The hours of researching microfilm copies of newspapers like The Times and the Nottingham Evening Post have been, shall we say rewarding at the end of the day, but painstakingly hard to get the correct information. But you try and work out such small blurred print on a 100-year-old newspaper and work on that! The Internet has been a good help, but it’s a struggle to find information that is over 20 years old online. You eventually find what you are looking for if you seek in the correct places. Therefore the purpose of this website to keep a unique online archive of election results and statistics relating to the Nottingham East constituency from 1885 onwards. Hopefully it will answer many questions that will inform and educate people for many years and generations to come. You can call me an anorak if you like, but I feel that somewhere along the line there should be a page similar to this on the Internet, so here it is. Here is the history of Nottingham East…

A LIST OF PREVIOUS MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT FOR THE NOTTINGHAM EAST* CONSTITUENCY FROM 1885 ONWARDS

Who was Member of Parliament for Nottingham East before John Heppell? Well, perhaps the answer is right here. Please see below for which political party they all represented…

Arnold Morley (1885-1895) **
Edward Bond (1895-1906)
Henry Cotton (1906-January 1910)
James Morrison (January 1910-1912)
John Rees (1912-June 1922)
John Houfton (June 1922-1923)
Norman Birkett (1923-1924 – first stint)
Edmund Brocklebank (1924-1929)
Norman Birkett (1929-1931 – second stint)
Louis Gluckstein (1931-1945)
James Harrison (1945-1955)
John Cordeaux (1955-1964) *
Jack Dunnett (1964-1983) *
Michael Knowles (1983-1992)
John Heppell (1992-)

Notes:

* Nottingham Central between 1955 and February 1974.

** Nottingham East was formed as a constituency in 1885. The constituency was previously just called “Nottingham”, serving all city areas, which Arnold Morley had served since 1880. Rising populations in the city caused the city area to be split into three separate constituencies.

The source that I copied the above names from listed their full names, with some using their middle name as their Christian name, so I may have listed their incorrect Christian name.

GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS FOR NOTTINGHAM EAST* FROM 1885 ONWARDS

TUESDAY 24TH NOVEMBER 1885 TO FRIDAY 18TH DECEMBER 1885

Arnold Morley (Liberal) 5,239 (55.2%)
Harold Finch Hatton (Conservative) 4,248 (44.8%)

ELECTORATE: 12,749 TURNOUT: 9,487 (74.4%) MAJORITY: 991 (10.4%)

THURSDAY 1ST JULY 1886 TO TUESDAY 27TH JULY 1886

Arnold Morley (Gladstonian Liberal) 4,584 (50.9%)
Harold Finch Hatton (Conservative) 4,418 (49.1%)

ELECTORATE: 12,749 TURNOUT: 9,002 (70.6%) MAJORITY: 166 (1.8%)

MONDAY 4TH JULY 1892 TO TUESDAY 26TH JULY 1892

Arnold Morley (Gladstonian Liberal) 4,861 (53.2%)
Harold Finch Hatton (Conservative) 4,284 (44.8%)

ELECTORATE: 11,204 TURNOUT: 9,145 (81.6%) MAJORITY: 577 (6.4%)

SATURDAY 13TH JULY 1895 TO WEDNESDAY 7TH AUGUST 1895

Edward Bond (Unionist) 4,900 (50.9%)
Arnold Morley (Liberal) 4,735 (41.1%)

ELECTORATE: 11,818 TURNOUT: 9,635 (81.5%) MAJORITY: 165 (1.8%)

TUESDAY 25TH SEPTEMBER 1900 TO WEDNESDAY 24TH OCTOBER 1900

Edward Bond (Unionist) 4,927 (54.3%)
E H Fraser (Liberal) 4,148 (45.7%)

ELECTORATE: 12,109 TURNOUT: 9,075 (74.9%) MAJORITY: 779 (8.6%)

FRIDAY 12TH JANUARY 1906 TO THURSDAY 8TH FEBRUARY 1906

Henry Cotton (Liberal) 6,020 (58.4%)
Edward Bond (Unionist) 4,290 (41.6%)

ELECTORATE: 12,451 TURNOUT: 10,310 (82.8%) MAJORITY: 1,730 (16.8%)

MONDAY 15TH JANUARY 1910 TO THURSDAY 10TH FEBRUARY 1910

James Morrison (Unionist) 5,877 (50.7%)
Henry Cotton (Liberal) 5,725 (49.3%)

ELECTORATE: 13,218 TURNOUT: 11,602 (87.8%) MAJORITY: 152 (1.4%)

SATURDAY 3RD DECEMBER 1910 TO WEDNESDAY 7TH DECEMBER 1910 *****

James Morrison (Unionist) 6,274 (56.6%)
Dudley Stewart-Smith (Liberal) 4,804 (43.4%)

ELECTORATE: 13,218 TURNOUT: 11,078 (83.8%) MAJORITY: 1,470 (13.2%)

