Wikipedia

Maldon (UK Parliament constituency)

Not to be confused with Malton (UK Parliament constituency) or Electoral district of Maldon.

Maldon is a constituency[n 1] in Essex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its recreation in 2010 by Sir John Whittingdale, a Conservative.[n 2]

Maldon
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Map
Boundaries since 2024
Map of constituency
Boundary of Maldon in the East of England
CountyEssex
Electorate76,794 (2023)[1]
Major settlementsMaldon, Burnham-on-Crouch, South Woodham Ferrers
Current constituency
Created2010
Member of ParliamentJohn Whittingdale (Conservative)
SeatsOne
Created fromMaldon and East Chelmsford, Rayleigh and West Chelmsford
1885–1983
SeatsOne
Type of constituencyCounty constituency
Created fromEast Essex, Maldon (Parliamentary Borough)
Replaced byColchester South and Maldon and Rochford
1332–1885
Seats1332–1868: Two
1868–1885: One
Type of constituencyBorough constituency
Replaced byMaldon (county constituency)

Constituency profile

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Maldon covers a rural area of Essex including the Dengie Peninsula. The main settlements are Maldon and Burnham-on-Crouch which are centres for sailing, and the new town of South Woodham Ferrers. The seat is slightly wealthier than the UK average.[2]

History

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The Parliamentary Borough of Maldon, which included the parish of Heybridge, had sent two members to the Parliament of England since it was founded in 1332 (36 years after the Model Parliament)[3] until 1707, then to the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and to the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801. Under the Reform Act of 1867, its representation was reduced to one,[4] and in 1885 the Parliamentary Borough was abolished and replaced with a Division of the County of Essex (later a County Constituency) under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.[5]

The constituency was abolished for the 1983 general election following the Third Periodic Review of Westminster Constituencies, but re-established for the 2010 general election by the Fifth Review. The current seat is primarily a successor to the Maldon and East Chelmsford constituency which existed from 1997 to 2010.

Boundaries and boundary changes

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1885–1918

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  • The Municipal Borough of Maldon;
  • The Sessional Divisions of Hinckford South (Braintree Bench) and Witham; and
  • Parts of the Sessional Divisions of Hinckford South (Halstead Bench), Lexden, and Winstree.[5]

Formally known as the Eastern or Maldon Division of Essex, incorporating the abolished Parliamentary Borough of Maldon and extending northwards to include the towns of Witham, Braintree and Halstead.

1918–1950

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  • The Municipal Borough of Maldon;
  • The Urban Districts of Braintree, Burnham-on-Crouch, and Witham;
  • The Rural District of Maldon; and
  • The Rural District of Braintree (including the detached part of the parish of Inworth which was wholly surrounded by the parishes of Great Braxted and Kelvedon).[6]

Area to the south between the rivers Crouch and Blackwater, including Burnham-on-Crouch, transferred from the South-Eastern Division of Essex. The northernmost area, including Halstead, and eastern fringes transferred to Saffron Walden and Colchester respectively. Other minor changes.

1950–1959

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  • The Municipal Borough of Maldon;
  • The Urban Districts of Braintree and Bocking, Burnham-on-Crouch, and Witham;
  • The Rural District of Maldon; and
  • Part of the Rural District of Braintree.[7]

Marginal changes as a result of changes to local authority boundaries.

1959–1974

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As above but the part of the Rural District of Braintree was altered by the County of Essex (Braintree and Lexden and Winstree Rural Districts) Confirmation Order 1955.[7]

Marginal changes as a result of changes to local authority boundaries.

1974–1983

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  • The Municipal Borough of Maldon;
  • The Urban District of Burnham-on-Crouch; and
  • The Rural Districts of Maldon and Rochford.[8]

Major reconfiguration, as Braintree and Bocking, and Witham, together with the parts of the Rural District of Braintree, formed the basis for the new constituency of Braintree. The Rural District of Rochford was transferred from South East Essex.

Constituency abolished for the 1983 general election. Southern area, comprising the former Rural District of Rochford, included in the new constituency of Rochford.  Remainder formed the majority of the new constituency of South Colchester and Maldon.

 
Map of boundaries 2010-2024

2010–2024

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  • The District of Maldon wards of Althorne, Burnham-on-Crouch North, Burnham-on-Crouch South, Heybridge East, Heybridge West, Maldon East, Maldon North, Maldon South, Maldon West, Mayland, Purleigh, Southminster, and Tillingham; and
  • The Borough of Chelmsford wards of Bicknacre and East and West Hanningfield, Little Baddow, Danbury and Sandon,Rettendon and Runwell, South Hanningfield, Stock and Margaretting, South Woodham Chetwood and Collingwood, and South Woodham Elmwood and Woodville.[9]

Following the Boundary Commission's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, Parliament radically altered some constituencies and created new ones to allow for changes in population. The majority of the former Maldon and East Chelmsford constituency formed the basis of this new seat for 2010. The constituency retained Maldon and Burnham-on-Crouch, but lost the Chelmsford parts to the re-established Chelmsford seat and the new constituency of Witham. To compensate, wards in and around South Woodham Ferrers were added from the former Rayleigh constituency, and Margaretting was added from the former West Chelmsford constituency.

