York was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1265 until 2010. It elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) until 1918, and one thereafter under the first-past-the-post system of election. From 1997 to 2010 it was known as City of York.

Boundaries

This constituency area tracked the municipal government area of York. Each general revision of English constituencies from 1885 would redefine the York constituency to include any changes to the city council area since the previous revision.

History

By virtue of its importance, York was regularly represented in Parliament from an early date: it had been required to send delegates to the assembly of 1265, but no actual returns survive until the end of the 13th century. The structure of the civic government of the city provided the basis by which it elected its Parliamentary representatives. In the years following the city's Royal Charter, granted in the 1150s, power was held by a Lord Mayor and associated bailiffs. Further expansion of governance saw the establishment of coroners, sheriffs and aldermen. The appointment of twelve aldermen in 1399 led to the establishment of the City Council. Subsequently, other tiers of governance, such as the probi homines and the communitas, would eventually provide the bodies for the election of MPs. Those who occupied such positions were all freemen of the city and frequently came form the mercantile classes rather than the nobility, and were considered the electorate of the city. In the beginnings of the constituency this electorate was about twenty four, but had risen to around seventy five by 1690. Early in the 18th century, the number of freemen being made had increased significantly and this further increased the electorate. By the election of 1830, there were about 3,800 registered voters. There was a period between 1581 and 1597 where elections were a two-stage process. In the first stage, member of the common chamber of the council and 50 freeholders cast votes and the top four contenders would progress to a second ballot. This ballot was conducted by the Lord Mayor and the aldermen and the top two would be returned as MPs. In 1597 this process was reduced to a single ballot whereby all of those in both the commons and assembly of York would cast two votes. The two contenders with the most votes were returned as MP. From 1628 the process became fully open, as previously the process had an element of pre-approval by the Lord mayor and the aldermen. A borough constituency consisting of the city of York has been represented in every Parliament since the Model Parliament of 1295. Until 1918, it returned two MPs; since then it has returned one. Until 1997, when its official name became City of York with no boundary changes, the constituency was usually simply called York. Following their review of parliamentary representation in North Yorkshire, the Boundary Commission for England recommended the creation of two new seats for the City of York. Both the City of York and Vale of York seats were abolished in 2010 and replaced by two new constituencies, namely York Central and York Outer.

Members of Parliament

1265-1660

Short Parliament Long Parliament Barebones Parliament First Protectorate Parliament Second Protectorate Parliament Third Protectorate Parliament '''Long Parliament (restored)

1660-1918

1918–2010

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

Bayntun's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1840s

Yorke's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1850s

Elections in the 1860s

Elections in the 1870s

Westhead resigned, causing a by-election. Lowther was appointed Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, requiring a by-election.

Elections in the 1880s

Leeman's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1890s

Lockwood was appointed Solicitor General for England and Wales, requiring a by-election. Lockwood's death caused a by-election. This result was subject to a recount, with the original result putting Beresford on 5,659 votes, and Furness with 5,648 votes. The recount then led to the above result. 17 ballot papers were reserved for judgement, of which 12 were in favour of Beresford. Beresford was told he was able to substantiate 11 ballot papers, while Furness was given an estimate of four, leading to Beresford being declared MP.

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1914–15: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1930s

Election in the 1940s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 2000s

Sources