# Hanley (UK Parliament constituency)

Hanley was a borough constituency in Staffordshire which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom between 1885 and 1950. Elections were held using the first past the post voting system.

## History

The constituency was created for the 1885 general election. Before this, since 1832 a parliamentary borough of Stoke-upon-Trent had existed, covering almost the whole of what is now the Stoke-on-Trent conurbation and electing two MPs. In 1885, this was split into two constituencies electing a single member each, Stoke-upon-Trent in the south and Hanley in the north. Hanley became a parliamentary borough in its own right, and shortly afterwards also became a county borough.
The Hanley constituency in the 1885 to 1918 period included Burslem, as well as Hanley itself, and was one of the most populous urban constituencies in the country, with more than 100,000 inhabitants by the time of the First World War. Its main economic base was pottery, though both towns included substantial numbers of coal miners as well as pottery workers. Predominantly working class, it could be normally be considered a safe Liberal seat; however, the Conservatives managed a narrow victory as part of their national landslide in 1900, perhaps helped by lack of enthusiasm among the potters for the Liberal candidate, Enoch Edwards, who was one of the leaders of the miners' union. Edwards convincingly recaptured the seat in 1906, and with the rest of his union joined the Labour Party in 1909. At the by-election after his death, however, the Liberals regained the seat, with the Labour candidate a poor third.
By the time of the general election of 1918, the county borough of Hanley had been absorbed into an enlarged county borough of Stoke-on-Trent, and in the boundary changes implemented in that year the same process took place at parliamentary level. The new parliamentary borough of Stoke-on-Trent was accorded three seats in place of the two which the area had had since 1885, and was divided into three single-member constituencies, of which Stoke-on-Trent, Hanley was one. The new division was smaller than the old constituency, Burslem now having a seat of its own, and quickly became a safe Labour seat, though the Conservatives won it in their landslide year of 1931.
Hanley was abolished for the 1950 general election, being largely replaced by the new Stoke-on-Trent Central constituency.

## Boundaries

1885–1918: The municipal boroughs of Hanley and Burslem, and so much of the parliamentary borough of Stoke-upon-Trent as lay to the north of Hanley, and was not included in the local government district of Tunstall.
1918-1950: The County Borough of Stoke-on-Trent wards numbers nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1885 | William Woodall | Liberal |
| | 1900 | Arthur Heath | Conservative |
| | 1906 | Enoch Edwards | Lib-Lab |
| | 1909 | Enoch Edwards | Labour |
| | 1912 by-election | R. L. Outhwaite | Liberal |
| | 1918 | James Andrew Seddon | Coalition NDP |
| | 1922 | Myles Harper Parker | Labour |
| | 1924 | Samuel Clowes | Labour |
| | 1928 by-election | Arthur Hollins | Labour |
| | 1931 | Harold Hales | Conservative |
| | 1935 | Arthur Hollins | Labour |
| | 1945 | Barnett Stross | Labour |
| 1950 | 1950 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Hanley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Woodall | 6,136 | 69.1 | |
| | Conservative | Francis Vers Wright | 2,739 | 30.9 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,397 | 38.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,875 | 80.9 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,970 | | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |
General election 1886: Hanley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Woodall | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |

### Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Hanley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Woodall | 5,825 | 59.3 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Arthur Heath | 3,993 | 40.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,832 | 18.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,818 | 77.1 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,742 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1895: Hanley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Woodall | 5,653 | 51.3 | −8.0 |
| | Conservative | Arthur Heath | 5,367 | 48.7 | +8.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 286 | 2.6 | −16.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,020 | 85.4 | +8.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,897 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −8.0 | |

### Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Hanley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Arthur Heath | 6,586 | 52.6 | +3.9 |
| | Lib-Lab | Enoch Edwards | 5,944 | 47.4 | −3.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 642 | 5.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,530 | 78.4 | −7.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 15,983 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +3.9 | |
General election 1906: Hanley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Lib-Lab | Enoch Edwards | 9,183 | 68.2 | +20.8 |
| | Conservative | Arthur Heath | 4,287 | 31.8 | −20.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,896 | 36.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,470 | 83.4 | +5.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 16,156 | | |
| | Lib-Lab gain from Conservative | Lib-Lab gain from Conservative | Swing | +20.8 | |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Hanley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Enoch Edwards | 9,199 | 63.9 | −4.3 |
| | Conservative | George Herman Rittner | 5,202 | 36.1 | +4.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,997 | 27.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 14,401 | 87.1 | +3.7 |
| | Labour gain from Lib-Lab | Labour gain from Lib-Lab | Swing | -4.3 | |
General election December 1910: Hanley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Enoch Edwards | 8,343 | 64.2 | +0.3 |
| | Conservative | George Herman Rittner | 4,658 | 35.8 | −0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,685 | 28.4 | +0.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,001 | 78.6 | −8.5 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.3 | |
1912 Hanley by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | R. L. Outhwaite | 6,647 | 46.4 | New |
| | Conservative | George Herman Rittner | 5,993 | 41.8 | +6.0 |
| | Labour | Samuel Finney | 1,694 | 11.8 | −52.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 654 | 4.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 14,334 | 85.1 | +6.5 |
| | Liberal gain from Labour | Liberal gain from Labour | Swing | | |
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. Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place.
* Liberal Party: R. L. Outhwaite
* Labour Party: Myles Parker
* Unionist Party: George Herman Rittner
General election 14 December 1918: Hanley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | National Democratic | James Seddon | 8,032 | 40.4 | New |
| | Labour | Myles Parker | 7,697 | 38.7 | −35.5 |
| | Independent Liberal | R. L. Outhwaite | 2,703 | 13.6 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Leonard Lumsden Grimwade | 1,459 | 7.3 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 335 | 1.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 19,891 | 58.9 | −19.7 |
| | National Democratic gain from Liberal | National Democratic gain from Liberal | Swing | | |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Hanley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Myles Parker | 10,742 | 48.8 | +10.1 |
| | National Liberal | James Seddon | 6,312 | 28.7 | −11.7 |
| | Liberal | John Howard Whitehouse | 4,942 | 22.5 | +15.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,430 | 20.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 21,996 | 67.4 | +8.5 |
| | Labour gain from National Democratic | Labour gain from National Democratic | Swing | +10.9 | |
General election 1923: Hanley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Myles Parker | 11,508 | 53.3 | +4.5 |
| | Unionist | James Seddon | 5,817 | 26.9 | −1.8 |
| | Liberal | Ada Rowley Moody | 4,268 | 19.8 | −2.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,691 | 26.4 | +6.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 21,593 | 63.7 | −3.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.1 | |
General election 1924: Hanley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Samuel Clowes | 13,527 | 53.0 | −0.3 |
| | Unionist | Frank Collis | 11,976 | 47.0 | +20.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,554 | 6.0 | −20.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,503 | 73.5 | +9.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -10.2 | |
1928 Hanley by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Arthur Hollins | 15,136 | 60.2 | +7.2 |
| | Unionist | Alfred Denville | 6,604 | 26.3 | −20.7 |
| | Liberal | Walter Meakin | 3,390 | 13.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,532 | 33.9 | +27.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,130 | 69.9 | −3.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +14.0 | |
General election 1929: Hanley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Arthur Hollins | 20,785 | 62.1 | +1.9 |
| | Unionist | Eric Errington | 9,022 | 26.9 | +0.6 |
| | Liberal | Charles White | 3,696 | 11.0 | −2.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,763 | 35.2 | +1.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,503 | 72.5 | +2.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.6 | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Hanley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Harold Hales | 18,262 | 53.01 | |
| | Labour | Arthur Hollins | 15,245 | 44.25 | |
| | Commonwealth Land Party | J. W. Graham Peace | 946 | 2.75 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,017 | 8.76 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 34,453 | 72.64 | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |
General election 1935: Hanley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Arthur Hollins | 17,211 | 52.01 |
| | Conservative | Harold Hales | 15,880 | 47.99 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,331 | 4.02 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,091 | 69.79 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | |
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 and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;
* Labour: Barnett Stross
* Liberal National: Frederick L Boult

### Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Hanley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Barnett Stross | 21,915 | 68.00 |
| | Conservative | JPAL Doran | 10,313 | 32.00 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,602 | 36.00 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,228 | 73.64 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |