Maldon (UK Parliament constituency)

Maldon
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Maldon in Essex for the 2010 general election
Location of Essex within England
County	Essex
Electorate	69,539 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements	Maldon, Burnham-on-Crouch, South Woodham Ferrers
Current constituency
Created	2010
Member of Parliament	Sir John Whittingdale (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	Maldon and East Chelmsford, Rayleigh and West Chelmsford
1885–1983
Seats	One
Type of constituency	County constituency
Created from	East Essex, Maldon (Parliamentary Borough)
Replaced by	Colchester South and Maldon and Rochford
1332–1885
Seats	Two to 1868, one from 1868 to 1885
Type of constituency	Borough constituency
Replaced by	Maldon (county constituency)

Maldon is a constituency^{[n 1]} in Essex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its recreation in 2010 by Sir John Whittingdale, a Conservative.^{[n 2]}

Constituency profile

Maldon covers a rural area of Essex including the Dengie Peninsula. The main settlements are Maldon and Burnham-on-Crouch on the coast, and the new town of South Woodham Ferrers. The seat is slightly wealthier than the UK average.^[2]

History

The Parliamentary Borough of Maldon, which included the parish of Heybridge, had sent two members to the Parliament of England since it was founded in 1332 (36 years after the Model Parliament)^[3] until 1707, then to the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and to the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801. Under the Reform Act of 1867, its representation was reduced to one,^[4] and in 1885 the Parliamentary Borough was abolished and replaced with a Division of the County of Essex (later a County Constituency) under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.^[5]

The constituency was abolished for the 1983 general election following the Third Periodic Review of Westminster Constituencies, but re-established for the 2010 general election by the Fifth Review. The current seat is primarily a successor to the Maldon and East Chelmsford constituency which existed from 1997 to 2010.

Boundaries and boundary changes

1885–1918

• The Municipal Borough of Maldon;
• The Sessional Divisions of Hinckford South (Braintree Bench) and Witham; and
• Parts of the Sessional Divisions of Hinckford South (Halstead Bench), Lexden, and Winstree.^[5]

Formally known as the Eastern or Maldon Division of Essex, incorporating the abolished Parliamentary Borough of Maldon and extending northwards to include the towns of Witham, Braintree and Halstead.

1918–1950

• The Municipal Borough of Maldon;
• The Urban Districts of Braintree, Burnham-on-Crouch, and Witham;
• The Rural District of Maldon; and
• The Rural District of Braintree (including the detached part of the parish of Inworth which was wholly surrounded by the parishes of Great Braxted and Kelvedon).^[6]

Area to the south between the rivers Crouch and Blackwater, including Burnham-on-Crouch, transferred from the South-Eastern Division of Essex. The northernmost area, including Halstead, and eastern fringes transferred to Saffron Walden and Colchester respectively. Other minor changes.

1950–1959

• The Municipal Borough of Maldon;
• The Urban Districts of Braintree and Bocking, Burnham-on-Crouch, and Witham;
• The Rural District of Maldon; and
• Part of the Rural District of Braintree.^[7]

Marginal changes as a result of changes to local authority boundaries.

1959–1974

As above but the part of the Rural District of Braintree was altered by the County of Essex (Braintree and Lexden and Winstree Rural Districts) Confirmation Order 1955.^[7]

Marginal changes as a result of changes to local authority boundaries.

1974–1983

• The Municipal Borough of Maldon;
• The Urban District of Burnham-on-Crouch; and
• The Rural Districts of Maldon and Rochford.^[8]

Major reconfiguration, as Braintree and Bocking, and Witham, together with the parts of the Rural District of Braintree, formed the basis for the new constituency of Braintree. The Rural District of Rochford was transferred from South East Essex.

Constituency abolished for the 1983 general election. Southern area, comprising the former Rural District of Rochford, included in the new constituency of Rochford.  Remainder formed the majority of the new constituency of South Colchester and Maldon.

2010–present

• The District of Maldon wards of Althorne, Burnham-on-Crouch North, Burnham-on-Crouch South, Heybridge East, Heybridge West, Maldon East, Maldon North, Maldon South, Maldon West, Mayland, Purleigh, Southminster, and Tillingham; and
• The Borough of Chelmsford wards of Bicknacre and East and West Hanningfield, Little Baddow, Danbury and Sandon, Rettendon and Runwell, South Hanningfield, Stock and Margaretting, South Woodham Chetwood and Collingwood, and South Woodham Elmwood and Woodville.^[9]

Following the Boundary Commission's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, Parliament radically altered some constituencies and created new ones to allow for changes in population. The majority of the former Maldon and East Chelmsford constituency formed the basis of this new seat for 2010. The constituency retained Maldon and Burnham-on-Crouch, but lost the Chelmsford parts to the re-established Chelmsford seat and the new constituency of Witham. To compensate, wards in and around South Woodham Ferrers were added from the former Rayleigh constituency, and Margaretting was added from the former West Chelmsford constituency.

