# Mitcham (UK Parliament constituency)

Mitcham was a constituency comprising the emerging Mitcham, Wallington and Beddington suburbs of South London and until 1945 that of Carshalton, its largest of the area's four traditional divisions, in its south-west. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the first past the post system.
It was created for the 1918 general election from part of Wimbledon when it reached southwards up onto the North Downs, further south than Croydon South, and was abolished for the February 1974 general election.
Two of its MPs became Home Secretary, one after changing seat of candidature, on boundary reforms.

## Boundaries

1918–1945: The Urban Districts of Beddington and Wallington, Carshalton, and Mitcham (the latter as a northern end).
1945–1974: The Boroughs of Beddington and Wallington, and Mitcham (the latter as a northern end).

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party | Notes |
| 1918 | Thomas Worsfold | Conservative | Resigned 1923 |
| 1923 by-election | James Chuter Ede | Labour | Subsequently, MP for South Shields; Home Secretary 1945–51; Leader of the House of Commons 1951 |
| 1923 | Richard Meller | Conservative | Died 1940 |
| 1940 by-election | Malcolm Robertson | Conservative |
| 1945 | Tom Braddock | Labour |
| 1950 | Robert Carr | Conservative | Leader of the House of Commons 1972; Home Secretary 1972–74; subsequently MP for Carshalton |
February 1974: constituency abolished: see Mitcham and Morden

## Election results
### 1970s

General election 1970: Mitcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Robert Carr | 27,257 | 54.58 | +8.85 |
| | Labour | Reginald C Vincent | 22,047 | 44.15 | −0.59 |
| | Communist | Sid French | 638 | 1.28 | +0.19 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,210 | 10.43 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,942 | 68.76 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +4.72 | |

### 1960s

General election 1966: Mitcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Robert Carr | 24,234 | 45.73 |
| | Labour | Thomas J Higgs | 23,706 | 44.74 |
| | Liberal | Ross C Burgess | 4,470 | 8.44 |
| | Communist | Sid French | 580 | 1.09 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 528 | 0.99 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,990 | 79.43 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
General election 1964: Mitcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Robert Carr | 25,087 | 46.61 | |
| | Labour | Roger Charles Mackay | 21,175 | 39.34 | |
| | Liberal | William Antony Heath | 6,902 | 12.82 | |
| | Communist | Sid French | 657 | 1.22 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,912 | 7.27 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,821 | 79.19 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### 1950s

General election 1959: Mitcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Robert Carr | 33,661 | 58.53 |
| | Labour Co-op | Eric JC Smythe | 23,845 | 41.47 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,816 | 17.06 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 57,506 | 81.61 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
General election 1955: Mitcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Robert Carr | 32,798 | 56.54 |
| | Labour | Hugh Jenkins | 25,208 | 43.46 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,590 | 13.08 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 58,006 | 80.53 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
General election 1951: Mitcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Robert Carr | 34,056 | 54.71 |
| | Labour | Harry Randall | 28,187 | 45.29 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,869 | 9.42 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 62,243 | 84.60 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
General election 1950: Mitcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Robert Carr | 31,881 | 50.77 | |
| | Labour | Tom Braddock | 27,055 | 43.08 | |
| | Liberal | Doreen L Page | 3,864 | 6.15 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,826 | 7.69 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 62,800 | 85.84 | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### 1940s

General election 1945: Mitcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Tom Braddock | 26,910 | 57.68 | |
| | Conservative | Malcolm Robertson | 19,742 | 42.32 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,168 | 15.36 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,652 | 73.58 | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
1940 Mitcham by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Malcolm Robertson | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### 1930s

General election 1935: Mitcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Richard Meller | 35,239 | 57.46 |
| | Labour | Paul Winterton | 26,087 | 42.54 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,152 | 14.92 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 61,326 | 66.74 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
General election 1931: Mitcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Richard Meller | 38,948 | 76.26 |
| | Labour | W Graham | 12,124 | 23.74 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 26,824 | 52.52 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,072 | 69.97 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### 1920s

General election 1929: Mitcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Richard Meller | 20,254 | 47.9 | −14.1 |
| | Labour | Skene Mackay | 13,057 | 30.8 | −7.2 |
| | Liberal | Raymond V. Jones | 9,016 | 21.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,197 | 17.1 | −6.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,327 | 70.2 | −4.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 60,311 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | −3.5 | |
General election 1924: Mitcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Richard Meller | 15,984 | 62.0 | +9.7 |
| | Labour | James Chuter Ede | 9,776 | 38.0 | −9.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,208 | 24.0 | +19.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,760 | 74.8 | +11.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 34,435 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | +9.7 | |
General election 1923: Mitcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Richard Meller | 10,829 | 52.3 | −12.7 |
| | Labour | James Chuter Ede | 9,877 | 47.7 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 952 | 4.6 | −25.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 20,706 | 63.2 | +10.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 32,755 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | −12.7 | |
By-election 1923: Mitcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | James Chuter Ede | 8,029 | 38.0 | New |
| | Unionist | Arthur Griffith-Boscawen | 7,196 | 34.1 | −30.9 |
| | Liberal | Ernest Brown | 3,214 | 15.2 | −19.8 |
| | Independent | J.T. Catterall | 2,684 | 12.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 833 | 3.9 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 21,123 | 66.2 | +13.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 31,927 | | |
| | Labour gain from Unionist | Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1922: Mitcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Thomas Worsfold | 10,934 | 65.0 | +4.4 |
| | Liberal | A.E. Bennetts | 5,898 | 35.0 | −4.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,036 | 30.0 | +8.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 16,832 | 52.7 | +9.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 31,927 | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | +4.4 | |

### 1910s

General election 1918: Mitcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Unionist | Thomas Worsfold | 7,651 | 60.6 | |
| | Liberal | Samuel Barrow | 4,968 | 39.4 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,683 | 21.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,619 | 43.6 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 28,952 | | |
| | 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. ||||||