# Ilford (UK Parliament constituency)

Ilford was a borough constituency in what is now the London Borough of Redbridge in eastern Greater London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created for the 1918 general election, and abolished for the 1945 general election, when it was replaced by the new Ilford North and Ilford South constituencies.

## Members of Parliament

| Year | Member | Party |
| 1918 | Peter Griggs | Unionist |
| 1920 | Fredric Wise | Unionist |
| 1928 | George Hamilton | Unionist |
| 1937 | Geoffrey Hutchinson | Conservative |
| 1945 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Ilford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Unionist | Peter Griggs | 15,870 | 66.8 | |
| | Labour | Herbert Dunnico | 4,621 | 19.5 | |
| | Liberal | Thomas Hamilton Garside | 3,261 | 13.7 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,249 | 47.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,752 | 58.3 | |
| | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||

### Elections in the 1920s

1920 Ilford by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Coalition Unionist | Fredric Wise | 15,612 | 54.4 | −12.4 |
| | Labour | Joseph King | 6,577 | 22.9 | +3.4 |
| | Liberal | John Thompson | 6,515 | 22.7 | +9.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,035 | 31.5 | −15.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,704 | 66.2 | +7.9 |
| | Coalition Unionist hold | Coalition Unionist hold | Swing | +4.0 | |
* endorsed by Coalition Government
General election 1922: Ilford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Fredric Wise | 14,071 | 44.4 | −22.4 |
| | Liberal | John Thompson | 7,625 | 24.0 | +10.3 |
| | Labour | Augustus West | 5,414 | 17.1 | −2.4 |
| | Ind. Unionist | Frederick C. Bramston | 4,610 | 14.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,446 | 20.4 | −26.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,720 | 70.5 | +12.2 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | -5.6 | |
General election 1923: Ilford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Fredric Wise | 14,136 | 44.4 | 0.0 |
| | Liberal | John Morris | 11,965 | 37.5 | +13.5 |
| | Labour | Dan Chater | 5,775 | 18.1 | +1.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,171 | 6.9 | −13.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,876 | 64.8 | −5.7 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | -6.8 | |
General election 1924: Ilford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Fredric Wise | 22,825 | 58.4 | +14.0 |
| | Labour | Dan Chater | 8,460 | 21.7 | +3.6 |
| | Liberal | John Morris | 7,780 | 19.9 | −17.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,365 | 36.7 | +29.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,065 | 74.8 | +10.0 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | +5.2 | |
1928 Ilford by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | George Hamilton | 18,269 | 44.8 | −13.6 |
| | Liberal | Arthur Comyns Carr | 13,621 | 33.4 | +13.5 |
| | Labour | Charles Robin de Gruchy | 8,922 | 21.9 | +0.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,648 | 11.4 | −25.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,812 | 67.5 | −7.3 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | -13.6 | |
General election 1929: Ilford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | George Hamilton | 24,414 | 42.4 | −16.0 |
| | Liberal | Arthur Comyns Carr | 21,267 | 36.9 | +17.0 |
| | Labour | Charles Robin de Gruchy | 11,952 | 20.7 | +0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,147 | 5.5 | −31.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 57,633 | 73.6 | −1.2 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | -3.1 | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Ilford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | George Hamilton | 43,737 | 67.2 | +34.8 |
| | Labour | Percy Astins | 12,173 | 18.7 | −2.0 |
| | Liberal | Russell Thomas | 9,179 | 14.1 | −22.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 31,564 | 48.5 | +43.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 65,089 | 71.9 | −1.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +18.4 | |
General election 1935: Ilford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | George Hamilton | 43,208 | 63.1 | −4.1 |
| | Labour | Percy Astins | 25,241 | 36.9 | +18.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,967 | 26.2 | −22.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 68,449 | 64.0 | −7.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -11.1 | |
1937 Ilford by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Geoffrey Hutchinson | 25,533 | 61.2 | −1.9 |
| | Labour | James Ranger | 16,214 | 38.8 | +1.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,319 | 22.4 | −3.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,747 | 37.3 | −26.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -1.9 | |
General Election 1939–40
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;
* Conservative: Geoffrey Hutchinson
* Labour: James Ranger
* British Union: Louise Ann King

## In popular culture

In Series 3, Episode 6 of the popular BBC mockumentary programme The Thick of It, Senior Advisor to Secretary of State Nicola Murray, Glenn Cullen, tells his co-worker Oliver Reader that he is awaiting the verdict on whether he makes the longlist for potential Labour Party candidates for the fictional Ilford East parliamentary constituency.