,015	83.0	+24.6
	Labour	Gilbert Foan	4,726	17.0	-8.1
Majority			18,289	65.9	+32.5
Turnout			42,531	65.2	+2.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+16.3

Elections in the 1920s

General election 30 May 1929: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Samuel Hoare	15,480	58.4	-7.3
	Labour	Alfred George Prichard	6,645	25.1	-0.9
	Liberal	Iolo Aneurin Williams	4,360	16.5	+9.1
Majority			8,835	33.4	-5.4
Turnout			41,945	63.1	-8.0
	Unionist hold		Swing	-4.1

General election 1924: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Samuel Hoare	13,816	65.7	+8.7
	Labour	Dora Russell	5,661	26.0	-1.5
	Liberal	Iolo Aneurin Williams	1,557	7.4	-8.1
Majority			8,155	38.8	+9.3
Turnout			29,582	71.1	+7.3
	Unionist hold		Swing	+5.1

General election 6 December 1923: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Samuel Hoare	10,461	57.0	-17.9
	Labour	Bertrand Russell	5,047	27.5	+2.4
	Liberal	Harry Westbury Preston	2,846	15.5	New
Majority			5,414	29.5	-20.2
Turnout			28,755	63.8	+0.7
	Unionist hold		Swing	-10.1

General election 15 November 1922: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Samuel Hoare	13,437	74.9	-4.2
	Labour	Bertrand Russell	4,513	25.1	New
Majority			8,924	49.8	+8.6
Turnout			28,453	63.1	+16.5
	Unionist hold		Swing	-14.7

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	Samuel Hoare	9,159	79.1	+18.7
	Independent Progressive	Emily Phipps	2,419	20.9	New
Majority			6,740	58.2	+37.3
Turnout			24,822	46.6	-26.4
	Unionist hold		Swing	N/A
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

 

Hoare

General election December 1910: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Samuel Hoare	4,968	60.5	+2.4
	Liberal	Hugh Hoare	3,249	39.5	-2.4
Majority			1,719	20.9	+4.7
Turnout			11,257	73.0	-12.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.4

General election January 1910: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Samuel Hoare	5,610	58.1	+11.7
	Liberal	Emslie Horniman	4,048	41.9	-11.7
Majority			1,562	16.2	N/A
Turnout			11,257	85.8	+10.5
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+11.7

Elections in the 1900s

 

Horniman

General election 16 January 1906: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Emslie Horniman	4,660	53.6	+12.0
	Conservative	Charles Algernon Whitmore	4,031	46.4	-12.0
Majority			629	7.2	N/A
Turnout			8,691	75.3	+13.1
Registered electors			11,536
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	-12.0

 

Jeffery

General election 1900: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Algernon Whitmore	4,637	58.4	-2.1
	Liberal	James Jeffery	3,306	41.6	+2.1
Majority			1,331	16.8	-4.2
Turnout			7,943	62.4	-5.7
Registered electors			12,736
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.1

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1895: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Algernon Whitmore	5,524	60.5	+7.5
	Liberal	Octavius Holmes Beatty	3,604	39.5	-7.5
Majority			1,920	21.0	+15.0
Turnout			9,128	68.1	-6.8
Registered electors			13,408
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.5

General election 1892: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Algernon Whitmore	4,993	53.0	+2.0
	Liberal	Benjamin Francis Conn Costelloe	4,427	47.0	-2.0
Majority			566	6.0	+4.0
Turnout			9,420	74.9	-1.0
Registered electors			12,585
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.0

Elections in the 1880s

General election 5 July 1886: Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Algernon Whitmore	4,304	51.0	+2.0
	Liberal	Charles Dilke	4,128	49.0	-2.0
Majority			176	2.0	N/A
Turnout			8,432	75.9	+0.2
Registered electors			11,104
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+2.0

General election 25 November 1885: Chelsea^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Dilke	4,291	51.0	−5.1
	Conservative	Charles Algernon Whitmore	4,116	49.0	+5.0
Majority			175	2.0	N/A
Turnout			8,407	75.7	+5.3
Registered electors			11,104
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

• Constituency reduced to one seat.
• Swing: For 1885–1910 the swing figure given is the Butler Swing, defined as the average of the Conservative % gain and Liberal % loss between two elections, with the percentages being calculated on the basis of the total number of votes (including those cast for candidates other than Conservative or Liberal). A positive figure is a swing to Conservative and a negative one to Liberal.

