Deptford (UK Parliament constituency)
Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885–1974
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Deptford was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Deptford district of South London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.




| Deptford | |
|---|---|
| Former borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
| Major settlements | Deptford and New Cross |
| 1885–February 1974 | |
| Seats | one |
| Created from | Greenwich |
| Replaced by | Lewisham Deptford |
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 constituency of Lewisham Deptford.
Boundaries
1885–1918: The parish of St Paul, Deptford, inclusive of Hatcham.[1]
1918–1974: The Metropolitan Borough of Deptford.
Members of Parliament
| Year | Member[2] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1885 | William John Evelyn | Conservative | |
| 1888 | Charles Darling | Conservative | |
| 1897 | Arthur Henry Aylmer Morton | Conservative | |
| 1906 | C. W. Bowerman | Labour | |
| 1931 | Denis Hanley | Conservative | |
| 1935 | Walter Green | Labour | |
| 1945 | John Wilmot | Labour | |
| 1950 | Jack Cooper | Labour | |
| 1951 | Sir Leslie Plummer | Labour | |
| 1963 | John Silkin | Labour | |
| 1974 | constituency abolished | ||
Election results
Election in the 1970s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | John Silkin | 14,672 | 62.96 | ||
| Conservative | Michael Brotherton | 7,355 | 31.56 | ||
| National Front | Martin Vaux | 1,277 | 5.48 | N/A | |
| Majority | 7,317 | 31.40 | |||
| Turnout | 23,304 | 54.67 | |||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1960s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | John Silkin | 17,983 | 66.80 | ||
| Conservative | John R Giles | 7,033 | 26.12 | ||
| British National | Gerald Rowe | 1,906 | 7.08 | New | |
| Majority | 10,950 | 40.68 | |||
| Turnout | 26,922 | 60.27 | |||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | John Silkin | 17,676 | 62.44 | ||
| Conservative | Murray M Leask | 8,248 | 29.13 | ||
| Independent | Colin M H Atkins[3] | 2,386 | 8.43 | New | |
| Majority | 9,428 | 33.31 | |||
| Turnout | 28,310 | 60.08 | |||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | John Silkin | 12,209 | 58.25 | −3.70 | |
| Liberal | David John Howard Penwarden | 4,726 | 22.55 | New | |
| Conservative | John D Brimacombe | 4,023 | 19.20 | −18.85 | |
| Majority | 7,483 | 35.70 | +11.80 | ||
| Turnout | 20,958 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1950s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Leslie Plummer | 21,226 | 61.95 | ||
| Conservative | John D Brimacombe | 13,038 | 38.05 | ||
| Majority | 8,188 | 23.90 | |||
| Turnout | 34,264 | 69.34 | |||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Leslie Plummer | 23,925 | 65.73 | ||
| Conservative | Irene Dowling | 12,472 | 34.27 | ||
| Majority | 11,453 | 31.46 | |||
| Turnout | 36,397 | 69.62 | |||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Leslie Plummer | 28,878 | 65.17 | ||
| Conservative | Irene Dowling | 15,431 | 34.83 | ||
| Majority | 13,447 | 30.34 | |||
| Turnout | 44,309 | 80.27 | |||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Jack Cooper | 28,230 | 63.07 | ||
| Conservative | Geoffrey F. Sarjeant | 13,330 | 29.78 | ||
| Liberal | Edward Isaac Miller | 2,637 | 5.89 | New | |
| Communist | Leslie Francis Stannard | 562 | 1.26 | New | |
| Majority | 14,900 | 33.29 | |||
| Turnout | 44,759 | 81.61 | |||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
Election in the 1940s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | John Wilmot | 22,313 | 73.47 | ||
| Conservative | Eric Cuddon | 8,059 | 26.53 | ||
| Majority | 14,254 | 46.94 | |||
| Turnout | 30,372 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
Election in the 1930s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Co-op | Walter Green | 27,021 | 57.31 | ||
| Conservative | Malcolm Campbell | 20,129 | 42.69 | ||
| Majority | 6,892 | 14.62 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 47,150 | ||||
| Labour Co-op gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Denis Hanley | 26,558 | 54.42 | ||
| Labour | C. W. Bowerman | 22,244 | 45.58 | ||
| Majority | 4,314 | 8.84 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 48,802 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
Election in the 1920s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | C. W. Bowerman | 26,848 | 55.2 | +0.7 | |
| Unionist | Ernest Gates | 14,832 | 30.5 | −15.0 | |
| Liberal | H. Charles Bevan | 6,935 | 14.3 | New | |
| Majority | 12,016 | 24.7 | +15.7 | ||
| Turnout | 48,615 | 68.2 | −3.8 | ||
