The constituency was created in 1918 from the former seats of Westminster & Strand. From 1918 to 1950, it returned five Conservative MPs, with Labour and the Liberals having little support in the area.
After William Burdett-Coutts, the first MP for the seat, died in 1921 there was a by-election where all three candidates claimed to be anti-waste. At the time the Anti-Waste League was active. It was formed to advance the political ambitions of the newspaper owner Lord Rothermere. The objects of the League were to insist upon measures being taken to restore the country to solvency, urge a wholesale reduction of expenditure, fight the battle of local rates and oppose sham Anti-Waste candidates. The Conservative candidate John Nicholson won the election, but the Anti-Waste League (whose candidate later became a Conservative MP) polled respectably and the Liberal candidate (a former MP) came third.
After Nicholson's death in 1924 a further by-election took place. The new Conservative candidate Otho Nicholson was challenged by the prominent politician Winston Churchill as a Constitutionalist, the formidable Labour stalwart and future MP Fenner Brockway, and a little-known Liberal. The Constitutionalist label was one used by a number of candidates, mostly ex-Liberals like Churchill, in the 1920s. The Constitutionalists did not function as a party and most of them ended up joining the Liberal or Conservative Parties. Nicholson beat Churchill with a very small majority of 43.
By the 1945 general election, the electorate of the area had dropped by almost half since the pre-war by-election. Labour almost equalled the 27% vote Brockway had received in 1924. The Independent Progressive candidate of 1939 reappeared as a Communist candidate and received 17.6% of the vote. The Conservatives still had an absolute majority of the vote. For the 1950 general election, the seat became the central part of the new constituency of Cities of London and Westminster.
^ abcAll three candidates claimed to be anti waste: Nicholson stood as "Constitutional and Independent Conservative Anti-Waste", while Lupton stood as "Independent Liberal and Anti-Waste".Morgan, Kenneth O (1986). Consensus and Disunity: The Lloyd George Coalition Government 1918-1922. Oxford University Press. p. 245. ISBN9780198229759.
ReferencesEdit
Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F. W. S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1972)
Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume III 1919-1945, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (The Harvester Press 1976)
British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (The Macmillan Press 1979)
Minor Parties at British Parliamentary Elections 1885-1974, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (The Macmillan Press 1975)
October 22, 2023
westminster, abbey, parliament, constituency, other, uses, westminster, abbey, disambiguation, westminster, abbey, constituency, parliament, united, kingdom, returned, member, parliament, house, commons, first, past, post, system, election, westminster, abbeyf. For other uses see Westminster Abbey disambiguation Westminster Abbey was a constituency in the Parliament of the United Kingdom It returned one Member of Parliament MP to the House of Commons by the first past the post system of election Westminster AbbeyFormer Borough constituencyfor the House of Commons1918 1950SeatsOneCreated fromStrand and WestminsterReplaced byCities of London and WestminsterIt was created for the 1918 general election and included all of the former Westminster constituency as reduced in area in 1885 apart from its Knightsbridge exclave plus all of the former Strand constituency It continued to exist until the 1950 general election when it was merged with the two seat City of London constituency to form a single member seat named Cities of London and Westminster The seat was sometimes known as the Abbey Division of Westminster or simply Abbey It was held by the Conservative Party for its entire existence Contents 1 Boundaries 2 History 3 Members of Parliament 4 Elections 4 1 1910s 4 2 1920s 4 3 1930s 4 4 1940s 5 Notes 6 ReferencesBoundaries Edit nbsp Westminster Abbey in the Parliamentary County of London 1918 50 nbsp A map showing the wards of Westminster Metropolitan Borough as they appeared in 1916 The City of Westminster is a district of Inner London Its southern boundary is on the north bank of the River Thames In 1918 it was to the west of the City of London to the south of Holborn and St Pancras and to the east of Kensington and Chelsea It consisted of the eastern part of the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster comprising the then wards of Covent Garden Great Marlborough Pall Mall Regent St Anne St John St Margaret Strand and part of Charing Cross History EditThe constituency was created in 1918 from the former seats of Westminster amp Strand From 1918 to 1950 it returned five Conservative MPs with Labour and the Liberals having little support in the area After William Burdett Coutts the first MP for the seat died in 1921 there was a by election where all three candidates claimed to be anti waste At the time the Anti Waste League was active It was formed to advance the political ambitions of the newspaper owner Lord Rothermere The objects of the League were to insist upon measures being