# Hackney (UK Parliament constituency)

Hackney was a two-seat constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament created under the Representation of the People Act 1867 (often termed Second Reform Act) from the former northern parishes of the Tower Hamlets constituency and abolished under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (often termed a twin Third Reform Act, with its enabling Reform Act 1884).
The constituency existed in its two-seat form for three general elections and returned two Liberal Party Members at each election until its abolition. At abolition it was noted intense house- and apartment (tenement block-) building had occurred within its boundaries and it was divided into seven single seats.

## Boundaries

The vestry of the civil parish of Hackney became a local government authority in 1855.
The parliamentary borough of Hackney was established in 1868 and its area formed part of the east of the historic county of Middlesex. It comprised:
| Parishes included | Population in 1871 | Population in 1881 | Total electorate 7 Dec 1868 | Total electorate of 20 Nov 1884 |
| The Parish of St Leonard, Shoreditch | not known | not known | 40,613 | 48,076 |
| The Parish of St Matthew, Bethnal Green | non known | not known | 40,613 | 48,076 |
| The Parish of St John, Hackney | 115,110 | 163,681 | 40,613 | 48,076 |
The area thus formed the northern rump of Shoreditch and rest of the north of the former parliamentary borough of Tower Hamlets (Hackney accounted for the northernmost of the Hamlets in the nineteenth century, see Tower Division). The area was to the east of Islington and Hornsey, south of Tottenham in its county and west of Walthamstow in Essex.
In 1885 the two-member constituency was abolished. In 1889 the former area, for administrative purposes, became part of the London County Council local authority. In 1900 the main civil vestry was dissolved and the Metropolitan Borough of Hackney was created (with the same boundaries as the Parliamentary Borough). Since 1965 it has been part of Greater London.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | First member | First party | Second member | Second party |
| 1868 | Sir Charles Reed | Liberal | John Holms | Liberal |
| 1874 by-election | Henry Fawcett | Liberal | John Holms | Liberal |
| 1884 by-election | James Stuart | Liberal | John Holms | Liberal |
| 1885 | Constituency abolished. See Hackney North, Hackney Central and Hackney South | Constituency abolished. See Hackney North, Hackney Central and Hackney South | Constituency abolished. See Hackney North, Hackney Central and Hackney South | Constituency abolished. See Hackney North, Hackney Central and Hackney South |

## Elections

Turnout, in multi-member elections, is estimated by dividing the number of votes by two. To the extent that electors did not use both their votes, the figure given will be an underestimate.
Change is calculated for individual candidates, when a party had more than one candidate in an election or the previous one. When a party had only one candidate in an election and the previous one change is calculated for the party vote.

### Elections in the 1860s

General election 1868: Hackney (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Charles Reed | 14,785 | 36.0 | |
| | Liberal | John Holms | 12,243 | 29.8 | |
| | Liberal | Charles Salisbury Butler | 6,825 | 16.6 | |
| | Conservative | Charles Locock Webb | 2,633 | 6.4 | |
| | Liberal | Lothian Sheffield Dickson | 2,575 | 6.3 | |
| | Liberal | John James Homer | 2,021 | 4.9 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,418 | 13.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 21,858 (est) | 53.8 (est) | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 40,613 | | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |

### Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Hackney (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | John Holms | 6,968 | 34.5 | +4.7 |
| | Liberal | Charles Reed | 6,893 | 34.2 | −1.8 |
| | Conservative | William Gill | 6,310 | 31.3 | +24.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 583 | 2.9 | −10.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,241 (est) | 32.4 (est) | −21.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 40,870 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −3.9 | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −8.1 | |
* Election declared void on petition
By-election, 25 April 1874: Hackney (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | John Holms | 10,905 | 35.9 | +1.4 |
| | Liberal | Henry Fawcett | 10,476 | 34.5 | +0.3 |
| | Conservative | William Gill | 8,994 | 29.6 | −1.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,482 | 4.9 | +2.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 19,685 (est) | 48.2 (est) | +15.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 40,870 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +1.1 | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +0.6 | |

### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Hackney (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Henry Fawcett | 18,366 | 40.2 | +6.0 |
| | Liberal | John Holms | 16,997 | 37.2 | +2.7 |
| | Conservative | George Trout Bartley | 10,332 | 22.6 | −8.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,675 | 14.6 | +11.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,688 (est) | 65.5 (est) | +33.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 43,773 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +5.2 | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +3.5 | |
The appointment of Fawcett as Postmaster General and Holms as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury caused a by-election for both seats.
By-election, 7 May 1880: Hackney (2 seats) :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Liberal | Henry Fawcett | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Liberal | John Holms | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
| Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
The death of Fawcett caused a by-election.
By-election, 20 Nov 1884: Hackney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | James Stuart | 14,540 | 63.0 | −14.4 |
| | Conservative | Alexander MacAlister | 8,543 | 37.0 | +14.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,997 | 26.0 | +11.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,083 | 48.0 | −17.5 (est) |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 48,076 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −14.4 | |