# Portsmouth Central (UK Parliament constituency)

Portsmouth Central was a borough constituency in Portsmouth. 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 1918 general election, when the Representation of the People Act 1918 divided the two-member Portsmouth constituency into three new constituencies; North, South and Central. It was abolished for the 1950 general election.

## Boundaries

The County Borough of Portsmouth wards of Buckland, Fratton, Kingston, St Mary, and Town Hall.

## Members of parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1918 | Sir Thomas Bramsdon | Liberal |
| | 1922 | Frank Privett | Conservative |
| | 1923 | Sir Thomas Bramsdon | Liberal |
| | 1924 | Harry Foster | Conservative |
| | 1929 | Glenvil Hall | Labour |
| | 1931 | Ralph Beaumont | Conservative |
| | 1945 | Julian Snow | Labour |
| 1950 | 1950 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Portsmouth Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Thomas Bramsdon | 10,929 | 52.2 | |
| C | Unionist | William Dupree | 6,008 | 28.7 | |
| | Labour | Hugh Hinshelwood | 4,004 | 19.1 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,921 | 23.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 20,941 | 58.2 | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Portsmouth Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Frank Privett | 7,666 | 26.9 | −1.8 |
| | National Liberal | Thomas Fisher | 7,659 | 26.8 | New |
| | Liberal | Thomas Bramsdon | 7,129 | 24.9 | −27.3 |
| | Labour | Arthur Gourd | 6,126 | 21.4 | +2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7 | 0.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,580 | | |
| | Unionist gain from Liberal | Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1923: Portsmouth Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Thomas Bramsdon | 11,493 | 38.7 | +13.8 |
| | Unionist | Frank Privett | 10,231 | 34.4 | +7.5 |
| | Labour | Frank Crozier | 7,991 | 26.9 | +5.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,262 | 4.3 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,715 | 78.2 | |
| | Liberal gain from Unionist | Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +3.2 | |
General election 1924: Portsmouth Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Harry Foster | 14,028 | 46.1 | +11.7 |
| | Labour | Glenvil Hall | 10,525 | 34.5 | +7.6 |
| | Liberal | Frank Gray | 5,926 | 19.4 | −19.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,503 | 11.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,479 | 80.3 | +2.1 |
| | Unionist gain from Liberal | Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | | |
General election 1929: Portsmouth Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Glenvil Hall | 15,153 | 42.4 | +7.9 |
| | Unionist | Thomas Comyn-Platt | 13,628 | 38.1 | −8.0 |
| | Liberal | Charles Cohen | 6,993 | 19.5 | +0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,525 | 4.3 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,774 | 74.3 | −6.0 |
| | Labour gain from Unionist | Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | +7.9 | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Portsmouth Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ralph Beaumont | 24,623 | 62.9 | +24.8 |
| | Labour | Glenvil Hall | 14,512 | 37.1 | −5.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,111 | 25.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,135 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |
General election 1935: Portsmouth Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ralph Beaumont | 21,578 | 60.0 | −2.9 |
| | Labour | David Freeman | 10,733 | 29.9 | −7.2 |
| | Liberal | Ernest James Thornley | 3,612 | 10.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,845 | 30.1 | +5.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,923 | 71.1 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1940s

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 from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;
* Conservative: Ralph Beaumont
* Labour: Peter R Pain
General election 1945: Portsmouth Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Julian Snow | 14,745 | 55.3 | +25.4 |
| | Conservative | Ralph Beaumont | 11,345 | 42.6 | −17.4 |
| | Democratic | Walter R C Foster | 561 | 2.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,400 | 12.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,651 | 73.5 | +2.4 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +21.4 | |