# Willesden East (UK Parliament constituency)

Willesden East (/wɪlzdən/) was a constituency in Middlesex adjoining the County of London and forming part of the London conurbation, in London itself from 1965. It returned one member to the House of Commons of the UK Parliament 1918 – 1974.
The outcome of the seat was a bellwether of the national outcome from 1931 until its abolition. Before 1945 the seats electorate had not elected any Labour candidate, however had sided overall with the Liberal candidate once, in 1923, in a by-election.

## Boundaries

1918–1950: The Urban District of Willesden wards of Brondesbury Park, Cricklewood, Kensal Rise, Mid Kilburn, North Kilburn, and South Kilburn.
1950–1974: The Municipal Borough of Willesden wards of Brondesbury Park, Carlton, Cricklewood, Kilburn, Mapesbury, and Neasden.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1918 | Sir Harry Mallaby-Deeley | Conservative |
| 1923 by-election | Harcourt Johnstone | Liberal |
| 1924 | George Stanley | Conservative |
| 1929 | Daniel Somerville | Conservative |
| 1938 by-election | Samuel Hammersley | Conservative |
| 1945 | Maurice Orbach | Labour |
| 1959 | Trevor Skeet | Conservative |
| 1964 | Reg Freeson | Labour |
| Feb 1974 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Willesden East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Unionist | Harry Mallaby-Deeley | 12,044 | 61.0 | |
| | Labour | Henry James Lincoln | 4,941 | 25.0 | |
| | Liberal | Herbert John Doree | 2,757 | 14.0 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,103 | 36.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 19,742 | 50.9 | |
| | 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. ||||||

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Willesden East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Harry Mallaby-Deeley | 12,525 | 52.8 | −8.2 |
| | Liberal | Harcourt Johnstone | 11,211 | 47.2 | +33.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,314 | 5.6 | −31.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,736 | 58.4 | +7.5 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | -20.7 | |
1923 Willesden East by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Harcourt Johnstone | 14,824 | 60.6 | +13.4 |
| | Unionist | George Stanley | 9,648 | 39.4 | −13.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,176 | 21.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 24,472 | 60.2 | +1.8 |
| | Liberal gain from Unionist | Liberal gain from Unionist | Swing | +13.4 | |
General election 1923: Willesden East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Harcourt Johnstone | 11,260 | 40.5 | −6.7 |
| | Unionist | George Stanley | 11,146 | 40.1 | −12.7 |
| | Labour | Joseph George Butler | 5,392 | 19.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 114 | 0.4 | −5.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,798 | 68.1 | +9.7 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | | |
General election 1924: Willesden East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | George Stanley | 15,965 | 50.2 | +10.1 |
| | Liberal | Harcourt Johnstone | 7,992 | 25.1 | −15.4 |
| | Labour | William Davies Lloyd | 7,860 | 24.7 | +5.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,973 | 25.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,817 | 76.0 | +7.9 |
| | Unionist gain from Liberal | Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | +12.7 | |
General election 1929: Willesden East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Daniel Somerville | 17,090 | 40.4 | −9.8 |
| | Labour | William Davies Lloyd | 13,977 | 33.1 | +8.4 |
| | Liberal | Maurice Gordon Liverman | 11,190 | 26.5 | +1.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,113 | 7.3 | −17.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,257 | 69.3 | −6.7 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | -9.1 | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Willesden East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Daniel Somerville | 28,993 | 62.1 | +21.7 |
| | Labour | William Davies Lloyd | 10,010 | 21.4 | −11.7 |
| | Liberal | Joseph Samuel Bridges | 7,684 | 16.5 | −10.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18,983 | 40.7 | +33.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,687 | 68.3 | −1.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +16.7 | |
General election 1935: Willesden East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Daniel Somerville | 25,613 | 57.7 | −4.4 |
| | Labour | Maurice Orbach | 15,523 | 35.0 | +13.6 |
| | Liberal | Nancy Stewart Parnell | 3,217 | 7.3 | −9.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,090 | 22.7 | −18.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,353 | 62.0 | −6.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -9.0 | |
1938 Willesden East by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Samuel Hammersley | 16,009 | 56.6 | −1.1 |
| | Labour | Maurice Orbach | 12,278 | 43.4 | +8.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,731 | 13.2 | −9.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,353 | 39.3 | −22.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -4.7 | |

### 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: Samuel Hammersley
* Labour: Maurice Orbach
* Liberal: Arthur Shenfield
General election 1945: Willesden East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Maurice Orbach | 23,457 | 53.00 | +9.60 |
| | Conservative | Samuel Hammersley | 14,027 | 31.70 | −14.90 |
| | Liberal | RLR Morgan | 6,771 | 15.30 | +8.00 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,430 | 21.30 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,255 | 72.69 | +33.39 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 60,882 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +12.25 | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Willesden East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Maurice Orbach | 24,345 | 47.13 | −5.87 |
| | Conservative | Samuel Hammersley | 21,004 | 40.66 | +8.96 |
| | Liberal | Walter John Done | 6,310 | 12.21 | −3.09 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,341 | 6.47 | −14.84 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,659 | 82.53 | +9.84 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 62,596 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -7.42 | |
General election 1951: Willesden East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Maurice Orbach | 26,695 | 51.81 | +4.68 |
| | Conservative | Ronald E Simms | 24,827 | 48.19 | +7.53 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,868 | 3.62 | −2.85 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,522 | 81.83 | −0.70 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 62,962 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -1.43 | |
General election 1955: Willesden East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Maurice Orbach | 23,397 | 50.71 | −1.10 |
| | Conservative | Ronald E Simms | 22,738 | 49.29 | +1.10 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 659 | 1.42 | −2.20 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,135 | 76.13 | −5.70 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 60,604 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -1.10 | |
General election 1959: Willesden East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Trevor Skeet | 22,709 | 52.56 | +3.27 |
| | Labour | Maurice Orbach | 20,499 | 47.44 | −3.27 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,210 | 5.12 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,208 | 73.40 | −2.73 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 58,865 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +3.27 | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Willesden East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Reg Freeson | 20,543 | 52.27 | +4.83 |
| | Conservative | Trevor Skeet | 18,755 | 47.73 | −4.83 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,788 | 4.54 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,298 | 68.76 | −4.64 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 57,153 | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +4.83 | |
General election 1966: Willesden East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Reg Freeson | 21,767 | 54.62 | +2.35 |
| | Conservative | Peter Fry | 14,761 | 37.04 | −10.69 |
| | Liberal | Malcolm H Brahams | 2,765 | 6.94 | New |
| | Independent | Olive Bysouth | 556 | 1.40 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,006 | 17.58 | +13.04 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,849 | 71.05 | +2.29 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 56,085 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +6.52 | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Willesden East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Reg Freeson | 20,073 | 56.33 | +1.71 |
| | Conservative | Horace Cutler | 15,564 | 43.67 | +6.63 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,509 | 12.66 | −4.92 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,637 | 62.35 | −8.70 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 57,152 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -2.46 | |