Current

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Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency was expanded northwards slightly with the transfer in from Chelmsford of the City of Chelmsford ward of Galleywood.[10]

The historic constituency (1332–1983)

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Maldon
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
1332–1885
Seatstwo (1295–1868)
one (1868–1885)
Essex, Maldon
Former county constituency
for the House of Commons
1885–1983
Seatsone

Maldon was originally a Parliamentary borough in Essex, first represented in the House of Commons in 1332; it elected two MPs until 1868, and one from 1868 until 1885. In that year the borough was abolished but the name was transferred to a county division of Essex, which continued with some boundary changes until 1983.

Maldon borough (1332–1885)

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Boundaries and franchise before the Reform Act

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Until the Great Reform Act of 1832, the borough consisted of the three parishes of the town of Maldon, a small market town and port on the coast of Essex.

Maldon had been a municipal as well as a Parliamentary borough. Its first charter dated from the reign of Henry II, and at one time the corporation had the sole right to elect the town's MPs. From 1701 at the latest, however, the right to vote was exercised by the freemen of the town, whether or not resident within the borough; and, unusually, honorary freemen and those acquiring the freedom by purchase were also entitled to vote in Maldon. This had several consequences. The electorate in Maldon was much bigger than was usual in a town of that size — in the first half of the 18th century, the number of qualified voters was generally about 800 (the majority of whom did not live in Maldon). It also meant that the town corporation, with the power to create freemen and therefore voters, was in a position to gerrymander elections if it so wished. This might, as was the case in some other boroughs, have ended in one interest gaining control of the corporation and turning Maldon into a pocket borough; in fact, however, Maldon instead stayed independent but venal, and gaining election there tended to be an expensive business. Sometimes it was not merely a case of bribing the voters: in 1690, it was recorded in the House of Commons journals that the wives and daughters of Maldon freemen were being bribed at election time as well.

One interest that was firmly established by the middle of the 18th century, however, was that of the government, which ensured that lucrative posts in the customs house were reserved for loyally-voting freemen, and also attempted to have government supporters – often strangers to the town – elected to vacancies on the corporation. It was generally taken for granted that the government candidates would normally be elected.

The Strutt ascendancy

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However, in the 1750s the government's control of Maldon weakened, and a prominent local Tory, John Strutt, found he had enough influence with the voters to sway elections. He secured the election of several of his friends over the years and eventually, in 1774, successfully stood for election himself.

In the meanwhile, however, there was a dramatic change in the system. In 1763 one of the sitting MPs, Strutt's friend Bamber Gascoyne, was appointed to the Board of Trade and therefore had to stand for re-election at Maldon. Gascoyne's opponent, John Huske, accused him of threatening that any freemen working in the customs house who did not vote for him would be dismissed (which, by that time, would have been an illegal threat).[11] Although the Prime Minister, George Grenville, denied having authorised Gascoyne to make any such threat and Gascoyne denied having made it, it seems clear it was believed in Maldon and the corporation sided with Huske, creating enough new freemen to ensure Gascoyne was defeated. Both sides started actions for bribery, but Gascoyne had decided on more drastic action. He took out a writ against the corporation, and the Courts ordered the ousting of the majority of members; eventually, in 1768, the corporation was dissolved by judicial order.

For half a century the duties of returning officer were transferred to the High Sheriff of Essex. However, the Sheriff could not assume the corporation's function of swearing in new freemen, and Strutt's influence was thus entirely secured against any possibility of new voters being created to outvote him. However, there was a problem: by the time of the general election of 1807 the number of remaining qualified voters had dwindled to 58, and the constituency was in imminent danger of quite literally dying out. Yet there were more than 800 new freemen who were only barred from voting because there was nobody to swear them in. Finally a new charter was granted, in time to enfranchise them for the election of 1810.

Matters then returned to normal in Maldon for the remaining 22 years before the Reform Act. Strutt's son, Joseph Holden Strutt, retained much of the influence that his father had wielded, being generally considered to be able to nominate one of the two MPs or to choose to sit himself; as he exercised all government patronage in Maldon, he was well-placed to secure the other seat as well. But when the voters proved uncooperative, they could easily enough be overruled: at the 1826 election, the Corporation secured the result it wanted by admitting another thousand new freemen in time for them to vote: 3,113 freemen voted, of whom only 251 were Maldon residents.

After the Reform Act

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In the initial drafts of the Reform Bill, Maldon was to lose one of its two seats. It was eventually spared this fate, but its population of 3,831 in 1831 left it very close to the borderline. The eventual Reform Act extended the borough by adding the neighbouring parish of Heybridge, increasing the population to 4,895; but with only 716 qualified voters under the new franchise its electorate was less than a quarter of what it had previously been. The constituency was a highly marginal one, victory rarely being secured by more than a handful of votes. In 1852, only 40 votes separated first place from fourth, and the second Tory's majority over his Whig opponent was only 6; after the losing candidates petitioned, alleging corruption, the election was declared void[12] and Maldon's right to representation was suspended while a Royal Commission investigated. However, no major scandal was uncovered and (unlike some other boroughs similarly investigated at the same period) its right to vote was reinstated and a writ for a new by-election which took place in 1854 was issued.[13]

Maldon county constituency (1885–1983)

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The Second Reform Act, implemented in 1868, took seats from most of the smallest boroughs, and Maldon's representation was halved; but it was still too small, and at the election of 1885 the borough was abolished altogether. The county division into which the town was placed, however, was named after the town. (Officially, until 1918, it was the Eastern (or Maldon) Division of Essex; after that, simply the Maldon division.) As well as Maldon itself this contained the towns of Braintree, Halstead and Witham. Once again this constituency was a marginal one — almost the only rural county seat in the South East at this period not to be safely Conservative. The strength of the Liberal vote seems to have been based partly on the strength of Nonconformism in the Halstead area, but also on trade unionism among the agricultural labourers (which elsewhere in Essex was offset by a strongly Tory maritime vote which Maldon lacked).

