# Leyton (UK Parliament constituency)

Leyton was a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, centred on the town of Leyton in North-East 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.

## History

The constituency was created for the 1950 general election, and abolished for the 1997 general election, when it was partly replaced by the new Leyton and Wanstead constituency.

## Boundaries

1950–1974: The Municipal Borough of Leyton. Note: abolished 1965. Remained same zone in successor: London Borough of Waltham Forest.
1974–1983: The London Borough of Waltham Forest wards of Cann Hall, Central, Forest, Lea Bridge, Leyton, and Leytonstone.
1983–1997: The London Borough of Waltham Forest wards of Cann Hall, Cathall, Forest, Grove Green, Lea Bridge, Leyton, and Leytonstone.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party | Notes |
| 1950 | Reginald Sorensen | Labour | Resigned December 1964 on being raised to the peerage |
| 1965 by-election | Ronald Buxton | Conservative |
| 1966 | Patrick Gordon Walker | Labour | Previously MP for Smethwick 1945-1964 |
| February 1974 | Bryan Magee | Labour |
| 1982 | Bryan Magee | SDP |
| 1983 | Harry Cohen | Labour |
| 1997 | constituency abolished: see Leyton and Wanstead | constituency abolished: see Leyton and Wanstead |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Leyton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Reginald Sorensen | 35,702 | 54.59 | |
| | Conservative | Peter Williams | 24,052 | 36.77 | |
| | Liberal | Cyril Oliver Appleton | 5,650 | 8.64 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,650 | 17.72 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 65,404 | 83.33 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 78,491 | | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
General election 1951: Leyton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Reginald Sorensen | 37,728 | 57.78 | +3.19 |
| | Conservative | Peter Williams | 27,563 | 42.22 | +5.45 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,165 | 15.56 | −2.14 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 65,291 | 82.18 | −1.15 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 79,445 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -1.13 | |
General election 1955: Leyton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Reginald Sorensen | 29,747 | 53.40 | −4.78 |
| | Conservative | Ronald Buxton | 21,543 | 38.67 | −3.55 |
| | Liberal | Evan Laurence Frederick Richards | 4,421 | 7.94 | −New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,204 | 14.73 | −0.84 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,711 | 74.34 | −7.84 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 79,944 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -0.62 | |
General election 1959: Leyton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Reginald Sorensen | 28,367 | 53.71 | +0.31 |
| | Conservative | Ronald Buxton | 24,448 | 46.29 | +7.62 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,919 | 7.42 | −7.31 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,815 | 74.39 | +0.05 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 70,996 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -3.7 | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Leyton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Reginald Sorensen | 23,640 | 50.35 | −3.36 |
| | Conservative | Ronald Buxton | 15,714 | 33.47 | −12.82 |
| | Liberal | Alistair Mackay | 7,598 | 16.18 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,926 | 16.88 | +9.46 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,592 | 70.18 | −4.21 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 66,905 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -3.36 | |
By-election, 21 Jan 1965 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ronald Buxton | 16,544 | 42.88 | +9.41 |
| | Labour | Patrick Gordon Walker | 16,339 | 42.36 | −8.00 |
| | Liberal | Alistair Mackay | 5,382 | 13.95 | −2.23 |
| | UK & Commonwealth Party | Jeremiah Lynch | 157 | 0.41 | New |
| | Disarmament | George Delf | 156 | 0.40 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 205 | 0.52 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,578 | 57.70 | −12.48 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +8.71 | |
General election 1966: Leyton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Patrick Gordon Walker | 26,803 | 54.42 | +4.07 |
| | Conservative | Ronald Buxton | 18,157 | 36.87 | +3.40 |
| | Liberal | Alistair Mackay | 3,851 | 7.82 | −8.36 |
| | Independent Labour | William Hanley | 441 | 0.90 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,646 | 17.55 | +0.67 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,252 | 76.09 | +4.91 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 64,727 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.34 | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Leyton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Patrick Gordon Walker | 23,386 | 56.64 | +2.22 |
| | Conservative | Ronald Buxton | 17,906 | 43.36 | +6.49 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,480 | 13.28 | −4.27 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,292 | 61.99 | −14.10 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 66,610 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -2.14 | |
General election February 1974: Leyton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Bryan Magee | 22,785 | 49.07 | −7.57 |
| | Conservative | Barry Dare | 12,848 | 27.67 | −15.69 |
| | Liberal | Timothy Brown | 8,707 | 18.75 | New |
| | National Front | Sherri Bothwell | 2,097 | 4.52 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,937 | 21.40 | +8.12 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,437 | 72.66 | +10.67 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 63,909 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +4.06 | |
General election October 1974: Leyton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Bryan Magee | 22,130 | 54.88 | +5.82 |
| | Conservative | Barry Dare | 10,617 | 26.33 | −1.34 |
| | Liberal | Ralph Scott | 5,408 | 13.41 | −5.34 |
| | National Front | Sherri Bothwell | 2,168 | 5.38 | +0.86 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,513 | 28.55 | +7.15 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,323 | 62.68 | −9.98 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 64,328 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.58 | |
General election 1979: Leyton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Bryan Magee | 21,095 | 51.38 | −3.50 |
| | Conservative | Anthony Cordle | 15,361 | 37.41 | +11.08 |
| | Liberal | Clyde Kitson | 3,425 | 8.34 | −5.07 |
| | National Front | Peter Pomery-Rudd | 1,179 | 2.87 | −2.51 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,734 | 13.97 | −14.58 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,060 | 69.39 | +6.71 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 59,176 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -7.29 | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Leyton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Harry Cohen | 16,504 | 43.5 | −7.9 |
| | Conservative | Waldemar Neilson-Hansen | 11,988 | 31.6 | −5.8 |
| | SDP | Bryan Magee | 9,448 | 24.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,516 | 11.9 | −2.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,940 | 65.7 | −3.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 57,770 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -1.1 | |
General election 1987: Leyton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Harry Cohen | 16,536 | 41.21 | −2.29 |
| | Liberal | Simon Banks | 11,895 | 29.65 | +4.75 |
| | Conservative | David Gilmartin | 11,692 | 29.14 | −2.46 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,641 | 11.56 | −0.32 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,123 | 69.58 | +3.91 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 57,662 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -3.52 | |

### Election in the 1990s

General election 1992: Leyton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Harry Cohen | 20,334 | 52.6 | +11.4 |
| | Conservative | Christine Smith | 8,882 | 23.0 | −6.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jonathan Fryer | 8,180 | 21.18 | −8.47 |
| | Liberal | Louis de Pinna | 561 | 1.45 | New |
| | Green | Khalid Pervez | 412 | 1.07 | New |
| | Natural Law | Richard Archer | 256 | 0.66 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,452 | 29.64 | +18.08 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,625 | 67.44 | −2.14 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 57,272 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +8.79 | |