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Paddington South (UK Parliament constituency)
Encyclopedia
Paddington South was a Parliamentary constituency in London
which returned one Member of Parliament
. It was a compact urban area, but predominantly wealthy, and was most famously represented by Lord Randolph Churchill
during the latter part of his career.
Parish. In the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 it was defined as including the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 wards of the Parish. This comprised an area bounded by Bayswater Road
and Kensington Gardens on the south, Chepstow Place and Ledbury Road on the west, Harrow Road
, Westbourne Terrace and Praed Street
on the north, and Edgware Road on the east.
In 1918 there were boundary changes which moved the northern boundary further north to the Grand Union canal
from the Harrow Road to Little Venice, then back on to the Harrow Road between Little Venice and Edgware Road. At this point, the constituency was defined as the following wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Paddington
: Hyde Park, Lancaster Gate
East, Lancaster Gate West, Westbourne, and the part of the Church ward south of a line on the southern side of the Grand Junction Canal to the Harrow Road Bridge, and thence along the middle of the Harrow Road.
In 1950 there was no change in the boundary but the definition was changed to take account of ward boundary changes which had taken place in 1919. The constituency was defined as the Church, Hyde Park, Lancaster Gate East, Lancaster Gate West and Westbourne wards of Paddington. No changes were made in 1955, but due to a falling electorate, the Boundary Commission recommended that Paddington North
and Paddington South be merged into a single Paddington
constituency in a report issued in 1969. This change took effect at the February 1974 general election
.
and later by the Church Commissioners
in the 1820s starting with Connaught Square; it was originally known as Tyburnia after the River Tyburn. This area was always a prosperous one and no longer had the problem of the Tyburn
gallows which were removed in 1783. However, the early 20th century saw some of the houses divided into flats and a wholescale redevelopment was undertaken under the Church Commissioners in the 1950s.
West of this estate, on the north side of Kensington Gardens
, is Lancaster Gate
, built in 1856 but with many later buildings including those to replace bomb damage. The Barrie Estate, built by the London County Council
in the 1950s, was one of the few social housing blocks to be built near the park. In later years, many of the terraces were replaced with or converted to hotels. Further west and beyond Queensway came apartment blocks such as Orme Court. North of this area the stuccoed terraces were built in the mid-19th century to provide good quality accommodation although not of the very highest class.
On Queensway, Whiteleys
Department Store had been founded in 1863 and steadily expanded, having a major rebuilding in 1908-12. Between this area and Westbourne Terrace was an area redeveloped as the Hallfield Estate
after 1947 by Paddington Borough Council using Denys Lasdun
as architect. To the west was Westbourne Grove
which developed as a shopping street in the 1860s and leading to Notting Hill
. Between Westbourne Grove and the railway line which led to Paddington railway station were smaller houses and garden squares. Although originally developed as a residential area of some quality, this area swiftly declined.
In the very last years of the constituency, disused railway sidings north of Westbourne Park Road were developed by Westminster City Council
as the high-density Brunel Estate. North of the railway line, and between the canal and Harrow Road, was an industrial area which included the London Lock Hospital
. The area added to the constituency after 1918 included some poor quality housing around the northern end of Westbourne Terrace, which was the scene for much of the 1950 film The Blue Lamp
before being cleared and redeveloped by the London County Council as the Warwick Estate in the 1960s. The changes in 1918 also brought into the constituency the Paddington Railway station and Paddington Basin.
Overall, this made for a constituency which moved slowly but perceptibly down the social scale during the years, although the preponderance of the electorate were still prosperous at all times.
, the seat was expected to be a reasonably fair bet for the Conservatives and therefore Conservative MP Lord Randolph Churchill
chose it as a bolthole after his existing constituency of Woodstock
was abolished in boundary changes. Churchill had originally declared his intention to fight in the Birmingham Central division, but decided to go for this constituency where he had his London home. Churchill was not a very great fan of the constituency, regarding it as inferior in social status to a rural Conservative stronghold.
There was a dispute within the local Liberal Association when it came to ballot on the selection of a candidate on October 30, 1885 between Alderman William Lawrence and Hilary Skinner. Lawrence, who was the incumbent Liberal MP for City of London
, later complained that he had been induced to stand, and then found that a large number of previously unknown people who were not on the electoral register had been added to the committee only 48 hours before the ballot, and that that was the reason Skinner won on the night by seven votes. Lawrence therefore decided to fight the seat as an unofficial Liberal candidate. Skinner invited Lawrence to arbitration as to who should get the nomination, but Lawrence refused.
The end results proved that the expectations for the constituency had been accurate. Liberal voters remained loyal to their official candidate.
and said at a public meeting at the opening of the campaign that he had no hope of beating Lord Randolph Churchill but had decided to fight because of abusive language used in Churchill's election address and in order to show him that he could not have South Paddington all to himself. Churchill was not daunted; his election address was the origin of the much-quoted description of Gladstone as "an old man in a hurry". The result was regarded as a strong rebuff to the local Liberals, and when Churchill had to submit to re-election following his appointment as Chancellor of the Exchequer, he ran unopposed.
Churchill's enthusiastic support for the Moderate (i.e. Conservative) candidates in the London County Council
election of that spring helped his standing in the Conservative Association and the constituency, and when a general meeting of the Association was held in March, there were only four members voting against his endorsement. No Liberal candidate came forward and he was once again returned unopposed.
, the former President of the Local Government Board
who had lost his seat in the east end in the 1892 election. However, Ritchie's role in establishing the London County Council had made him unpopular among Conservatives as the Council had become a Liberal dominated body. Instead, the executive of the Paddington South Conservative Association unanimously chose their Chairman, George Fardell, who had been a member of the Vestry, the Metropolitan Board of Works
and the London County Council, and had a considerable popularity in the division (he claimed, and was not contradicted in the claim, that Lord Randolph Churchill had named him as his successor).
Among the ordinary members of the Association, Ritchie still had a following. At the general meeting of the Association on February 2, 1895, he sent a letter stating that he agreed that his name could go forward to follow Lord Randolph Churchill but did not want to consent to any course of action that would cause dissension in the Association. This diplomatic withdrawal was largely accepted and only one member (Sir Joseph Dimsdale) voted against the adoption of Fardell. The Liberals, having waited for the Conservatives to choose their candidate, again opted out of the contest given Fardell's popularity, and Fardell was returned unopposed. Fardell was unanimously re-adopted in the general election a few months later, and again ran unopposed.
was selected. King was a Government Whip
and sitting MP for North Norfolk
having won it at the 1918 election, but feared (correctly, as it turned out) that it would not be possible to keep it Conservative.
However, King was the second candidate in the race as the Anti-Waste League
had announced on July 31, 1921 the selection of Ernest Sawyer as its candidate for the division. Sawyer decided to fight as an unofficial Conservative and his supporters established the Independent Conservative Association of South Paddington to promote him; he had the advantage over King of being a local resident, and many important local Conservatives backed him. Sawyer insisted that he was a supporter of Andrew Bonar Law, and that Law's endorsement of King came from ignorance of local circumstances. He used King's membership of the government under David Lloyd George
to impeach his commitment to Conservatism, insisting that he himself was an "unfettered loyal supporter of the Conservative government".
The Paddington Borough Labour Party had not been reformed as two Divisional Labour Parties, largely due to resistance on the part of the leadership who felt it would dilute their power and resented pressure from the Labour Party to reorganise. They once again concentrated on Paddington North. No Liberal candidate was nominated. The division within Conservative ranks therefore drew attention to the election. King's statements that there was no difference between his policy and that of Lloyd George, and his 1918 pledge to be free of party ties, were publicised to show that he had acted hypocritically in becoming a Whip for Bonar Law.
The result of the election, a victory of more than two to one for King, was a surprise to many.
, by now a Commodore, was returned unopposed.
Islander sank in a gale near Fowey
, Cornwall
. All six aboard, including King himself, were lost. The South Paddington Conservative Association turned to its usual supply of candidates, the representatives of the constituency on the London County Council, and invited the 66-year old Sir Herbert Lidiard (Chairman of the Association for the previous 16 years) to be their candidate, an invitation which Lidiard accepted after some reluctance. The Labour Party entered the contest with Miss Dorothy Evans, Secretary of the Clerks' and Women Secretaries' Union.
Interest was however already aroused at the prospect of the United Empire Party of Viscount Rothermere
contesting the byelection. One constituent wrote to The Times to report that he had been canvassed by the party. On September 15, the party announced that Mrs Nell Stewart-Richardson would be its candidate. At this stage it also seemed likely that there would be a Liberal candidate, although the local association quickly announced that it did not intend to sponsor anyone.
Meanwhile the Empire Free Trade Crusade
, normally allied with the United Empire Party but failing on this occasion due to Lord Beaverbrook
's dislike of Mrs Stewart-Richardson, met with Sir Herbert Lidiard who pledged his support for Empire Free Trade but refused to go into Parliament with his hands tied. The Empire Crusaders then resolved to request the Conservative Association to choose a different candidate. When Lidiard declared that he would break the whip to vote in favour of Empire Free Trade, a statement welcomed by Beaverbrook, Neville Chamberlain
wrote to him asking for clarification; Lidiard replied stating that he took this position in order to preserve the unity of his local association. In consequence, official Conservative endorsement was withdrawn on September 30.
This decision led the United Empire Party to withdraw its endorsement from Mrs Stewart-Richardson, although she refused to withdraw from the election. However, Lidiard and the Conservative Association tried to forge a compromise by passing a resolution (October 6) which declared that Lidiard realised that only loyalty to the Conservative Party would see Empire Free Trade enacted. A few days later, Conservative Central Office decided to restore official support and the writ for the byelection was moved. The volte-face by Lidiard incensed Beaverbrook who organised a meeting of Empire Crusaders on October 17 at which Vice-Admiral Ernest Taylor was adopted as the Empire Crusader candidate. Lord Rothermere also pledged his support for Taylor.
There was a lively campaign with a great attendance and much heckling at public meetings in support of the various candidates. Beaverbrook and Rothermere's newspapers strongly supported their candidate. Vice-Admiral Taylor soon eclipsed Mrs Stewart-Richardson as the principal right-wing challenger to the Conservative, despite her insistence on standing even "if an Admiral or anybody else came and took her policy"; the South Paddington division had one of the highest proportions of women voters in the country. Lidiard was accused of having broken his pledge by a questioner, in a meeting which ended with blows being struck. The Labour Party also turned up outside other election meetings with loudspeaker vans, and made a special attempt to canvass domestic servants in the many large houses in the constituency.
Because of the interest, the count was switched from the Thursday night following the poll, to the Friday morning at Paddington Town Hall. The poll on October 30 saw a turnout of 60%, higher than normal in such an area, and the police were much in evidence to ensure order (3,000 people lined Westbourne Grove
to hear Vice-Admiral Taylor). Shortly after noon, the result was declared with Vice-Admiral Taylor winning by 941. Taylor said the result was a great blow "to those wobblers who, while not opposing [Empire Free Trade], are afraid to adopt it". Lidiard hit at the press, saying that he had been beaten "by the most intensive press campaign of abuse and misrepresentation ever known in any by-election in our political history", and asserted that "the electors have been misled". Labour polled just over a quarter of the vote.
and a junior minister in the Baldwin government in 1928-29. The Conservative whips in Parliament swiftly noticed that Taylor's voting pattern was no different from a Conservative MP, and in January 1931 offered him the candidacy at Camberwell North
if he would relinquish South Paddington, an offer which Taylor declined, telling the press "I am the Conservative member for the constituency, and I am entitled to call my organization the Conservative Association". When the full membership of the South Paddington Conservative Association met on January 27, 1931, a motion to endorse Vice-Admiral Taylor was defeated by hundreds of votes to 13.
All seemed set for another fight between two Conservatives, when the 1931 economic crisis turned political life upside down. Taylor backed the National government in the first House of Commons vote, and at a meeting organised by the South Paddington Conservative and Empire Crusade Association on September 30 insisted that he would be fighting the division at the general election. On October 5, Williams announced "in the present national emergency" that he would withdraw his candidature, and the South Paddington Conservative Association declared that it would not divide the forces supporting the National government. Taylor therefore obtained Conservative endorsement and in a straight fight with Labour candidate Lucy Cox (a former schoolmistress then working as Secretary of the 'No More War' Movement) easily prevailed.
(he stood as a BUF candidate for the London County Council in 1937). However he had never been an anti-Semite and after the election wrote to Sir Oswald Mosley
protesting his use of antisemitism and resigning from the party. Wegg-Prosser later became a forceful and effective anti-fascist speaker.
Labour put some effort into winning the campaign, and shortly after the poll (but before the result was declared), one of the campaign organisers was fined 40 s. for using a loud-speaker so loud that a neighbour said it sounded like "a brass band in the room". However, Taylor was re-elected by more than 3,500 votes.
as their candidate. De Chair had been elected MP for South West Norfolk in 1935 but was defeated in 1945 by 53 votes. His wife was elected to the London County Council from Paddington South in 1949.
Labour reselected Charles Wegg-Prosser, who had been elected to Paddington Borough Council in November 1945, and had now set up a Solicitor's practice on Praed Street. For the first time in 27 years the Liberals entered the field, with commercial law barrister Saul Myer fighting the seat. With a much increased turnout, de Chair kept the seat Conservative with Labour suffering more from Liberal intervention.