FRIDAY 19TH APRIL 1912 (BY-ELECTION) **

John Rees (Unionist) 6,482 (55.7%)
T W Dobson (Liberal) 5,158 (44.3%)

ELECTORATE: 13,866 TURNOUT: 11,640 (83.9%) MAJORITY: 1,324 (11.4%)

SATURDAY 14TH DECEMBER 1918

John Rees (Coalition Unionist) 9,549 (65.7%)
Thomas Proctor (Labour) 2,817 (19.4%)
Dennis Brookes (National Federation of Discharged Sailors and Soldiers - NFDSS) 2,166 (14.9%)

ELECTORATE: 29,377 TURNOUT: 14,532 (49.5%) MAJORITY: 6,732 (46.3%)

THURSDAY 29TH JUNE 1922 (BY-ELECTION) ***

John Houfton (Coalition Unionist) 10,404 (52.3%)
A H Jones (Labour Cooperative) 5,431 (27.3%)
T G Graham (Independent Liberal) 4,065 (20.4%)

ELECTORATE: 30,034 TURNOUT: 19,900 (66.3%) MAJORITY: 4,973 (25.0%)

WEDNESDAY 15TH NOVEMBER 1922

John Houfton (Conservative) 12,082 (59.7%)
E E H Atkin (Liberal) 8,170 (40.3%)

ELECTORATE: 30,610 TURNOUT: 20,252 (66.2%) MAJORITY: 3,912 (19.4%)

THURSDAY 6TH DECEMBER 1923

Norman Birkett (Liberal) 11,355 (53.4%)
John Houfton (Conservative) 9,919 (46.6%)

ELECTORATE: 31,365 TURNOUT: 21,274 (67.8%) MAJORITY: 1,436 (6.8%)

WEDNESDAY 29TH OCTOBER 1924

Edmund Brocklebank (Conservative) 11,524 (47.6%)
Norman Birkett (Liberal) 10,078 (41.6%)
Tom Mann (Communist) 2,606 (10.8%)

ELECTORATE: 32,411 TURNOUT: 24,208 (74.7%) MAJORITY: 1,446 (6.0%)

THURSDAY 30TH MAY 1929

Norman Birkett (Liberal) 14,049 (40.2%)
Louis Gluckstein (Conservative) 11,110 (31.8%)
J H Baum (Labour) 9,787 (28.0%)

ELECTORATE: 44,319 TURNOUT: 34,946 (78.9%) MAJORITY: 2,939 (8.4%)

TUESDAY 27TH OCTOBER 1931

Louis Gluckstein (National Conservative) 17,484 (50.3%)
Norman Birkett (Liberal) 11,901 (34.3%)
Walter Windsor (Labour) 5,339 (15.4%)

ELECTORATE: 44,049 TURNOUT: 34,724 (78.8%) MAJORITY: 5,583 (16.0%)

THURSDAY 14TH NOVEMBER 1935

Louis Gluckstein (Conservative) 16,726 (57.7%)
Leon Freedman (Labour) 7,435 (25.7%)
Arthur Comyns-Carr (Liberal) 4,819 (16.6%)

ELECTORATE: 42,551 TURNOUT: 28,980 (68.1%) MAJORITY: 9,271 (32.0%)

THURSDAY 5TH JULY 1945 (DECLARED ON THURSDAY 26TH JULY 1945)

James Harrison (Labour) 12,075 (40.2%)
Louis Gluckstein (Conservative) 11,227 (37.4%)
A P W Seely (Liberal) 5,658 (18.8%)
George Twells (Independent) 1,072 (3.6%)

ELECTORATE: 41,734 TURNOUT: 30,032 (72.0%) MAJORITY: 848 (2.8%)

THURSDAY 23TH FEBRUARY 1950

James Harrison (Labour) 20,404 (46.6%)
Louis Gluckstein (Conservative) 18,079 (41.2%)
E A B Fletcher (Liberal) 5,368 (12.2%)

ELECTORATE: 52,042 TURNOUT: 43,851 (84.3%) MAJORITY: 2,325 (5.4%)

THURSDAY 25TH OCTOBER 1951

James Harrison (Labour) 20,865 (47.7%)
Sidney Shephard (Conservative) 20,601 (47.2%)
Lady R Abrahams (Liberal) 2,209 (5.1%)

ELECTORATE: 52,406 TURNOUT: 43,675 (83.3%) MAJORITY: 264 (0.5%)

THURSDAY 26TH MAY 1955 *

John Cordeaux (Conservative) 20,903 (50.9%)
Ian Winterbottom (Labour) 20,145 (49.1%)

ELECTORATE: 56,463 TURNOUT: 41,048 (72.7%) MAJORITY: 758 (1.8%)

THURSDAY 8TH OCTOBER 1959 *

John Cordeaux (Conservative) 24,004 (52.3%)
Ian Winterbottom (Labour) 21,869 (47.7%)