| Registered electors | 71,242 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | +7.9 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | C. W. Bowerman | 21,903 | 54.5 | −8.5 | |
| Unionist | James Hargreaves | 18,279 | 45.5 | +8.5 | |
| Majority | 3,624 | 9.0 | −17.0 | ||
| Turnout | 40,182 | 72.0 | +8.7 | ||
| Registered electors | 55,797 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | −8.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | C. W. Bowerman | 21,576 | 63.0 | +10.4 | |
| Unionist | Marshall James Pike | 12,666 | 37.0 | −10.4 | |
| Majority | 8,910 | 26.0 | +20.8 | ||
| Turnout | 34,242 | 63.3 | −2.9 | ||
| Registered electors | 54,135 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | +10.4 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | C. W. Bowerman | 18,512 | 52.6 | −1.8 | |
| Unionist | Marshall James Pike | 16,687 | 47.4 | +9.9 | |
| Majority | 1,825 | 5.2 | −11.7 | ||
| Turnout | 35,199 | 66.2 | +16.0 | ||
| Registered electors | 53,195 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | −5.9 | |||
Elections in the 1910s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | C. W. Bowerman | 14,073 | 54.4 | +3.0 | |
| Conservative | John Prestige | 9,711 | 37.5 | −11.1 | |
| NFDDSS | Frederick Alfred Rumsey | 2,106 | 8.1 | New | |
| Majority | 4,362 | 16.9 | +14.1 | ||
| Turnout | 25,890 | 50.2 | −31.3 | ||
| Registered electors | 51,611 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | +7.1 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | C. W. Bowerman | 6,357 | 51.4 | −0.6 | |
| Conservative | Stuart Coats | 5,999 | 48.6 | +0.6 | |
| Majority | 358 | 2.8 | −1.2 | ||
| Turnout | 12,356 | 81.5 | −5.8 | ||
| Registered electors | 15,159 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | −0.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | C. W. Bowerman | 6,880 | 52.0 | −0.2 | |
| Conservative | Stuart Coats | 6,358 | 48.0 | +6.3 | |
| Majority | 522 | 4.0 | −6.5 | ||
| Turnout | 13,238 | 87.3 | +9.8 | ||
| Registered electors | 15,159 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | −3.3 | |||
Elections in the 1900s

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Repr. Cmte. | C. W. Bowerman | 6,236 | 52.2 | New | |
| Conservative | Arthur Morton | 4,977 | 41.7 | −20.4 | |
| Liberal | Herbert Vivian | 726 | 6.1 | −31.8 | |
| Majority | 1,259 | 10.5 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 11,939 | 77.5 | +10.6 | ||
| Registered electors | 15,397 | ||||
| Labour Repr. Cmte. gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Arthur Morton | 6,236 | 62.1 | +6.0 | |
| Lib-Lab | Ben Jones | 3,806 | 37.9 | −6.0 | |
| Majority | 2,430 | 24.2 | +12.0 | ||
| Turnout | 10,042 | 66.9 | −6.1 | ||
| Registered electors | 15,000 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +6.0 | |||
Elections in the 1890s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Arthur Henry Aylmer Morton | 5,317 | 51.6 | −4.5 | |
| Liberal | John Benn | 4,993 | 48.4 | +4.5 | |
| Majority | 324 | 3.2 | −9.0 | ||
| Turnout | 10,310 | 74.3 | +1.3 | ||
| Registered electors | 13,868 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −4.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Charles Darling | 5,654 | 56.1 | +3.3 | |
| Liberal | Thomas Macnamara | 4,425 | 43.9 | −3.3 | |
| Majority | 1,229 | 12.2 | +6.6 | ||
| Turnout | 10,079 | 73.0 | −3.8 | ||
| Registered electors | 13,815 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +3.3 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Charles Darling | 5,298 | 52.8 | −1.9 | |
| Liberal | Edmond Fitzmaurice | 4,733 | 47.2 | +1.9 | |
| Majority | 565 | 5.6 | −3.8 | ||
| Turnout | 10,031 | 76.8 | +4.9 | ||
| Registered electors | 13,066 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −1.9 | |||
Elections in the 1880s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Charles Darling | 4,345 | 51.6 | −3.1 | |
| Liberal | Wilfrid Blunt | 4,070 | 48.4 | +3.1 | |
| Majority | 275 | 3.2 | −6.2 | ||
| Turnout | 8,415 | 80.3 | +8.4 | ||
| Registered electors | 10,473 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −3.1 | |||
- Caused by Evelyn's resignation.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | William John Evelyn | 3,682 | 54.7 | +2.2 | |
| Liberal | Lalmohun Ghose | 3,055 | 45.3 | −2.2 | |
| Majority | 627 | 9.4 | +4.4 | ||
| Turnout | 6,737 | 71.9 | −8.0 | ||
| Registered electors | 9,371 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +2.2 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | William John Evelyn | 3,927 | 52.5 | ||
| Liberal | Lalmohun Ghose | 3,560 | 47.5 | ||
| Majority | 367 | 5.0 | |||
| Turnout | 7,487 | 79.9 | |||
| Registered electors | 9,371 | ||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||