Chelsea (UK Parliament constituency)
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Chelsea was a borough constituency, represented in 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. T ...
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 ...
. The constituency was created by the
Reform Act 1867 The Representation of the People Act 1867, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102 (known as the Reform Act 1867 or the Second Reform Act) was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised part of the urban male working class in England and Wales for the first ...
for the 1868 general election, when it returned two
Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MPs), elected by the bloc vote system of election. Under 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 ...
, with effect from the 1885 general election, its representation was reduced to one MP, 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 thei ...
system.


Boundaries and boundary changes

1868–1885: The parishes of Chelsea, Fulham, Hammersmith, and Kensington. 1885–1918: The parish of St Luke, Chelsea. ''Chelsea'' (after the local government changes in 1965) is a district of
Inner London Inner London is the name for the group of London boroughs which form the interior part of Greater London and are surrounded by Outer London. With its origins in the bills of mortality, it became fixed as an area for statistics in 1847 and was u ...
, comprising for administrative purposes the southern part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Its southern boundary is on the north bank of the River
Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
. It adjoins
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
to the east, Fulham to the west and Kensington to the north. Before 1868 the area was represented in Parliament as part of the
county constituency In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called " constitue ...
of
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
. With the expansion westwards of the urban area around
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
, the former village of
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
and neighbouring areas had by 1868 developed enough to be made a Parliamentary borough and given two seats in 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. T ...
. The parliamentary borough comprised four
civil parishes 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. ...
: Chelsea, Fulham, Hammersmith and Kensington. In 1885, the existing parliamentary borough was divided into five single-member constituencies. 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 ...
defined the redrawn Chelsea seat as comprising the parish of St Luke, Chelsea. The constituency had a detached outlier, the Kensal Green area. (The remaining parishes became the constituencies of Fulham, Hammersmith, Kensington North and Kensington South.) In 1889, the historic county of
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
was divided for administrative purposes. ''Chelsea'' became part of the
County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...
. No changes were made to parliamentary boundaries, however. In the 1918 redistribution of Parliamentary seats, the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea (created as a local government unit in 1900) was represented by one MP. In the redistribution which took effect in 1950, the then Brompton ward of the
Metropolitan Borough of Kensington The Metropolitan Borough of Kensington was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London from 1900 to 1965, which since 1901 was known as the Royal Borough of Kensington, following the death of Queen Victoria, in accordance with her wishes. His ...
was added to the existing area of the constituency. In 1965, the
London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...
area was absorbed by the new Greater London Council. The constituency was included in a new London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, although the Parliamentary boundaries were not altered immediately. In the redistribution that took effect in 1974, the ''Kensington and Chelsea, Chelsea'' constituency consisted of the then Brompton, Cheyne, Church,
Earls Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...
, Hans Town, North Stanley, Redcliffe, Royal Hospital and South Stanley
ward 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 pris ...
s of Kensington and Chelsea. From the 1983 redistribution, ''Chelsea'' consisted of Abingdon, Brompton, Cheyne, Church, Courtfield, Earls Court, Hans Town, North Stanley, Redcliffe, Royal Hospital and South Stanley
ward 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 pris ...
s of Kensington and Chelsea. 98.5% of the constituency had been in the pre-1983 ''Chelsea'' and 1.5% had been part of Kensington. In the 1997 redistribution, ''Chelsea'' ceased to exist as a constituency. The area was included in the Kensington and Chelsea constituency, which covered the central and southern portions of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, including the centres of both Kensington and
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
.


Members of Parliament


MPs 1868-1885


MPs 1885-1997


Elections


Elections in the 1990s

* ''Constituency abolished 1997''


Elections in the 1980s

* ''Minor boundary change affecting less than 5% of electors''


Elections in the 1970s

* ''Boundary change''


Elections in the 1960s


Elections in the 1950s


Elections in the 1940s

* ''Note 1 (1945): Changes and swing calculated from 1935 to 1945.'' * ''Note 2 (1945): Counting of votes took place on 26 July 1945'' * ''Boundary change'' * ''Creation of Hoare as 1st Viscount Templewood''


Elections in the 1930s


Elections in the 1920s


Elections in the 1910s


Elections in the 1900s


Elections in the 1890s


Elections in the 1880s

* ''Constituency reduced to one seat.'' * ''Swing: For 1885-1910 the swing figure given is the Butler Swing, defined as the average of the Conservative % gain and Liberal % loss between two elections, with the percentages being calculated on the basis of the total number of votes (including those cast for candidates other than Conservative or Liberal). A positive figure is a swing to Conservative and a negative one to Liberal.'' * Caused by the appointment of Dilke as President of the Local Government Board''


Elections in the 1870s


Elections in the 1860s


See also

* List of parliamentary constituencies in London * Duration of English, British and United Kingdom parliaments from 1660


References

* ''Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume I 1832-1885'', edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976) * ''British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885'', compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (The Macmillan Press 1977) * ''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 (The Macmillan Press 1977) * ''British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973'', compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Research Services 1983) * ''British Parliamentary Election Results 1974-1983'', compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Research Services 1984) * ''Britain Votes 4: British Parliamentary Election Results 1983-1987'', compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Research Services 1988) * ''Britain Votes 5: British Parliamentary Election Results 1988-1992'', compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher (Parliamentary Research Services/Dartmouth Publishing 1993) * ''Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972'', compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1972) * ''British Parliamentary Constituencies: A Statistical Compendium'', by Ivor Crewe and Anthony Fox (Faber and Faber 1984) * {{Historic constituencies in London , 1832 = n , 1868 = y , 1885 = y , 1918 = y , 1950 = y , 1955 = y , 1974 = y , 1983 = y , 1997 = n Politics of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Parliamentary constituencies in London (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1868 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1997 Political history of Middlesex Chelsea, London