ELECTORATE: 62,475 TURNOUT: 45,873 (73.4%) MAJORITY: 2,135 (4.6%)

THURSDAY 15TH OCTOBER 1964 *

Jack Dunnett (Labour) 21,040 (52.7%)
John Cordeaux (Conservative) 18,912 (47.3%)

ELECTORATE: 55,988 TURNOUT: 39,952 (71.4%) MAJORITY: 2,128 (5.4%)

THURSDAY 31ST MARCH 1966 *

Jack Dunnett (Labour) 21,348 (58.9%)
Tony Mitton (Conservative) 14,922 (41.1%)

ELECTORATE: 53,542 TURNOUT: 36,270 (67.7%) MAJORITY: 6,426 (17.8%)

THURSDAY 18TH JUNE 1970 *

Jack Dunnett (Labour) 17,638 (55.6%)
Bernard Brook Partridge (Conservative) 14,079 (44.4%)

ELECTORATE: 52,438 TURNOUT: 31,717 (60.5%) MAJORITY: 3,559 (11.2%)

THURSDAY 28TH FEBRUARY 1974

Jack Dunnett (Labour) 17,324 (46.8%)
Richard Shepherd (Conservative) 13,346 (36.1%)
Ted Rowan (Liberal) 6,294 (17.0%)

ELECTORATE: 53,477 TURNOUT: 36,964 (69.1%) MAJORITY: 3,978 (10.7%)

THURSDAY 10TH OCTOBER 1974

Jack Dunnett (Labour) 16,530 (51.2%)
Sam Swerling (Conservative) 10,574 (32.7%)
Ted Rowan (Liberal) 4,442 (13.7%)
Dieter Peetz (Independent Labour) 736 (2.2%)

ELECTORATE: 53,786 TURNOUT: 32,282 (60.0%) MAJORITY: 5,956 (2.2%)

THURSDAY 3RD MAY 1979

Jack Dunnett (Labour) 15,433 (50.4%)
Martin Brandon Bravo (Conservative) 12,199 (39.8%)
John Hiley (Liberal) 2,270 (7.4%)
M Coles (National Front) 426 (1.3%)
Ian Juniper (Socialist Unity) 252 (0.8%)

ELECTORATE: 47,838 TURNOUT: 30,580 (63.9%) MAJORITY: 3,234 (10.5%)

THURSDAY 9TH JUNE 1983

Michael Knowles (Conservative) 17,641 (40.4%)
Martyn Sloman (Labour Cooperative) 16,177 (37.0%)
Michael Bird (Social Democrat Party) 8,385 (19.2%)
David Merrick (Independent Conservative) 1,421 (3.2%)

ELECTORATE: 68,638 TURNOUT: 43,624 (63.5%) MAJORITY: 1,464 (3.3%)

THURSDAY 11TH JUNE 1987

Michael Knowles (Conservative) 20,162 (42.9%)
Mohammad Aslam (Labour) 19,706 (41.9%) ******
Steve Parkhouse (Social Democrat Party - Liberal Alliance) 6,887 (14.6%)
Kenan Malik (Revolutionary Communist Party, also known as Red Front) 212 (0.4%)

ELECTORATE: 68,266 TURNOUT: 46,967 (68.8%) MAJORITY: 456 (0.9%)

THURSDAY 9TH APRIL 1992

John Heppell (Labour) 25,026 (52.6%)
Michael Knowles (Conservative) 17,346 (36.4%)
Tim Ball (Liberal Democrat) 3,695 (7.8%)
Andrew Jones (Green) 667 (1.4%)
Charles Roylance (Liberal) 598 (1.3%) ****
John Ashforth (Natural Law Party) 283 (0.6%)

ELECTORATE: 67,939 TURNOUT: 47,615 (70.1%) MAJORITY: 7,680 (16.1%)

THURSDAY 1ST MAY 1997

John Heppell (Labour) 24,755 (62.3%)
Andrew Raca (Conservative) 9,336 (22.5%)
Kevin Mulloy (Liberal Democrat) 4,008 (10.1%)
Ben Brown (Referendum Party) 1,645 (4.1%)

ELECTORATE: 65,644 TURNOUT: 39,744 (60.5%) MAJORITY: 15,419 (38.8%)

THURSDAY 7TH JUNE 2001

John Heppell (Labour) 17,530 (59.0%)
Richard Allan (Conservative) 7,210 (24.3%)
Tim Ball (Liberal Democrat) 3,874 (13.0%)
Pete Radcliff (Socialist Alliance) 1,117 (3.8%)

ELECTORATE: 65,339 TURNOUT: 29,731 (45.5%) MAJORITY: 10,320 (34.7%)

