Wisbech (UK Parliament constituency)

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 split the former three-member Cambridgeshire parliamentary county into three single-member divisions. One of these was the Northern or Wisbech Division. During the committee stage of the 1885 bill, the MP for Cambridge University, Henry Raikes made an unsuccessful attempt to rename the constituency as the Northern or Isle of Ely Division.^[1]

This fenland constituency was dominated by a district of Liberal-inclined smallholders. The towns in the division, predominantly Conservative Wisbech and the more Liberal-inclined March, were outvoted by the rural areas.

Upon its abolition under the Representation of the People Act 1918, the constituency formed the bulk of the new parliamentary county of Isle of Ely.

The contents of the division were defined as:

• The Municipal Borough of Wisbech;
• The Sessional Divisions of North Witchford, Whittlesea and Wisbech; and

• The Parishes of Coveney, Downham, and Littleport.^[2]

The constituency consisted of the towns of Chatteris, March, Whittlesey and the Borough and port of Wisbech with the surrounding parishes of Benwick, Doddington, Downham, Elm, Leverington, Littleport, Manea, Newton, Parson Drove, Thorney, Tydd St Giles, Welches Dam and Wimblington.^[3]

The area was bounded by the constituencies of Spalding to the north, North West Norfolk and South West Norfolk to the east, the other Cambridgeshire divisions of Newmarket and Chesterton to the south and Ramsey, Peterborough and North Northamptonshire to the west.

Selwyn's resignation caused a by-election.

Brand was appointed Treasurer of the Household, requiring a by-election.