Combined English Universities (UK Parliament constituency)
Encyclopedia
Combined English Universities was a university constituency
represented in the United Kingdom Parliament (from 1918
until 1950
). It was formed by enfranchising and combining all the English Universities, except for Cambridge
, Oxford
and London
, which were already separately represented.
was created by the Representation of the People Act 1918
and abolished in 1950 by the Representation of the People Act 1948
.
The original proposal of the Speaker's Conference, which considered electoral reform before the 1918 legislation was prepared, was to combine all the English and Welsh universities except for Oxford and Cambridge into a three member constituency. However during consideration of the legislation it was agreed that London University
alone should continue to return one member. The University of Wales
was also given its own seat. The other universities, which were still to be combined, had their proposed representation reduced to two members. (Source: Pugh).
Combined English Universities was not a physical area. Its electorate consisted of the graduates of the Universities included in the seat.
The Universities represented by this constituency were Birmingham, Bristol, Durham
, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Reading (from August 1928) and Sheffield
.
The constituency returned two Members of Parliament
, elected at general elections by the Single Transferable Vote
method of Proportional Representation
. However, the first past the post system was used in by-elections.
between 1918 and 1950. The elections were not held on the polling dates for general elections in the territorial constituencies. The University constituency elections were held over five days, not on the ordinary polling date, so that plural voting graduates could vote in their place of residence and then visit their University to participate in its election.
General election of 1923
General election of 1924
By-election of 1926
General election of 1929
General election of 1935
By-election of 1937
By-election of 1946
University constituency
A university constituency is a constituency, used in elections to a legislature, that represents a university rather than a geographical area. University constituencies may involve plural voting, in which eligible voters are permitted to vote in both a university constituency and a geographical...
represented in the United Kingdom Parliament (from 1918
United Kingdom general election, 1918
The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...
until 1950
United Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
). It was formed by enfranchising and combining all the English Universities, except for Cambridge
Cambridge University (UK Parliament constituency)
Cambridge University was a university constituency electing two members to the British House of Commons, from 1603 to 1950.-Boundaries, Electorate and Election Systems:...
, Oxford
Oxford University (UK Parliament constituency)
Oxford University was a university constituency electing two members to the British House of Commons, from 1603 to 1950.-Boundaries, Electorate and Electoral System:...
and London
London University (UK Parliament constituency)
London University was a university constituency electing one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, from 1868 to 1950.-Boundaries, electorate and history:...
, which were already separately represented.
Boundaries
This University constituencyUniversity constituency
A university constituency is a constituency, used in elections to a legislature, that represents a university rather than a geographical area. University constituencies may involve plural voting, in which eligible voters are permitted to vote in both a university constituency and a geographical...
was created by the Representation of the People Act 1918
Representation of the People Act 1918
The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in the United Kingdom. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act...
and abolished in 1950 by the Representation of the People Act 1948
Representation of the People Act 1948
The Representation of the People Act 1948 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered the law relating to parliamentary and local elections...
.
The original proposal of the Speaker's Conference, which considered electoral reform before the 1918 legislation was prepared, was to combine all the English and Welsh universities except for Oxford and Cambridge into a three member constituency. However during consideration of the legislation it was agreed that London University
London University (UK Parliament constituency)
London University was a university constituency electing one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, from 1868 to 1950.-Boundaries, electorate and history:...
alone should continue to return one member. The University of Wales
University of Wales (UK Parliament constituency)
University of Wales was a university constituency electing one member to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, from 1918 to 1950. It returned one Member of Parliament , elected under the first-past-the-post voting system....
was also given its own seat. The other universities, which were still to be combined, had their proposed representation reduced to two members. (Source: Pugh).
Combined English Universities was not a physical area. Its electorate consisted of the graduates of the Universities included in the seat.
The Universities represented by this constituency were Birmingham, Bristol, Durham
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Reading (from August 1928) and Sheffield
University of Sheffield
The University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities...
.
The constituency returned two Members of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, elected at general elections by the Single Transferable Vote
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
method of Proportional Representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
. However, the first past the post system was used in by-elections.
Members of Parliament
This is a list of people who were elected to represent these English Universities in the Parliament of the United KingdomParliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
between 1918 and 1950. The elections were not held on the polling dates for general elections in the territorial constituencies. The University constituency elections were held over five days, not on the ordinary polling date, so that plural voting graduates could vote in their place of residence and then visit their University to participate in its election.
- Constituency created (1918)
Election First member First party Second member Second party 1918 United Kingdom general election, 1918The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher Herbert FisherHerbert Albert Laurens Fisher OM, FRS, PC was an English historian, educator, and Liberal politician. He served as President of the Board of Education in David Lloyd George's 1916 to 1922 coalition government....
Coalition Liberal Sir William Martin Conway Coalition Conservative 1922 United Kingdom general election, 1922The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...National Liberal National Liberal Party (UK, 1922)The National Liberal Party was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1922 to 1923. It was led by David Lloyd George and was, at the time, separate to the original Liberal Party.-History:...
Conservative Conservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...1923 United Kingdom general election, 1923-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...Liberal Liberal Party (UK)The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...1926 by-election Sir Alfred Hopkinson Alfred HopkinsonSir Alfred Hopkinson was an English lawyer, academic and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for two three-year periods, separated by nearly thirty years....Conservative Conservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...1929 United Kingdom general election, 1929-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...Eleanor Florence Rathbone Independent 1931 United Kingdom general election, 1931The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...Sir Reginald Henry Craddock Conservative Conservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...1937 by-election Thomas Edmund Harvey Thomas Edmund HarveyThomas Edmund Harvey was an English museum curator, social reformer and politician. He sat in Parliament first as a Liberal and later as an Independent Progressive Member of Parliament...Independent Progressive 1945 United Kingdom general election, 1945The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...Kenneth Martin Lindsay Independent 1946 by-election Combined English Universities by-election, 1946The Combined English Universities by-election, 1946 was a parliamentary by-election held on 18 March 1946 for the British House of Commons constituency of Combined English Universities....Henry George Strauss Conservative Conservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...1950 United Kingdom general election, 1950The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...University constituencies University constituencyA university constituency is a constituency, used in elections to a legislature, that represents a university rather than a geographical area. University constituencies may involve plural voting, in which eligible voters are permitted to vote in both a university constituency and a geographical...
abolished
Elections
There were six contested STV elections. The MPs in 1935 were returned unopposed. By-elections, to fill a single seat, used the first past the post or relative majority electoral system.1910s – 1920s – 1930s – 1940s – |
Elections in the 1910s
General election of 1918Elections in the 1920s
General election of 1922General election of 1923
General election of 1924
- Resignation of Fisher
By-election of 1926
General election of 1929
Elections in the 1930s
General election of 1931General election of 1935
- Death of Craddock
By-election of 1937
Elections in the 1940s
General election of 1945- Death of Rathbone
By-election of 1946
- Constituency abolished (1950United Kingdom general election, 1950The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
)