With a narrow Parliament and an election possibly imminent, the Conservative Association quickly selected Robert Allan as their new candidate. Allan, a former Commander in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, was then the General Manager of the Investors Chronicle
and the Banker, and had fought previous elections in his native Dunbartonshire
. Labour initially selected Robert S. W. Pollard, but Pollard resigned the candidacy on February 15, 1951 stating that as a pacifist and a member of the Society of Friends, he could not accept the Labour government's rearmament programme. The party then fell back to Charles Wegg-Prosser, who had become the principal Labour Party member locally. The Liberals declined to fight again following their lost deposit the previous year.
Despite the presence of Herbert Morrison
at an eve of poll joint meeting in support of both the Paddington candidates, Labour was unable to reduce the Conservative majority.
. However, Robert Allan had by now been appointed as a junior Minister and was unruffled by any Labour threat: he improved his majority with a slightly above average swing.
to resign over the Clause IV row in July 1960 and its delegates championed "the transfer of power from the capitalist class into the hands of the workers" at Labour Party conference. Angry delegations from the local party sometimes disturbed Paddington Borough Council meetings. William Dow, a councillor from Westbourne Ward, was selected as candidate. Dow was charged with obstruction of the police over an incident when he tried to prevent the eviction of a family from St Stephen's Gardens in August 1963.
In such circumstances the Liberal Party decided that they should fight the seat in the hope of re-establishing themselves as leading challengers to the Conservatives. They selected John Glyn Barton, a solicitor from Hampstead, who won some publicity for himself in September 1963 by personally digging up the road outside his home to find a broken water main which he blamed for the loss of water to his home. However, before the election Barton stood down and was replaced by Philip Cowen, an investment analyst.
Meanwhile, Robert Allan left the government in 1960 to become Treasurer of the Conservative Party, an unpaid post that was identified as a stepping-stone to higher office. He fought the 1964 election campaign supporting the Conservative policy on housing, and opposing the Labour policy of lowering mortgage rates, claiming that this would require tax subsidies. The result showed the Liberals cutting into the Conservative vote more than Labour, and Allan's majority was reduced to 3,399.
, who lived in the constituency, on the grounds that he had broken Labour Party policy. Many of the leading members of the disbanded CLP were not readmitted to the new organisation, including William Dow. The Labour candidate was an odd compromise: Hon. Conrad Russell was a son of Bertrand Russell, then well-known for his activities in the Committee of 100, but was himself a moderate.
Robert Allan vacated his office as Treasurer of the Conservative Party in October 1965, and announced on February 3, 1966 that he would stand down at the general election in order to devote more time to his business interests. The Conservative Association did not have long to choose their new candidate and picked Nicholas Scott who was a printing and publishing executive and Holborn Borough Councillor. The Liberals selected Dudley Savill, a tenants' representative on the board of the Notting Hill Housing Trust who owned many local properties.
The election showed an above-average swing to Labour, and although Nicholas Scott was elected, his majority of only 1,443 looked potentially vulnerable in the long-term.
Labour chose Richard Balfe, then still a student researcher, to fight the seat. The Liberal candidate was Eric Pemberton, a business manager in his early 30s. Neither party believed they could challenge the Conservative hold on the constituency and Scott was re-elected with his majority increased to 2,613, although the swing to the Conservatives was notably smaller than in some neighbouring seats.
1: Returned as a supporter of the Lloyd George
coalition in 1918
.
Following the death of Douglas King:
Notes:
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
which returned one Member 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,...
. It was a compact urban area, but predominantly wealthy, and was most famously represented by Lord Randolph Churchill
Lord Randolph Churchill
Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill MP was a British statesman. He was the third son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough and his wife Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane , daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry...
during the latter part of his career.
Boundaries
The constituency was originally made up of the southern part of PaddingtonPaddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
Parish. In the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 it was defined as including the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 wards of the Parish. This comprised an area bounded by Bayswater Road
Bayswater Road
Bayswater Road is the main road running across the north of Hyde Park, London. To the east Bayswater Road becomes Oxford Street . It is where the fictional upper middle class Forsyte family live in the BBC series the Forsyte Saga...
and Kensington Gardens on the south, Chepstow Place and Ledbury Road on the west, Harrow Road
Harrow Road
The Harrow Road is an ancient route in Greater London which runs from Paddington in a northwesterly direction to Harrow. With minor deviations in the 19th and 20th centuries, the route remains otherwise unaltered...
, Westbourne Terrace and Praed Street
Praed Street
Praed Street is a street in London's Paddington district , most notable for the fact that Paddington Station is situated on it. It runs straight in a west-south-westerly direction from Edgware Road to Craven Road, Spring Street and Eastbourne Terrace.-History:Praed Street was originally laid out in...
on the north, and Edgware Road on the east.
In 1918 there were boundary changes which moved the northern boundary further north to the Grand Union canal
Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...
from the Harrow Road to Little Venice, then back on to the Harrow Road between Little Venice and Edgware Road. At this point, the constituency was defined as the following wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Paddington
Metropolitan Borough of Paddington
The Metropolitan Borough of Paddington was a Metropolitan borough of the County of London between 1900 and 1965.-History:Its area covered that part of the current City of Westminster west of Edgware Road and Maida Vale, and north of Bayswater Road. Places in the borough included Paddington,...
: Hyde Park, Lancaster Gate
Lancaster Gate
Lancaster Gate is a mid-19th century development in the Bayswater district of west central London, immediately to the north of Kensington Gardens. It consists of two long terraces of houses overlooking the park, with a wide gap between them opening onto a square containing a church. Further...
East, Lancaster Gate West, Westbourne, and the part of the Church ward south of a line on the southern side of the Grand Junction Canal to the Harrow Road Bridge, and thence along the middle of the Harrow Road.
In 1950 there was no change in the boundary but the definition was changed to take account of ward boundary changes which had taken place in 1919. The constituency was defined as the Church, Hyde Park, Lancaster Gate East, Lancaster Gate West and Westbourne wards of Paddington. No changes were made in 1955, but due to a falling electorate, the Boundary Commission recommended that Paddington North
Paddington North (UK Parliament constituency)
Paddington North was a borough constituency in the Metropolitan Borough of Paddington in London which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system...
and Paddington South be merged into a single Paddington
Paddington (UK Parliament constituency)
Paddington was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Paddington district of London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
constituency in a report issued in 1969. This change took effect at the February 1974 general election
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
.
Description
Although the boundaries were slightly changed during its history, the principal areas of the constituency remained the same. In the east, the Hyde Park Estate had been built on land owned originally by the Bishop of LondonBishop of London
The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
and later by the Church Commissioners
Church Commissioners
The Church Commissioners is a body managing the historic property assets of the Church of England. It was set up in 1948 combining the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners formed in 1836...
in the 1820s starting with Connaught Square; it was originally known as Tyburnia after the River Tyburn. This area was always a prosperous one and no longer had the problem of the Tyburn
Tyburn
Tyburn is a former village just outside the then boundaries of London that was best known as a place of public execution.Tyburn may also refer to:* Tyburn , river and historical water source in London...
gallows which were removed in 1783. However, the early 20th century saw some of the houses divided into flats and a wholescale redevelopment was undertaken under the Church Commissioners in the 1950s.
