Ramsey (UK Parliament constituency)

Ramsey
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
1885–1918
Number of members	one
Replaced by	Huntingdonshire
Created from	Huntingdonshire

Ramsey was a parliamentary constituency in Huntingdonshire, which elected one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

It was created upon the abolition of the two member Huntingdonshire constituency in 1885, as one of the two county divisions. It was abolished in 1918 when Huntingdonshire was re-established as a single member constituency.

Boundaries

The Sessional Divisions of Hurstingstone, Norman Cross, and Ramsey.

History

The division was a predominantly rural area. In addition it included some suburbs of Peterborough and the small towns of Ramsey and St. Ives, as well as part of the Fens.

The Liberal strength in the constituency came from the freeholders of Peterborough (who could vote in Ramsey), the working class Peterborough suburban vote and the smallholders of the Fens. However the area was mostly Conservative, with the rural population under the influence of the largest local landowner Lord de Ramsey. Except for the 1906 general election the Conservative Party won every election in the constituency.

In the 1885 general election one of the former Conservative MPs for the undivided county of Huntingdonshire, William Fellowes was elected the first member from the division. In July 1887 his father, Edward Fellowes, was created the 1st Lord de Ramsey - shortly before his death on 9 August 1887. William Fellowes was thereby elevated to the peerage and vacated his seat in the House of Commons.

The Fellowes family continued to dominate the representation of the division. A younger son of the 1st Baron, the Honourable Ailwyn Fellowes was elected to replace his brother. Fellowes retained the seat until he was defeated in the Liberal landslide in the 1906 general election.

The Liberal MP elected in 1906, Alexander Boulton, was a Canadian lawyer (who later in his career helped found the English-Speaking Union). He was not able to secure re-election in either of the 1910 elections. He was defeated by the fourth and last MP for the constituency, the Conservative Oliver Locker-Lampson.

During the First World War Locker-Lampson served with the R.N.A.S. Armoured Car Unit and also represented the Ministry of Information in various countries. He was involved in France, Belgium, Russia, Romania, Turkey and Persia between 1914 and 1919. He received the Orders of Leopold of Belgium and St Vladimir of Russia amongst other decorations.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member ^[1]	Party
Huntingdonshire prior to 1885
	1885	Hon. William Fellowes	Conservative
	1887 by-election	Rt Hon. Ailwyn Fellowes	Conservative
	1906	Alexander Boulton	Liberal
	1910 (January)	Oliver Locker-Lampson	Conservative
	1918	constituency abolished, Huntingdonshire from 1918

Election results

General Election 1885: Ramsey^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	William Henry Fellowes	2,775	53.5	N/A
	Liberal	Lord Esme Gordon	2,410	46.5	N/A
Majority			365	7.0
Turnout			5,185	86.6	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)

General Election 1886: Ramsey^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	William Henry Fellowes	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Ramsey by-election, 1887^[2]^[3]^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Ailwyn Edward Fellowes	2,700	52.8	−0.7
	Liberal	James Harris Sanders	2,414	47.2	+0.7
Majority			286	5.6
Turnout			5,114	84.4	−2.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.7

General Election 1892: Ramsey^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Ailwyn Edward Fellowes	2,842	53.8	+1.0
	Liberal	John Prince Sheldon	2,445	46.2	−1.0
Majority			397	7.6
Turnout			5,287	80.8	−3.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.0

General Election 1895: Ramsey^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Ailwyn Edward Fellowes	3,012	59.3	+5.5
	Liberal	Harry Heldmann	2,063	40.7	−5.5
Majority			949	18.6
Turnout			5,075	76.5	−4.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.5

General Election 1900: Ramsey^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Ailwyn Edward Fellowes	2,893	62.4	+3.1
	Liberal	G J Phillips	1,742	37.6	−3.1
Majority			1,151	24.8
Turnout			4,635	69.4	−7.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.1

General Election 1906: Ramsey^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Alexander Claude Forster Boulton	3,184	53.2	+15.6
	Conservative	Ailwyn Edward Fellowes	2,803	46.8	−15.6
Majority			381	6.4
Turnout			5,987	88.7	+19.3
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+15.6

General Election 1910 (January): Ramsey^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Oliver Stillingfleet Locker-Lampson	3,350	53.5	+6.7
	Liberal	Alexander Claude Forster Boulton	2,915	46.5	−6.7
Majority			435	7.0
Turnout			6,265	89.1	+0.4
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+6.7

General Election 1910 (December): Ramsey^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Oliver Stillingfleet Locker-Lampson	3,072	51.0	−3.5
	Liberal	Alexander Claude Forster Boulton	2,954	49.0	+3.5
Majority			118	2.0
Turnout			6,026	85.7	−3.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	−3.5

References

↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 1)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 F. W. S. Craig (1989), British Parliamentary Election Results, 1885-1918. Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services.
↑ By-election triggered upon succession of William Fellowes to the peerage as Baron de Ramsey.
↑ The Constitiutional Year Book, 1904, published by Conservative Central Office, page 145 (169 in web page), Huntingdonshire

Sources

Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
Social Geography of British Elections 1885-1910. by Henry Pelling (Macmillan 1967)
Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume I 1832-1885, edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976)
Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume II 1886-1918, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1978)
Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume III 1919-1945, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1979)

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