# West Ham North (UK Parliament constituency)

West Ham North was a borough constituency in the County Borough of West Ham, in what was then Essex but is now Greater London. 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 under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1918 general election.
It was re-established for the 1950 general election, and abolished again for the February 1974 general election.

## Boundaries
### 1885–1918

The 1885 act created a new parliamentary borough of West Ham which was divided into two single-member divisions. West Ham, North Division consisted of the part of the Local Government District of West Ham north of a boundary formed by a number of railway lines and roads, described as follows:
   From a point where the north side of the present London and Tilbury Railway crosses the west boundary of West Ham Parish; thence in a north-easterly direction along the north side of the said railway to a point where the east side of the present North Woolwich Branch of the Great Eastern Railway crosses it; thence in a northerly direction along the east side of the last-mentioned railway to a point opposite the centre of Abbey Road; thence in a north-easterly and easterly direction along the centres of Abbey Road, Church Street North, Portway, and Plashet Lane to the eastern boundary of West Ham Parish.

### 1950–1974

West Ham North Borough Constituency was created by the Representation of the People Act 1948, and was first contested at the 1950 general election. The seat was defined as consisting of eight wards of the County Borough of West Ham: Broadway, Forest Gate, High Street, Newtown, Park, Plashet Road, Upton and West Ham.

## Members of Parliament
### MPs 1885–1918

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1885 | Edward Rider Cook | Liberal |
| 1886 | Forrest Fulton | Conservative |
| 1892 | Archibald Grove | Liberal |
| 1895 | Ernest Gray | Conservative |
| 1906 | Charles Masterman | Liberal |
| 1911 by-election | Maurice de Forest | Liberal |
| 1918 | constituency abolished: see Stratford and Upton | constituency abolished: see Stratford and Upton |

### MPs 1950–1974

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| 1950 | 1950 | constituency recreated | constituency recreated |
| | 1950 | Arthur Lewis | Labour |
| | Feb 1974 | constituency abolished: see Newham North West and Newham North East | constituency abolished: see Newham North West and Newham North East |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: West Ham North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Edward Rider Cook | 4,219 | 54.7 | |
| | Conservative | Forrest Fulton | 3,500 | 45.3 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 719 | 9.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,719 | 77.0 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,026 | | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |
General election 1886: West Ham North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Forrest Fulton | 3,920 | 55.1 | +9.8 |
| | Liberal | Edward Rider Cook | 3,193 | 44.9 | −9.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 727 | 10.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,114 | 70.9 | −6.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,026 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +9.8 | |

### Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: West Ham North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Archibald Grove | 4,976 | 50.2 | +5.3 |
| | Conservative | Forrest Fulton | 4,943 | 49.8 | −5.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 33 | 0.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,919 | 74.4 | +3.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 13,334 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +5.3 | |
General election 1895: West Ham North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ernest Gray | 5,635 | 53.3 | +3.5 |
| | Liberal | Archibald Grove | 4,931 | 46.7 | −3.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 704 | 6.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,566 | 73.9 | −0.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 14,294 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +3.5 | |

### Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: West Ham North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ernest Gray | 6,613 | 61.5 | +8.2 |
| | Liberal | John Bethell | 4,133 | 38.5 | −8.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,480 | 23.0 | +16.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,746 | 67.8 | −6.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 15,844 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +8.2 | |
General election 1906: West Ham North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Charles Masterman | 6,838 | 57.3 | +18.8 |
| | Conservative | Ernest Gray | 5,094 | 42.7 | −18.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,744 | 14.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,932 | 79.0 | +11.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 15,101 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +18.8 | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: West Ham North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Charles Masterman | 7,023 | 53.4 | −3.9 |
| | Conservative | Ernest Gray | 6,133 | 46.6 | +3.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 890 | 6.8 | −7.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,156 | 84.0 | +5.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 15,661 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −3.9 | |
General election December 1910: West Ham North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Charles Masterman | 6,657 | 53.6 | +0.2 |
| | Conservative | Ernest Wild | 5,760 | 46.4 | −0.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 897 | 7.2 | +0.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,417 | 79.3 | −4.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 15,661 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +0.2 | |
1911 West Ham North by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Maurice de Forest | 6,807 | 54.1 | +0.5 |
| | Conservative | Ernest Wild | 5,776 | 45.9 | −0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,031 | 8.2 | +1.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,583 | 76.2 | −3.1 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +0.5 | |
General Election 1914–15:
A General Election was due to take place by the end of 1915. By the autumn of 1914, the following candidates had been adopted to contest that election.
* Liberal: Maurice de Forest
* Unionist: Ernest Wild
Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place.

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: West Ham North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Arthur Lewis | 33,782 | 68.58 | |
| | Conservative | Redvers Prior | 12,623 | 25.63 | |
| | Liberal | Richard Leslie Phillips | 2,349 | 4.77 | |
| | Christian Democrat | G. W. Dickinson | 503 | 1.02 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 21,159 | 42.95 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,257 | 77.83 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 63,288 | | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
General election 1951: West Ham North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Arthur Lewis | 34,156 | 70.45 | +1.87 |
| | Conservative | James A. Erskine-Shaw | 14,328 | 29.55 | +3.92 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19,828 | 40.90 | −2.06 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,484 | 76.57 | −1.26 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 63,318 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -1.03 | |
General election 1955: West Ham North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Arthur Lewis | 27,249 | 65.89 | −4.56 |
| | Conservative | Muriel Bowen | 10,712 | 25.90 | −3.65 |
| | Liberal | David John Howard Penwarden | 3,393 | 8.20 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,537 | 39.99 | −0.91 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,354 | 67.41 | −9.16 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 61,346 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -4.11 | |
General election 1959: West Ham North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Arthur Lewis | 24,096 | 59.2 | −6.66 |
| | Conservative | J. Guy Jones | 9,318 | 22.90 | −3.00 |
| | Liberal | David S. Brooke | 7,271 | 17.9 | +9.67 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,778 | 43.99 | +4.00 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,685 | 70.36 | +2.95 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 57,828 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -1.83 | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: West Ham North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Arthur Lewis | 21,228 | 60.52 | −5.37 |
| | Liberal | Jean Pilkington | 7,005 | 19.97 | +11.77 |
| | Conservative | Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler | 6,844 | 19.51 | −3.39 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,223 | 40.55 | −3.44 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,077 | 62.83 | −7.53 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 55,824 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -8.57 | |
General election 1966: West Ham North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Arthur Lewis | 21,778 | 65.62 | +5.10 |
| | Liberal | Jean Pilkington | 5,882 | 17.72 | −2.25 |
| | Conservative | William J Shearman | 5,527 | 16.65 | −2.86 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,896 | 47.90 | +7.35 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,187 | 61.83 | −1.00 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 53,672 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.68 | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: West Ham North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Arthur Lewis | 17,664 | 63.17 | −2.45 |
| | Conservative | William J Shearman | 7,130 | 25.50 | +8.85 |
| | Liberal | Brian McCarthy | 3,167 | 11.33 | −6.39 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,534 | 37.67 | −10.23 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,961 | 50.32 | −11.51 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 55,565 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -5.65 | |