Bournemouth East and Christchurch (UK Parliament constituency)

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Bournemouth East and Christchurch is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It returned one Member of Parliament, using the first past the post electoral system from the United Kingdom general election, 1950 until the constituency was abolished in 1974.

The seat was based upon the eastern part of the seaside resort of Bournemouth and the neighbouring town of Christchurch, which were united for parliamentary purposes in 1950. The constituency was in the south west of the historic county of Hampshire in South East England.

Boundaries

Before 1918 the County Borough of Bournemouth formed part of the then Christchurch constituency. Under the Representation of the People Act 1918 Bournemouth became a single-member constituency, with the same borders as the then county borough. Christchurch became part of the New Forest and Christchurch constituency.

In the 1950 redistribution of parliamentary seats, the Representation of the People Act 1948 provided for the division of Bournemouth and Christchurch into Bournemouth East and Christchurch and Bournemouth West.

This seat comprised the then County Borough of Bournemouth wards of Boscombe East, Boscombe West, King's Park, Queen's Park, Southbourne, and West Southbourne with the Municipal Borough of Christchurch. The exact boundaries of the wards and Municipal Borough were altered in 1964.

In the redistribution which took effect in early 1974, this constituency was divided. The two seats of Bournemouth East and Christchurch and Lymington then came into existence.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	1950	Rt Hon Brendan Bracken	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	1952 by-election	Nigel Nicolson	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	1959	John Cordle	Conservative

Elections

Bournemouth East and Christchurch by-election, 1952

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nigel Nicolson	22,480	61.85	−1.46
	Labour	R. D. Rees	8,498	23.38	−1.71
	Liberal	J. C. Holland	3,673	10.11	−1.49
	Independent	S. Kermode	1,693	4.66	N/A
Turnout			36,334
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Bournemouth East and Christchurch

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Brendan Bracken	29,138	63.31
	Labour	H.J. Barnes	11,550	25.09
	Liberal	J.C. Holland	5,338	11.6
Majority			17,588	38.21
Turnout				80.84
	Conservative hold		Swing

See also

• List of former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies

References

• Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
• British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Research Services 1983)
• Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume IV 1945-1979, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1981)