Bristol Central (UK Parliament constituency)

Bristol Central
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons
1918–February 1974
Number of members	one

Bristol Central was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Bristol. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The constituency was created for the 1918 general election, and abolished for the February 1974 general election.

Boundaries

1918-1950: The County Borough of Bristol wards of Central East, Central West, Redcliffe, St Augustine, St James, St Paul, and St Philip and Jacob South.

1950-1955: The County Borough of Bristol wards of Easton, Knowle, Redcliffe, St Paul, St Philip and Jacob North, and St Philip and Jacob South.

1955-1974: The County Borough of Bristol wards of Easton, Knowle, St Paul, St Philip and Jacob, and Windmill Hill.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1918	Thomas Inskip	Conservative
	1929	Joseph Alpass	Labour
	1931	Lord Apsley	Conservative
	1943 by-election	Lady Apsley	Conservative
	1945	Stan Awbery	Labour
	1964	Arthur Palmer	Labour Co-operative
Feb 1974		constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1918: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Walker Hobart Inskip	12,232	63.2
	Labour	Ernest Bevin	7,137	36.8
Majority			5,095	26.3

• endorsed by Coalition Government

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1922: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Thomas Walker Hobart Inskip	15,568	55.9
	Labour	Christopher Birdwood Thomson	12,303	44.1
Majority			3,265	11.7
	Unionist hold		Swing

General Election 1923: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Sir Thomas Walker Hobart Inskip	14,386	54.7
	Labour	Samuel Edward Walters	11,932	45.3
Majority			2,454	9.3
	Unionist hold		Swing

General Election 1924: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Sir Thomas Walker Hobart Inskip	17,177	55.1
	Labour	James Alexander Lovat-Fraser	14,018	44.9
Majority			3,159	10.1
Turnout				77.5
	Unionist hold		Swing

General Election 1929: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joseph Herbert Alpass	20,749	55.7	+9.8
	Unionist	Sir Thomas Walker Hobart Inskip	16,524	44.3	-9.8
Majority			4,225	11.3	19.6
Turnout				77.5	0.0
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+9.8

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1931: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Allen Algernon Bathurst, Lord Apsley	22,311	59.6
	Labour	Joseph Herbert Alpass	15,143	40.4
Majority			7,168	19.1
Turnout				80.4
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

General Election 1935: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Allen Algernon Bathurst, Lord Apsley	15,774	52.5
	Labour	J. J. Taylor	14,258	47.5
Majority			1,516	5.0
Turnout				72.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

Bristol Central by-election, 1943

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Violet Emily Mildred Bathurst, Lady Apsley	5,867	52.1	−0.4
	Independent Labour	Jennie Lee	4,308	38.2
	Ind. Labour Party	John McNair	830	7.4
	Independent	F. H. Dunn	258	2.3
Majority			1,559	13.9	+8.9
Turnout				32.9	−39.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1945: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stanley Stephen Awbery	13,045	63.9
	Conservative	Violet Emily Mildred Bathurst, Lady Apsley	7,369	36.1
Majority			5,676	27.8
Turnout				70.0
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1950: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stanley Stephen Awbery	25,889	59.7
	Conservative	John Wynne William Peyton	13,461	31.0
	Liberal	Donald David Oliver Jones	4,042	9.3
Majority			12,428	28.7
Turnout				84.5
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stanley Stephen Awbery	26,091	62.4
	Conservative	Kenelm Antony Philip Dalby	15,725	37.6
Majority			10,366	24.8
Turnout				83.1
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stanley Stephen Awbery	25,158	60.5
	Conservative	Kenelm Antony Philip Dalby	16,406	39.5
Majority			8,752	21.0
Turnout				73.8
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1959: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stanley Stephen Awbery	19,905	53.6
	Conservative	Leslie Gilbert Pine	17,209	46.4
Majority			2,696	7.2
Turnout				75.0
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1964: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Arthur Montague Frank Palmer	16,207	54.5
	Conservative	James R. E. Taylor	11,616	39.0
	Independent	Desmond H. R. Burgess	1,936	6.5
Majority			4,591	15.5
Turnout				71.9
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1966: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Arthur Montague Frank Palmer	15,399	58.9
	Conservative	James R. E. Taylor	9,410	36.0
	Independent	Desmond H. R. Burgess	1,322	5.1
Majority			5,989	22.9
Turnout				70.0
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1970: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Arthur Montague Frank Palmer	12,375	51.4
	Conservative	James R. E. Taylor	9,130	37.9
	Liberal	Antony Rider	2,569	10.7
Majority			3,245	13.5
Turnout				66.7
	Labour hold		Swing

• Constituency abolished 1974, absorbed into Bristol North East and Bristol South East.

See also

• Bristol Central by-election, 1943