THURSDAY 5TH MAY 2005

John Heppell (Labour) 13,787 (45.8%)
Issan Ghazni (Liberal Democrat) 6,848 (22.8%)
Jim Thornton (Conservative) 6,826 (22.7%)
Ashley Baxter (Green) 1,517 (5.0%)
Anthony Ellwood (UK Independence Party) 740 (2.5%)
Pete Radcliff (Socialist Unity) 373 (1.2%)

ELECTORATE: 60,634 TURNOUT: 30,091 (49.6%) MAJORITY: 6,939 (23.1%)

THURSDAY 6TH MAY 2010 (PROBABLE DATE)

John Heppell (Labour) ??,??? (??.?%)
Ewan Lamont (Conservative) ??,??? (??.?%)
A N Other (Liberal Democrat) ?,??? (??.?%)
Ben Hoare (Green) ?,??? (??.?%)
Another Person (UK Independence Party) ??? (?.?%)
Ray Cyst (British National Party) ??? (?.?%)

ELECTORATE: ??,??? TURNOUT: ??,??? (??.?%) MAJORITY: ?,??? (??.?%)

Notes:

* Nottingham East was abolished in 1955 and most areas served by the constituency were the covered by Nottingham Central. The election results marked with one asterisk are for Nottingham Central. Nottingham East was revived in February 1974, as part of the national boundary changes, where it exists to the present day. These particular elections stand out a bit, as there were no Liberal candidates taking part in them.

** The Friday 19th April 1912 election was a by-election that was caused by the resignation of the sitting Member of Parliament, James Morrison. I have no details on why Morrison had resigned, at the time of writing this. Perhaps it was caused by some political scandal happening at the time, who knows? This was the first of the constituency’s two by-elections of the 20th century.

*** The Thursday 29th June 1922 election was a by-election that was caused by the death of Sir John Rees, who passed away on Friday 2nd June 1922, aged 67. Sir John seems to be the only Member of Parliament for the constituency who had died in office.

**** Charles Roylance was a Liberal party candidate that was separate from the Liberal Democrats in the 1992 General Election and was not part of the 1988 merger that formed the Liberal Democrats. Roylance is excluded from the number of Liberal candidates who stood prior to 1983.

***** A petition was lodged relating to the December 1910 election, but it was dismissed.

****** Originally the Labour candidate for the 1987 General Election was going to be Sharon Atkin, a black ethnic candidate (and was no relation to the November 1922 Liberal candidate). She had claimed that the Labour Party at the time was racist to black people in not allowing enough ethnic minority candidates to stand. (So Labour don’t just discriminate vulnerable and disabled people methinks?) The then Labour leader Neil Kinnock wasn’t going to take any of this, saying that his party was definitely not racist, so he deselected Atkin and replaced her with local businessman Mohammad Aslam. Had she have stood in Nottingham East, not only would Atkin have been the first (or one of the first) black candidates to stand, she would have only been the second female candidate to stand in the constituency’s 102 year history. (Lady Abrahams, the 1951 Liberal candidate appears to have been the first and only female candidate to stand in Nottingham East). And she would have been the first candidate to share a namesake with a previous one (E E H Atkin of course). This election, ironically enough saw many ethnic politicians such as Diane Abbott, Bernie Grant and Paul Boateng enter the House of Commons for the first time. The Conservatives had to wait until 2005 for their first ethnic candidates to be elected.

It's also worth noting here that on Wednesday 24th August 1892, Arnold Morley was appointed as Postmaster General, which he held until he lost his seat in 1895. The government post appointment would have meant the fact that Morley would have faced a local election, but as he was unopposed in this, he kept his seat for another three years. For obvious reasons, it is a bit pointless in displaying this in the list above as he would have been the only "candidate", so it has been mentioned here instead. The title of Postmaster General was eventually scrapped in 1969.

Most parliaments last around four years, five years at the most. Some General Elections have been more frequently than that, especially in the final part of the 19th century and first part of the 20th century, when lots of political unrest happened. There were two General Elections each in both 1910 and 1974; the latter over the Three Day Week dispute at the time. There were also two elections in 1922; the first one was a by-election after the death of the sitting politician. The longest parliaments were between 1935 and 1945, and 1912 and 1918. This was because of the two World Wars taking place, which made it impossible to hold a General Election, as most of the would-be candidates were out to war fighting other countries!

It’s quite interesting to note that the Liberals (including the Socialist Democratic Party and the Liberal Democrats in later years) had only provided candidates for Nottingham East only, and not Nottingham Central. During the Nottingham Central years (1955-1974) none of their parties’ candidates had stood for election in the constituency. Presumably they had probably thought that such a change to a constituency would have some negative effect to their party results, so they probably didn’t bother putting any candidates forward, which as a Conservative doesn’t bother me in the slightest! It could also be because Labour was getting stronger as a political party by then and that socialism was overtaking liberalism as the opposition to Conservatism by the 1950s.

The probable ratio of a candidate being elected as a Member of Parliament in this constituency from 1885 onwards is one in 4.5 (or ignoring decimal points, two in nine).

