Burnley (UK Parliament constituency)

Burnley
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Interactive map of boundaries from 2024
Boundary of Burnley in North West England
County	Lancashire
Population	87,059 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate	75,436 (2023)[2]
Major settlements	Burnley
Current constituency
Created	1868
Member of Parliament	Oliver Ryan (Independent)
Seats	One
Created from	North Lancashire

Burnley is a constituency^{[n 1]} centred on the town of Burnley in Lancashire which has been represented since 2024 by Oliver Ryan, who currently sits as an independent after being suspended from the Labour Party.^{[n 2]}

History

The seat was created in 1868. Except for 1931, it was won by Labour candidates from World War I until 2010, generally on safe, large majorities; Ann Widdecombe failed to take the seat from the Labour Party in 1979. The closest second place was to a Conservative Party candidate, Ian Bruce, who came 787 votes (1.6%) short of taking the seat in 1983.^[3]

Burnley saw strong opposition support for the Liberal Democrats in 2005, moving into second place; meanwhile a local independent pushed Yousuf Miah, a Conservative into fourth position. Following controversy regarding outgoing Labour MP Kitty Ussher's personal expenses, Gordon Birtwistle, who first contested the seat in 1992, gained the seat in 2010 with a heavy swing of 9.6%.

However, Birtwistle was one of the many casualties faced by the Liberal Democrats in the 2015 election, losing the seat to Julie Cooper, who had also stood as Labour's candidate in 2010, although the 6.2% swing away from Birtwistle was less than half the 15.2% national swing against his party. As in 2005, the Conservatives came fourth, behind UKIP, as well as Labour and the Lib Dems this time.

At the 2017 election, Labour held the seat with an increased majority. Birtwistle stood again, but saw his share of the vote halved; this was widely seen to be due to his party's stance on Brexit. This election saw one of the biggest increases in the share of the vote for the Conservatives in the whole country, who more than doubled their share of the vote. UKIP lost two-thirds of their vote from 2015, but did retain their deposit. This meant that Burnley was one of the few constituencies in England where four parties retained their deposits.

At the 2019 election, Antony Higginbotham won the seat for the Conservatives, thus becoming the first Conservative to represent Burnley in parliament for over 100 years.^[4] The Conservative vote share increased by over 9% compared with the previous election, while the Labour vote share declined by about 10%.^[5]

In 2024 Higginbotham's vote halved and the seat was regained for Labour by Oliver Ryan. Gordon Birtwistle, standing in his eighth election for the Liberal Democrats (every election since 1992, except 2001), improved his vote share threefold to come second, relegating the Conservatives to third place.

Boundaries

1868–1918: The townships of Burnley, and Habergham Eaves.^[6]

1918–1983: The County Borough of Burnley.

1983–1997: The Borough of Burnley.

1997–2024: As 1983 but with redrawn boundaries, due to local government boundary changes in the mid-1980s.

The review of parliamentary representation in Lancashire by the Boundary Commission for England in the 2000s proposed no change to the boundaries of the Burnley seat. The seat remained coterminous with the boundaries of the borough of Burnley (as it has been since 1983; before then, it was coterminous with the county borough of the same name).^[7]

2024–present: The Borough of Burnley, and the Borough of Pendle wards of: Brierfield East & Clover Hill; Brierfield West & Reedley.^[8]

Constituency expanded to bring the electorate within the permitted range by transferring the community of Brierfield from the abolished constituency of Pendle.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[9][10]	Party
	1868	Richard Shaw	Liberal
	1876 by-election	Peter Rylands	Liberal
	1886		Liberal Unionist
	1887 by-election	John Slagg	Liberal
	1889 by-election	Jabez Balfour	Liberal
	1893 by-election	Hon. Philip Stanhope	Liberal
	1900	William Mitchell	Conservative
	1906	Frederick Maddison	Lib-Lab
	Jan. 1910	Gerald Arbuthnot	Conservative
	Dec. 1910	Philip Morrell	Liberal
	1918	Dan Irving	Labour
	1924 by-election	Arthur Henderson	Labour
	1931	Gordon Campbell, VC	National Liberal
	1935	Wilfrid Burke	Labour
	1959	Dan Jones	Labour
	1983	Peter Pike	Labour
	2005	Kitty Ussher	Labour
	2010	Gordon Birtwistle	Liberal Democrats
	2015	Julie Cooper	Labour
	2019	Antony Higginbotham	Conservative
	2024	Oliver Ryan	Labour Co-op
	2025		Independent

