Lancaster was a constituency of 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 England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised ...

then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and 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 ...

from 1801 to 1867, centred on the historic city of Lancaster in north-west England. It was represented by 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 ...

until the constituency was disenfranchised for corruption in 1867. 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 ...

, Lancaster was re-established for the 1885 general election as a

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 ...

. It then returned one

Member 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 ...

(MP) to the

of the

, with elections held under 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. This constituency in turn was abolished when it was largely replaced by the new Lancaster and Wyre constituency for the 1997 general election.

History

Lancaster returned Members to Parliament between 1295 and 1331 but is not known to have done so again, on the grounds of the poverty of the town's burgesses, until the election of William Banester in 1523. Representation was reduced during the protectorate: Lancaster was not represented in the

Barebones Parliament Barebone's Parliament, also known as the Little Parliament, the Nominated Assembly and the Parliament of Saints, came into being on 4 July 1653, and was the last attempt of the English Commonwealth to find a stable political form before the ins ...

and sent only one Member to the first and second Protectorate Parliaments. The two Member constituency was disenfranchised in 1867 for corruption and representation not restored until 1885 as a one Member constituency. The constituency was finally abolished in 1997 and replaced by the constituency of Lancaster and Wyre.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The Borough of Lancaster, the Sessional Divisions of Garstang and Hornby, and part of the Sessional Division of South Lonsdale. 1918–1950: The Boroughs of Lancaster and Morecambe, the Urban Districts of Heysham and Preesall, the Rural District of Garstang, and part of the Rural District of Lancaster. 1950–1983: The Borough of Lancaster, the Urban District of Carnforth, the Rural District of Lunesdale, and in the Rural District of Lancaster the parishes of Ashton with Stodday, Cockerham, Elllel, Heaton with Oxcliffe, Middleton, Overton, Over Wyresdale, Scotforth, and Thurnham. 1983–1997: The City of Lancaster wards of Bulk, Castle, Caton, Ellel, Hornby, John O'Gaunt, Scotforth East, Scotforth West, Skerton Central, Skerton East, and Skerton West, and the Borough of Wyre wards of Brock, Calder, Catterall, Duchy, Garstang, Great Eccleston, Pilling, and Wyresdale.

Members of Parliament

Lancaster borough

1295–1640

1640–1867

Lancaster county constituency

1885–1997

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

Fenton-Cawthorne's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1840s

Gregson's election was declared void on petition due to bribery, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1850s

Armstrong's election was declared void due to corruption and bribery, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1860s

Garnett

resigned Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...

, causing a by-election. Gregson's death caused a by-election. Extensive bribery caused both members to be unseated on 23 April 1866, and the seat to lose its right to return a member of Parliament under 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 ...

. It was incorporated into

North Lancashire North Lancashire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was represented by two Members of Parliament. The constituency was created by the Great Reform Act of 1832 by the splitting of Lancas ...

Elections in the 1880s

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; *Liberal:

Norval Helme Sir Norval Watson Helme (22 September 1849 – 6 March 1932) was an English businessman and Liberal Party politician from Lancaster. He held a series of local political offices before winning a seat in the House of Commons in 1900. Helme was ...

*Unionist: Sir Archibald Hunter

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1930s

*George H Bryans was adopted as Liberal candidate but in October 1931 had a heart attack and withdrew. Herwald Ramsbotham, 1st Viscount Soulbury

Elections in the 1940s

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 from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected; *Conservative:

Herwald Ramsbotham Herwald Ramsbotham, 1st Viscount Soulbury (6 March 1887 – 30 January 1971) was a British Conservative politician. He served as a government minister between 1931 and 1941 and served as Governor-General of Ceylon between the years 1949 and 195 ...

*Liberal: William Ross *Labour: Albert Farrer

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1990s

Notes and references

Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. .

Sources

*Robert Beatson, ''A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament'' (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807

*D Brunton & D H Pennington, ''Members of the Long Parliament'' (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954) *''Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803'' (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808

* ''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) * Maija Jansson (ed.), ''Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons)'' (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988

* J E Neale, ''The Elizabethan House of Commons'' (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949) * J Holladay Philbin, ''Parliamentary Representation 1832 – England and Wales'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965) * Henry Stooks Smith, ''The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847'' (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig – Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lancaster (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in North West England (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1295 1376 disestablishments Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1523 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1868 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1885 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1997 Parliamentary constituencies disenfranchised for corruption Politics of Lancaster History of Lancaster