 
Maldon in Essex, 1918–1945

After 1918, boundary changes added Burnham on Crouch and the surrounding district, but the constituency was still a rural one, with 35% of the occupied male population employed in the agricultural sector at the time of the 1921 census. The Labour Party rather than the Liberals were now the Conservatives' main opponents. When the Liberal Party split in 1922, Maldon's Liberals split as well, and the constituency was the first where the Lloyd George Liberals set up a constituency association, though this was apparently without the sanction of the national party headquarters and the association is not recorded as having organised any activities. In 1923 no Liberal candidate stood at all, and Labour captured the seat for the first time. The Conservatives retook the seat in 1924, holding it until the 1940s, but it was won by Tom Driberg in a wartime by-election; yet his hold on the seat was rarely secure and he eventually moved to sit for a safer seat. Thereafter Maldon remained Conservative until its abolition, though at first by the narrowest of margins.

The Maldon constituency was abolished in the boundary changes which came into effect at the 1983 election, being divided between the new Colchester South and Maldon and Rochford constituencies.

Members of Parliament

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MPs 1332–1640

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Parliament First member Second member
1386 Richard Bush John Glover[14]
1388 (Feb) John Dyer Henry Hales[14]
1388 (Sep) John Crakebon John Welles[14]
1390 (Jan) John Skinner I John Joce[14]|
1390 (Nov)
1391 John Welles John Page[14]
1393 John Skinner John Glover[14]
1394
1395
1397 (Jan) John Glover John Joce[14]
1397 (Sep)
1399 John Joce John Crakebon[14]
1401
1402 John Page Thomas Paffe[14]
1404 (Jan) John Burgess Thomas Paffe[14]
1404 (Oct)
1406 John Flower Robert Painter[14]
1407 John Page John Hockham[14]
1410 ?William Wade[14]
1411 John Flower John Burgess[14]
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May) Richard Galon John Burgess[14]
1414 (Apr)
1414 (Nov) John Flower John Burgess[14]
1415
1416 (Mar)
1416 (Oct)
1417 Thomas Paffe Richard Sampson[14]
1419 Richard Galon William Bennett[14]
1420 John Burgess Richard Galon[14]
1421 (May) John Cooper Richard Bawde[14]
1421 (Dec) William Burgh William Gore[14]
1422 Robert Darcy[15]
1487 Sir Richard Fitzlewis[16]
1491 Robert Plummer[16]
1504 Sir William Say
1510 Sir Richard FitzLewis Thomas Hintlesham[17]
1512 Thomas Cressener ?[17]
1515 John Strangman ?[17]
1523 John Bozom Thomas Wyburgh[17]
1529 Thomas Tey Edward Peyton[17]
1536 William Harris John Raymond[17]
1539 John Edmonds William Bonham[17]
1542 Edward Bury Henry Dowes[17]
1545 Clement Smith Nicholas Throckmorton[17]
1547 Sir Clement Smith Henry Dowes, died
and replaced by Jan 1552 by William Bassett[17]
1553 (Mar) Sir Walter Mildmay Henry Fortescue[17]
1553 (Oct) ?Anthony Browne John Raymond[17]
1554 (Apr) Thomas Hungate Edmund Tyrrell[17]
1554 (Nov) Anthony Browne John Wiseman[17]
1555 Sir Henry Radclyffe Richard Weston[17]
1558 Edmund Tyrrell Roger Appleton, died
and replaced by Nov 1558 by Henry Golding[18]
1559 Sir Humphrey Radcliffe Henry Golding[18]
1562–3 John Lathom Richard Argall[18]
1571 Peter Osborne. sat for Guildford,
repl. by George Blythe		 Gabriel Croft[18]
1572 Thomas Gent Vincent Harris, died
and repl. Oct 1574 by Edward Sulyard[18]
1584 Edward Lewknor William Wiseman[18]
1586 John Butler Edward Lewknor[18]
1588 John Butler William Vernon, sick
and replaced by Edward Lewknor[18]
1593 Sir Thomas Mildmay, Bt Edward Lewknor[18]
1597 Thomas Harris William Wiseman[18]
1601 William Wiseman Richard Weston[18]
1604 Sir Edward Lewknor, died
and replaced 1605 by Sir Theophilus Howard		 William Wiseman, died
and replaced 1610 by Sir John Sammes
1610 Sir Robert Rich
1614 Sir John Sammes Charles Chiborne
1621-1622 Sir Henry Mildmay Sir Julius Caesar
1624 Sir William Masham, Bt Sir Arthur Harris
1625 Sir William Masham, Bt Sir Henry Mildmay
1626 Sir William Masham, Bt Sir Thomas Cheek
1628-1629 Sir Henry Mildmay Sir Arthur Harris
1629–1640 No Parliaments summoned

