Preston North (UK Parliament constituency)

Not to be confused with Wyre and Preston North (UK Parliament constituency).

Preston North
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
Preston North in Lancashire, showing boundaries used from 1974–1983
County	Lancashire
Major settlements	Preston
1950–1983
Seats	One
Created from	Preston
Replaced by	Preston and Ribble Valley[1]

Preston North was a parliamentary constituency in Lancashire, which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency was created by the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949 for the 1950 general election by division of the former two-seat Preston constituency, and abolished for the 1983 general election. Some of the constituency's former territory was then incorporated within a new single-seat Preston constituency, and parts of Preston North became elements within Fylde and Ribble Valley.

The modern Preston is a safe seat for Labour, but historically Preston North was one of the most marginal constituencies in the country.

Boundaries

1950–1974: The County Borough of Preston wards of Deepdale, Fishwick, Moorbrook, Park, and Ribbleton, and the Urban District of Fulwood.

1974–1983: The County Borough of Preston wards of Deepdale, Fishwick, Moorbrook, Park, St Matthew's, and Ribbleton, and the Urban District of Fulwood. The constituency boundaries remained unchanged.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1950	Julian Amery	Conservative
	1966	Ronald Atkins	Labour
	1970	Mary Holt	Conservative
	Feb 1974	Ronald Atkins	Labour
	1979	Robert Atkins	Conservative
	1983	constituency abolished: see Preston

• Ronald Atkins (Labour) and Robert Atkins (Conservative) are unrelated.

Election results

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Preston North^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Julian Amery	21,880	48.4
	Labour	Samuel Segal	20,950	46.3
	Liberal	Charles Joseph Hemelryk	2,012	4.5
	Communist	Pat Devine[3]	366	0.8
Majority			930	2.1
Turnout			45,208	86.8
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election 1951: Preston North^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Julian Amery	23,598	51.2	+2.8
	Labour	Thomas Hourigan	22,490	48.8	+2.5
Majority			1,108	2.3	+0.2
Turnout			46,088	87.5	+0.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1955: Preston North^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Julian Amery	22,310	53.5	+2.3
	Labour	Edgar Hewitt	19,407	46.5	−2.3
Majority			2,903	7.0	+4.6
Turnout			41,717	81.4	−6.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1959: Preston North^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Julian Amery	23,990	55.1	+1.6
	Labour	Arthur Davidson	19,529	44.9	−1.6
Majority			4,461	10.2	+3.2
Turnout			43,519	83.4	+2.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.6

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Preston North^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Julian Amery	20,566	50.0	−5.1
	Labour	Russell Kerr	20,552	50.0	+5.1
Majority			14	0.0	−10.2
Turnout			41,118	78.7	−4.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1966: Preston North^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ronald Atkins	21,539	53.0	+3.0
	Conservative	Julian Amery	19,121	47.0	−3.0
Majority			2,418	6.0	N/A
Turnout			50,140	81.1	+2.4
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Preston North^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mary Holt	20,102	50.6	+3.6
	Labour	Ronald Atkins	17,140	43.2	−9.8
	Liberal	Derrick Trevor Jones	2,458	6.2	New
Majority			2,962	7.4	N/A
Turnout			51,655	76.9	−4.2
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

General election February 1974: Preston North^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ronald Atkins	16,797	41.5	−1.7
	Conservative	Mary Holt	16,542	40.9	−9.7
	Liberal	Gordon Payne	7,099	17.6	+11.4
Majority			255	0.63	New
Turnout			50,885	79.4	+2.5
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General election October 1974: Preston North^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ronald Atkins	18,044	45.8	+4.3
	Conservative	Mary Holt	16,260	41.3	+0.4
	Liberal	Gordon Payne	4,948	12.6	−5.0
	More Prosperous Britain	Harold Smith	138	0.4	New
Majority			1,784	4.53	+3.90
Turnout			51,369	76.7	−2.7
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1979: Preston North^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Atkins	18,632	46.3	+5.0
	Labour	Ronald Atkins	18,603	46.2	+0.4
	Liberal	Michael Paul Braham	2,715	6.7	−5.9
	National Front	John Farran Hetherington	329	0.8	New
Majority			29	0.07	N/A
Turnout			51,756	77.8	+1.1
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

See also

• Wyre and Preston North
• Preston (UK Parliament constituency)
• Ribble Valley

References

1. "'Preston North', Feb 1974 - May 1979". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
2. "1950 General Election – Preston North". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
3. Findlay, Gloria. "Pat Devine". Graham Stevenson. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
4. "1951 General Election – Preston North". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
5. "1955 General Election – Preston North". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
6. "1959 General Election – Preston North". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
7. "1964 General Election – Preston North". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
8. "1966 General Election – Preston North". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
9. "1970 General Election – Preston North". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2024.

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "P" (part 2)