Brixton was a

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

centred on the

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

district of

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

, elected by the

first-past-the-post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

system.

History

The constituency was created for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the February 1974 general election, when it was largely replaced by the new Lambeth Central constituency.

Boundaries

1885–1918

The constituency was created by the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...

, when the existing two-member Parliamentary Borough of Lambeth was divided into four single-member divisions.

, (48 & 49 Vict.) C 23, Sixth Schedule: Divisions of Boroughs. Number, Names, Contents and Boundaries of Divisions. The seat, formally known as Lambeth, Brixton Division, comprised part of the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

, and was defined in terms of the

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

used for elections to the parish vestry under the

Metropolis Management Act 1855 The Metropolis Management Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c.120) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the Metropolitan Board of Works, a London-wide body to co-ordinate the construction of the city's infrastructure. The Act al ...

as follows: *The parts of

and

Stockwell Stockwell is a district in south west London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. Battersea, Brixton, Clapham, South Lambeth, Oval and Kennington all border Stockwell. History The na ...

wards to the north of the centres of Acre Lane and Coldharbour Lane *The part of

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

ward to the east of the centre of Clapham Road.

1918–1950

The

Representation of the People Act 1918 The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The Act extended the franchise in parliamentary elections, also ...

redrew constituencies throughout Great Britain and Ireland. In London, the seats were redefined in terms of the wards of the

Metropolitan Boroughs of the County of London The term metropolitan borough was used from 1900 to 1965, for the subdivisions of the County of London and were created by the London Government Act 1899. History Parliamentary boroughs covering the metropolitan area were created in 1832. The ...

, which had been created in 1900. Accordingly, the constituency was defined as consisting of the following areas of the

Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth Lambeth was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in south London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 and became part of t ...

: *Stockwell ward. *The part of Brixton ward to the south of a line running from Clapham Road along the middle of Stockwell Park Road, Grove Road, Brixton Road, Mostyn Road, Akerman Road and Lothian Road and across Camberwell New Road to Wyndham Road. *The part of

Herne Hill Herne Hill is a district in South London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It sits to the north and east of Brockwell Park and straddles the boundary between the boroughs ...

Ward to the north of a line running from Coldharbour Lane along the north side of the

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR; known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its ...

Denmark Hill Denmark Hill is an area and road in Camberwell, in the London Borough of Southwark. It is a sub-section of the western flank of the Norwood Ridge, centred on the long, curved Ruskin Park slope of the ridge. The road is part of the A215 road, A21 ...

. *The part of

Tulse Hill Tulse Hill is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in South London that sits on Brockwell Park. It is approximately five miles from Charing Cross and is bordered by Brixton, Dulwich, Herne Hill, Streatham and West Norwood. History The ar ...

to the north and west of a line running along the middle of Brixton Hill from Mill Lane to Water Lane, along the middle of Water Lane to Effra Road, and along the middle of Effra Road to Coldharbour Lane.

1950–1974

The final boundary change was made by the

Representation of the People Act 1948 The Representation of the People Act 1948 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered the law relating to parliamentary and local elections. It is noteworthy for abolishing plural voting for parliamentary elections, including ...

, and came into effect at the 1950 general election. The 1948 Act introduced the term "

borough constituency In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by ...

". Due to a population decrease in Lambeth, the number of constituencies in the borough was reduced from four to three. The new Lambeth Brixton Borough Constituency was defined as consisting of four wards of the metropolitan borough as they existed at the end of 1947: *"The Angell, Stockwell, Town Hall, and Vassal wards of the borough of Lambeth" Local government was completely reorganised in Greater London in 1965, and the metropolitan borough was abolished to be replaced by the larger

London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London boroughs, London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London ...

. However these changes were not reflected in parliamentary boundaries until the general election of 1974. The Brixton constituency was largely replaced by the new seat of Lambeth Central

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

Baggallay resigned after being appointed a Metropolitan Police Magistrate, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1910s

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; *Unionist: Davison Dalziel *Liberal:

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1930s

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; *Conservative:

Nigel Colman Sir Nigel Claudian Dalziel Colman, 1st Baronet (4 May 1886 – 7 March 1966) was a British businessman and Conservative Party politician. Early life The second son of Frederick Edward Colman and his wife, Helen, eldest daughter of Davison Octavi ...

*Labour:

Marcus Lipton Marcus Lipton CBE (29 October 190022 February 1978) was a British Labour Party politician. Education The son of Benjamin and Mary Lipton of Sunderland, Marcus Lipton was educated at Hudson Road Council School and Bede Grammar School in the ...

Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939

Elections in the 1940s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1970s

References

* {{Historic constituencies in London , 1832 = n , 1868 = n , 1885 = y , 1918 = y , 1950 = y , 1955 = y , 1974 = n , 1983 = n , 1997 = n Parliamentary constituencies in London (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1885 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1974 Politics of the London Borough of Lambeth History of the London Borough of Lambeth

Constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

1885 establishments in England 1974 disestablishments in England