# Birkenhead East (UK Parliament constituency)

Birkenhead East was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Birkenhead area of Merseyside. 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 voting system.

## History

The constituency was created by the Representation of the People Act 1918 for the 1918 general election when the Parliamentary Borough of Birkenhead was split between the East and West Divisions.
It was abolished by the Representation of the People Act 1948 for the 1950 general election.

## Boundaries

The County Borough of Birkenhead wards of Argyle, Bebington, Clifton, Egerton, and Mersey, and the part of the borough which lay between the eastern boundary of Argyle, Mersey and Bebington wards and the centre of the bed of the River Mersey.
On abolition, southern parts (Bebington, Egerton and Mersea wards) were included in the new constituency of Bebington, and northern parts (Argyle and Clifton wards) were included in the reconstituted constituency of Birkenhead.

## Members of Parliament

| Year | Year | Member | Party |
| | 1918 | Alfred Bigland | Unionist |
| | 1922 | Graham White | Liberal |
| | 1924 | William Henry Stott | Unionist |
| | 1929 | Graham White | Liberal |
| | 1945 | Frank Soskice | Labour |
| 1950 | 1950 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results
### Election in the 1910s

General election 1918: Birkenhead East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Unionist | Alfred Bigland | 13,012 | 64.5 | |
| | Labour | John Finigan | 5,399 | 26.7 | |
| | Liberal | Graham White | 1,787 | 8.8 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,613 | 37.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 20,198 | 60.7 | |
| | 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. ||||||

### Election in the 1920s

General election 1922: Birkenhead East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Graham White | 14,690 | 57.8 | +49.0 |
| | Unionist | Alfred Bigland | 10,745 | 42.2 | −22.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,945 | 15.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,435 | 77.5 | −16.8 |
| | Liberal gain from Unionist | Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +35.7 | |
General election 1923: Birkenhead East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Graham White | 15,845 | 63.5 | +5.7 |
| | Unionist | Luke Lees | 9,091 | 36.5 | −5.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,754 | 27.0 | +11.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 24,936 | 74.1 | −3.4 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +5.7 | |
General election 1924: Birkenhead East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | William Henry Stott | 11,328 | 40.3 | +3.8 |
| | Liberal | Graham White | 9,275 | 33.0 | −30.5 |
| | Labour | James Coulthard | 7,496 | 26.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,053 | 7.3 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 20,603 | 81.0 | +6.9 |
| | Unionist gain from Liberal | Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | | |
General election 1929: Birkenhead East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Graham White | 13,157 | 35.9 | +2.9 |
| | Unionist | Edmund Brocklebank | 11,860 | 32.3 | −8.0 |
| | Labour | James Coulthard | 11,654 | 31.8 | +5.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,297 | 3.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,017 | 78.8 | −2.2 |
| | Liberal gain from Unionist | Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +5.5 | |

### Election in the 1930s

General election 1931: Birkenhead East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Graham White | 26,938 | 73.2 | +37.3 |
| | Labour | Charles McVey | 9,868 | 26.8 | −5.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,070 | 46.4 | +42.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,806 | 79.1 | +0.3 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +21.2 | |
* Conservative candidate Walter Fletcher withdrew 17 days before polling day
General election 1935: Birkenhead East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Graham White | 16,548 | 48.1 | −25.1 |
| | Conservative | S J Hill | 9,854 | 28.6 | New |
| | Labour | Mary Mercer | 8,028 | 23.3 | −3.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,694 | 19.5 | −26.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 34,430 | 74.2 | −4.9 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | | |

### Election in the 1940s

General election 1945: Birkenhead East: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Frank Soskice | 14,790 | 45.5 | +22.2 |
| | Liberal | Graham White | 10,140 | 31.1 | −17.0 |
| | Conservative | Frederick Newell Bucher | 7,624 | 23.4 | −5.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,650 | 14.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,554 | 73.6 | −0.6 |
| | Labour gain from Liberal | Labour gain from Liberal | Swing | +19.6 | |