The ten Conservative candidates with the most number of votes:

1) John Cordeaux (1959) 24,004 (1st)
2) John Cordeaux (1955) 20,903 (1st)
3) Sidney Shephard (1951) 20,601 (2nd)
4) Michael Knowles (1987) 20,162 (1st)
5) John Cordeaux (1964) 18,912 (2nd)
6) Louis Gluckstein (1950) 18,079 (2nd)
7) Michael Knowles (1983) 17,641 (1st)
8) Louis Gluckstein (1931) 17,484 (1st)
9) Michael Knowles (1992) 17,346 (2nd)
10) Louis Gluckstein (1935) 16,726 (1st)

The ten Conservative candidates with the least number of votes:

1) Harold Finch Hatton (1885) 4,248 (2nd)
2) Harold Finch Hatton (1892) 4,284 (2nd)
3) Edward Bond (1906) 4,290 (2nd) *
4) Harold Finch Hatton (1886) 4,418 (2nd)
5) Edward Bond (1895) 4,900 (1st) *
6) Edward Bond (1900) 4,927 (1st) *
7) James Morrison (January 1910) 5,877 (1st) *
8) James Morrison (December 1910) 6,274 (1st) *
9) John Rees (1912) 6,482 (1st) *
10) Jim Thornton (2005) 6,826 (3rd)

Notes:

* The Unionist Party replaced the Conservative Party between the 1890s and 1920s. These are Unionist candidates. The Unionist Party was the same as the Conservatives, in all but name.

One certainly has to feel sorry for Jim Thornton for having the lowest number of votes that an official Conservative candidate has received since Sir John Rees’ effort way back in 1912. As for ending third with just 22 votes behind the Liberal Democrat candidate, well it's just too depressing to even think about...

The 1983 independent Conservative candidate is exlcuded from the above list.

The ten biggest Conservative majorities:

1) Louis Gluckstein (1935) 9,291
2) John Rees (1918) 6,732
3) Louis Gluckstein (1931) 5,583
4) John Houfton (June 1922) 4,973
5) John Houfton (November 1922) 3,912
6) John Cordeaux (1959) 2,135
7) James Morrison (December 1910) 1,470
8) Michael Knowles (1983) 1,464
9) Edmund Brocklebank (1924) 1,446
10) John Rees (1912) 1,324

The ten smallest Conservative majorities:

1) James Morrison (January 1910) 152
2) Edward Bond (1895) 165
3) Michael Knowles (1987) 456
4) John Cordeaux (1955) 758
5) Edward Bond (1900) 779
6) John Rees (1912) 1,324
7) Edmund Brocklebank (1924) 1,446
8) Michael Knowles (1983) 1,464
9) James Morrison (December 1910) 1,470
10) John Cordeaux (1959) 2,135

The ten highest number of votes for candidates who failed to win the seat:

1) Ian Winterbottom (1959) 21,869 (2nd)
2) Sidney Shephard (1951) 20,601 (2nd)
3) Ian Winterbottom (1955) 20,145 (2nd)
4) Mohammad Aslam (1987) 19,706 (2nd)
5) John Cordeaux (1964) 18,912 (2nd) *
6) Louis Gluckstein (1950) 18,079 (2nd) **
7) Michael Knowles (1992) 17,346 (2nd) *
8) Martyn Sloman (1983) 16,177 (2nd)
9) Bernard Brook Partridge (1970) 14,079 (2nd)
10) Richard Shepherd (February 1974) 13,346 (2nd)

Notes:

* These people were already sitting Members of Parliament for the constituency before they were defeated in the aforementioned elections. Ian Winterbottom's 1955 effort is excluded from this, even though he was the sitting Member of Parliament for Nottingham Central, as we only cover that constituency from 1955 to 1974.

** Louis Gluckstein had already been defeated in the previous election in 1945 and had decided to stand again in 1950 to see if he could “do a Norman Birkett” and get his old constituency back. He failed to do so and was defeated for a second time – a total of three times if you count his 1929 effort before he was eventually elected two years later. He really must have loved Nottingham East!

The ten candidates of any political party with the highest number votes:

1) John Heppell (1992) 25,026 (1st)
2) John Heppell (1997) 24,755 (1st)
3) John Cordeaux (1959) 24,004 (1st)
4) Ian Winterbottom (1959) 21,869 (2nd)
5) Jack Dunnett (1966) 21,348 (1st)
6) Jack Dunnett (1964) 21,040 (1st)
7) John Cordeaux (1955) 20,903 (1st)
8) James Harrison (1951) 20,865 (1st)
9) Sidney Shephard (1951) 20,601 (2nd)
10) James Harrison (1950) 20,404 (1st)

The ten candidates of any political party with the lowest number of votes:

