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Acton (UK Parliament constituency)

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Acton
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
County1918–1965: Middlesex
1965–1983: Greater London
BoroughActon
London Borough of Ealing
1950–1983
Seats1
Replaced byEaling Acton
1918–1950
Seats1
Type of constituencyCounty constituency
Created fromEaling
Acton in Middlesex, 1918–45
Acton in Middlesex, 1945–50
Map that gives each named seat and any constant electoral success for national (Westminster) elections for Middlesex, 1955 to 1974.
Third (final) version of the seat (at centre). Result in Oct. 1974.

Acton was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, created for the 1918 general election. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election.

Boundaries

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The seat was created by the Representation of the People Act 1918 which increased the number of seats where population had expanded such as in Middlesex due to the conurbation growing around the County of London. It was based on the town of Acton. The seat consisted of the Acton Urban District which became a Municipal Borough in 1921.

A redistribution of Parliamentary seats, which took effect at the 1950 United Kingdom general election made no change to the boundaries; its legislation, affecting election expenses and returning officer re-classified, the seat as a borough constituency.

In 1965 the area became part of the London Borough of Ealing and Greater London.

In the redistribution which took effect at the February 1974 general election, the seat to the west, Ealing South, was abolished and this seat absorbed most of its area to reach the electoral quota, it having been heavily underweight in electorate. The seat in statute and statutory instrument became variously Ealing: Acton and/or simply Acton where under a heading of London Borough of Ealing. From the review effective from the election of 1983 it became Ealing Acton.

Components
  • 1918–74: Acton M.B.[1][2] Note per the London Government Act 1963 the Metropolitan Borough ceased to exist in 1965, its functions being replaced by the larger London Borough of Ealing.
  • 1974–83: Six wards (the old area plus the centre of the new larger borough, further west), namely:
    • The London Borough of Ealing wards: Central, East, Hanger Hill, Heathfield, Southfield and Springfield.[3]

The change was extension, along all of the former western edge.

Members of Parliament

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Election Member Party
1918 Sir Harry Brittain Unionist
1929 James Shillaker Labour
1931 Hubert Duggan Conservative
1943 Henry Longhurst Conservative
1945 Joseph Sparks Labour
1959 Philip Holland Conservative
1964 Bernard Floud Labour
1968 Kenneth Baker Conservative
1970 Nigel Spearing Labour
1974 Sir George Young Conservative
1983 constituency abolished: see Ealing Acton

Elections

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Elections in the 1910s

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1918 general election: Acton[4][5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Unionist Harry Brittain 11,671 73.3
Labour Robert Dunsmore 4,241 26.7
Majority 7,430 46.6
Turnout 15,912 53.9
Registered electors 29,539
Unionist win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

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1922 general election: Acton[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Harry Brittain 10,208 49.9 −23.4
Labour Mary Richardson 5,342 26.2 −0.5
Liberal Neville Dixey 4,877 23.9 New
Majority 4,866 23.7 −22.9
Turnout 20,427 67.1 +13.2
Registered electors 30,425
Unionist hold Swing −11.5
1923 general election: Acton[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Harry Brittain 8,943 44.9 −5,0
Labour Herbert Alphonsus Baldwin 6,069 30.5 +4.3
Liberal Bertram Arthur Levinson 4,909 24.6 +0.7
Majority 2,874 14.4 −9.3
Turnout 19,921 63.5 −3.6
Registered electors 31,394
Unionist hold Swing −4.7
1924 general election: Acton[5][6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Harry Brittain 12,799 55.2 +10.3
Labour Herbert Alphonsus Baldwin 5,583 24.0 −6.5
Liberal Bertram Arthur Levinson 3,074 13.2 −11.4
Democratic Labour Mary Richardson 1,775 7.6 New
Majority 7,216 31.2 +16.8
Turnout 23,231 72.6 +9.1
Registered electors 31,999
Unionist hold Swing +8.4
1929 general election: Acton[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour James Shillaker 13,208 41.4 +17.4
Unionist Harry Brittain 12,739 39.9 −14.3
Liberal Frank Medlicott 5,981 18.7 +5.5
Majority 469 1.5 N/A
Turnout 31,926 75.5 +2.9
Labour gain from Unionist Swing +15.8

Elections in the 1930s

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1931 general election: Acton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Hubert Duggan 24,196 66.99
Labour James Shillaker 11,924 33.01
Majority 12,272 33.98 N/A
Turnout 36,120 75.5 0.0
Conservative gain from Labour Swing
1935 general election: Acton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Hubert Duggan 19,137 58.5 −8.5
Labour William McLaine 13,559 41.5 +8.5
Majority 5,578 17.0 −17.0
Turnout 32,696 67.8 −7.7
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1940s

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1943 Acton by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Longhurst 5,014 60.3 +1.8
Ind. Labour Party Walter Padley 2,336 28.1 New
Independent Dorothy Crisp 707 8.5 New
Independent Edward Godfrey 258 3.1 New
Majority 2,678 32.2 +15.2
Turnout 8,315
Conservative hold Swing
1945 general election: Acton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Joseph Sparks 19,590 56.1 +14.6
Conservative Henry Longhurst 12,134 34.8 −23.7
Liberal Francis Joseph Halpin 3,172 9.1 New
Majority 7,456 21.3 N/A
Turnout 35,256 77.8 +10.0
Labour gain from Conservative Swing

