# Bridlington (UK Parliament constituency)

Bridlington was a constituency in East Yorkshire, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 until it was abolished for the 1997 general election. It was named after the town of Bridlington.
It returned one Member of Parliament (MP), elected by the first-past-the-post voting system.

## History

The constituency was created in 1950 from the former seat of Buckrose. It was abolished in 1997 and most of its territory transferred to the East Yorkshire seat.

## Boundaries

1950–1955: The Municipal Boroughs of Bridlington and Hedon, the Urban Districts of Driffield, Filey, Hornsea, and Withernsea, and the Rural Districts of Bridlington, Driffield, and Holderness.
1955–1983: The Municipal Boroughs of Bridlington and Hedon, the Urban Districts of Filey, Hornsea, and Withernsea, and the Rural Districts of Bridlington and Holderness. The two Driffield districts were transferred to the new Howden constituency.
1983–1997: The Borough of East Yorkshire wards of Bridlington Bessingby, Bridlington Hilderthorpe, Bridlington Old Town East, Bridlington Old Town West, Bridlington Quay North, Bridlington Quay South, Coastal, Driffield North, Driffield South, Hutton Cranswick, Lowland, Nafferton, Roman, St John, and Viking, and the Borough of Holderness. Driffield transferred back from Howden.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1950 | Richard Wood | Conservative |
| 1979 | John Townend | Conservative |
| 1997 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Bridlington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Richard Wood | 26,124 | 50.9 | |
| | Liberal | George Wadsworth | 16,158 | 31.5 | |
| | Labour | Wilfrid Pashby | 9,013 | 17.6 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,966 | 19.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,295 | 81.9 | |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |
General election 1951: Bridlington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Richard Wood | 30,576 | 61.09 |
| | Labour | Gerard McQuade | 12,931 | 25.83 |
| | Liberal | Douglas Eugene Moore | 6,546 | 13.08 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,645 | 35.26 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,053 | 78.38 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
General election 1955: Bridlington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Richard Wood | 25,880 | 70.92 |
| | Labour | Kathleen M Roberts | 10,614 | 29.08 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,266 | 41.84 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,494 | 69.40 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
General election 1959: Bridlington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Richard Wood | 27,438 | 73.20 |
| | Labour | Harry Moor | 10,047 | 26.80 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,391 | 46.40 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,485 | 68.15 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Bridlington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Richard Wood | 22,729 | 56.50 | |
| | Labour | Kevin McNamara | 9,002 | 22.38 | |
| | Liberal | John J MacCallum | 8,494 | 21.12 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,727 | 34.12 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,225 | 72.78 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1966: Bridlington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Richard Wood | 21,976 | 54.58 |
| | Labour Co-op | John Tomlinson | 11,939 | 29.65 |
| | Liberal | Trevor Silverwood | 6,349 | 15.77 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,037 | 24.93 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,264 | 71.47 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Bridlington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Richard Wood | 25,053 | 58.10 |
| | Labour | Harold A. Clarke | 11,546 | 26.79 |
| | Liberal | Trevor Silverwood | 6,495 | 15.07 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,507 | 31.31 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,094 | 68.64 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
General election February 1974: Bridlington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Richard Wood | 25,711 | 51.21 |
| | Liberal | JMS Cherry | 14,715 | 29.31 |
| | Labour | AAW Dix | 9,780 | 19.48 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,996 | 21.90 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,206 | 76.91 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
General election October 1974: Bridlington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Richard Wood | 21,901 | 49.07 | |
| | Liberal | JMS Cherry | 11,795 | 26.43 | |
| | Labour | AAW Dix | 9,946 | 22.29 | |
| | National Front | F Day | 987 | 2.21 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,106 | 22.64 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,629 | 67.87 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1979: Bridlington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | John Townend | 27,988 | 54.80 |
| | Labour | PJ Doyle | 12,693 | 24.85 |
| | Liberal | D Horsley | 10,390 | 20.34 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,295 | 29.95 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,071 | 74.18 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Bridlington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Townend | 31,284 | 57.79 | |
| | SDP | E Martin | 14,675 | 27.11 | |
| | Labour | M Craven | 7,370 | 13.61 | |
| | Ecology | S Tooke | 803 | 1.48 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,609 | 30.68 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,132 | 70.56 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1987: Bridlington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | John Townend | 32,351 | 54.82 |
| | SDP | Edmund Marshall | 15,030 | 25.47 |
| | Labour | Leonard Bird | 10,653 | 18.05 |
| | Green | Richard Myerscough | 983 | 1.67 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,321 | 29.35 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 59,017 | 73.66 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Bridlington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Townend | 33,604 | 50.8 | −4.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John A. Leeman | 17,246 | 26.1 | +0.6 |
| | Labour | Steven M. Hatfield | 15,263 | 23.1 | +5.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,358 | 24.7 | −4.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 66,113 | 77.8 | +4.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −2.3 | |