Rotherhithe
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Rotherhithe in London 1885–1918
Rotherhithe in London 1918–50
1885–1950
Seatsone
Created fromSouthwark
Replaced byBermondsey

Rotherhithe was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Rotherhithe district of South London. 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.

The constituency was created for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1950 general election when it became part of the revived Bermondsey constituency.

Boundaries

1885-1918

The Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey wards of St Olave's, St John's, St Thomas's, St Mary, Rotherhithe and St Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey.[1]

1918-1950

The Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey wards of St John, St Olave, Bermondsey five and six, and Rotherhithe one, two and three.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberParty
1885 Charles Hamilton Conservative
1892 John Macdona Conservative
1906 Hubert Carr-Gomm Liberal
1918 John Lort-Williams Unionist
1923 Ben Smith Labour
1931 Norah Runge Conservative
1935 Ben Smith Labour
1946 b-e Bob Mellish Labour
1950 Constituency abolished

Election results

Decades:
Bermondsey historical election results

Elections in the 1880s

Pankhurst
General election 1885: Rotherhithe [2][3][1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Hamilton 3,327 54.3
Lib-Lab Richard Pankhurst 2,800 45.7
Majority 527 8.6
Turnout 6,127 72.5
Registered electors 8,455
Conservative win (new seat)
General election 1886: Rotherhithe [2][3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Hamilton 3,202 60.2 +5.9
Liberal William Brampton Gurdon 2,115 39.8 -5.9
Majority 1,087 20.4 +11.8
Turnout 5,317 62.9 -9.6
Registered electors 8,455
Conservative hold Swing +5.9

Elections in the 1890s

Glanville
General election 1892: Rotherhithe [2][3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Macdona 3,995 59.1 -1.1
Liberal Harold Glanville 2,765 40.9 +1.1
Majority 1,230 18.2 -2.2
Turnout 6,760 70.1 +7.2
Registered electors 9,638
Conservative hold Swing -1.1
General election 1895: Rotherhithe [2][3][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Macdona 4,092 64.6 +5.5
Liberal Ambrose Pomeroy 2,246 35.4 -5.5
Majority 1,846 29.2 +11.0
Turnout 6,338 69.0 -1.1
Registered electors 9,188
Conservative hold Swing +5.5

Elections in the 1900s

Hart-Davies
General election 1900: Rotherhithe [2][3][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Macdona 3,938 62.6 -2.0
Liberal Thomas Hart-Davies 2,356 37.4 +2.0
Majority 1,582 25.2 -4.0
Turnout 6,294 65.8 -3.2
Registered electors 9,559
Conservative hold Swing -2.0
Carr-Gomm
General election 1906: Rotherhithe [2][3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Hubert Carr-Gomm 4,192 59.8 +22.4
Conservative John Macdona 2,821 40.2 -22.4
Majority 1,371 19.6 N/A
Turnout 7,013 80.6 +14.8
Registered electors 8,700
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +22.4

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Rotherhithe [2][5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Hubert Carr-Gomm 4,474 55.6 -4.2
Conservative Assheton Pownall 3,570 44.4 +4.2
Majority 904 11.2 -8.4
Turnout 8,044 84.3 +3.7
Liberal hold Swing -4.2
General election December 1910: Rotherhithe [2][5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Hubert Carr-Gomm 4,030 57.1 +1.5
Conservative Assheton Pownall 3,026 42.9 -1.5
Majority 1,004 14.2 +3.0
Turnout 7,056 74.0 -10.3
Liberal hold Swing +1.5

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 the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

General election 1918: Rotherhithe [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Unionist John Lort-Williams 5,639 50.0 +7.1
Liberal Hubert Carr-Gomm 3,889 34.5 -22.6
Labour Will Godfrey 1,750 15.5 New
Majority 1,750 15.5 N/A
Turnout 25,088 45.1 -28.9
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing +14.8
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Election in the 1920s

General election 1922: Rotherhithe
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist John Lort-Williams 6,749 36.5 -13.5
Labour Charles Diamond 6,703 36.3 +21.8
Liberal Hubert Carr-Gomm 5,034 27.2 -7.3
Majority 46 0.2 -15.3
Turnout 29,166 63.4 +18.3
Unionist hold Swing -17.6
Hazleton
General election 1923: Rotherhithe
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ben Smith 9,019 48.0 +11.7
Unionist John Lort-Williams 5,741 30.5 -6.0
Liberal Richard Hazleton 4,035 21.5 -5.7
Majority 3,278 17.5 N/A
Turnout 29,457 63.8 +0.4
Labour gain from Unionist Swing +8.8
General election 1924: Rotherhithe
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ben Smith 12,703 60.3 +12.3
Unionist Charles Garfield Lott Du Cann 8,375 39.7 +9.2
Majority 4,328 20.6 +3.1
Turnout 29,906 70.5 +6.7
Labour hold Swing +1.5
General election 1929: Rotherhithe
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ben Smith 14,664 61.6 +1.3
Unionist Gurney Braithwaite 4,594 19.3 -20.4
Liberal Dora West 4,556 19.1 New
Majority 10,070 42.3 +21.7
Turnout 36,133 65.9 -0.6
Labour hold Swing +10.8

Election in the 1930s

Runge
General election 1931: Rotherhithe
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Norah Runge 11,666 50.3 +31.0
Labour Ben Smith 11,536 49.7 -11.9
Majority 130 0.6 N/A
Turnout 36,111 64.3 -1.6
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +21.4
General election 1935: Rotherhithe
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ben Smith 14,416 59.7 +10.0
Conservative Norah Runge 9,751 40.3 -10.0
Majority 4,665 19.4 N/A
Turnout 33,899 71.3 +7.0
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +10.0

Election in the 1940s

General election 1945: Rotherhithe
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ben Smith 9,741 79.1 +19.4
Conservative Norah Runge 2,577 20.9 -19.4
Majority 7,164 58.2 +38.8
Turnout 18,098 68.1 -3.2
Labour hold Swing +19.4
1946 Rotherhithe by-election[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Bob Mellish 7,365 65.0 -14.1
Liberal Edward Martell 2,821 25.3 New
Conservative Frederick Burden 1,084 9.7 -11.2
Majority 4,444 39.7 -18.5
Turnout 21,952 50.9 -17.2
Labour hold

In fiction

The constituency is portrayed in an episode (A Place in the World) of TV drama series Upstairs, Downstairs as the safe Docklands Labour seat of "Rotherhithe East" that is unsuccessfully contested by James Bellamy for the Conservatives in a by-election in 1920. Location scenes were actually shot in Rotherhithe in January 1975 during the making of the episode. (In real life through 1920 Rotherhithe was a Unionist seat.)

References

  1. 1 2 Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 British Parliamentary Election Results 1885–1918, FWS Craig
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 The Liberal Year Book, 1907
  4. 1 2 Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
  5. 1 2 Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
  6. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, FWS Craig
  7. ↑ The Times, 19 November 1946
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