Elections

Burnley election results

Elections in the 2020s

Oliver Ryan

General election 2024: Burnley^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Oliver Ryan	12,598	31.7	―8.5
	Liberal Democrats	Gordon Birtwistle	9,178	23.1	+15.4
	Conservative	Antony Higginbotham	8,058	20.3	―20.2
	Reform UK	Nathan McCollum	7,755	19.5	+12.4
	Green	Jack Launer	1,518	3.8	+2.0
	Independent	Rayyan Fiass	292	0.7	N/A
	Independent	Mitchell Cryer	169	0.4	N/A
	Independent	David Roper	151	0.4	N/A
Majority			3,420	8.6	N/A
Turnout			39,719	53.0	―9.4
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+5.8

Elections in the 2010s

Antony Higginbotham

General election 2019: Burnley^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Antony Higginbotham	15,720	40.3	+9.3
	Labour	Julie Cooper	14,368	36.9	―9.8
	Liberal Democrats	Gordon Birtwistle	3,501	9.0	―6.0
	Brexit Party	Stewart Scott	3,362	8.6	New
	BAPIP	Charlie Briggs	1,162	3.0	New
	Green	Laura Fisk	739	1.9	+0.8
	Independent	Karen Entwistle	132	0.3	New
Majority			1,352	3.4	N/A
Turnout			38,984	60.6	―1.6
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+9.5

General election 2017: Burnley^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Julie Cooper	18,832	46.7	+9.1
	Conservative	Paul White	12,479	31.0	+17.5
	Liberal Democrats	Gordon Birtwistle	6,046	15.0	−14.5
	UKIP	Tom Commis	2,472	6.1	−11.2
	Green	Laura Fisk	461	1.1	−1.0
Majority			6,353	15.7	+7.6
Turnout			40,290	62.2	+0.6
	Labour hold		Swing

See also: Opinion polling in United Kingdom constituencies, 2010–15 § Burnley

Julie Cooper

General election 2015: Burnley^[14]^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Julie Cooper	14,951	37.6	+6.3
	Liberal Democrats	Gordon Birtwistle	11,707	29.5	−6.2
	UKIP	Tom Commis	6,864	17.3	+15.1
	Conservative	Sarah Cockburn-Price	5,374	13.5	−3.1
	Green	Mike Hargreaves	850	2.1	New
Majority			3,244	8.1	N/A
Turnout			39,746	61.6	−1.2
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	+6.3

Gordon Birtwistle

General election 2010: Burnley^[16]^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Gordon Birtwistle	14,932	35.7	+12.0
	Labour	Julie Cooper	13,114	31.3	−7.2
	Conservative	Richard Ali	6,950	16.6	+5.8
	BNP	Sharon Wilkinson	3,747	9.0	−1.3
	Independent	Andrew Brown	1,876	4.5	New
	UKIP	John Wignall	929	2.2	+1.2
	Independent	Andrew Hennessey	287	0.7	New
Majority			1,818	4.3	N/A
Turnout			41,845	62.8	+3.6
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing	+9.6

Elections in the 2000s

2010s – 2000s – 1990s – 1980s – 1970s – 1960s – 1950s – 1940s – 1930s – 1920s – 1910s – 1900s – 1890s – 1880s – 1870s – 1860s – Back to Top

Kitty Ussher

General election 2005: Burnley^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kitty Ussher	14,999	38.5	−10.8
	Liberal Democrats	Gordon Birtwistle	9,221	23.7	+7.5
	Burnley First Independent	Harry Brooks	5,786	14.8	New
	Conservative	Yousuf Miah	4,206	10.8	−10.1
	BNP	Len Starr	4,003	10.3	−1.0
	Independent	Jeff Slater	392	1.0	New
	UKIP	Robert McDowell	376	1.0	−1.3
Majority			5,778	14.8	−13.6
Turnout			38,983	59.2	+3.5
	Labour hold		Swing	−9.2[n 3]

General election 2001: Burnley^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Peter Pike	18,195	49.3	−8.6
	Conservative	Robert Frost	7,697	20.9	+0.7
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Wright	5,975	16.2	−1.2
	BNP	Steve Smith	4,151	11.3	New
	UKIP	Richard Buttrey	866	2.3	New
Majority			10,498	28.4	−9.3
Turnout			36,884	55.7	−11.2
	Labour hold		Swing	−4.6