MPs 1640–1868

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Year First member[19] First party Second member[19] Second party
April 1640 Sir Henry Mildmay Parliamentarian John Porter
November 1640 Sir John Clotworthy Parliamentarian
January 1648 Clotworthy disabled from sitting January 1648,
but readmitted June 1648
June 1648 Sir John Clotworthy Parliamentarian
December 1648 Clotworthy excluded in Pride's Purge - seat vacant
1653 Maldon was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654 Colonel Joachim Matthews Maldon had only one seat in the First and
Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
1656
January 1659 Henry Mildmay
May 1659 Colonel Sir Henry Mildmay One seat vacant
April 1660 Tristram Conyers Henry Mildmay
June 1660 Edward Herrys
1661 Sir John Tyrell Sir Richard Wiseman
1677 Sir William Wiseman, 1st Baronet
March 1679 Sir John Bramston
October 1679 Sir Thomas Darcy, 1st Baronet
1685 Sir John Bramston
1689 Charles Montagu
1693 Sir Eliab Harvey
1695 Irby Montagu
1699 John Bullock
January 1701 William Fytche
November 1701 John Comyns
1708 Sir Richard Child Thomas Richmond Whig
1710 John Comyns[n 3]
1711 William Fytche
1712 Thomas Bramston I
1715 Samuel Tufnell
1722 Sir John Comyns
1727 Henry Parsons Thomas Bramston II
1734 Martin Bladen
1740 Benjamin Keene
1741 Sir Thomas Drury, Bt Robert Colebrooke
1747 Sir Richard Lloyd, KC
1754[20] Colonel John Bullock
1761[20] Bamber Gascoyne Independent
1768[20] John Huske
1773[20] Charles Rainsford
1774[20] John Strutt Tory Hon. Richard Savage Nassau
1780[20] Eliab Harvey
1784[20] The Lord Waltham
1787[20] Sir Peter Parker, Bt
1790 Joseph Strutt Tory[21] Charles Western Whig[21]
1806 Benjamin Gaskell[n 4] Whig[21]
1807 Charles Western Whig[21]
1812 Benjamin Gaskell Whig[21]
1826 Hon. George Allanson-Winn Tory[21] Thomas Barrett-Lennard Whig[21][22][23][24][25][26]
1827 Hugh Dick Tory[21]
1830 Quintin Dick Tory[21]
1834 Conservative[21]
1837 John Round Conservative[21]
1847 David Waddington Conservative Thomas Barrett-Lennard Whig[21][22][23][24][25][26]
1852 [12] Charles du Cane Conservative Taverner John Miller Conservative
1853 Writ suspended[13]
1854 George Peacocke Conservative John Bramley-Moore Conservative
1857 Thomas Western Whig
1859 Liberal George Peacocke[n 5] Conservative
1865 Ralph Earle Conservative
1868 Representation reduced to one member

MPs 1868–1983

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Election Member[19] Party
1868 Edward Hammond Bentall Liberal
1874 George Sandford Conservative
1878 George Courtauld Liberal
1885 Arthur Kitching Liberal
1886 Charles Wing Gray Conservative
1892 Cyril Dodd Liberal
1895 Hon. Charles Strutt Conservative
1906 Thomas Bethell Liberal
1910 James Fortescue Flannery Conservative
1922 Edward Ruggles-Brise Conservative
1923 Valentine Crittall Labour
1924 Edward Ruggles-Brise Conservative
1942 Tom Driberg Ind. Labour
1945 Labour
1955 Brian Harrison Conservative
1974 John Wakeham Conservative
1983 constituency abolished

MPs since 2010

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The re-formed Maldon seat was fought for the first time at the 2010 general election.

Election Member[19] Party
2010 Sir John Whittingdale Conservative

Elections

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Elections in the 2020s

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General election 2024: Maldon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Whittingdale[27] 19,374 38.9 −33.3
Reform UK Pamela Walford[28] 12,468 25.0 N/A
Labour Onike Gollo[29] 9,817 19.7 +7.1
Liberal Democrats Simon Burwood[30] 5,882 11.8 +0.1
Green Isobel Doubleday[31] 2,300 4.6 +1.2
Majority 6,906 13.9 –45.7
Turnout 49,841 63.7 –6.2
Registered electors 78,281
Conservative hold

Elections in the 2010s

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2019 notional result[32]
Party Vote %
Conservative 38,791 72.2
Labour 6,790 12.6
Liberal Democrats 6,272 11.7
Green 1,851 3.4
Turnout 53,704 69.9
Electorate 76,794
General election 2019: Maldon[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Whittingdale 36,304 72.0 +4.1
Labour Stephen Capper 6,263 12.4 −8.9
Liberal Democrats Colin Baldy 5,990 11.9 +7.6
Green Janet Band 1,851 3.7 +1.6
Majority 30,041 59.6 +13.0
Turnout 50,408 69.4 −0.8
Conservative hold Swing +6.5
General election 2017: Maldon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Whittingdale 34,111 67.9 +7.3
Labour Peter Edwards 10,681 21.3 +9.5
Liberal Democrats Zoe O'Connell 2,181 4.3 −0.2
UKIP Jesse Pryke 1,899 3.8 −10.9
Green Steve Betteridge 1,073 2.1 −1.0
BNP Richard Perry 257 0.5 New
Majority 23,430 46.6 +0.7
Turnout 50,202 70.2 +0.6
Conservative hold Swing -1.0
General election 2015: Maldon[34]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Whittingdale 29,112 60.6 +0.8
UKIP Beverley Acevedo[35] 7,042 14.7 +9.6
Labour Peter Edwards[36] 5,690 11.8 −0.9
Independent Ken Martin 2,424 5.0 New
Liberal Democrats Zoe O'Connell[37] 2,157 4.5 −14.8
Green Bob Graves[38] 1,504 3.1 New
Sustainable Population John Marett 116 0.2 New
Majority 22,070 45.9 +5.4
Turnout 48,045 69.6 0.0
Conservative hold Swing
General election 2010: Maldon[39][40]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Whittingdale 28,661 59.8
Liberal Democrats Elfreda Tealby-Watson 9,254 19.3
Labour Swatantra Nandanwar 6,070 12.7
UKIP Jesse Pryke 2,446 5.1
BNP Len Blaine 1,464 3.1
Majority 19,407 40.5
Turnout 47,895 69.6
Conservative win (new seat)

Elections in the 1970s

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General election 1979: Maldon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Wakeham 29,585 57.8 +14.3
Labour Robert Oliver 12,848 25.1 −4.9
Liberal Michael Wright 8,730 17.1 −9.4
Majority 16,737 32.7 +19.2
Turnout 51,163 77.9 +1.7
Conservative hold Swing
General election October 1974: Maldon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Wakeham 20,485 43.5 −0.4
Labour Anthony Shaw 14,098 30.0 +3.4
Liberal Roderick Beale 12,473 26.5 −3.0
Majority 6,387 13.5 −0.9
Turnout 47,056 76.2 −6.0
Conservative hold Swing
General election February 1974: Maldon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Wakeham 22,088 43.9
Liberal John Beale 14,866 29.5
Labour Vera Morris 13,368 26.6
Majority 7,222 14.4
Turnout 50,322 82.2
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1970: Maldon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Brian Harrison 29,229 50.6 +5.1
Labour Stephen Haseler 22,957 39.8 −4.6
Liberal John Beale 5,574 9.7 −0.4
Majority 6,272 10.9 +9.8
Turnout 57,760 79.8 −3.5
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s

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General election 1966: Maldon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Brian Harrison 22,572 45.5 +0.1
Labour Bruce Douglas-Mann 22,066 44.4 +2.3
Liberal William H. Jacks 5,015 10.10 −2.37
Majority 506 1.1 −2.1
Turnout 49,653 83.29
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1964: Maldon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Brian Harrison 21,547 45.37
Labour S. Gordon Richards 20,016 42.15
Liberal William H. Jacks 5,924 12.47
Majority 1,531 3.22
Turnout 47,487 83.28
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1950s

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General election 1959: Maldon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Brian Harrison 21,772 48.21
Labour S. Gordon Richards 19,532 43.25
Liberal Leonard Charles Montague Walsh 3,860 8.55 New
Majority 2,240 4.96
Turnout 45,164 83.02
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1955: Maldon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Brian Harrison 22,002 50.63
Labour Lynton Scutts 21,452 49.37
Majority 550 1.26 N/A
Turnout 43,454 83.52
Conservative gain from Labour Swing
General election 1951: Maldon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Tom Driberg 22,756 50.79
Conservative Aubrey R. Moody 22,052 49.21
Majority 704 1.58
Turnout 44,808 87.38
Labour hold Swing
General election 1950: Maldon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Tom Driberg 20,567 47.53
Conservative Aubrey R. Moody 18,843 43.55
Liberal William Drummond Abernethy 3,859 8.92 New
Majority 1,724 3.98
Turnout 43,269 86.16
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1940s

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Driberg was elected in 1942 as an Independent Labour candidate, but took the Labour Party whip in January 1945, and stood in the 1945 election as a Labour Party candidate.

General election, 1945: Maldon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Tom Driberg 22,480 60.4 N/A
Conservative Melford Stevenson 14,753 39.6 −13.8
Majority 7,727 20.8 N/A
Turnout 37,233 74.5 +0.7
Labour gain from Independent Labour Swing
1942 Maldon by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Labour Tom Driberg 12,219 61.3 New
Conservative Reuben Hunt 6,226 31.3 −22.1
National Independent and Agricultural Richard Matthews 1,476 7.4 New
Majority 5,993 30.0 N/A
Turnout 19,921 44.4 −29.4
Independent Labour gain from Conservative Swing

Elections in the 1930s

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General election, 1935: Maldon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Edward Ruggles-Brise 17,072 53.4 −17.4
Labour William Frederick Toynbee 9,264 28.9 −0.3
Liberal Hilda Buckmaster 5,680 17.7 New
Majority 7,808 24.5 −16.1
Turnout 32,016 73.8 −0.9
Conservative hold Swing
General election, 1931: Maldon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Edward Ruggles-Brise 22,055 70.8 +27.0
Labour William Frederick Toynbee 9,078 29.2 −5.9
Majority 12,977 41.6 +32.9
Turnout 31,133 74.7 −4.8
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1920s

