# Stepney (UK Parliament constituency)

Stepney was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Stepney district of the East End of 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 system.

## History

The constituency existed for two separate periods:
* it was first created under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1918 general election
* from the 1950 general election until its abolition for the February 1974 general election, when it was largely replaced by the new constituency of Stepney and Poplar.

## Boundaries

The constituency was first created in 1885, as a division of the parliamentary borough of Tower Hamlets, centred on the Stepney neighbourhood in the East End of London. The area was administered as part of the Tower division of the county of Middlesex.
In 1889 there were administrative changes. The territory of the constituency was severed from Middlesex and included in the new County of London. The lower tier of local government in the area continued to be administered by parish vestries and local boards of works.
In 1900 local government in London was rationalised. The Stepney Board of Works was abolished and the civil parish of Stepney became part of a larger Metropolitan Borough of Stepney.
In the redistribution of parliamentary seats in 1918, the Metropolitan Borough was divided between three constituencies - Limehouse, Mile End and Whitechapel and St George's. The previous Stepney constituency was abolished and largely replaced by Whitechapel and St George's.
In the next major redistribution of parliamentary seats, which took effect for the 1950 United Kingdom general election, the Stepney constituency was re-created. The 1950 version of the seat comprised the whole of the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney.
In 1965 Stepney became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and Greater London. When parliamentary constituencies were next redistributed, for the February 1974 general election, the area was included in the Stepney and Poplar seat.

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

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1885 | John Charles Durant | Liberal |
| | 1886 | Frederick Wootton Isaacson | Conservative |
| | 1898 | W. C. Steadman | Liberal |
| | 1900 | William Evans-Gordon | Conservative |
| | 1907 | Frederick Leverton Harris | Conservative |
| | 1910 Dec. | William Glyn-Jones | Liberal |
| 1918 | 1918 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

### MPs 1950–1974

Constituency re-established 1950
| Election | Member | Party |
| 1950 | Walter Edwards | Labour |
| 1964 | Peter Shore | Labour |
| Feb 1974 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Stepney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Peter Shore | 18,993 | 74.8 | −1.3 |
| | Conservative | Harry Greenway | 4,922 | 19.4 | +2.8 |
| | Communist | Solly Kaye | 1,468 | 5.8 | −1.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,071 | 55.4 | −4.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,383 | 44.9 | −5.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Stepney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Peter Shore | 23,098 | 76.1 | +4.7 |
| | Conservative | Beryl Phyllis Cooper | 5,049 | 16.6 | −4.1 |
| | Communist | Solly Kaye | 2,209 | 7.3 | −0.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18,049 | 59.5 | +8.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,356 | 50.7 | −0.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1964: Stepney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Peter Shore | 22,184 | 71.4 | +0.7 |
| | Conservative | Ian F Hay Davison | 6,466 | 20.7 | −1.9 |
| | Communist | Solly Kaye | 2,454 | 7.9 | +1.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,818 | 50.7 | +2.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,104 | 51.3 | −7.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Stepney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Walter Edwards | 26,875 | 70.7 | −2.3 |
| | Conservative | P Brian Calwell | 8,566 | 22.6 | +7.5 |
| | Communist | Solly Kaye | 2,548 | 6.7 | −0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18,309 | 48.2 | −9.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,989 | 59.4 | +1.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1955: Stepney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Walter Edwards | 27,677 | 73.0 | −3.5 |
| | Conservative | Lillian F Sutton | 5,733 | 15.1 | −1.1 |
| | Communist | Solly Kaye | 2,888 | 7.6 | +0.3 |
| | Liberal | Fred Winckless | 1,615 | 4.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 21,944 | 57.9 | −2.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,913 | 57.8 | −13.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1951: Stepney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Walter Edwards | 35,849 | 76.5 | +6.5 |
| | Conservative | Martin Herbert Bernhard Solomon | 7,586 | 16.2 | +3.1 |
| | Communist | Ted Bramley | 3,436 | 7.3 | −5.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 28,263 | 60.3 | +3.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,871 | 70.9 | −1.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1950: Stepney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Walter Edwards | 33,475 | 70.0 | |
| | Conservative | Martin Herbert Bernhard Solomon | 6,238 | 13.1 | |
| | Communist | Phil Piratin | 5,991 | 12.5 | |
| | Liberal | John Henry Maynard | 2,105 | 4.4 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 27,237 | 56.9 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,809 | 72.5 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |

### Elections in the 1910s

General election December 1910: Tower Hamlets, Stepney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Glyn-Jones | 1,926 | 51.5 | +4.5 |
| | Conservative | Walter Preston | 1,812 | 48.5 | −4.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 114 | 3.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,738 | 80.3 | −4.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 4,653 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +4.5 | |
General election January 1910: Tower Hamlets, Stepney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Frederick Leverton Harris | 2,102 | 53.0 | −4.3 |
| | Liberal | William Glyn-Jones | 1,861 | 47.0 | +4.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 241 | 6.0 | −8.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,963 | 85.2 | +1.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 4,653 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −4.3 | |

### Elections in the 1900s

1907 Stepney by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Frederick Leverton Harris | 2,299 | 63.0 | +5.7 |
| | Lib-Lab | Ben Cooper | 1,350 | 37.0 | −5.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 949 | 26.0 | +11.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,649 | 64.9 | −19.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,621 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +5.7 | |
General election 1906: Tower Hamlets, Stepney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | William Evans-Gordon | 2,490 | 57.3 | −4.5 |
| | Liberal | Durham Stokes | 1,853 | 42.7 | +4.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 637 | 14.6 | −9.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,343 | 83.9 | +7.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,176 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -4.5 | |
General election 1900: Tower Hamlets, Stepney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | William Evans-Gordon | 2,783 | 61.8 | +6.2 |
| | Lib-Lab | W. C. Steadman | 1,718 | 38.2 | −6.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,065 | 23.6 | +12.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,501 | 76.6 | +6.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,878 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +6.2 | |

### Elections in the 1890s

By-election, 9 Mar 1898: Tower Hamlets, Stepney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Lib-Lab | W. C. Steadman | 2,492 | 50.2 | +5.8 |
| | Conservative | William Evans-Gordon | 2,472 | 49.8 | −5.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 20 | 0.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,964 | 77.7 | +7.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,387 | | |
| | Lib-Lab gain from Conservative | Lib-Lab gain from Conservative | Swing | +5.8 | |
General election 1895: Tower Hamlets, Stepney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Frederick Isaacson | 2,346 | 55.6 | +4.6 |
| | Liberal | Willoughby Dickinson | 1,876 | 44.4 | −4.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 470 | 11.2 | +9.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,222 | 69.8 | −4.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,048 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +4.6 | |
General election 1892: Tower Hamlets, Stepney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Frederick Isaacson | 2,292 | 51.0 | −5.3 |
| | Liberal | Benjamin Thomas Lindsay Thomson | 2,203 | 49.0 | +5.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 89 | 2.0 | −10.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,495 | 74.1 | +16.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,069 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -5.3 | |

### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1886: Tower Hamlets, Stepney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Frederick Isaacson | 2,237 | 56.3 | +6.4 |
| | Liberal | Robert Samuel Wright | 1,735 | 43.7 | −6.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 502 | 12.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,972 | 57.4 | −1.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,925 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +6.6 | |
General election 1885: Tower Hamlets, Stepney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | John Durant | 2,045 | 50.1 | |
| | Conservative | Frederick Isaacson | 2,035 | 49.9 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10 | 0.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,080 | 58.9 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,925 | | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |
The initial count for this election had Durant on 2,141 votes and Isaacson on 2,119 votes; a re-count then led to Durant on 2,052 votes and Isaacson on 2,051 votes. Further scrutiny then led to the above results.