By-election 11 January 1883: Chelsea^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Dilke	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

• Caused by the appointment of Dilke as President of the Local Government Board

General election 12 February 1880: Chelsea (2 seats)^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Dilke	12,406	28.5	−2.8
	Liberal	Joseph Bottomley Firth	12,046	27.6	−1.5
	Conservative	Algernon Keith-Falconer	9,666	22.2	−8.9
	Conservative	William Browne	9,488	21.8	N/A
Majority			2,380	5.4	+5.2
Turnout			21,803 (est)	70.4 (est)	+2.1
Registered electors			30,951
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.8
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+1.5

Elections in the 1870s

General election 10 February 1874: Chelsea (2 seats)^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Dilke	7,217	31.3	−1.2
	Conservative	William Gordon	7,172	31.1	−4.7
	Liberal	Henry Hoare	6,701	29.1	−2.6
	Liberal	George Middleton Keill^[10]	1,967	8.5	N/A
Turnout			16,098 (est)	68.3 (est)	-16.2
Registered electors			23,560
Majority			45	0.2	−13.1
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.6
Majority			471	2.0	N/A
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+0.2

Elections in the 1860s

General election 17 November 1868: Chelsea (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Dilke	7,374	32.5
	Liberal	Henry Hoare	7,183	31.7
	Conservative	William Howard Russell^[11]	4,177	18.4
	Conservative	Charles James Freake	3,929	17.3
Majority			3,006	13.3
Turnout			11,332 (est)	65.1 (est)
Registered electors			17,408
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in London
• Duration of English, British and United Kingdom parliaments from 1660

References

1. "Representation of the People Act 1867" (PDF). Retrieved 23 May 2020.
2. "Chap. 23. Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885". The Public General Acts of the United Kingdom passed in the forty-eighth and forty-ninth years of the reign of Queen Victoria. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode. 1885. pp. 111–198.
3. Youngs, Frederic A (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. London: Royal Historical Society. p. 749. ISBN 0901050679.
4. F. H. W. Sheppard, ed. (1973). "Kensal Green". Survey of London. Volume 37: Northern Kensington. pp. 333–339. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
5. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
6. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
7. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
8. Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
9. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
10. "Chelsea". Leeds Mercury. 13 November 1873. p. 5. Retrieved 28 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
11. "Election Intelligence". London Evening Standard. 28 October 1868. p. 3. Retrieved 4 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

• Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume I 1832-1885, edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976)
• British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885, compiled and edited by F. W. S. Craig (The Macmillan Press 1977)
• British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, compiled and edited by F. W. S. Craig (The Macmillan Press 1974)
• British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, compiled and edited by F. W. S. Craig (The Macmillan Press 1977)
• British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973, compiled and edited by F. W. S. Craig (Parliamentary Research Services 1983)
• British Parliamentary Election Results 1974-1983, compiled and edited by F. W. S. Craig (Parliamentary Research Services 1984)
• Britain Votes 4: British Parliamentary Election Results 1983-1987, compiled and edited by F. W. S. Craig (Parliamentary Research Services 1988)
• Britain Votes 5: British Parliamentary Election Results 1988-1992, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher (Parliamentary Research Services/Dartmouth Publishing 1993)
• Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F. W. S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1972)
• British Parliamentary Constituencies: A Statistical Compendium, by Ivor Crewe and Anthony Fox (Faber and Faber 1984)