West of this estate, on the north side of Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, is one of the Royal Parks of London, lying immediately to the west of Hyde Park. It is shared between the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The park covers an area of 111 hectares .The open spaces...
, is Lancaster Gate
Lancaster Gate
Lancaster Gate is a mid-19th century development in the Bayswater district of west central London, immediately to the north of Kensington Gardens. It consists of two long terraces of houses overlooking the park, with a wide gap between them opening onto a square containing a church. Further...
, built in 1856 but with many later buildings including those to replace bomb damage. The Barrie Estate, built by the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
in the 1950s, was one of the few social housing blocks to be built near the park. In later years, many of the terraces were replaced with or converted to hotels. Further west and beyond Queensway came apartment blocks such as Orme Court. North of this area the stuccoed terraces were built in the mid-19th century to provide good quality accommodation although not of the very highest class.
On Queensway, Whiteleys
Whiteleys
Whiteleys is a shopping centre in London, England. It was London's first department store, located in the Bayswater area. The store's main entrance was located on Queensway.-History:...
Department Store had been founded in 1863 and steadily expanded, having a major rebuilding in 1908-12. Between this area and Westbourne Terrace was an area redeveloped as the Hallfield Estate
Hallfield Estate
The Hallfield Estate is one of several modernist housing projects in London designed in the immediate post-war period by the Tecton architecture practice, led by Berthold Lubetkin. Following the dissolution of Tecton, the project was realised by Denys Lasdun and Lindsay Drake in the 1950s...
after 1947 by Paddington Borough Council using Denys Lasdun
Denys Lasdun
Sir Denys Lasdun CH was an eminent English architect. Probably his best known work is the Royal National Theatre, on London's South Bank of the Thames, which is a Grade II* listed building and one of the most notable examples of Brutalist design in the United Kingdom.Lasdun studied at the...
as architect. To the west was Westbourne Grove
Westbourne Grove
Westbourne Grove is a retail road running across Notting Hill, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, a section of west London, England. It runs from Kensington Park Road in the west to Queensway in the east, crossing over Portobello Road...
which developed as a shopping street in the 1860s and leading to Notting Hill
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
. Between Westbourne Grove and the railway line which led to Paddington railway station were smaller houses and garden squares. Although originally developed as a residential area of some quality, this area swiftly declined.
In the very last years of the constituency, disused railway sidings north of Westbourne Park Road were developed by Westminster City Council
Westminster City Council
Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council and is entitled to be known as a city council, which is a rare distinction in the United Kingdom. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors...
as the high-density Brunel Estate. North of the railway line, and between the canal and Harrow Road, was an industrial area which included the London Lock Hospital
London Lock Hospital
The London Lock Hospital was the first venereal disease clinic, being the most famous and first of the Lock Hospitals, which opened on 31 January 1747....
. The area added to the constituency after 1918 included some poor quality housing around the northern end of Westbourne Terrace, which was the scene for much of the 1950 film The Blue Lamp
The Blue Lamp
The Blue Lamp is a British crime film released in early 1950 by Ealing Studios, directed by Basil Dearden and produced by Michael Balcon. It stars Jack Warner as police constable George Dixon, Jimmy Hanley and Dirk Bogarde in an early role...
before being cleared and redeveloped by the London County Council as the Warwick Estate in the 1960s. The changes in 1918 also brought into the constituency the Paddington Railway station and Paddington Basin.
Overall, this made for a constituency which moved slowly but perceptibly down the social scale during the years, although the preponderance of the electorate were still prosperous at all times.
1885
At the 1885 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1885
-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...
, the seat was expected to be a reasonably fair bet for the Conservatives and therefore Conservative MP Lord Randolph Churchill
Lord Randolph Churchill
Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill MP was a British statesman. He was the third son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough and his wife Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane , daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry...
chose it as a bolthole after his existing constituency of Woodstock
Woodstock (UK Parliament constituency)
Woodstock, sometimes called New Woodstock, was a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom. It comprised the town of Woodstock in the county of Oxfordshire and the surrounding countryside and villages, and elected two Members of Parliament from its re-enfranchisement in 1553 until 1832...
was abolished in boundary changes. Churchill had originally declared his intention to fight in the Birmingham Central division, but decided to go for this constituency where he had his London home. Churchill was not a very great fan of the constituency, regarding it as inferior in social status to a rural Conservative stronghold.
There was a dispute within the local Liberal Association when it came to ballot on the selection of a candidate on October 30, 1885 between Alderman William Lawrence and Hilary Skinner. Lawrence, who was the incumbent Liberal MP for City of London
City of London (UK Parliament constituency)
The City of London was a United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950.-Boundaries and boundary...
, later complained that he had been induced to stand, and then found that a large number of previously unknown people who were not on the electoral register had been added to the committee only 48 hours before the ballot, and that that was the reason Skinner won on the night by seven votes. Lawrence therefore decided to fight the seat as an unofficial Liberal candidate. Skinner invited Lawrence to arbitration as to who should get the nomination, but Lawrence refused.
The end results proved that the expectations for the constituency had been accurate. Liberal voters remained loyal to their official candidate.
1886
For this election, the Liberal Party entered the contest with few illusions, given a national tide against them. Rev. Page Hopps, the Liberal candidate, came from LeicesterLeicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
and said at a public meeting at the opening of the campaign that he had no hope of beating Lord Randolph Churchill but had decided to fight because of abusive language used in Churchill's election address and in order to show him that he could not have South Paddington all to himself. Churchill was not daunted; his election address was the origin of the much-quoted description of Gladstone as "an old man in a hurry". The result was regarded as a strong rebuff to the local Liberals, and when Churchill had to submit to re-election following his appointment as Chancellor of the Exchequer, he ran unopposed.
1892
Churchill's relationship with his constituency association had come under strain following his resignation from the government and criticism of it. His dissatisfaction with the party became so widespread that it was rumoured that he intended to stand down, although no announcement was made. Eventually, with a general election imminent, on February 3, 1892 the Chairman of the Paddington South Conservative Association wrote to Churchill asking him to confirm whether it was his intention to seek re-election as a Conservative, and whether he would support the general policy of the Conservative Party. Churchill responded that he did intend seeking re-election, and it would be as a Conservative, and that he would give the same support he had given in the past. This response was not entirely satisfactory to the executive of the association, but a majority decided that he would be recommended for endorsement as their candidate.Churchill's enthusiastic support for the Moderate (i.e. Conservative) candidates in the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
election of that spring helped his standing in the Conservative Association and the constituency, and when a general meeting of the Association was held in March, there were only four members voting against his endorsement. No Liberal candidate came forward and he was once again returned unopposed.