1) Kenan Malik (1987) 212 (4th)
2) Ian Juniper (1979) 252 (5th)
3) John Ashforth (1992) 283 (6th)
4) Pete Radcliff (2005) 373 (6th)
5) M Coles (1979) 426 (4th)
6) Charles Roylance (1992) 598 (5th)
7) Andrew Jones (1992) 667 (4th)
8) Dieter Peetz (October 1974) 736 (4th)
9) Anthony Ellwood (2005) 740 (5th)
10) George Twells (1945) 1,072 (4th)

The ten candidates of any political party with the biggest majorities:

1) John Heppell (1997) 15,419
2) John Heppell (2001) 10,320
3) Louis Gluckstein (1935) 9,291
4) John Heppell (1992) 7,680
5) John Heppell (2005) 6,939
6) John Rees (1918) 6,732
7) Jack Dunnett (1966) 6,426
8) Jack Dunnett (October 1974) 5,956
9) Louis Gluckstein (1931) 5,583
10) John Houfton (June 1922) 4,973

The ten candidates of any political party with the smallest majorities:

1) James Morrison (January 1910) 152
2) Edward Bond (1895) 165
3) Arnold Morley (1886) 166
4) James Harrison (1951) 264
5) Michael Knowles (1987) 456
6) Arnold Morley (1892) 577
7) John Cordeaux (1955) 758
8) Edward Bond (1900) 779
9) James Harrison (1945) 848
10) Arnold Morley (1885) 991

The ten candidates with the total number of aggregate votes:

1) Jack Dunnett – 109,313
2) John Heppell – 81,098 *
3) Louis Gluckstein – 74,626
4) John Cordeaux – 63,819
5) Michael Knowles – 55,149
6) James Harrison – 53,344
7) Norman Birkett – 47,383
8) Ian Winterbottom – 42,014
9) Sidney Shephard – 20,601
10) Arnold Morley – 19,419

Notes:

* As of the 2005 General Election. Heppell would need over 28,215 votes to take first place at the next General Election; it could take the next two elections to achieve this. (Not if I can help it, of course!)

Jack Dunnett seems to represent approximately 11.63% of all votes ever cast in the constituency since 1885.

The ten biggest constituency turnouts:

1) 47,615 (1992)
2) 46,967 (1987)
3) 45,873 (1959)
4) 43,851 (1950)
5) 43,675 (1951)
6) 43,624 (1983)
7) 41,048 (1955)
8) 39,952 (1964)
9) 39,744 (1997)
10) 36,964 (February 1974)

The ten smallest constituency turnouts:

1) 9,002 (1886)
2) 9,075 (1900)
3) 9,145 (1892)
4) 9,477 (1885)
5) 9,635 (1895)
6) 10,310 (1906)
7) 11,078 (December 1910)
8) 11,602 (January 1910)
9) 11,640 (1912)
10) 14,532 (1918)

The ten biggest number of constituency electorates:

1) 68,638 (1983)
2) 68,266 (1987)
3) 67,939 (1992)
4) 65,644 (1997)
5) 65,339 (2001)
6) 62,475 (1959)
7) 60,634 (2005)
8) 56,463 (1955)
9) 55,988 (1964)
10) 53,786 (October 1974)

The ten smallest number of constituency electorates:

1) 11,204 (1892)
2) 11,818 (1895)
3) 12,109 (1900)
4) 12,451 (1906)
5) 12,749 (1885) *
6) 12,749 (1886) *
7) 13,218 (January 1910) *
8) 13,218 (December 1910) *
9) 13,866 (1912)
10) 29,377 (1918)

Notes:

* As these elections have exactly the same number of eligible voters on the electoral roll as each other, the earlier election of the two is listed above the later one.

The ten biggest turnout percentages:

1) 87.8% (January 1910)
2) 84.3% (1950)
3) 83.9% (1912)
4) 83.8% (December 1910)
5) 83.3% (1951)
6) 82.8% (1906)
7) 81.6% (1892)
8) 81.5% (1895)
9) 78.9% (1929)
10) 78.8% (1931)

The ten smallest turnout percentages:

1) 45.5% (2001)
2) 49.5% (1918)
3) 49.6% (2005)
4) 60.0% (October 1974)
5) 60.5% (1970) *
6) 60.5% (1997) *
7) 63.5% (1983)
8) 63.9% (1979)
9) 66.2% (November 1922)
10) 66.3% (June 1922)

Notes:

* As 1970 and 1997 have exactly the same percentage, the earliest election will be listed above the later one.