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General election, 1929: Maldon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Edward Ruggles-Brise 14,020 43.8 −8.5
Labour Herbert Evans 11,224 35.1 −1.8
Liberal Herbert Alfred May 6,748 21.1 +10.3
Majority 2,796 8.7 −6.7
Turnout 31,992 79.5 −3.1
Unionist hold Swing -3.3
General election, 1924: Maldon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Edward Ruggles-Brise 13,209 52.3 +2.3
Labour Valentine Crittall 9,323 36.9 −13.2
Liberal Herbert Reginald Graham Brooks 2,724 10.8 New
Majority 3,886 15.4 N/A
Turnout 25,256 82.6 +13.0
Unionist gain from Labour Swing
General election, 1923: Maldon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Valentine Crittall 10,329 50.1 +22.3
Unionist Edward Ruggles-Brise 10,280 49.9 +2.7
Majority 49 0.2 N/A
Turnout 21,892 69.6 −5.2
Labour gain from Unionist Swing +9.7
General election, 1922: Maldon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Edward Ruggles-Brise 10,337 47.2 −3.9
Labour George Dallas 6,085 27.8 −11.8
Liberal James Parish 5,470 25.0 +15.7
Majority 4,252 19.4 +7.9
Turnout 21,892 74.8 +18.1
Unionist hold Swing

Elections in the 1910s

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General election 1918: Maldon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Unionist James Fortescue Flannery 8,138 51.1
Labour George Dallas 6,315 39.6 New
Liberal Ernest William Tanner 1,490 9.3
Majority 1,823 11.5
Turnout 15,943 56.7
Unionist hold Swing
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Election results 1832–1918

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Elections in the 1830s

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General election 1832: Maldon [21][41]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig Thomas Barrett-Lennard 448 39.3
Tory Quintin Dick 416 36.5
Whig Peter Luard Wright[42] 277 24.3
Turnout 671 93.7
Registered electors 716
Majority 32 2.8
Whig hold
Majority 139 12.2
Tory hold
General election 1835: Maldon [21][41]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Quintin Dick 441 36.6 +18.4
Whig Thomas Barrett-Lennard 407 33.8 −29.8
Conservative Henry St John-Mildmay 356 29.6 +11.4
Turnout 721 91.4 −2.3
Registered electors 789
Majority 34 2.8 −9.4
Conservative hold Swing +16.7
Majority 51 4.2 +1.4
Whig hold Swing −29.8
General election 1837: Maldon [21][41]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Quintin Dick 420 34.4 −2.2
Conservative John Round 407 33.3 +3.7
Whig Thomas Barrett-Lennard 395 32.3 −1.5
Majority 25 2.1 −0.7
Turnout 760 86.8 −4.6
Registered electors 876
Conservative hold Swing −0.7
Conservative gain from Whig Swing +2.2

Elections in the 1840s

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General election 1841: Maldon [21][41]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Quintin Dick 472 35.5 +1.1
Conservative John Round 446 33.5 +0.2
Whig Thomas Abdy 413 31.0 −1.3
Majority 33 2.5 +0.4
Turnout 815 95.3 +8.5
Registered electors 855
Conservative hold Swing +0.9
Conservative hold Swing +0.4
General election 1847: Maldon [41]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative David Waddington 461 34.6 +1.1
Whig Thomas Barrett-Lennard 443 33.3 +2.3
Conservative Quintin Dick 427 32.1 −3.4
Turnout 887 (est) 93.3 (est) −2.0
Registered electors 951
Majority 18 1.3 −1.2
Conservative hold Swing —
Majority 16 1.2 N/A
Whig gain from Conservative Swing +2.3

Elections in the 1850s

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General election 1852: Maldon [41]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Du Cane 370 26.3 N/A
Conservative Taverner John Miller 357 25.4 N/A
Whig Thomas Barrett-Lennard 351 24.9 −8.4
Ind. Conservative Quintin Dick[43] 330 23.4 −8.7
Majority 6 0.5 −0.8
Turnout 704 (est) 83.3 (est) −10.0
Registered electors 845
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative gain from Whig Swing

The 1852 election was declared void on petition due to bribery and treating,[44] and the writ was suspended in March 1853.[12] A by-election was held in August 1854 to fill the vacancy.

By-election, 17 August 1854: Maldon [41][45][46]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative George Peacocke 406 29.2 +2.9
Conservative John Bramley-Moore 399 28.7 +3.3
Whig Thomas Barrett-Lennard 335 24.1 −0.8
Radical Thomas MacEnteer[47] 217 15.6 N/A
Peelite Quintin Dick[48] 34 2.4 −21.0
Majority 64 4.6 +4.1
Turnout 696 (est) 71.8 (est) −11.5
Registered electors 968
Conservative hold Swing +1.7
Conservative hold Swing +1.9
General election 1857: Maldon [41]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Thomas Western 427 35.8 +10.9
Conservative John Bramley-Moore 405 34.0 +7.7
Conservative George Peacocke 360 30.2 +4.8
Majority 22 1.8 N/A
Turnout 810 (est) 92.1 (est) +8.8
Registered electors 879
Whig gain from Conservative Swing −0.8
Conservative hold Swing +0.8
General election 1859: Maldon [41]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative George Peacocke 503 37.0 +6.8
Liberal Thomas Western 431 31.7 −4.1
Conservative Augustus William Henry Meyrick[49] 427 31.4 −2.6
Turnout 896 (est) 83.7 (est) −8.4
Registered electors 1,071
Majority 72 5.3
Conservative hold Swing +4.4
Majority 4 0.3 −1.5
Liberal hold Swing −4.2