1895
The death of Lord Randolph Churchill led to a byelection at which the choice of Conservative candidate was the key decision. The first thought was that the constituency might prove a base for Charles Thomson RitchieCharles Thomson Ritchie
Charles Thomson Ritchie, 1st Baron Ritchie of Dundee PC was a British businessman and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1874 until 1905 when he was raised to the peerage...
, the former President of the Local Government Board
President of the Local Government Board
The President of the Local Government Board was a ministerial post, frequently a Cabinet position, in the United Kingdom, established in 1871. The Local Government Board itself was established in 1871 and took over supervisory functions from the Board of Trade and the Home Office, including the...
who had lost his seat in the east end in the 1892 election. However, Ritchie's role in establishing the London County Council had made him unpopular among Conservatives as the Council had become a Liberal dominated body. Instead, the executive of the Paddington South Conservative Association unanimously chose their Chairman, George Fardell, who had been a member of the Vestry, the Metropolitan Board of Works
Metropolitan Board of Works
The Metropolitan Board of Works was the principal instrument of London-wide government from 1855 until the establishment of the London County Council in 1889. Its principal responsibility was to provide infrastructure to cope with London's rapid growth, which it successfully accomplished. The MBW...
and the London County Council, and had a considerable popularity in the division (he claimed, and was not contradicted in the claim, that Lord Randolph Churchill had named him as his successor).
Among the ordinary members of the Association, Ritchie still had a following. At the general meeting of the Association on February 2, 1895, he sent a letter stating that he agreed that his name could go forward to follow Lord Randolph Churchill but did not want to consent to any course of action that would cause dissension in the Association. This diplomatic withdrawal was largely accepted and only one member (Sir Joseph Dimsdale) voted against the adoption of Fardell. The Liberals, having waited for the Conservatives to choose their candidate, again opted out of the contest given Fardell's popularity, and Fardell was returned unopposed. Fardell was unanimously re-adopted in the general election a few months later, and again ran unopposed.
1900
Fardell faced no difficulties in securing renomination at this election. The Liberal Association sought a candidate to stand against him, but could not find one, and Fardell was therefore again unopposed.1906
The Liberal Party had decided, long before the eventual polling day, not to let any supporter of Tariff reform have an unopposed re-election. They found a candidate in the form of Williamson Milne, a company director. However, Fardell's popularity (he had been Knighted since the previous election) held and he won the seat by nearly two to one.1910
On June 22, 1909, Sir George Fardell wrote to the President of the South Paddington Conservative Association to inform him he had decided not to contest the division at the next election, as he was retiring from political life. The Association immediately proceeded to choose a candidate and on July 21 the Executive decided to recommend H. Percy Harris, one of the constituency's representatives on the London County Council, as the new candidate. Shortly thereafter the South Paddington Liberal Association chose a locally-resident barrister, F. T. H. Henlé, as their candidate. The circumstances of the election, in which the Conservatives highlighted the tax increases of the 1909 budget, helped Harris improve on Fardell's 1906 majority. The election of December was essentially a rerun of that in January.1918
At the 'coupon' election of 1918, Harris received the endorsement of the Coalition and was therefore readopted without any difficulty. The South Paddington Liberal Association, despite supporting Asquith and therefore opposing the Coalition, had declined in its organisation and therefore once again declined to field a candidate. Paddington had a Borough Labour Party at the time but its efforts were concentrated in the much more promising North division, and therefore Harris once again had the luxury of an unopposed re-election.1922
In June 1921, Sir Henry Harris (as he had become known, to stop him being confused with the leading Liberal Percy A. Harris on the London County council) announced that he would not contest the next general election. That November, Captain Douglas KingDouglas King (Conservative politician)
Commodore Henry Douglas King CB, CBE, PC, DSO, VD , known as Douglas King, was a British naval commander and Conservative politician...
was selected. King was a Government Whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
and sitting MP for North Norfolk
North Norfolk (UK Parliament constituency)
North Norfolk is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
having won it at the 1918 election, but feared (correctly, as it turned out) that it would not be possible to keep it Conservative.
However, King was the second candidate in the race as the Anti-Waste League
Anti-Waste League
The Anti-Waste League was a political party in the United Kingdom, founded in 1921 by Lord Rothermere.The formation of the League was announced in a January 1921 edition of the Sunday Pictorial with Rothermere attacking what he saw as government waste during a time of recession. As such the party...
had announced on July 31, 1921 the selection of Ernest Sawyer as its candidate for the division. Sawyer decided to fight as an unofficial Conservative and his supporters established the Independent Conservative Association of South Paddington to promote him; he had the advantage over King of being a local resident, and many important local Conservatives backed him. Sawyer insisted that he was a supporter of Andrew Bonar Law, and that Law's endorsement of King came from ignorance of local circumstances. He used King's membership of the government under David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
to impeach his commitment to Conservatism, insisting that he himself was an "unfettered loyal supporter of the Conservative government".
The Paddington Borough Labour Party had not been reformed as two Divisional Labour Parties, largely due to resistance on the part of the leadership who felt it would dilute their power and resented pressure from the Labour Party to reorganise. They once again concentrated on Paddington North. No Liberal candidate was nominated. The division within Conservative ranks therefore drew attention to the election. King's statements that there was no difference between his policy and that of Lloyd George, and his 1918 pledge to be free of party ties, were publicised to show that he had acted hypocritically in becoming a Whip for Bonar Law.
The result of the election, a victory of more than two to one for King, was a surprise to many.
1923
The Conservatives went into the 1923 election with the dispute of the previous year having been settled in King's favour and able to present a united front. An unopposed return was thought likely, but at a late stage Hubert Carr-Gomm came forward as a Liberal candidate. Carr-Gomm had been MP for Rotherhithe from 1906 to 1918 and Private Secretary to Henry Campbell Bannerman as Prime Minister, but had no links to the area. Poorly prepared, he was able to take only 28% of the vote.1924
The disintegration of the Liberal Party in London led to their withdrawal from Paddington in 1924. Douglas KingDouglas King (Conservative politician)
Commodore Henry Douglas King CB, CBE, PC, DSO, VD , known as Douglas King, was a British naval commander and Conservative politician...
, by now a Commodore, was returned unopposed.
1929
Commodore King was again returned unopposed at this election. He was one of only seven MPs to enjoy re-election without a contest, and one of only three in Great Britain.1930
On Wednesday August 20, 1930, Commodore King's cutter yachtYacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
Islander sank in a gale near Fowey
Fowey
Fowey is a small town, civil parish and cargo port at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, United Kingdom. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,273.-Early history:...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. All six aboard, including King himself, were lost. The South Paddington Conservative Association turned to its usual supply of candidates, the representatives of the constituency on the London County Council, and invited the 66-year old Sir Herbert Lidiard (Chairman of the Association for the previous 16 years) to be their candidate, an invitation which Lidiard accepted after some reluctance. The Labour Party entered the contest with Miss Dorothy Evans, Secretary of the Clerks' and Women Secretaries' Union.