Elections in the 1950s

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1950 general election: Acton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Joseph Sparks 21,751 49.1 −7.0
Conservative George F Willment 19,116 43.1 +8.3
Liberal Pauline Furniss 2,781 6.3 −2.8
Communist Albert F Papworth 663 1.5 New
Majority 2,635 6.0 −15.3
Turnout 44,311 87.8 +10.0
Labour hold Swing
1951 general election: Acton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Joseph Sparks 23,287 52.2 +3.1
Conservative Leslie Frank Ramseyer 21,296 47.8 +4.7
Majority 1,991 4.4 −1.6
Turnout 44,583 86.9 −0.9
Labour hold Swing −0.7
1955 general election: Acton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Joseph Sparks 20,645 50.6 +1.5
Conservative John Leslie Bott 20,120 49.4 +6.3
Majority 525 1.2 −4.8
Turnout 40,765 82.6 −5.3
Labour hold Swing −1.6
1959 general election: Acton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Philip Holland 19,358 51.2 +1.8
Labour Joseph Sparks 18,438 48.8 −1.8
Majority 920 2.4 N/A
Turnout 37,796 80.7 −1.9
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +1.9

Elections in the 1960s

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1964 general election: Acton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Bernard Floud 17,022 49.3 +0.5
Conservative Philip Holland 14,423 41.8 −9.4
Liberal Barwys Niel Martin-Kaye 3,049 8.8 New
Majority 2,599 7.5 N/A
Turnout 34,494 77.4 −3.3
Labour gain from Conservative Swing
1966 general election: Acton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Bernard Floud 18,541 57.7 +8.4
Conservative Kenneth Baker 13,600 42.3 +0.5
Majority 4,941 15.4 +7.9
Turnout 32,141 74.0 −3.4
Labour hold Swing
1968 Acton by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Kenneth Baker 12,242 48.67 +6.36
Labour Walter Johnson 8,522 33.88 −23.81
Liberal Frank Davis 2,868 11.40 New
National Front Andrew Fountaine 1,400 5.57 New
Independent Harold Fox 75 0.30 New
Independent William Gold 44 0.17 New
Majority 3,720 14.79 N/A
Turnout 25,151
Conservative gain from Labour Swing

Elections in the 1970s

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1970 general election: Acton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Nigel Spearing 13,960 48.0 −9.7
Conservative Kenneth Baker 13,300 45.7 +3.4
Liberal Dion Scherer 1,583 5.4 New
Communist Maurice Costin 258 0.9 New
Majority 660 2.3 N/A
Turnout 29,101 66.1 −7.9
Labour hold Swing
February 1974 general election: Acton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative George Young 18,492 43.3 −2.4
Labour Nigel Spearing 17,041 39.9 −8.1
Liberal Mario Uziell-Hamilton 7,160 16.8 +11.4
Majority 1,451 3.4 +1.1
Turnout 42,693 75.7 +9.6
Conservative gain from Labour Swing
October 1974 general election: Acton[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative George Young 17,669 45.1 +1.8
Labour Glen Barnham 16,861 43.0 +3.1
Liberal Mario Uziell-Hamilton 4,569 11.7 −5.1
Majority 808 2.1 −1.3
Turnout 39,199 69.0 −16.7
Conservative hold Swing
1979 general election: Acton[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative George Young 21,056 51.9 +6.8
Labour Glen Barnham 15,258 37.5 −5.5
Liberal Simon Rowley 3,549 8.7 −3.0
National Front Clive Wakley 501 1.2 New
Independent James O'Leary[10] 243 0.6 New
Majority 5,798 14.2 +12.1
Turnout 40,607 71.4 +2.4
Conservative hold Swing

References

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  1. ^ Representation of the People Act 1948, Sch. 1, at Middlesex (B) Borough Constituencies (page 107) http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1948/65/pdfs/ukpga_19480065_en.pdf
  2. ^ Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970 (S.I. 1970 number 1674), Sch 1 (list of contents of existing seats) at page 5454 (or 11 of 76)
  3. ^ Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970 (S.I. 1970 number 1674), Sch 2 (list of contents of new seats) at page 5491 (or 48 of 76)
  4. ^ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1922
  5. ^ a b c d Craig, F.W.S., ed. (1969). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949. Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. p. 421. ISBN 0-900178-01-9.
  6. ^ Walker, Michael (22 February 2009). "Labour Candidates 1922 and 1923 – West London". Hayes People History. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  7. ^ "The General Election. First Returns, Polling in the Boroughs". The Times. 31 May 1929. p. 7.
  8. ^ "1974 - October 1974 General Election - Acton". UK general election results 1832 - 2019. Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  9. ^ "1979 - 1979 General Election - Acton". UK general election results 1832 - 2019. Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  10. ^ O'Leary stood under the label 'Irish National Party'
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