Shoreditch and Finsbury (UK Parliament constituency)

Shoreditch and Finsbury was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Shoreditch district of the East End of London and the adjacent Finsbury area. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, using the first-past-the-post system of voting.

Shoreditch and Finsbury
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
CountyGreater London
19501974 (1974)
SeatsOne
Created fromShoreditch
Finsbury
Replaced byIslington South & Finsbury
Hackney South & Shoreditch

The constituency was created for the 1950 general election, partially replacing the previous Shoreditch and Finsbury constituencies, which had seen a significant fall in population.

Shoreditch and Finsbury was itself abolished for the February 1974 general election, when its territory was divided between two new constituencies: Islington South & Finsbury and Hackney South & Shoreditch.

Boundaries

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Shoreditch and Finsbury in London 1950-74

The constituency consisted of the Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch and the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury. In 1965, Shoreditch was absorbed into the London Borough of Hackney and Finsbury into the London Borough of Islington; however the constituency boundaries remained unchanged until the seat disappeared in 1974.

Members of Parliament

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Election Member Party Notes
1950 Ernest Thurtle Labour Died in office August 1954
1954 by-election Victor Collins Labour Resigned August 1958 on being raised to the peerage
1958 by-election Michael Cliffe Labour
1964 Ronald Brown Labour
Feb 1974 constituency abolished

Election results

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Elections in the 1950s

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General election 1950: Shoreditch and Finsbury
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ernest Thurtle 22,150 53.2
Conservative Geoffrey Rippon 7,879 18.6
Labour Independent Group John Platts-Mills 7,602 18.0
Liberal George Hensher 4,297 10.4
Majority 14,631 34.6
Turnout 41,928 73.4
Labour win (new seat)
General election 1951: Shoreditch and Finsbury
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ernest Thurtle 30,162 72.6 +19.4
Conservative Geoffrey Rippon 11,399 27.4 +8.8
Majority 18,763 45.2 +10.6
Turnout 41,561 73.2 −0.2
Labour hold Swing
1954 Shoreditch and Finsbury by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Victor Collins 18,082 78.19 +5.6
Conservative Malcolm Agnew 5,043 21.81 −5.6
Majority 13,039 56.38 +11.2
Turnout 23,125
Labour hold Swing
General election 1955: Shoreditch and Finsbury
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Victor Collins 25,500 73.4 +0.8
Conservative Malcolm Agnew 9,216 26.5 −0.9
Majority 16,284 46.9 +1.7
Turnout 34,716 77.4 +4.2
Labour hold Swing
1958 Shoreditch and Finsbury by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Michael Cliffe 10,215 76.04 +2.59
Conservative Thomas Whipham 3,219 23.96 −2.59
Majority 6996 52.08 +5.18
Turnout 13,434
Labour hold Swing
General election 1959: Shoreditch and Finsbury
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Michael Cliffe 22,744 67.0 −6.4
Conservative Thomas Whipham 11,178 33.0 +6.5
Majority 11,566 34.0 −12.9
Turnout 33,922 34.1 −43.3
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s

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General election 1964: Shoreditch and Finsbury
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ronald Brown 18,207 68.4 +1.4
Conservative Roger J L Bramble 8,412 31.6 −1.4
Majority 9,795 36.8 +2.8
Turnout 26,619 55.7 +21.6
Labour hold Swing
General election 1966: Shoreditch and Finsbury
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ronald Brown 17,456 71.1 +2.7
Conservative Roger Sims 5,957 24.3 −7.3
Union Movement Oswald Mosley 1,126 4.6 New
Majority 11,499 46.9 +10.1
Turnout 24,519 53.5 −2.2
Labour hold Swing +5.0

Elections in the 1970s

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General election 1970: Shoreditch and Finsbury
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ronald Brown 14,474 66.9 −4.2
Conservative Roger Sims 7,166 33.1 +8.8
Majority 7,308 33.8 −13.1
Turnout 21,640 48.7 −4.8
Labour hold Swing

References

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