Elections in the 1860s

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General election 1865: Maldon [41]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative George Peacocke 461 36.2 −0.8
Conservative Ralph Earle 420 32.9 +1.5
Liberal Thomas Western 394 30.9 −0.8
Majority 26 2.0 −3.3
Turnout 835 (est) 97.1 (est) +13.4
Registered electors 859
Conservative hold Swing −0.2
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +1.0

Seat reduced to one member

General election 1868: Maldon [41]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Edward Hammond Bentall 657 56.6 +25.7
Conservative George Sandford 504 43.4 −25.7
Majority 153 13.2 N/A
Turnout 1,161 83.1 −14.0
Registered electors 1,397
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +25.7

Elections in the 1870s

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General election 1874: Maldon [41]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative George Sandford 632 54.9 +11.5
Liberal John Bennett[50] 519 45.1 −11.5
Majority 113 9.8 N/A
Turnout 1,151 75.6 −7.5
Registered electors 1,522
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +11.5

Sandford's resignation caused a by-election.

1878 Maldon by-election[41]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal George Courtauld 671 55.9 +10.8
Conservative William Abdy 530 44.1 −10.8
Majority 141 11.8 N/A
Turnout 1,201 78.3 +2.7
Registered electors 1,534
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +10.8

Elections in the 1880s

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General election 1880: Maldon [41]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal George Courtauld 679 51.1 +6.0
Conservative William Abdy 651 48.9 −6.0
Majority 28 2.2 N/A
Turnout 1,330 85.0 +9.4
Registered electors 1,564
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +6.0
General election 1885: Maldon [51][52][53]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Arthur Kitching 4,509 53.8 +2.7
Conservative Charles Wing Gray 3,878 46.2 −2.7
Majority 631 7.6 +5.4
Turnout 8,387 85.0 0.0
Registered electors 9,869
Liberal hold Swing +2.7
General election 1886: Maldon [51][52]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Wing Gray 4,143 52.9 +6.7
Liberal Edward Barnard 3,686 47.1 −6.7
Majority 457 5.8 N/A
Turnout 7,829 79.3 −5.7
Registered electors 9,869
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +6.7

Elections in the 1890s

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General election 1892: Maldon [51][52]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Cyril Joseph Settle Dodd 4,321 51.0 +3.9
Conservative Charles Wing Gray 4,153 49.0 −3.9
Majority 168 2.0 N/A
Turnout 8,474 83.4 +4.1
Registered electors 10,160
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +3.9
General election 1895: Maldon [51][52][54]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Strutt 4,618 53.5 +4.5
Liberal Cyril Joseph Settle Dodd 4,006 46.5 −4.5
Majority 612 7.0 N/A
Turnout 8,624 85.9 +2.5
Registered electors 10,041
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +4.5

Elections in the 1900s

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General election 1900: Maldon [51][52][54]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Strutt 4,649 58.5 +5.0
Liberal John Henderson 3,301 41.5 −5.0
Majority 1,348 17.0 +10.0
Turnout 7,950 79.4 −6.5
Registered electors 10,018
Conservative hold Swing +5.0
 
Bethell
General election 1906: Maldon [51][52]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Thomas Bethell 4,773 50.8 +9.3
Conservative Charles Strutt 4,624 49.2 −9.3
Majority 149 1.6 N/A
Turnout 9,397 88.5 +9.1
Registered electors 10,613
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +9.3

Elections in the 1910s

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Flannery
General election January 1910: Maldon [51][55]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Fortescue Flannery 5,691 54.1 +4.9
Liberal Thomas Bethell 4,822 45.9 −4.9
Majority 869 8.2 N/A
Turnout 10,513 91.3 +2.8
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +4.9
 
Jardine
General election December 1910: Maldon [51][55]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Fortescue Flannery 5,386 53.4 −0.7
Liberal James Jardine 4,693 46.6 +0.7
Majority 693 6.8 −1.4
Turnout 10,069 87.5 −3.8
Conservative hold Swing -0.7

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 July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

Pre-1832 election results

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Elections in the 1830s

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General election 1830: Maldon [21][56]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory Quintin Dick Unopposed
Whig Thomas Barrett-Lennard Unopposed
Registered electors c. 3,400
Tory hold
Whig hold
General election 1831: Maldon [21][56]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory Quintin Dick Unopposed
Whig Thomas Barrett-Lennard Unopposed
Registered electors c. 3,400
Tory hold
Whig hold

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer).
  2. ^ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
  3. ^ Comyns was re-elected in 1715, but his election was declared void because he refused to take the oath that he met the property qualification to be elected. Tufnell, was seated in his place.
  4. ^ On petition, Gaskell was adjudged not to have been duly elected, and his opponent, Western, was seated in his place.
  5. ^ Peacocke changed his name to Sandford during the Parliament of 1865.