Elections in the 1990s

2010s – 2000s – 1990s – 1980s – 1970s – 1960s – 1950s – 1940s – 1930s – 1920s – 1910s – 1900s – 1890s – 1880s – 1870s – 1860s – Back to Top

General election 1997: Burnley^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Peter Pike	26,210	57.9	+4.9
	Conservative	Bill Wiggin	9,148	20.2	−10.4
	Liberal Democrats	Gordon Birtwistle	7,877	17.4	+1.0
	Referendum	Richard Oakley	2,010	4.4	New
Majority			17,062	37.7	+15.3
Turnout			45,245	66.9	−7.3
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.65

General election 1992: Burnley^[21]^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Peter Pike	27,184	53.0	+4.6
	Conservative	Brenda Binge	15,693	30.6	−3.2
	Liberal Democrats	Gordon Birtwistle	8,414	16.4	−1.4
Majority			11,491	22.4	+7.8
Turnout			51,291	74.2	−4.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.9

Elections in the 1980s

2010s – 2000s – 1990s – 1980s – 1970s – 1960s – 1950s – 1940s – 1930s – 1920s – 1910s – 1900s – 1890s – 1880s – 1870s – 1860s – Back to Top

General election 1987: Burnley^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Peter Pike	25,140	48.4	+8.6
	Conservative	Harold Elletson	17,583	33.8	−4.4
	SDP	Ronals Baker	9,241	17.8	−2.2
Majority			7,557	14.6	+13.0
Turnout			51,964	78.8	+2.5
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.5

General election 1983: Burnley^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Peter Pike	20,178	39.8	−11.0
	Conservative	Ian Bruce	19,391	38.2	+2.8
	Liberal	Michael Steed	11,191	20.0	+7.2
Majority			787	1.6	−13.8
Turnout			50,760	76.3
	Labour hold		Swing	−6.9

Elections in the 1970s

2010s – 2000s – 1990s – 1980s – 1970s – 1960s – 1950s – 1940s – 1930s – 1920s – 1910s – 1900s – 1890s – 1880s – 1870s – 1860s – Back to Top

General election 1979: Burnley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dan Jones	20,172	50.8	−4.0
	Conservative	Ann Widdecombe	14,062	35.4	+10.7
	Liberal	Michael Steed	5,091	12.8	−7.7
	Independent Democrat	F. Tyrrall	352	0.9	New
Majority			6,110	15.4	−14.7
Turnout			39,677
	Labour hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Burnley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dan Jones	21,642	54.8	+4.4
	Conservative	A. Pickup	9,766	24.7	−2.3
	Liberal	S.P. Mews	8,119	20.5	−2.1
Majority			11,876	30.1	+6.7
Turnout			39,527	79.7	0.0
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.3

General election February 1974: Burnley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dan Jones	21,108	50.4	−6.6
	Conservative	A. Pickup	11,268	27.0	−7.9
	Liberal	S. Mews	9,471	22.6	+14.5
Majority			9,840	23.4	+1.3
Turnout			41,847	79.7	+4.0
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1970: Burnley^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dan Jones	24,200	57.0	−3.4
	Conservative	John Birch	14,846	34.9	+7.2
	Liberal	George Brownbill	3,446	8.11	−3.8
Majority			9,354	22.1	−10.7
Turnout			39,046	75.7	−4.3
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

2010s – 2000s – 1990s – 1980s – 1970s – 1960s – 1950s – 1940s – 1930s – 1920s – 1910s – 1900s – 1890s – 1880s – 1870s – 1860s – Back to Top

General election 1966: Burnley^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dan Jones	25,583	60.43
	Conservative	Albert S Royse	11,710	27.66
	Liberal	Mary R Mason	5,045	11.92
Majority			13,873	32.77
Turnout			42,338	79.96
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1964: Burnley^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dan Jones	25,244	56.80
	Conservative	Tom Mitchell	12,365	27.82
	Liberal	Mary R Mason	6,833	15.38	New
Majority			12,879	28.98
Turnout			44,442	81.68
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

2010s – 2000s – 1990s – 1980s – 1970s – 1960s – 1950s – 1940s – 1930s – 1920s – 1910s – 1900s – 1890s – 1880s – 1870s – 1860s – Back to Top

