Northampton was a

parliamentary constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

(centred on the town of

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

), which existed until 1974. It returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of England until 1707, the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800 and to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

until its representation was reduced to one member for the 1918 general election. The constituency was abolished for the February 1974 general election, when it was replaced by the new constituencies of Northampton North and Northampton South. A former MP of note for the constituency was

Spencer Perceval Spencer Perceval (1 November 1762 – 11 May 1812) was a British statesman and barrister who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1809 until his assassination in May 1812. He is the only British prime minister to have been as ...

, the only British Prime Minister to be

assassinated Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

Members of Parliament

MPs 1295–1640

*''1295: constituency established, electing two MPs''

MPs 1640–1918

MPs 1918–1974

Election results

Elections in the 1830s

* After the election, a 13-day scrutiny was approved by the Mayor and tallies were revised to 1,570 for Robinson, 1,279 for Vernon Smith, 1,157 for Gunning, and 185 for Lyon. 188 votes were rejected.

Elections in the 1840s

Elections in the 1850s

Vernon Smith was appointed

Secretary of State for War The secretary of state for war, commonly called the war secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The secretary of state for war headed the War Offic ...

, requiring a by-election. Vernon Smith was appointed

President of the Board of Control President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

, requiring a by-election. Vernon Smith was raised to the peerage, becoming 1st Baron Lyveden, and causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1860s

Elections in the 1870s

Gilpin's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1880s

Bradlaugh was unseated after voting in the Commons before taking the

Oath of Allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...

, causing a by-election. Bradlaugh was expelled from the House of Commons due to his continuing prevention from taking the Oath, causing a by-election. Bradlaugh resigned and sought election once more, after a resolution to exclude him from the precincts of the House of Commons was sought.

Elections in the 1890s

Bradlaugh's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1910s

A General Election was due to take place by the end of 1915. By the summer of 1914, the following candidates had been adopted to contest that election. Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place. *British Socialist Party:

Ben Tillett Benjamin Tillett (11 September 1860 – 27 January 1943) was a British socialist, trade union leader and politician. He was a leader of the "new unionism" of 1889, that focused on organizing unskilled workers. He played a major role in foundin ...

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1930s

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 and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected; *Conservative: *Labour:

Reginald Paget Reginald Thomas Guy Des Voeux Paget, Baron Paget of Northampton, QC (2 September 1908 – 2 January 1990), also known as Reginald Guy Thomas Du Voeux Paget, was a British lawyer and Labour politician. Career The son of Major Guy Paget, he w ...

Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939 * British Union: Norah Elam

Elections in the 1940s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1970s

References

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

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Northampton (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in Northamptonshire (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1295 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1974 Politics of Northampton Spencer Perceval