# Elland (UK Parliament constituency)

53°41′31″N 1°48′11″W﻿ / ﻿53.692°N 1.803°W﻿ / 53.692; -1.803
Elland was a parliamentary constituency in the West Riding of Yorkshire that existed between 1885 and 1950. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, by the first-past-the-post voting system.
Situated between Bradford in the North, Halifax in the West, and Huddersfield to the south, it included the mining town of Brighouse and the wool centre of Elland. With a sizeable Nonconformist population (estimated at 15 per cent in 1922), it was natural Liberal territory, and was a fairly safe Liberal and later Labour seat, falling to the Conservatives only in the 'khaki election' of 1918 and the Labour collapse of 1931. In the 1918 redistribution it lost some territory and it was abolished in 1950. A sizeable part of the area was transferred to the new Brighouse and Spenborough seat.

## Boundaries

1885–1918:
1918–1950: The Municipal Borough of Brighouse, the Urban Districts of Clayton, Elland, Greetland, Hipperholme, Queensberry, Shelf, Southowram, and Stainland, and the Rural District of Halifax except the parish of Norland.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1885 | Thomas Wayman | Liberal |
| | 1899 by-election | Charles Trevelyan | Liberal |
| | 1918 | George Taylor Ramsden | Unionist |
| | 1922 | William C. Robinson | Labour |
| | 1923 | Sir Robert Kay | Liberal |
| | 1924 | William C. Robinson | Labour |
| | 1929 | Charles Buxton | Labour |
| | 1931 | Thomas Levy | Conservative |
| | 1945 | Frederick Cobb | Labour |
| 1950 | 1950 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Elland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Thomas Wayman | 6,516 | 65.3 | |
| | Conservative | Carne Rasch | 3,457 | 34.7 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,059 | 30.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,973 | 84.2 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,851 | | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |
General election 1886: Elland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Thomas Wayman | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |

### Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Elland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Thomas Wayman | 5,497 | 59.9 | N/A |
| | Conservative | James Hope | 3,676 | 40.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,821 | 19.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,173 | 68.3 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 13,437 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1895: Elland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Thomas Wayman | 5,387 | 51.5 | −8.4 |
| | Conservative | Arthur Travis Clay | 5,081 | 48.5 | +8.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 306 | 3.0 | −16.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,468 | 83.6 | +15.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,526 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | -8.4 | |
1899 Elland by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Charles Trevelyan | 6,041 | 54.4 | +2.9 |
| | Conservative | Philip Foster | 5,057 | 45.6 | −2.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 984 | 8.8 | +5.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,098 | 85.9 | +2.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,926 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +2.9 | |

### Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Elland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Charles Trevelyan | 6,154 | 57.7 | +6.2 |
| | Conservative | Edward Coates | 4,512 | 42.3 | −6.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,642 | 15.4 | +12.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,666 | 81.1 | −2.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 13,146 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +6.2 | |
General election 1906: Elland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Charles Trevelyan | 7,609 | 65.8 | +8.1 |
| | Conservative | Thomas Brooke-Hitching | 3,962 | 34.2 | −8.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,647 | 31.6 | +16.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,571 | 83.7 | +2.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 13,828 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +8.1 | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Elland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Charles Trevelyan | 7,469 | 61.4 | −4.4 |
| | Conservative | George Taylor Ramsden | 4,686 | 38.6 | +4.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,783 | 22.8 | −8.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,155 | 87.1 | +3.4 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | -4.4 | |
General election December 1910: Elland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Charles Trevelyan | 6,613 | 59.2 | −2.2 |
| | Conservative | George Taylor Ramsden | 4,549 | 40.8 | +2.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,064 | 18.4 | −4.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,162 | 80.0 | −7.1 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | -2.2 | |
General Election 1914–15:
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
* Liberal: Charles Trevelyan
* Unionist: George Taylor Ramsden
General election 1918: Elland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Unionist | George Taylor Ramsden | 8,917 | 38.4 | −2.4 |
| | Liberal | Harry Dawson | 7,028 | 30.4 | −28.8 |
| | Labour | Dennis Hardaker | 5,923 | 25.6 | New |
| | Independent Labour | Charles Trevelyan | 1,286 | 5.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,889 | 8.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,154 | 67.0 | −13.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 34,584 | | |
| | Unionist gain from Liberal | Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | +13.2 | |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Elland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | William C. Robinson | 10,590 | 36.8 | +11.2 |
| | National Liberal | Robert Kay | 10,160 | 35.3 | +4.9 |
| | Unionist | George Taylor Ramsden | 8,039 | 27.9 | −10.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 430 | 1.5 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,789 | 81.9 | +14.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 35,145 | | |
| | Labour gain from Unionist | Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | +3.2 | |
General election 1923: Elland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Robert Kay | 12,476 | 50.9 | +15.6 |
| | Labour | William C. Robinson | 12,031 | 49.1 | +12.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 445 | 1.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 24,507 | 70.0 | −11.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 35,008 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Labour | Liberal gain from Labour | Swing | +1.7 | |
General election 1924: Elland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | William C. Robinson | 11,690 | 39.5 | −9.6 |
| | Unionist | Albert Braithwaite | 11,202 | 37.8 | New |
| | Liberal | Robert Kay | 6,713 | 22.7 | −28.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 488 | 1.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,605 | 84.1 | +14.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 35,214 | | |
| | Labour gain from Liberal | Labour gain from Liberal | Swing | +9.3 | |
General election 1929: Elland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Charles Buxton | 17,012 | 43.7 | +4.2 |
| | Unionist | Sam Howard | 11,150 | 28.7 | −9.1 |
| | Liberal | William Haughton Sessions | 10,734 | 27.6 | +4.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,862 | 15.0 | +13.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,896 | 83.6 | −0.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 46,499 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +6.7 | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Elland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Thomas Levy | 25,378 | 65.2 | +36.5 |
| | Labour | Charles Buxton | 13,563 | 34.8 | −8.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,815 | 30.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,941 | 82.5 | −1.1 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +22.7 | |
General election 1935: Elland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Thomas Levy | 19,498 | 52.2 | −13.0 |
| | Labour | Charles Buxton | 17,856 | 47.8 | +13.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,642 | 4.4 | −26.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,454 | 77.2 | −5.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -13.0 | |

### 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: Thomas Levy
* Labour: Gilbert Mitchison
General election 1945: Elland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Frederick Cobb | 19,632 | 50.3 | +2.5 |
| | Conservative | Thomas Levy | 11,570 | 29.7 | −22.5 |
| | Liberal | John Wilson | 7,805 | 20.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,062 | 20.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,007 | 79.9 | +2.7 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +12.5 | |