Mile End (UK Parliament constituency)

Mile End was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Mile End district of the East End of London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Mile End
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Mile End in London, 1885-1918
Mile End in London, 1918-50
18851950
Seatsone
Created fromTower Hamlets
Replaced byStepney

The constituency was created for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1950 general election.

Boundaries

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1885–1918: In this period the constituency was a division of the parliamentary borough of Tower Hamlets in east London. The seat was centred upon the community of Mile End including the Mile End Road, which adjoined the Charrington Brewery. The brewery was headed by Spencer Charrington, MP for the area between 1885 and 1904.

Before 1885 the division was administered as part of the county of Middlesex. It formed part of The Metropolis from 1855 to 1889. In 1889 there was a change in the administrative arrangements covering the constituency, with the creation of the County of London. In 1900 London was divided into Metropolitan Boroughs. The Mile End Old Town Parish Vestry was abolished, with Mile End becoming part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney.

1918–1950: The constituency became a division of Stepney. The Representation of the People Act 1918 defined it as comprising four local government wards of Mile End Old Town (Centre, North, South and West) as well as the ward of Whitechapel East.

In 1945, the seat became one of only two seats in that Parliament to have a Communist MP elected. Phil Piratin had been a local activist and borough councillor.

In 1950 the constituency was abolished. Its territory became part of the Stepney seat.

Members of Parliament

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Year Member Party
1885 Spencer Charrington Conservative
1905 Harry Levy-Lawson Liberal Unionist
1906 Bertram Straus Liberal
1910, January Harry Levy-Lawson Liberal Unionist a
1916 Warwick Brookes Unionist
1918 Sir Walter Preston Unionist b
1923 John Scurr Labour
1931 William O'Donovan Conservative
1935 Daniel Frankel Labour
1945 Phil Piratin Communist
1950 constituency abolished

Notes:-

  • a The Liberal Unionist Party formally merged into the Conservative Party in 1912.
  • b Coalition Unionist 1918–1922.

Election results

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Elections in the 1880s

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Hart
General election 1885: Mile End[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Spencer Charrington 2,091 52.9
Liberal Ernest Hart 1,442 36.5
Independent Liberal Acton Smee Ayrton 420 10.6
Majority 649 16.4
Turnout 3,953 68.1
Registered electors 5,804
Conservative win (new seat)
 
Charrington
General election 1886: Mile End[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Spencer Charrington 2,110 62.2 +9.3
Liberal Arnold White 1,281 37.8 +1.3
Majority 829 24.4 +8.0
Turnout 3,391 58.4 −9.7
Registered electors 5,804
Conservative hold Swing +4.0

Elections in the 1890s

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General election 1892: Mile End[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Spencer Charrington 2,204 53.3 −8.9
Liberal James Haysman 1,931 46.7 +8.9
Majority 273 6.6 −17.8
Turnout 4,135 72.1 +13.7
Registered electors 5,738
Conservative hold Swing -8.9
General election 1895: Mile End[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Spencer Charrington 2,383 61.1 +7.8
Liberal James Haysman 1,516 38.9 −7.8
Majority 867 22.2 +15.6
Turnout 3,899 70.2 −1.9
Registered electors 5,551
Conservative hold Swing +7.8

Elections in the 1900s

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General election 1900: Mile End[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Spencer Charrington 2,440 65.6 +4.5
Liberal Charles Clarke 1,280 34.4 −4.5
Majority 1160 31.2 +9.0
Turnout 3,720 62.9 −7.3
Registered electors 5,915
Conservative hold Swing +4.5
1905 Mile End by-election[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist Harry Levy-Lawson 2,138 50.9 −14.7
Liberal Bertram Straus 2,060 49.1 +14.7
Majority 78 1.8 −29.4
Turnout 4,198 78.0 +15.1
Registered electors 5,380
Liberal Unionist hold Swing -14.7
 
Straus
General election 1906: Mile End[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Bertram Straus 2,295 51.4 +17.0
Liberal Unionist Harry Levy-Lawson 2,169 48.6 −17.0
Majority 126 2.8 N/A
Turnout 4,464 82.4 +19.5
Registered electors 5,419
Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist Swing +17.0