Interest was however already aroused at the prospect of the United Empire Party of Viscount Rothermere
Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere
Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere was a highly successful British newspaper proprietor, owner of Associated Newspapers Ltd. He is known in particular, with his brother Alfred Harmsworth, the later Viscount Northcliffe, for the development of the London Daily Mail and Daily Mirror....
contesting the byelection. One constituent wrote to The Times to report that he had been canvassed by the party. On September 15, the party announced that Mrs Nell Stewart-Richardson would be its candidate. At this stage it also seemed likely that there would be a Liberal candidate, although the local association quickly announced that it did not intend to sponsor anyone.
Meanwhile the Empire Free Trade Crusade
Empire Free Trade Crusade
The Empire Free Trade Crusade was a political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Lord Beaverbrook in July 1929 to press for the British Empire to become a free trade bloc....
, normally allied with the United Empire Party but failing on this occasion due to Lord Beaverbrook
Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook
William Maxwell "Max" Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, Bt, PC, was a Canadian-British business tycoon, politician, and writer.-Early career in Canada:...
's dislike of Mrs Stewart-Richardson, met with Sir Herbert Lidiard who pledged his support for Empire Free Trade but refused to go into Parliament with his hands tied. The Empire Crusaders then resolved to request the Conservative Association to choose a different candidate. When Lidiard declared that he would break the whip to vote in favour of Empire Free Trade, a statement welcomed by Beaverbrook, Neville Chamberlain
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...
wrote to him asking for clarification; Lidiard replied stating that he took this position in order to preserve the unity of his local association. In consequence, official Conservative endorsement was withdrawn on September 30.
This decision led the United Empire Party to withdraw its endorsement from Mrs Stewart-Richardson, although she refused to withdraw from the election. However, Lidiard and the Conservative Association tried to forge a compromise by passing a resolution (October 6) which declared that Lidiard realised that only loyalty to the Conservative Party would see Empire Free Trade enacted. A few days later, Conservative Central Office decided to restore official support and the writ for the byelection was moved. The volte-face by Lidiard incensed Beaverbrook who organised a meeting of Empire Crusaders on October 17 at which Vice-Admiral Ernest Taylor was adopted as the Empire Crusader candidate. Lord Rothermere also pledged his support for Taylor.
There was a lively campaign with a great attendance and much heckling at public meetings in support of the various candidates. Beaverbrook and Rothermere's newspapers strongly supported their candidate. Vice-Admiral Taylor soon eclipsed Mrs Stewart-Richardson as the principal right-wing challenger to the Conservative, despite her insistence on standing even "if an Admiral or anybody else came and took her policy"; the South Paddington division had one of the highest proportions of women voters in the country. Lidiard was accused of having broken his pledge by a questioner, in a meeting which ended with blows being struck. The Labour Party also turned up outside other election meetings with loudspeaker vans, and made a special attempt to canvass domestic servants in the many large houses in the constituency.
Because of the interest, the count was switched from the Thursday night following the poll, to the Friday morning at Paddington Town Hall. The poll on October 30 saw a turnout of 60%, higher than normal in such an area, and the police were much in evidence to ensure order (3,000 people lined Westbourne Grove
Westbourne Grove
Westbourne Grove is a retail road running across Notting Hill, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, a section of west London, England. It runs from Kensington Park Road in the west to Queensway in the east, crossing over Portobello Road...
to hear Vice-Admiral Taylor). Shortly after noon, the result was declared with Vice-Admiral Taylor winning by 941. Taylor said the result was a great blow "to those wobblers who, while not opposing [Empire Free Trade], are afraid to adopt it". Lidiard hit at the press, saying that he had been beaten "by the most intensive press campaign of abuse and misrepresentation ever known in any by-election in our political history", and asserted that "the electors have been misled". Labour polled just over a quarter of the vote.
1931
Following the bruising byelection, the South Paddington Conservative Association quickly moved to select a new candidate to challenge Taylor at the following general election, and in December 1930 picked Herbert Williams who was the former MP for ReadingReading (UK Parliament constituency)
Reading was a parliamentary borough, and later a borough constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It comprised the town of Reading in the county of Berkshire....
and a junior minister in the Baldwin government in 1928-29. The Conservative whips in Parliament swiftly noticed that Taylor's voting pattern was no different from a Conservative MP, and in January 1931 offered him the candidacy at Camberwell North
Camberwell North (UK Parliament constituency)
Camberwell North was a borough constituency located in the Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell, in South London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
if he would relinquish South Paddington, an offer which Taylor declined, telling the press "I am the Conservative member for the constituency, and I am entitled to call my organization the Conservative Association". When the full membership of the South Paddington Conservative Association met on January 27, 1931, a motion to endorse Vice-Admiral Taylor was defeated by hundreds of votes to 13.
All seemed set for another fight between two Conservatives, when the 1931 economic crisis turned political life upside down. Taylor backed the National government in the first House of Commons vote, and at a meeting organised by the South Paddington Conservative and Empire Crusade Association on September 30 insisted that he would be fighting the division at the general election. On October 5, Williams announced "in the present national emergency" that he would withdraw his candidature, and the South Paddington Conservative Association declared that it would not divide the forces supporting the National government. Taylor therefore obtained Conservative endorsement and in a straight fight with Labour candidate Lucy Cox (a former schoolmistress then working as Secretary of the 'No More War' Movement) easily prevailed.
1935
Five years after the byelection, the divisions within Conservatism in the division were becoming forgotten and Taylor had built up something of a personal following. Ronald Thomson, who was a salesman and Paddington Borough Councillor for Church Ward, fought as the Labour candidate and cut Taylor's majority, although by less than the national swing.1939
With another election expected to be called by 1940, Labour adopted G.I.Thain as their candidate to unseat Ernest Taylor. however, the election never took place.1945
Following the end of the war, the Conservatives were confident of re-election and Vice-Admiral Taylor again offered himself as the Conservative candidate. Labour selected Charles Wegg-Prosser, a former Articled Clerk to a Solicitor, and a Major in the London Irish Rifles. Wegg-Prosser had undertaken an unusual journey to the Labour Party, having been attracted to economic fascism while at university and been appointed as Principal Speaker for the East End of London by the British Union of FascistsBritish Union of Fascists
The British Union was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley as the British Union of Fascists, in 1936 it changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists and then in 1937 to simply the British Union...
(he stood as a BUF candidate for the London County Council in 1937). However he had never been an anti-Semite and after the election wrote to Sir Oswald Mosley
Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
protesting his use of antisemitism and resigning from the party. Wegg-Prosser later became a forceful and effective anti-fascist speaker.
Labour put some effort into winning the campaign, and shortly after the poll (but before the result was declared), one of the campaign organisers was fined 40 s. for using a loud-speaker so loud that a neighbour said it sounded like "a brass band in the room". However, Taylor was re-elected by more than 3,500 votes.