General election 1959: Burnley^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dan Jones	27,675	56.97
	Conservative	Edward Brooks	20,902	43.03
Majority			6,773	13.94
Turnout			48,577	83.77
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1955: Burnley^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Wilfrid Burke	27,865	55.63
	Conservative	Edward Brooks	22,229	44.37
Majority			5,636	11.26
Turnout			50,094	83.46
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1951: Burnley^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Wilfrid Burke	31,261	56.53
	Conservative	Donald P Dunkley	24,034	43.37
Majority			7,227	13.16
Turnout			55,295	88.86
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1950: Burnley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Wilfrid Burke	30,685	55.65
	Conservative	F.H. Wilson	23,636	42.86
	Communist	Bill Whittaker[31]	526	0.95	New
	Ind. Labour Party	Dan Carradice	295	0.53	New
Majority			7,049	12.79
Turnout			55,142	89.56
	Labour hold		Swing

Election in the 1940s

2010s – 2000s – 1990s – 1980s – 1970s – 1960s – 1950s – 1940s – 1930s – 1920s – 1910s – 1900s – 1890s – 1880s – 1870s – 1860s – Back to Top

General election 1945: Burnley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Wilfrid Burke	32,122	63.54
	National Liberal	Herbert Monckton Milnes	18,431	36.46
Majority			13,691	27.08
Turnout			50,553	80.44
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

2010s – 2000s – 1990s – 1980s – 1970s – 1960s – 1950s – 1940s – 1930s – 1920s – 1910s – 1900s – 1890s – 1880s – 1870s – 1860s – Back to Top

General election 1935: Burnley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Wilfrid Burke	31,160	53.61
	National Liberal	Gordon Campbell	26,965	46.39
Majority			4,195	7.22	N/A
Turnout			58,125	87.36
	Labour gain from National Liberal		Swing

Gordon Campbell VC

General election 1931: Burnley^[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Gordon Campbell	35,126	56.15
	Labour	Arthur Henderson	26,917	43.03
	Communist	J. Rushton	512	0.82	New
Majority			8,209	13.12	N/A
Turnout			62,555	91.85
	National gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

2010s – 2000s – 1990s – 1980s – 1970s – 1960s – 1950s – 1940s – 1930s – 1920s – 1910s – 1900s – 1890s – 1880s – 1870s – 1860s – Back to Top

General election 1929: Burnley^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Arthur Henderson	28,091	46.2	+0.8
	Unionist	Ian Fairbairn	20,137	33.2	−2.4
	Liberal	Aneurin Edwards	12,502	20.6	+1.6
Majority			7,954	13.0	+3.2
Turnout			60,730	89.6	+1.2
Registered electors			67,781
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.6

General election 1924: Burnley^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Arthur Henderson	20,549	45.4	+7.6
	Unionist	Ian Fairbairn	16,084	35.6	+3.8
	Liberal	James Whitehead	8,601	19.0	−11.4
Majority			4,465	9.8	+3.8
Turnout			45,954	88.4	+1.1
Registered electors			51,162
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.9

Arthur Henderson

1924 Burnley by-election^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Arthur Henderson	24,571	58.4	+20.6
	Conservative	Harold Edward Joscelyn Camps	17,534	41.6	+9.8
Majority			7,037	16.8	+10.8
Turnout			42,105	82.4	−4.9
Registered electors			51,086
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.4

General election 1923: Burnley^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dan Irving	16,848	37.8	−1.3
	Unionist	Harold Edward Joscelyn Camps	14,197	31.8	−1.3
	Liberal	James Whitehead	13,543	30.4	+2.6
Majority			2,651	6.0	0.0
Turnout			44,588	87.3	−1.4
Registered electors			51,086
	Labour hold		Swing	0.0

General election 1922: Burnley^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dan Irving	17,385	39.1	−2.8
	Unionist	Harold Edward Joscelyn Camps	14,731	33.1	−0.7
	Liberal	Walter Layton	12,339	27.8	+3.5
Majority			2,654	6.0	−2.1
Turnout			44,455	88.7	+17.3
Registered electors			50,111
	Labour hold		Swing	−1.1

Elections in the 1910s

2010s – 2000s – 1990s – 1980s – 1970s – 1960s – 1950s – 1940s – 1930s – 1920s – 1910s – 1900s – 1890s – 1880s – 1870s – 1860s – Back to Top

Dan Irving

General election December 1918: Burnley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dan Irving	15,217	41.9	New
C	Unionist	Henry Mulholland	12,289	33.8	−3.7
	Liberal	John Howarth Grey	8,825	24.3	−14.3
Majority			2,928	8.1	N/A
Turnout			21,114	71.4	−22.7
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing	+16.2
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