The ten political parties that contested the most General Elections:

1) Conservative (including Unionist and Coalition Unionist) (1885-) 34 *
2) Liberal (including Liberal Democrat, Gladstonian Liberal and Social Democrat Party) (1885-1912, June 1922-1951, February 1974-) 28 **
3) Labour (1918, 1929-) 21 *
4) Socialist Unity and Socialist Alliance (1979, 2001-2005) 3
5) Green (1992, 2005) 2
6) Communist (1929, 1987) 2 ***
7) National Federation of Discharged and Demobilized Sailors and Soldiers - NFDSS (1918) 1
8) Referendum Party (1997) 1
9) Independent (1945) 1 *
10) UK Independence Party (2005) 1

Notes:

* The figure excludes independent Conservative, independent Labour candidates, and even the so-called Independent Liberal candidate (see the Liberal entry for that). Independent Conservative and Independent Labour candidates are also excluded from their respective party totals as the elections that they contested against were obviously represented by an official candidate.

** The figure excludes Charles Roylance, who contested for the Liberals in 1992, and not the Liberal Democrats. This Liberal party broke off from the 1988 merger that formed the Liberal Democrats. The June 1922 by-election candidate is included, even though the description of the candidate was a so-called “independent”, as he was the only Liberal candidate contesting.

*** I very much doubt that Tom Mann standing as a Communist candidate in 1924 had any connection at all with Kenan Malik standing in 1987 as a Revolutionary Communist Party candidate, but I have decided to link these together, because of the use of the word “Communist” in both their candidate descriptions.

For those political parties that had only put forward one candidate, the list will be decided with the number of votes that each party candidate received; the one with most votes will go above the others.

The ten longest serving Members of Parliament:

1) Jack Dunnett – 19 years *
2) John Heppell – 17 years **
3) Louis Gluckstein – 14 years
4) Edward Bond – 11 years
5) Arnold Morley – 10 years
6) John Rees – 10 years
7) James Harrison – 10 years
8) John Cordeaux – 9 years
9) Michael Knowles – 9 years
10) Edmund Brocklebank – 5 years

Notes:

* Jack Dunnett's total counts the total of his ten years as Member of Parliament for Nottingham Central, followed by his nine years representing Nottingham East.

** As of August 2009, when this list was compiled.

For Members of Parliament who have served the area for the same number of years, the person who served the constituency earliest will be listed above the person who served the area later.

The number of years is decided as the year that a candidate becomes Member of Parliament, to the year that he ends his stint in office, even though they may have served slightly more or less than that amount of time. So for example John Cordeaux, who won in 1955 and stayed in office until 1964 would be listed as having served nine years.

For the benefit of making comparisons, the shortest serving Member of Parliament was John Houfton who was in office for just under 18 months, which would have been listed as one year on the list above. It is interesting to note that Norman Birkett’s first stint in office only lasted just under eleven months, although this doesn’t make him the constituency’s shortest reigning Member of Parliament as his second stint five years later was a little longer than his first.

The ten longest living Members of Parliament:

1) Jack Dunnett – 87 years (1922-) *
2) Louis Gluckstein – 82 years 246 days (1897-1979)
3) John Cordeaux – 79 years 165 days (1902-1982)
4) Norman Birkett – 78 years 157 days (1883-1962)
5) Edward Bond – 76 years (1844-1920)
6) John Houfton – 71 years 340 days (1857-1929)
7) Henry Cotton – 70 years 39 days (1845-1915)
8) John Rees – 67 years 5 months (1854-1922)
9) Edmund Brocklebank – 66 years 361 days (1882-1949)
10) Arnold Morley – 66 years 332 days (1849-1916)

Notes:

* Still alive in August 2009, when this list was updated.

The ten youngest candidates to be elected as Member of Parliament:

1) Louis Gluckstein – 34 years 246 days
2) James Morrison – 36 years 123 days
3) Arnold Morley – 36 years 282 days
4) Norman Birkett – 40 years 91 days *
5) Michael Knowles – 41 years 19 days
6) Edmund Brocklebank – 42 years 62 days
7) Jack Dunnett – 42 years 113 days
8) John Heppell – 43 years 158 days
9) John Houfton – 44 years 198 days
10) James Harrison – 45 years 330 days

Notes:

* This represents the election that Norman Birkett was elected for his first stint as Member of Parliament. The oldest Member of Parliament was Henry Cotton who was 60 when he was elected.

The ten candidates who have stood in the most constituency elections:

1) Jack Dunnett (1964, 1966, 1970, February 1974, October 1974 and 1979) 6
2) Louis Gluckstein (1929, 1931, 1935, 1945 and 1950) 5
3) Arnold Morley (1885, 1886, 1892 and 1895) 4
4) Norman Birkett (1923, 1924, 1929 and 1931) 4
5) John Heppell (1992, 1997, 2001 and 2005) 4 *
6) Harold Finch Hatton (1885, 1886 and 1892) 3
7) Edward Bond (1895, 1900 and 1906) 3
8) John Houfton (June 1922, November 1922 and 1923) 3
9) James Harrison (1945, 1950 and 1951) 3
10) John Cordeaux (1955, 1959 and 1964) 3

Notes:

* As of November 2005, when this list was compiled. Obviously Heppell will go to third place if he wins the next General Election, whenever that will be. (Not if I can help it!)