1950
By now in his early seventies, Vice-Admiral Taylor decided to retire at the next election in 1947. In February 1948 the Conservatives chose the author Somerset de ChairSomerset de Chair
Somerset Struben de Chair DSC was a British author, politician and poet.-Early and personal life:Younger son of Admiral Sir Dudley Rawson Stratford de Chair, KCB, KCMG, MVO...
as their candidate. De Chair had been elected MP for South West Norfolk in 1935 but was defeated in 1945 by 53 votes. His wife was elected to the London County Council from Paddington South in 1949.
Labour reselected Charles Wegg-Prosser, who had been elected to Paddington Borough Council in November 1945, and had now set up a Solicitor's practice on Praed Street. For the first time in 27 years the Liberals entered the field, with commercial law barrister Saul Myer fighting the seat. With a much increased turnout, de Chair kept the seat Conservative with Labour suffering more from Liberal intervention.
1951
Shortly after the election, Thelma de Chair discovered that her husband had for two years been renting a flat in Belgravia for his mistress, Carmen Appleton. She was outraged, and the local Conservatives were sympathetic to her. Somerset de Chair was left in no doubt that he would not be readopted, and on June 14, 1950 he announced that he would not be fighting the next election. On June 28 Judge Bensley Wells granted Thelma de Chair a decree nisi of divorce on grounds of the adultery of her husband in an undefended suit.With a narrow Parliament and an election possibly imminent, the Conservative Association quickly selected Robert Allan as their new candidate. Allan, a former Commander in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, was then the General Manager of the Investors Chronicle
Investors Chronicle
The Investors Chronicle is a weekly magazine in the United Kingdom for private investors and is published by the Financial Times Group. The magazine publishes articles about global markets and sectors, and news on corporate actions such as takeovers and share issues...
and the Banker, and had fought previous elections in his native Dunbartonshire
Dunbartonshire
Dunbartonshire or the County of Dumbarton is a lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Until 1975 it was a county used as a primary unit of local government with its county town and administrative centre at the town...
. Labour initially selected Robert S. W. Pollard, but Pollard resigned the candidacy on February 15, 1951 stating that as a pacifist and a member of the Society of Friends, he could not accept the Labour government's rearmament programme. The party then fell back to Charles Wegg-Prosser, who had become the principal Labour Party member locally. The Liberals declined to fight again following their lost deposit the previous year.
Despite the presence of Herbert Morrison
Herbert Morrison
Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, CH, PC was a British Labour politician; he held a various number of senior positions in the Cabinet, including Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister.-Early life:Morrison was the son of a police constable and was born in...
at an eve of poll joint meeting in support of both the Paddington candidates, Labour was unable to reduce the Conservative majority.
1955
After the tumult of the previous years, the 1955 general election was a relatively dull affair with Charles Wegg-Prosser again providing the only opposition to Robert Allan. In line with the national swing, Allan improved his majority.1959
Charles Wegg-Prosser decided not to be the Labour candidate in the 1959 election, and the South Paddington Constituency Labour Party selected Dennis Nisbet, a left-winger who was an administrative officer of the National Coal Board. Despite the large Conservative majority in previous elections, the constituency was being looked at by Labour as a potential target due to the low turnout and large turnover in the electorate, being identified as such by a committee headed by Harold WilsonHarold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
. However, Robert Allan had by now been appointed as a junior Minister and was unruffled by any Labour threat: he improved his majority with a slightly above average swing.
1964
South Paddington Constituency Labour Party became increasingly identified with the left in the 1960s. The CLP passed a resolution calling on Hugh GaitskellHugh Gaitskell
Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell CBE was a British Labour politician, who held Cabinet office in Clement Attlee's governments, and was the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1955, until his death in 1963.-Early life:He was born in Kensington, London, the third and youngest...
to resign over the Clause IV row in July 1960 and its delegates championed "the transfer of power from the capitalist class into the hands of the workers" at Labour Party conference. Angry delegations from the local party sometimes disturbed Paddington Borough Council meetings. William Dow, a councillor from Westbourne Ward, was selected as candidate. Dow was charged with obstruction of the police over an incident when he tried to prevent the eviction of a family from St Stephen's Gardens in August 1963.
In such circumstances the Liberal Party decided that they should fight the seat in the hope of re-establishing themselves as leading challengers to the Conservatives. They selected John Glyn Barton, a solicitor from Hampstead, who won some publicity for himself in September 1963 by personally digging up the road outside his home to find a broken water main which he blamed for the loss of water to his home. However, before the election Barton stood down and was replaced by Philip Cowen, an investment analyst.
Meanwhile, Robert Allan left the government in 1960 to become Treasurer of the Conservative Party, an unpaid post that was identified as a stepping-stone to higher office. He fought the 1964 election campaign supporting the Conservative policy on housing, and opposing the Labour policy of lowering mortgage rates, claiming that this would require tax subsidies. The result showed the Liberals cutting into the Conservative vote more than Labour, and Allan's majority was reduced to 3,399.
1966
Following the 1964 election, the Labour Party decided that the situation in South Paddington CLP could no longer be tolerated. The South Paddington Young Socialists' branch circulation of Trotskyist literature spurred the party to act. On February 10, 1965, it was announced that the constituency party had been disbanded and that a new organisation would be formed from the bottom up. The disbanded CLP then purported to expel from membership George BrownGeorge Brown, Baron George-Brown
George Alfred Brown, Baron George-Brown, PC was a British Labour politician, who served as the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1960 to 1970, and served in a number of positions in the Cabinet, most notably as Foreign Secretary, in the Labour Government of the 1960s...
, who lived in the constituency, on the grounds that he had broken Labour Party policy. Many of the leading members of the disbanded CLP were not readmitted to the new organisation, including William Dow. The Labour candidate was an odd compromise: Hon. Conrad Russell was a son of Bertrand Russell, then well-known for his activities in the Committee of 100, but was himself a moderate.
Robert Allan vacated his office as Treasurer of the Conservative Party in October 1965, and announced on February 3, 1966 that he would stand down at the general election in order to devote more time to his business interests. The Conservative Association did not have long to choose their new candidate and picked Nicholas Scott who was a printing and publishing executive and Holborn Borough Councillor. The Liberals selected Dudley Savill, a tenants' representative on the board of the Notting Hill Housing Trust who owned many local properties.
The election showed an above-average swing to Labour, and although Nicholas Scott was elected, his majority of only 1,443 looked potentially vulnerable in the long-term.