References

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  1. ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – Eastern". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  2. ^ Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Maldon
  3. ^ "Maldon | History of Parliament Online". www.histparl.ac.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Representation of the People Act 1867" (PDF). Schedule A.
  5. ^ a b Great Britain, Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales. The public general acts. unknown library. Proprietors of the Law Journal Reports, 1884.
  6. ^ Fraser, Hugh (1918). The Representation of the people act, 1918 : with explanatory notes. University of California Libraries. London : Sweet and Maxwell.
  7. ^ a b Craig, Fred W. S. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1885-1972;. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0900178094. OCLC 539011.
  8. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  9. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  10. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part 2 Eastern region.
  11. ^ Pages 109 to 113, Lewis Namier, The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd edition - London: St Martin's Press, 1957)
  12. ^ a b c "MALDON ELECTION". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 18 March 1853. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  13. ^ a b "NEW WRIT FOR MALDON". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 11 August 1854. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  15. ^ "DARCY, Robert (d.1448), of Maldon, Essex. | History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  16. ^ a b Cavill. The English Parliaments of Henry VII 1485-1504.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  19. ^ a b c d Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "M" (part 1)
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis Namier (1964). "Maldon". In Namier, Sir Lewis; Brooke, John (eds.). The House of Commons 1754–1790. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 110–112. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
  22. ^ a b Escott, Margaret (2009). "BARRETT LENNARD, Thomas (1788–1856), of Belhus, Aveley, Essex and Hyde Park Terrace, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  23. ^ a b Fisher, David R. (2009). "Maldon". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  24. ^ a b Hall, Catherine; Draper, Nicholas; McClelland, Keith; Donington, Katie; Lang, Rachel (2014). "Appendix 4: MPs 1832-80 in the compensation records". Legacies of British Slave-ownership: Colonial Slavery and the Formation of Victorian Britain. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 292. ISBN 978-1-107-04005-2. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  25. ^ a b "Witham". Essex Standard. 6 August 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 27 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  26. ^ a b "Essex Elections". Morning Post. 26 December 1832. p. 2. Retrieved 27 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  27. ^ "Maldon MP Sir John Whittingdale re-selected by council". Maldon Standard. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  28. ^ "Maldon Constituency - Pamela Walford Reform UK".
  29. ^ https://twitter.com/EofELabour/status/1767930158076289275. Retrieved 13 March 2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  30. ^ "Simon Burwood runs to be Maldon's Lib Dem MP". Maldon Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  31. ^ "Your Green candidates for Parliament in the next election". Brentwood & Chelmsford Green Party. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  32. ^ "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  33. ^ "Maldon Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  34. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  35. ^ "UK Polling Report".
  36. ^ "Peter Edwards". Labour Party (UK). Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  37. ^ "Zoe O'Connell". Liberal Democrats (UK). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  38. ^ "Green Party announces parliamentary candidate for Maldon constituency". Witham and Braintree Green Party. Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  39. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  40. ^ "BBC News | Election 2010 | Constituency | Maldon". news.bbc.co.uk.
  41. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.[page needed]
  42. ^ "Maldon". Morning Advertiser. 12 December 1832. p. 1. Retrieved 18 April 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  43. ^ "The Elections". London Daily News. 12 July 1852. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 27 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  44. ^ "Maldon Petition". Southern Reporter and Cork Commercial Courier. 22 March 1853. p. 4. Retrieved 27 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  45. ^ "The Elections". Berkshire Chronicle. 19 August 1854. p. 8. Retrieved 27 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  46. ^ "Maldon Election". 17 August 1854. p. 1. Retrieved 27 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  47. ^ "Election Intelligence". Morning Post. 17 August 1854. p. 4. Retrieved 27 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  48. ^ "The Elections". Blackburn Standard. 23 August 1854. p. 2. Retrieved 27 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  49. ^ "To the Electors of the Borough of Maldon". Chelmsford Chronicle. 29 April 1859. p. 1. Retrieved 27 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  50. ^ "Electors of Maldon". Essex Herald. 3 February 1874. p. 1. Retrieved 6 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  51. ^ a b c d e f g h British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, F. W. S. Craig.
  52. ^ a b c d e f The Liberal Year Book, 1907.
  53. ^ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886.
  54. ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
  55. ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
  56. ^ a b Fisher, David R. "Maldon". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 18 April 2020.

Sources

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  • Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) [1]
  • D. Brunton & D. H. Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
  • John Cannon, Parliamentary Reform 1640-1832 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1972)
  • Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808) [2]
  • The Constitutional Year Book for 1913 (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913)
  • F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
  • Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  • Michael Kinnear, The British Voter (London: BH Batsford, Ltd, 1968)
  • J. Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
  • Edward Porritt and Annie G Porritt, The Unreformed House of Commons (Cambridge University Press, 1903)
  • T. H. B. Oldfield, The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland (London: Baldwin, Cradock & Joy, 1816)
  • Henry Pelling, Social Geography of British Elections 1885-1910 (London: Macmillan, 1967)
  • Robert Waller, The Almanac of British Politics (1st edition, London: Croom Helm, 1983)
  • Frederic A. Youngs jr, Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol I (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979)
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