Again, the earliest standing candidate gets prominence over his later counterparts, if he took part in the same number of elections.

The only candidates who have stood for an election in the constituency more than once without being elected have been Harold Finch Hatton, who stood three times, while Ian Winterbottom, Ted Rowan, Tim Ball and Pete Radcliff have both stood twice without winning at least one election. Radcliff has been the only candidate to stand under two different party descriptions, although the word "Socialist" was used for both of them.

Ian Winterbottom had been an elected Member of Parliament for Nottingham Central prior to 1955, but by the time that Nottingham Central took over most of Nottingham East's patch in that year, he had lost his seat to John Cordeaux, so for the benefit of this list, he counts as a non-winning candidate. Nottingham Central existed as a constituency at the same time as Nottingham East in the run upto 1955, and the latter replaced the former in 1974. Harold Finch Hatton's effort can be seen above.

Louis Gluckstein holds the record as having the longest time gap between standing in his first election and his last one in the constituency. He stood in every election over a 21-year period, and becomes the only person to stand in the constituency in four different decades. However Gluckstein had not won his first or his last election.

A list of how the Members of Parliament left office:

1) Arnold Morley – Defeated
2) Edward Bond – Defeated
3) Henry Cotton – Defeated
4) James Morrison – Resigned
5) John Rees – Died in office
6) John Houfton – Defeated
7) Norman Birkett – Defeated on both occasions
8) Edmund Brocklebank – Stood down *
9) Louis Gluckstein – Defeated **
10) James Harrison – Constituency (briefly) abolished ***
11) John Cordeaux – Defeated
12) Jack Dunnett – Retired ****
13) Michael Knowles – Defeated
14) John Heppell – Incumbent *****

Notes:

* Edmund Brocklebank decided not to fight the 1929 General Election and so he decided to let Louis Gluckstein take his place. Because Gluckstein defeated his first election, Norman Birkett won a second and last stint as Member of Parliament, so in other words Brocklebank standing down also meant a change from Conservative to Liberal. Brocklebank eventually won the constituency of Fairfield in Liverpool in 1931 and remained their Member of Parliament until the 1945 General Election. Perhaps it was a good thing that Brocklebank had moved on as we would have been deprived of the tallest British politician of the 20th century!

** Louis Gluckstein was defeated in 1945, but had also decided to stand again five years later – only to be defeated again, just like he was in 1929 before he won the constituency seat. Unlike Norman Birkett’s defeats, the list only classifies Gluckstein as being defeated once.

*** The change of constituency from Nottingham East to Nottingham Central in 1955 also meant a change of Member of Parliament, and more importantly a change from Labour to Conservative.

**** Jack Dunnett’s retirement also meant a change from Labour to Conservative when Michael Knowles was elected in 1983.

***** John Heppell’s name is included to complete the list. He is the incumbent, as in the current Member of Parliament.

The political parties that have had the total number of votes from 1885 onwards: *

Conservative: 401,865 (42.76%)
Labour: 352,461 (37.5%)
Liberal: 169,649 (18.05%)
Other parties: 15,831 (1.69%) *

ELECTORATE AGGREGATE: 1,376,747 TURNOUT: 939,806 (68.2%) MAJORITY: 49,404 (5.2%)

Notes:

* The “other parties” total includes any other vote that was not a Conservative, Labour or Liberal vote. Votes for Independent Conservative and Independent Labour candidates are listed under that total. The 1992 Liberal candidate is also included in the same total.

The same voters are counted more than once if they have voted more than one election in various years in the same constituency. Most voters would obviously vote for the same party in each election, so presumably a duplication of the same person’s vote over the years would be added to a mainstream party’s total above.

In the United Kingdom elections, it is not against the law if anyone listed on the electoral register fails or refuses to vote, unlike in some other countries like Australia (although the law over there may have changed). In those countries everyone listed on the register has to vote or face a penalty. However if everyone of voting age and ability in the constituency did vote from 1885 to the present day, one wonders what the real total above would be.

It’s also interesting to note that John Heppell in 1992 and 1997 as well as John Cordeaux in 1955 had received more votes for standing in just one election than the entire total of all the other non-mainstream political party candidates since 1885. As you can see above, the majority between the Conservative total and the Labour total is greater than the total of the non-mainstream votes altogether. Non-mainstream meaning candidates that were neither official Conservative, Labour or Liberal candidates. Remember that no “other party” candidate has ever been elected as a Member of Parliament.

Despite the constituency being a so-called Labour dominated seat, the fact of the matter is that more people have voted Conservative since 1885 than Labour. If Labour beats the Conservatives in the future, and if things in the 2005 General Election happens to be the shape of things to come, God forbid, then sadly nasty Labour may eventually beat us, probably sometime in the next 30 to 40 years. (However as a Conservative Party member, ready for the next generation, I will help turn things around long before that will even have a chance to happen!)