taken to restore the country to solvency urge a wholesale reduction of expenditure fight the battle of local rates and oppose sham Anti Waste candidates The Conservative candidate John Nicholson won the election but the Anti Waste League whose candidate later became a Conservative MP polled respectably and the Liberal candidate a former MP came third After Nicholson s death in 1924 a further by election took place The new Conservative candidate Otho Nicholson was challenged by the prominent politician Winston Churchill as a Constitutionalist the formidable Labour stalwart and future MP Fenner Brockway and a little known Liberal The Constitutionalist label was one used by a number of candidates mostly ex Liberals like Churchill in the 1920s The Constitutionalists did not function as a party and most of them ended up joining the Liberal or Conservative Parties Nicholson beat Churchill with a very small majority of 43 By the 1945 general election the electorate of the area had dropped by almost half since the pre war by election Labour almost equalled the 27 vote Brockway had received in 1924 The Independent Progressive candidate of 1939 reappeared as a Communist candidate and received 17 6 of the vote The Conservatives still had an absolute majority of the vote For the 1950 general election the seat became the central part of the new constituency of Cities of London and Westminster Members of Parliament EditElection Member Party1918 William Burdett Coutts Conservative1921 by election John Nicholson Conservative1924 by election Otho Nicholson Conservative1932 by election Sir Sidney Herbert Conservative1939 by election Harold Webbe ConservativeElections Edit1910s Edit General election 1918 Westminster Abbey Party Candidate Votes C Unionist William Burdett Coutts UnopposedUnionist win new seat C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government 1920s Edit By Election 25 August 1921 Party Candidate Votes Unionist John Nicholson 1 6 204 43 6 N AAnti Waste League Reginald Applin 1 5 874 34 9 NewLiberal Arnold Lupton 1 3 053 21 5 NewMajority 1 234 8 7 N ATurnout 36 952 38 5 N AUnionist hold Swing N A nbsp S Drury LoweGeneral election 1922 Westminster Abbey Party Candidate Votes Unionist John Nicholson 13 620 75 6 N ALabour Joseph George Butler 2 454 13 6 NewIndependent Sidney Robert Drury Lowe 1 950 10 8 NewMajority 11 166 62 0 N ATurnout 36 763 49 0 N AUnionist hold Swing N AGeneral election 1923 Westminster Abbey Party Candidate Votes Unionist John Nicholson Unopposed N A N AUnionist hold Swing N ABy Election 19 March 1924 Party Candidate Votes Conservative Otho Nicholson 8 187 35 9 N AConstitutionalist Winston Churchill 8 144 35 8 NewLabour Fenner Brockway 6 156 27 0 NewLiberal James Scott Duckers 291 1 3 NewMajority 43 0 1 N ATurnout 36 999 61 6 N AConservative hold Swing N AGeneral election 1924 Westminster Abbey Party Candidate Votes Conservative Otho Nicholson 17 915 80 6 N ALabour Arthur Woolf 4 308 19 4 N AMajority 13 607 61 2 N ATurnout 38 069 58 4 N AConservative hold Swing N AGeneral election 1929 Westminster Abbey Party Candidate Votes Unionist Otho Nicholson 18 195 74 0 6 6Labour James H MacDonnell 6 406 26 0 6 6Majority 11 789 48 0 13 2Turnout 48 524 50 7 7 7Unionist hold Swing 6 61930s Edit General election 1931 Westminster Abbey Party Candidate Votes Conservative Otho Nicholson Unopposed N A N AConservative hold Swing N A1932 Westminster Abbey by election Party Candidate Votes Conservative Sidney Herbert Unopposed N A N AConservative hold Swing N AGeneral election 1935 Westminster Abbey Party Candidate Votes Conservative Sidney Herbert 18 117 77 5 N ALabour William Smith Kennedy 5 255 22 5 NewMajority 12 862 55 0 N ATurnout 47 538 49 2 N AConservative hold Swing N A1939 Westminster Abbey by election Party Candidate Votes Conservative Harold Webbe 9 678 67 4 10 1Independent Progressive G Billy Carritt 4 674 32 6 NewMajority 5 004 34 8 20 2Turnout 47 396 30 3 18 9Conservative hold Swing N A1940s Edit General election 1945 Westminster Abbey Party Candidate Votes Conservative Harold Webbe 9 160 54 4 23 1Labour Jeremy Hutchinson 4 408 26 1 3 6Communist G Billy Carritt 2 964 17 6 NewDemocratic Norman Leith Hay Clark 326 1 9 NewMajority 4 752 28 3 26 7Turnout 28 823 58 5 9 3Conservative hold Swing N ANotes Edit a b c All three candidates claimed to be anti waste Nicholson stood as Constitutional and Independent Conservative Anti Waste while Lupton stood as Independent Liberal and Anti Waste Morgan Kenneth O 1986 Consensus and Disunity The Lloyd George Coalition Government 1918 1922 Oxford University Press p 245 ISBN 9780198229759 References EditLeigh Rayment s Historical List of MPs Constituencies beginning with A part 1 Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885 1972 compiled and edited by F W S Craig Political Reference Publications 1972 Who s Who of British Members of Parliament Volume III 1919 1945 edited by M Stenton and S Lees The Harvester Press 1976 British Parliamentary Election Results 1918 1949 compiled and edited by F W S Craig The Macmillan Press 1979 Minor Parties at British Parliamentary Elections 1885 1974 compiled and edited by F W S Craig The Macmillan Press 1975 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Westminster Abbey UK Parliament constituency amp oldid 1089646879, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
