# Limehouse (UK Parliament constituency)

Limehouse was a borough constituency centred on the Limehouse district of the East End of London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

## History

The constituency was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1950 general election.
Its most prominent MP was Labour's Clement Attlee, party leader from 1935 to 1955, and Prime Minister from 1945 to 1951.

## Boundaries

In 1885 the area was administered as part of the county of Middlesex. It was located in the Tower division, in the east of the historic county. The neighbourhood of Limehouse formed a division of the parliamentary borough of Tower Hamlets. The parliamentary division was part of the East End of London.
In 1889 the Tower division of Middlesex was severed from the county, for administrative purposes. It became part of the County of London. In 1900 the lower tier of local government in London was re-modelled. Limehouse became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney.
When a re-distribution of parliamentary seats took place in 1918, the constituency became a division of Stepney. It comprised the wards of Limehouse North, Limehouse South, Mile End Old Town North East, Mile End Old Town South East, and Ratcliffe.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1885 | Edward Samuel Norris | Conservative |
| | 1892 | John Wallace | Liberal |
| | 1895 | Harry Samuel | Conservative |
| | 1906 | William Pearce | Liberal |
| | 1922 | Clement Attlee | Labour |
| 1950 | 1950 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Tower Hamlets, Limehouse :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Edward Samuel Norris | 2,566 | 60.5 | |
| | Liberal | James George Cotton Minchin | 1,676 | 39.5 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 890 | 21.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,242 | 71.2 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,954 | | |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |
General election 1886: Tower Hamlets, Limehouse :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Edward Samuel Norris | 2,230 | 61.0 | +0.5 |
| | Liberal | Thomas Edward Scrutton | 1,428 | 39.0 | −0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 802 | 22.0 | +1.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,658 | 61.4 | −9.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,954 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +0.5 | |

### Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Tower Hamlets, Limehouse :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | John Stewart Wallace | 2,475 | 51.8 | +12.8 |
| | Conservative | Harry Samuel | 2,305 | 48.2 | −12.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 170 | 3.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,780 | 74.0 | +12.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,456 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +12.8 | |
General election 1895: Tower Hamlets, Limehouse :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Harry Samuel | 2,661 | 56.2 | +8.0 |
| | Lib-Lab | William Marcus Thompson | 2,071 | 43.8 | −8.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 590 | 12.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,732 | 75.0 | +1.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,309 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +8.0 | |

### Elections in the 1900s (decade)

General election 1900: Tower Hamlets, Limehouse :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Harry Samuel | 2,608 | 55.8 | −0.4 |
| | Liberal | William Pearce | 2,070 | 44.2 | +0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 538 | 11.6 | −0.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,678 | 68.4 | −6.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,835 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −0.4 | |
General election 1906: Tower Hamlets, Limehouse :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Pearce | 2,981 | 59.8 | +15.6 |
| | Conservative | Harry Samuel | 2,007 | 40.2 | −15.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 974 | 19.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,988 | 80.0 | +11.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,234 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +15.6 | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Tower Hamlets, Limehouse :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Pearce | 2,826 | 54.1 | −5.7 |
| | Conservative | George Borwick | 2,395 | 45.9 | +5.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 431 | 8.2 | −11.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,221 | 81.5 | +1.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,405 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | -5.7 | |
General election December 1910: Tower Hamlets, Limehouse :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Pearce | 2,557 | 54.6 | +0.5 |
| | Conservative | Patrick Rose-Innes | 2,126 | 45.4 | −0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 431 | 9.2 | +1.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,683 | 73.1 | −8.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,405 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +0.5 | |
General election 1918: Stepney, Limehouse :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Liberal | William Pearce | 5,860 | 59.9 | +5.3 |
| | Labour | D. D. Sheehan | 2,470 | 25.2 | New |
| | National | Charles Herbert Roswell | 1,455 | 14.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,390 | 34.7 | +25.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,275 | 33.4 | −39.7 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Limehouse :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Clement Attlee | 9,688 | 55.4 | +30.2 |
| | National Liberal | William Pearce | 7,789 | 44.6 | −15.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,899 | 10.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 17,477 | 57.8 | +24.4 |
| | Labour gain from National Liberal | Labour gain from National Liberal | Swing | +22.7 | |
General election 1923: Limehouse :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Clement Attlee | 11,473 | 68.5 | +13.1 |
| | Unionist | Thomas Miller-Jones | 5,288 | 31.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,185 | 37.0 | +26.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,452 | 55.0 | −2.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1924: Stepney, Limehouse :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Clement Attlee | 11,713 | 57.7 | −8.8 |
| | Unionist | Thomas Miller-Jones | 5,692 | 28.1 | −3.4 |
| | Liberal | Henry Bryant Marks | 2,869 | 14.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,021 | 29.6 | −7.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,927 | 65.6 | +10.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -3.7 | |
General election 1929: Limehouse :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Clement Attlee | 13,872 | 55.9 | −1.8 |
| | Unionist | Evan Morgan | 6,584 | 26.5 | −1.6 |
| | Liberal | Jasper Addis | 4,116 | 16.6 | +2.4 |
| | Communist | Wally Tapsell | 245 | 1.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,288 | 29.4 | −0.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,440 | 64.6 | −1.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -0.1 | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Stepney, Limehouse :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Clement Attlee | 11,354 | 50.5 | −5.4 |
| | Conservative | R. Girouard | 10,803 | 48.1 | +21.6 |
| | New Party | Herbert L. Hodge | 307 | 1.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 551 | 2.4 | −27.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,682 | 58.1 | −6.5 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -13.5 | |
General election 1935: Stepney, Limehouse :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Clement Attlee | 14,600 | 66.5 | +16.0 |
| | Conservative | Charles John Busby | 7,355 | 33.5 | −14.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,245 | 33.0 | +30.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,020 | 59.3 | +1.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +15.3 | |

### Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Stepney, Limehouse :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Clement Attlee | 8,398 | 83.8 | +17.3 |
| | Conservative | Alfred N Peter Woodard | 1,618 | 16.2 | −17.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,780 | 67.6 | +34.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 16,367 | 61.2 | +1.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +17.3 | |