Elections in the 1910s

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Levy-Lawson
General election January 1910: Mile End[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist Harry Levy-Lawson 2,332 50.6 +2.0
Liberal Bertram Straus 2,275 49.4 −2.0
Majority 57 1.2 N/A
Turnout 4,607 84.3 +1.9
Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal Swing +2.0
 
Straus
General election December 1910: Mile End[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist Harry Levy-Lawson 2,176 50.1 −0.5
Liberal Bertram Straus 2,170 49.9 +0.5
Majority 6 0.2 −1.0
Turnout 4,346 79.5 −4.8
Liberal Unionist hold Swing -0.5

General Election 1914–15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

 
Billing
1916 Mile End by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Warwick Brookes 1,991 55.2 +5.1
Independent Noel Pemberton Billing 1,615 44.8 New
Majority 376 10.4 +10.2
Turnout 3,606
Unionist hold Swing N/A
General election 1918: Stepney, Mile End
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Unionist Walter Preston 6,025 63.2 +13.1
Labour William Devenay 2,392 25.1 New
Liberal Charles John Ough Sanders [10] 1,119 11.7 −38.2
Majority 3,633 38.1 +37.9
Turnout 22,131 43.1 −36.4
Unionist hold Swing N/A
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

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General election 1922: Mile End
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Walter Preston 6,014 41.0 −22.2
Labour John Scurr 5,219 35.5 +10.4
Liberal Robert Bernard Solomon 3,457 23.5 +11.8
Majority 795 5.5 −32.6
Turnout 14,690 63.8 +20.7
Unionist hold Swing -16.3
General election 1923: Mile End
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Scurr 6,219 41.0 +5.5
Unionist Walter Preston 4,741 31.2 −9.8
Liberal Robert Bernard Solomon 4,215 27.8 +4.3
Majority 1,478 9.8 N/A
Turnout 23,787 63.8 0.0
Labour gain from Unionist Swing +7.6
General election 1924: Stepney, Mile End
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Scurr 8,306 48.5 +7.5
Unionist Johnnie Dodge 4,960 28.9 −2.3
Liberal Solomon Teff 3,872 22.6 −5.2
Majority 3,346 19.6 +9.8
Turnout 24,245 70.7 +6.9
Labour hold Swing +4.9
General election 1929: Stepney, Mile End
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Scurr 11,489 47.1 −1.4
Unionist Johnnie Dodge 7,401 30.3 +1.4
Liberal Solomon Teff 5,525 22.6 0.0
Majority 4,088 16.8 −2.8
Turnout 34,662 70.4 −0.3
Labour hold Swing -1.4

Elections in the 1930s

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General election 1931: Stepney, Mile End
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative William O'Donovan 12,399 56.0 +25.7
Labour John Scurr 9,738 44.0 −3.1
Majority 2,661 12.0 −4.8
Turnout 36,896 60.0 −10.4
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +14.4
General election 1935: Stepney, Mile End
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Daniel Frankel 13,177 57.2 +13.2
Conservative William O'Donovan 9,859 42.8 −13.2
Majority 3318 14.4 +2.4
Turnout 36,294 63.5 +3.5
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +13.2

Elections in the 1940s

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General Election 1939–40

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

General election 1945: Stepney, Mile End
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Communist Phil Piratin 5,075 47.6 New
Labour Daniel Frankel 3,861 36.2 −21.0
Conservative V. Motion 1,722 16.2 −26.6
Majority 1,214 11.4 N/A
Turnout 16,177 65.9 +2.4
Communist gain from Labour Swing N/A

References

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  1. ^ Craig, F.W.S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan.
  2. ^ Craig, F.W.S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan.
  3. ^ Craig, F.W.S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan.
  4. ^ Craig, F.W.S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan.
  5. ^ Craig, F.W.S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan.
  6. ^ Craig, F.W.S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan.
  7. ^ Craig, F.W.S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan.
  8. ^ Craig, F.W.S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan.
  9. ^ Craig, F.W.S. (1974). British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (1 ed.). London: Macmillan.
  10. ^ ‘SANDERS, Sir Charles John Ough’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014
  11. ^ Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
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  • Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885–1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
  • British Parliamentary Election Results 1885–1918, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (The Macmillan Press 1974)
  • British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press, revised edition 1977)
  • Social Geography of British Elections 1885–1910. by Henry Pelling (Macmillan 1967)
  • Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "M" (part 2)