Bury and Radcliffe (UK Parliament constituency)

Bury and Radcliffe was a parliamentary constituency centred on the towns of Bury and Radcliffe in North West England. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a Conservative seat until the 1964 General Election when Labour won it for the first time.

Bury and Radcliffe
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
County	Lancashire, until 1974; Greater Manchester, from 1974
Major settlements	Bury and Radcliffe
1950–1983
Seats	One
Created from	Bury Heywood and Radcliffe
Replaced by	Bury North Bury South

The constituency was created for the 1950 general election, and abolished for the 1983 general election, when it was split into two new constituencies – Bury North and Bury South.

Boundaries

Bury and Radcliffe in Lancashire, boundaries used 1974-83

The County Borough of Bury, the Borough of Radcliffe, and the Urban District of Tottington.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1950	Walter Fletcher	Conservative
	1955	John Bidgood	Conservative
	1964	David Ensor	Labour
	1970	Michael Fidler	Conservative
	Oct 1974	Frank White	Labour
1983		constituency abolished: see Bury North & Bury South

Election results

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Bury and Radcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Walter Fletcher	26,485	45.8
	Labour	John Owen	25,705	44.4
	Liberal	Colin Hindley	5,662	9.8
Majority			780	1.4
Turnout			57,852	87.0
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election 1951: Bury and Radcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Walter Fletcher	29,949	51.6	+5.8
	Labour	Lewis Wright	28,058	48.4	+4.0
Majority			1,891	3.2	+1.8
Turnout			58,007	86.5	−0.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.7

General election 1955: Bury and Radcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Bidgood	28,080	53.6	+2.0
	Labour	Thomas Brennan	24,331	46.4	−2.0
Majority			3,749	7.2	+4.0
Turnout			52,411	80.2	−6.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.0

General election 1959: Bury and Radcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Bidgood	28,623	53.7	+0.1
	Labour	Robert Patrick Walsh	24,715	46.3	−0.1
Majority			3,908	7.4	+0.2
Turnout			53,338	82.2	+2.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.1

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Bury and Radcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Ensor	23,865	44.1	−2.2
	Conservative	John Bidgood	22,639	41.9	−11.8
	Liberal	Charles L. Scholes	7,589	14.0	New
Majority			1,226	2.2	N/A
Turnout			54,093	82.3	+0.1
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+4.8

General election 1966: Bury and Radcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Ensor	26,769	49.8	+5.7
	Conservative	John Bidgood	22,298	41.5	−0.4
	Liberal	Charles L. Scholes	4,694	8.7	−5.3
Majority			4,471	8.3	+6.1
Turnout			53,761	81.3	−1.0
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.1

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Bury and Radcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Fidler	29,796	52.8	+11.3
	Labour	Dennis V. Hunt	26,592	47.2	−2.6
Majority			3,204	5.6	N/A
Turnout			56,388	75.6	−5.7
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+7.0

General election February 1974: Bury and Radcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Fidler	31,113	50.3	−2.5
	Labour	Frank White	30,768	49.7	+2.5
Majority			345	0.6	−5.0
Turnout			61,881	80.2	+4.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.5

General election October 1974: Bury and Radcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank White	26,430	42.0	−7.7
	Conservative	Michael Fidler	25,988	41.3	−9.0
	Liberal	A. Benson	10,463	16.6	New
Majority			442	0.7	N/A
Turnout			62,891	80.8	+0.6
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+0.7

General election 1979: Bury and Radcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank White	29,194	45.3	+3.3
	Conservative	Peter J. Le Bosquet	29,156	45.2	+3.9
	Liberal	S. Vickers	5,711	8.9	−7.7
	National Front	J.M. Bridge	414	0.6	New
Majority			38	0.1	−0.6
Turnout			64,475	82.6	+1.8
	Labour hold		Swing

References

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 6)