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: Dan Irving^[35]

Philip Morrell

General election December 1910: Burnley^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Philip Morrell	6,177	38.7	+4.1
	Conservative	Gerald Arbuthnot	6,004	37.5	+2.3
	Social Democratic Federation	Henry Hyndman	3,810	23.8	−6.4
Majority			173	1.2	N/A
Turnout			15,991	94.1	−2.4
Registered electors			16,992
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+0.9

Gerald Arbuthnot

General election January 1910: Burnley^[37]^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gerald Arbuthnot	5,776	35.2	+2.5
	Lib-Lab	Fred Maddison	5,681	34.6	−0.2
	Social Democratic Federation	Henry Hyndman	4,948	30.2	−2.3
Majority			95	0.6	N/A
Turnout			16,405	96.5	+1.5
Registered electors			16,992
	Conservative gain from Lib-Lab		Swing	+1.4

Elections in the 1900s

2010s – 2000s – 1990s – 1980s – 1970s – 1960s – 1950s – 1940s – 1930s – 1920s – 1910s – 1900s – 1890s – 1880s – 1870s – 1860s – Back to Top

Fred Maddison

General election 1906: Burnley^[37]^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Lib-Lab	Fred Maddison	5,288	34.8	−12.9
	Conservative	Gerald Arbuthnot	4,964	32.7	−19.6
	Social Democratic Federation	Henry Hyndman	4,932	32.5	New
Majority			324	2.1	N/A
Turnout			15,184	95.0	+5.1
Registered electors			15,983
	Lib-Lab gain from Conservative		Swing	+3.4

General election 1900: Burnley^[37]^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Mitchell	6,773	52.3	+9.8
	Liberal	Philip Stanhope	6,173	47.7	+2.6
Majority			600	4.6	N/A
Turnout			12,946	89.9	−0.6
Registered electors			14,393
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+3.6

Elections in the 1890s

2010s – 2000s – 1990s – 1980s – 1970s – 1960s – 1950s – 1940s – 1930s – 1920s – 1910s – 1900s – 1890s – 1880s – 1870s – 1860s – Back to Top

General election 1895: Burnley^[37]^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Philip Stanhope	5,454	45.1	−11.1
	Conservative	William Alexander Lindsay[38]	5,133	42.5	−1.3
	Social Democratic Federation	Henry Hyndman	1,498	12.4	New
Majority			321	2.6	−9.8
Turnout			12,085	90.5	−0.5
Registered electors			13,360
	Liberal hold		Swing	−4.9

Philip Stanhope

1893 Burnley by-election^[37]^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Philip Stanhope	6,199	53.0	−3.2
	Conservative	William Alexander Lindsay[38]	5,506	47.0	+3.2
Majority			693	6.0	−6.4
Turnout			11,705	91.3	+0.3
Registered electors			12,826
	Liberal hold		Swing	−3.2

General election 1892: Burnley^[37]^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jabez Balfour	6,450	56.2	+6.5
	Liberal Unionist	Edwin Lawrence	5,035	43.8	−6.5
Majority			1,415	12.4	N/A
Turnout			11,485	91.0	+4.1
Registered electors			12,619
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing	+6.5

Elections in the 1880s

2010s – 2000s – 1990s – 1980s – 1970s – 1960s – 1950s – 1940s – 1930s – 1920s – 1910s – 1900s – 1890s – 1880s – 1870s – 1860s – Back to Top

By-election, 27 Feb 1889: Burnley^[36]^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jabez Balfour	Unopposed
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist

• Caused by Stagg's death.

By-election, 19 Feb 1887: Burnley^[37]^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Slagg	5,026	52.9	+3.2
	Conservative	John Thursby[39]	4,481	47.1	−3.2
Majority			545	5.8	N/A
Turnout			9,507	94.9	+8.0
Registered electors			10,020
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing	+3.2

• Caused by Ryland's death.

