# Finsbury (UK Parliament constituency)

The parliamentary borough of Finsbury was a constituency of the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 1832 to 1885, and from 1918 to 1950. The constituency was first created in 1832 as one of seven two-seat "metropolis" parliamentary boroughs (five in southeast Middlesex and two in northeast Surrey) other than the two which already existed: Westminster and the City of London; the latter until 1885 retained an exceptional four seats. Finsbury was directly north of the City of London and was smaller than the Finsbury division of the Ossulstone hundred but took in land of Holborn division (hundred division) to its southwest in pre-introduction changes by Boundary Commissioners. It included Finsbury, Holborn, Moorfields, Clerkenwell, Islington, Stoke Newington and historic St Pancras (later mainly known as Camden Town). The 1918 constituency corresponded to the smaller Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury (Finsbury, Moorfields, Clerkenwell, and St Luke's, Islington); it was a seat, thus electing a single member, fulfilling a longstanding aim of Chartism which underscored the 1832 reforms.

## History
### 1832–1885 two-member constituency / parliamentary borough

The original constituency was created by the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832, which carried into effect the redistribution of parliamentary seats under the Reform Act 1832.
It was originally proposed that the constituency would comprise the entire Finsbury Division and a number of adjoining parishes in the Holborn Division of Ossulstone, one of the hundreds of Middlesex. The commissioners appointed under the Boundaries Act decided to exclude the northern part of the Finsbury Division, which extended as far as Friern Barnet, some nine miles from London and a largely rural area. They could find no natural boundary to separate "the Rural from the Town District" and suggested that the dividing line should run through the northern section of Islington, following limits of relatively recently founded Church of England parishes. The seat as eventually created included the whole of Islington, however.
The parliamentary borough was defined in Schedule O of the Boundaries Act as:
    The several Parishes of Saint Luke, Saint George the Martyr, St Giles in the Fields, Saint George Bloomsbury, Saint Mary Stoke Newington, and St. Mary, Islington; the several Liberties or Places of Saffron Hill, Hatton Garden, Ely Rents, Ely Place, the Rolls, Glass House Yard, and the Charterhouse; Lincoln's Inn and Gray's Inn; the Parish of St. James and St. John Clerkenwell, except that Part thereof which is situate to the North of the Parish of Islington; those Parts of the respective Parishes of Saint Sepulchre and Saint Andrew Holborn and of Furnivals Inn and Staple Inn respectively, which are situated without the Liberty of the City of London.
The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 divided the constituency, by then highly populated, into seven new single member constituencies. Four were divisions of a new Parliamentary Borough of Islington; while the Finsbury Parliamentary Borough was divided into three, named Central Division, East Division and Holborn Division.

### 1918–1950 seat

The Representation of the People Act 1918 created a new single-member Finsbury Parliamentary borough in the County of London, identical to the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury. In 1950, it was merged with the neighbouring borough of Shoreditch to become Shoreditch and Finsbury.

## Members of Parliament
### MPs 1832–1885

The parliamentary borough returned two members of parliament
| Election | First member | First member | First party | Second member | Second member | Second party |
| 1832 | | Robert Grant | Whig | | Robert Spankie | Whig |
| 1834 by-election | | Thomas Slingsby Duncombe | Radical | | Robert Spankie | Whig |
| 1835 | | Thomas Slingsby Duncombe | Radical | | Thomas Wakley | Radical |
| 1852 | | Thomas Slingsby Duncombe | Radical | | Thomas Challis | Radical |
| 1857 | | Thomas Slingsby Duncombe | Radical | | William Cox | Whig |
| 1859 | | Thomas Slingsby Duncombe | Liberal | | Morton Peto | Liberal |
| 1861 by-election | | William Cox | Liberal | | Morton Peto | Liberal |
| 1865 | | William McCullagh Torrens | Liberal | | Sir Andrew Lusk | Liberal |
| 1885 | constituency abolished: see Finsbury Central, Finsbury East and Holborn | constituency abolished: see Finsbury Central, Finsbury East and Holborn | constituency abolished: see Finsbury Central, Finsbury East and Holborn | constituency abolished: see Finsbury Central, Finsbury East and Holborn | constituency abolished: see Finsbury Central, Finsbury East and Holborn | constituency abolished: see Finsbury Central, Finsbury East and Holborn |