1970
The small size of the constituency was by now very apparent: it was one of the smallest electorates of all, and the Boundary Commission's report in 1969 recommended the merger of the two Paddington seats. However, the Labour government decided to postpone the implementation of the report, and Paddington South ended up having its last election in 1970. Nicholas Scott had established a reputation as a very moderate Conservative, supporting reforms to abortion, homosexuality and divorce on free votes, vigorously opposing Enoch Powell's views on racial integration and becoming President of Progress for Economic and Social Toryism (PEST).Labour chose Richard Balfe, then still a student researcher, to fight the seat. The Liberal candidate was Eric Pemberton, a business manager in his early 30s. Neither party believed they could challenge the Conservative hold on the constituency and Scott was re-elected with his majority increased to 2,613, although the swing to the Conservatives was notably smaller than in some neighbouring seats.
Members of Parliament
- 1885 – 1895: Lord Randolph ChurchillLord Randolph ChurchillLord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill MP was a British statesman. He was the third son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough and his wife Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane , daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry...
, ConservativeConservative 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... - 1895 – 1910: Sir George FardellGeorge FardellSir Thomas George Fardell was a British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Paddington South from 1895 to 1910. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford....
, ConservativeConservative 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... - 1910 – 1922: Sir Henry Percy Harris, ConservativeConservative 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...
1 - 1922 – 1930: Douglas KingDouglas King (Conservative politician)Commodore Henry Douglas King CB, CBE, PC, DSO, VD , known as Douglas King, was a British naval commander and Conservative politician...
, ConservativeConservative 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... - 1930 – 1950: Ernest TaylorErnest Augustus TaylorVice-Admiral Sir Ernest Augustus Taylor was a British Royal Navy officer and politician. He was Member of Parliament for Paddington South from 1930 to 1950.-References:...
, Empire Free Trade CrusadeEmpire Free Trade CrusadeThe Empire Free Trade Crusade was a political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Lord Beaverbrook in July 1929 to press for the British Empire to become a free trade bloc....
(1930–1931), ConservativeConservative 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...
(1931–1950) - 1950 – 1951: Somerset de ChairSomerset de ChairSomerset Struben de Chair DSC was a British author, politician and poet.-Early and personal life:Younger son of Admiral Sir Dudley Rawson Stratford de Chair, KCB, KCMG, MVO...
, ConservativeConservative 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... - 1951 – 1966: Robert AllanRobert Allan, Baron Allan of KilmahewRobert Alexander Allan, Baron Allan of Kilmahew DSO, OBE was a British Conservative politician.Allan was Member of Parliament for Paddington South between 1951 and 1966...
, ConservativeConservative 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... - 1966 – 1974: Nicholas ScottNicholas ScottThe Rt. Hon. Sir Nicholas Paul Scott, PC, JP , was a British Conservative Party politician.Scott was educated at Clapham College and was national chairman of the Young Conservatives in 1963...
, ConservativeConservative 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...
1: Returned as a supporter of the Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
coalition in 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...
.
Elections
| Election | Result | Candidate | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 1885 United Kingdom general election, 1885 -Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:... Electorate 5,193 Turnout 77.9% |
Conservative win Majority 1,706 (42.2%) |
Lord Randolph Churchill Lord Randolph Churchill Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill MP was a British statesman. He was the third son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough and his wife Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane , daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry... |
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... |
2,731 | 67.5 | ||
| John Edwin Hilary Skinner | 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... |
1,025 | 25.3 | ||||
| William Lawrence William Lawrence (London MP) Sir William Lawrence was an English builder and Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1865 and 1885.... |
Independent Liberal | 290 | 7.2 | ||||
| General election, July 1886 United Kingdom general election, 1886 -Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the UK general election, 1886*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**... Electorate 5,193 Turnout 64.4% |
Conservative hold Majority 1,807 (54.0%) |
Lord Randolph Churchill Lord Randolph Churchill Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill MP was a British statesman. He was the third son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough and his wife Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane , daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry... |
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... |
2,576 | 77.0 | ||
| Rev John Page Hopps | 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... |
769 | 23.0 | ||||
| By-election, August 1886 Electorate 5,193 |
Conservative hold | Lord Randolph Churchill Lord Randolph Churchill Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill MP was a British statesman. He was the third son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough and his wife Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane , daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry... |
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... |
unopposed | |||
| General election, July 1892 United Kingdom general election, 1892 The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 July to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury, win the greatest number of seats, but not enough for an overall majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won many more seats than in the 1886 general election... Electorate 5,231 |
Conservative hold | Lord Randolph Churchill Lord Randolph Churchill Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill MP was a British statesman. He was the third son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough and his wife Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane , daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry... |
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... |
unopposed | |||
| By-election, February 1895 Electorate 5,390 |
Conservative hold | Thomas George Fardell George Fardell Sir Thomas George Fardell was a British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Paddington South from 1895 to 1910. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford.... |
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... |
unopposed | |||
| General election, July 1895 United Kingdom general election, 1895 The United Kingdom general election of 1895 was held from 13 July - 7 August 1895. It was won by the Conservatives led by Lord Salisbury who formed an alliance with the Liberal Unionist Party and had a large majority over the Liberals, led by Lord Rosebery... Electorate 5,390 |
Conservative hold | Thomas George Fardell George Fardell Sir Thomas George Fardell was a British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Paddington South from 1895 to 1910. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford.... |
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... |
unopposed | |||
| General election, October 1900 United Kingdom general election, 1900 -Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1900*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**... Electorate 5,750 |
Conservative hold | Sir Thomas George Fardell George Fardell Sir Thomas George Fardell was a British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Paddington South from 1895 to 1910. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford.... |
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... |
unopposed | |||
| General election, January 1906 United Kingdom general election, 1906 -Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**... Electorate 6,143 Turnout 72.0% |
Conservative hold Majority 1,417 (32.0%) |
Sir Thomas George Fardell George Fardell Sir Thomas George Fardell was a British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Paddington South from 1895 to 1910. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford.... |
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... |
2,919 | 66.0 | ||
| Charles Williamson Milne | 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... |
1,502 | 34.0 | ||||
| General election, January 1910 Electorate 6,415 Turnout 79.4% |
Conservative hold Majority 2,258 (44.4%) |
Henry Percy Harris | 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... |
3,677 | 72.2 | ||
| Frederick Thomas Henry Henlé | 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... |
1,419 | 27.8 | ||||
| General election, December 1910 Electorate 6,415 Turnout 69.9% |
Conservative hold Majority 1,936 (43.2%) |
Henry Percy Harris | 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... |
3,210 | 71.6 | ||
| Frederick Thomas Henry Henlé | 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... |
1,274 | 28.4 | ||||
Following the death of Douglas King:
Notes:
- Sawyer was also supported by the Anti-Waste LeagueAnti-Waste LeagueThe Anti-Waste League was a political party in the United Kingdom, founded in 1921 by Lord Rothermere.The formation of the League was announced in a January 1921 edition of the Sunday Pictorial with Rothermere attacking what he saw as government waste during a time of recession. As such the party...
. - Mrs Stewart-Richardson was the candidate of the local United Empire Party but was not endorsed by the party nationally, which supported Ernest Taylor.