General election 1886: Burnley^[37]^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Peter Rylands	4,209	50.3	+4.0
	Liberal	James Greenwood[40]	4,166	49.7	−4.0
Majority			43	0.6	N/A
Turnout			8,375	86.9	−7.2
Registered electors			9,638
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+4.0

General election 1885: Burnley^[37]^[41]^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Peter Rylands	4,866	53.7	−1.4
	Conservative	Henry Herbert Wainwright	4,199	46.3	+1.4
Majority			667	7.4	−2.8
Turnout			9,065	94.1	+0.1
Registered electors			9,638
	Liberal hold		Swing	−1.4

General election 1880: Burnley^[42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Peter Rylands	3,943	55.1	−0.1
	Conservative	Edmund Talbot	3,217	44.9	+0.1
Majority			726	10.2	−0.2
Turnout			7,160	94.0	+9.9
Registered electors			7,614
	Liberal hold		Swing	−0.1

Elections in the 1870s

2010s – 2000s – 1990s – 1980s – 1970s – 1960s – 1950s – 1940s – 1930s – 1920s – 1910s – 1900s – 1890s – 1880s – 1870s – 1860s – Back to Top

By-election, 14 Feb 1876: Burnley^[43]^[42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Peter Rylands	3,520	53.4	−1.8
	Conservative	William Alexander Lindsay[44]	3,077	46.6	+1.8
Majority			433	6.8	−3.6
Turnout			6,597	92.6	+8.5
Registered electors			7,127
	Liberal hold		Swing	−1.8

• Caused by Shaw's death.

General election 1874: Burnley^[42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Richard Shaw	3,065	55.2	+1.3
	Conservative	William Alexander Lindsay[44]	2,490	44.8	−1.3
Majority			575	10.4	+2.6
Turnout			5,555	84.1	+8.4
Registered electors			6,607
	Liberal hold		Swing	+1.3

Elections in the 1860s

2010s – 2000s – 1990s – 1980s – 1970s – 1960s – 1950s – 1940s – 1930s – 1920s – 1910s – 1900s – 1890s – 1880s – 1870s – 1860s – Back to Top

General election 1868: Burnley^[42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Richard Shaw	2,620	53.9
	Conservative	James Yorke Scarlett	2,238	46.1
Majority			382	7.8
Turnout			4,858	75.7
Registered electors			6,417
	Liberal win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Lancashire

Notes

1. A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
3. Labour to Liberal Democrat

References

1. "Burnley: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
2. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – North West". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
3. "VOTE 2001 | RESULTS & CONSTITUENCIES | Burnley". BBC News. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
4. "Election 2019: Conservatives take Blackpool South, Hyndburn and Burnley". BBC News. 23 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
5. "Burnley Parliamentary constituency". BBC. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
6. "Representation of the People Act 1867" (PDF). Retrieved 23 May 2020.
7. Boundary Commission for England Fifth Periodical Report^{[permanent dead link]}. Retrieved 31 October 2007.
8. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 5 North West region.
9. "Burnley 1868–". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved 2 February 2015.
10. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 6)
11. "STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED, NOTICE OF POLL AND SITUATION OF POLLING STATIONS" (PDF). Burnley Council. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
12. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
13. "ELECTION 2017: The five Lib Dem target seats in the North West". ITV News. 27 April 2017.
14. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
15. "Burnley". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
16. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
17. "Election 2010 | Constituency | Burnley". BBC News. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
18. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
19. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
20. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
21. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
22. "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
23. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
24. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
25. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1970.
26. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1966.
27. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1964.
28. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1959.
29. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1955.
30. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1951.
31. Stevenson, Graham. "Whittaker Bill". Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
32. Craig, F.W.S., ed. (1969). British parliamentary election results 1918–1949. Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. p. 110. ISBN 0-900178-01-9.
33. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, FWS Craig
34. "BURNLEY BY-ELECTION". The Register (Adelaide). Vol. LXXXIX, no. 25, 952. South Australia. 1 March 1924. p. 10. Retrieved 18 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
35. "British Socialist Party". Manchester Guardian. 13 April 1914.
36. Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885–1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
37. The Constitutional Year Book, National Unionist Association of Conservative and Liberal Unionist Organizations (1916)
38. "The Election at Burnley". Preston Herald. 8 February 1893. p. 2. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
39. "The Burnley Election". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 21 February 1887. p. 8. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
40. "Burnley". Preston Herald. 9 February 1887. p. 5. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
41. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
42. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
43. "Burnley Election". Sheffield Daily Telegraph. 14 February 1876. Retrieved 5 October 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
44. "The nomination of candidates to fill the vacancy in Burnley". Bradford Observer. 10 February 1876. p. 8. Retrieved 28 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.

External links

• nomis Constituency Profile for Burnley – presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.
• Burnley UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
• Burnley UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
• Burnley UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK

53.787°N 2.245°W / 53.787; -2.245