### MPs 1918–1950

The borough was a single-member constituency.
| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1918 | Martin Archer-Shee | Unionist |
| | 1923 | George Gillett | Labour |
| | 1931 | George Gillett | National Labour |
| | 1935 | George Woods | Labour |
| | 1945 | John Platts-Mills | Labour |
| | 1948 | John Platts-Mills | Labour Independent Group |
| 1950 | 1950 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Unionist | Martin Archer-Shee | 8,782 | 63.8 | |
| | Liberal | Evan Cotton | 4,981 | 36.2 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,801 | 27.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,763 | 39.5 | |
| | 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

General election 1922: Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Martin Archer-Shee | 9,382 | 44.6 | −19.2 |
| | Liberal | Harry Gilpin | 6,384 | 30.4 | −5.8 |
| | Labour | George Gillett | 4,903 | 23.3 | New |
| | Independent Labour | Christopher Roland Morden | 349 | 1.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,998 | 14.2 | −13.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 21,018 | 54.3 | +14.8 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | -6.7 | |
General election 1923: Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | George Gillett | 8,907 | 42.4 | +19.1 |
| | Unionist | Martin Archer-Shee | 7,063 | 33.6 | −11.0 |
| | Liberal | Alfred Scott | 5,054 | 24.0 | −6.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,844 | 8.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 21,024 | 53.8 | −0.5 |
| | Labour gain from Unionist | Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | +15.0 | |
General election 1924: Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | George Gillett | 12,363 | 47.0 | +4.6 |
| | Unionist | Ernest Taylor | 11,643 | 44.2 | +10.6 |
| | Liberal | Robert Shaw | 2,324 | 8.8 | −15.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 720 | 2.8 | −6.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,330 | 66.3 | +12.5 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -3.0 | |
General election 1929: Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | George Gillett | 17,970 | 56.5 | +9.5 |
| | Unionist | William Ray | 9,026 | 28.3 | −15.9 |
| | Liberal | William John Pinard | 4,855 | 15.2 | +6.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,944 | 28.2 | +25.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,851 | 66.0 | −0.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +12.7 | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National Labour | George Gillett | 17,292 | 63.1 | +6.6 |
| | Labour Co-op | Thomas Williams | 10,133 | 36.9 | −19.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,159 | 26.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,425 | 58.1 | −7.9 |
| | National Labour gain from Labour | National Labour gain from Labour | Swing | | |
General election 1935: Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | George Woods | 13,408 | 55.8 | +18.9 |
| | National Labour | George Gillett | 10,600 | 44.2 | −18.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,808 | 11.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 24,008 | 56.2 | −1.9 |
| | Labour Co-op gain from National Labour | Labour Co-op gain from National Labour | Swing | +18.9 | |
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;
* Labour: George Woods
* National Labour: Frederick Burden

### Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Platts-Mills | 9,786 | 70.8 | +15.0 |
| | Conservative | Frederick Burden | 4,029 | 29.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,757 | 41.6 | +30.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,815 | 63.9 | +7.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Finsbury (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Andrew Lusk | 16,128 | 36.5 | +4.9 |
| | Liberal | William McCullagh Torrens | 15,247 | 34.5 | +1.7 |
| | Conservative | Francis Duncan | 12,800 | 29.0 | +3.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,447 | 5.5 | −0.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,928 (est) | 64.3 (est) | +13.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 44,955 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +1.5 | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −0.1 | |

### Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Finsbury (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William McCullagh Torrens | 10,099 | 32.8 | −7.0 |
| | Liberal | Andrew Lusk | 9,713 | 31.6 | −6.2 |
| | Conservative | Charles Wilson Randolph | 7,737 | 25.2 | +6.6 |
| | Lib-Lab | Benjamin Lucraft | 3,205 | 10.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,976 | 6.4 | −12.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 18,880 (est) | 51.3 (est) | −7.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 36,804 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −5.2 | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −4.8 | |

### Elections in the 1860s

General election 1868: Finsbury (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William McCullagh Torrens | 13,159 | 39.8 | +2.5 |
| | Liberal | Andrew Lusk | 12,503 | 37.8 | +2.8 |
| | Conservative | Peter Frederick O'Malley | 6,137 | 18.6 | +14.8 |
| | Liberal | William Cox | 1,238 | 3.7 | −18.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,366 | 19.2 | +6.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 19,587 (est) | 58.3 (est) | +12.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 33,601 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −6.2 | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +10.8 | |
General election 1865: Finsbury (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William McCullagh Torrens | 8,480 | 37.3 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Andrew Lusk | 7,959 | 35.0 | N/A |
| | Liberal | William Cox | 5,100 | 22.4 | +1.0 |
| | Conservative | William Phillips | 866 | 3.8 | New |
| | Independent Liberal | Philip William Perfitt | 316 | 1.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,859 | 12.6 | −4.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,794 (est) | 46.3 (est) | −2.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 25,461 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |
By-election, 17 December 1861: Finsbury (1 seat) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Cox | 4,884 | 50.2 | +28.8 |
| | Liberal | John Remington Mills | 4,848 | 49.8 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 36 | 0.4 | −16.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,732 | 43.1 | −5.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 22,556 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |
* Caused by Duncombe's death.

### Elections in the 1850s

General election 1859: Finsbury (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Thomas Slingsby Duncombe | 8,538 | 40.1 | +0.2 |
| | Liberal | Morton Peto | 8,174 | 38.4 | N/A |
| | Liberal | William Cox | 4,556 | 21.4 | −2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,618 | 17.0 | +0.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,634 (est) | 48.4 (est) | +6.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 21,951 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1857: Finsbury (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Radical | Thomas Slingsby Duncombe | 6,922 | 39.9 | −1.3 |
| | Whig | William Cox | 4,110 | 23.7 | New |
| | Radical | John Humffreys Parry | 3,954 | 22.8 | N/A |
| | Whig | Joseph Haythorne Reed | 2,378 | 13.7 | New |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,682 (est) | 42.1 (est) | +1.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 20,626 | | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,812 | 16.2 | −12.6 |
| | Radical hold | Radical hold | Swing | N/A | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 156 | 0.9 | N/A |
| | Whig gain from Radical | Whig gain from Radical | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1852: Finsbury (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Radical | Thomas Challis | 7,504 | 46.3 | N/A |
| | Radical | Thomas Slingsby Duncombe | 6,678 | 41.2 | N/A |
| | Radical | James Wyld | 2,010 | 12.4 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,668 | 28.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,096 (est) | 40.4 (est) | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 20,025 | | |
| | Radical hold | Radical hold | Swing | N/A | |
| | Radical hold | Radical hold | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1840s

General election 1847: Finsbury (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Radical | Thomas Wakley | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Radical | Thomas Slingsby Duncombe | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 15,921 | | |
| | Radical hold | Radical hold | Radical hold | Radical hold | Radical hold |
| | Radical hold | Radical hold | Radical hold | Radical hold | Radical hold |
General election 1841: Finsbury (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Radical | Thomas Wakley | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Radical | Thomas Slingsby Duncombe | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,974 | | |
| | Radical hold | Radical hold | Radical hold | Radical hold | Radical hold |
| | Radical hold | Radical hold | Radical hold | Radical hold | Radical hold |

### Elections in the 1830s

General election 1837: Finsbury (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Radical | Thomas Wakley | 4,957 | 40.2 | +12.2 |
| | Radical | Thomas Slingsby Duncombe | 4,895 | 39.7 | +2.2 |
| | Conservative | Dudley Montague Perceval | 2,470 | 20.0 | +0.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,425 | 19.7 | +11.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,489 | 61.1 | +2.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,264 | | |
| | Radical hold | Radical hold | Swing | +6.0 | |
| | Radical hold | Radical hold | Swing | +1.0 | |
General election 1835: Finsbury (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Radical | Thomas Slingsby Duncombe | 4,497 | 37.5 | N/A |
| | Radical | Thomas Wakley | 3,359 | 28.0 | +10.6 |
| | Conservative | Robert Spankie | 2,332 | 19.4 | N/A |
| | Whig | Henry William Hobhouse | 1,817 | 15.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,027 | 8.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,003 (est) | 58.3 (est) | −12.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,299 | | |
| | Radical gain from Whig | Radical gain from Whig | Swing | | |
| | Radical gain from Whig | Radical gain from Whig | Swing | | |
By-election, 2 July 1834: Finsbury (1 seat) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Radical | Thomas Slingsby Duncombe | 2,514 | 45.7 | N/A |
| | Tory | Henry Pownall | 1,915 | 34.8 | New |
| | Radical | Thomas Wakley | 695 | 12.6 | −4.8 |
| | Whig | Charles Babbage | 379 | 6.9 | −11.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 599 | 10.9 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,503 | 59.2 | −12.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,294 | | |
| | Radical gain from Whig | Radical gain from Whig | Swing | | |
* Caused by Grant's appointment as Governor of Bombay
General election 1832: Finsbury (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Robert Grant | 4,278 | 34.6 | |
| | Whig | Robert Spankie | 2,842 | 23.0 | |
| | Whig | Charles Babbage | 2,311 | 18.7 | |
| | Radical | Thomas Wakley | 2,151 | 17.4 | |
| | Radical | Christopher Temple | 787 | 6.4 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 531 | 4.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,344 | 71.2 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,309 | | |
| | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) |
| | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) | Whig win (new seat) |