Proposed

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the composition of the constituency from the next general election, due by January 2025, will be expanded northwards slightly, with the transfer in from Chelmsford of the City of Chelmsford ward of Galleywood.^[10]

The historic constituency (1332–1983)

Maldon
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
1332–1885
Seats	two (1295–1868) one (1868–1885)

Essex, Maldon
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
1885–1983
Seats	one

Maldon was originally a Parliamentary borough in Essex, first represented in the House of Commons in 1332; it elected two MPs until 1868, and one from 1868 until 1885. In that year the borough was abolished but the name was transferred to a county division of Essex, which continued with some boundary changes until 1983.

Maldon borough (1332–1885)

Boundaries and franchise before the Reform Act

Until the Great Reform Act of 1832, the borough consisted of the three parishes of the town of Maldon, a small market town and port on the coast of Essex.

Maldon had been a municipal as well as a Parliamentary borough. Its first charter dated from the reign of Henry II, and at one time the corporation had the sole right to elect the town's MPs. From 1701 at the latest, however, the right to vote was exercised by the freemen of the town, whether or not resident within the borough; and, unusually, honorary freemen and those acquiring the freedom by purchase were also entitled to vote in Maldon. This had several consequences. The electorate in Maldon was much bigger than was usual in a town of that size — in the first half of the 18th century, the number of qualified voters was generally about 800 (the majority of whom did not live in Maldon). It also meant that the town corporation, with the power to create freemen and therefore voters, was in a position to gerrymander elections if it so wished. This might, as was the case in some other boroughs, have ended in one interest gaining control of the corporation and turning Maldon into a pocket borough; in fact, however, Maldon instead stayed independent but venal, and gaining election there tended to be an expensive business. Sometimes it was not merely a case of bribing the voters: in 1690, it was recorded in the House of Commons journals that the wives and daughters of Maldon freemen were being bribed at election time as well.

One interest that was firmly established by the middle of the 18th century, however, was that of the government, which ensured that lucrative posts in the customs house were reserved for loyally-voting freemen, and also attempted to have government supporters – often strangers to the town – elected to vacancies on the corporation. It was generally taken for granted that the government candidates would normally be elected.

The Strutt ascendancy

However, in the 1750s the government's control of Maldon weakened, and a prominent local Tory, John Strutt, found he had enough influence with the voters to sway elections. He secured the election of several of his friends over the years and eventually, in 1774, successfully stood for election himself.

In the meanwhile, however, there was a dramatic change in the system. In 1763 one of the sitting MPs, Strutt's friend Bamber Gascoyne, was appointed to the Board of Trade and therefore had to stand for re-election at Maldon. Gascoyne's opponent, John Huske, accused him of threatening that any freemen working in the customs house who did not vote for him would be dismissed (which, by that time, would have been an illegal threat).^[11] Although the Prime Minister, George Grenville, denied having authorised Gascoyne to make any such threat and Gascoyne denied having made it, it seems clear it was believed in Maldon and the corporation sided with Huske, creating enough new freemen to ensure Gascoyne was defeated. Both sides started actions for bribery, but Gascoyne had decided on more drastic action. He took out a writ against the corporation, and the Courts ordered the ousting of the majority of members; eventually, in 1768, the corporation was dissolved by judicial order.

For half a century the duties of returning officer were transferred to the High Sheriff of Essex. However, the Sheriff could not assume the corporation's function of swearing in new freemen, and Strutt's influence was thus entirely secured against any possibility of new voters being created to outvote him. However, there was a problem: by the time of the general election of 1807 the number of remaining qualified voters had dwindled to 58, and the constituency was in imminent danger of quite literally dying out. Yet there were more than 800 new freemen who were only barred from voting because there was nobody to swear them in. Finally a new charter was granted, in time to enfranchise them for the election of 1810.

Matters then returned to normal in Maldon for the remaining 22 years before the Reform Act. Strutt's son, Joseph Holden Strutt, retained much of the influence that his father had wielded, being generally considered to be able to nominate one of the two MPs or to choose to sit himself; as he exercised all government patronage in Maldon, he was well-placed to secure the other seat as well. But when the voters proved uncooperative, they could easily enough be overruled: at the 1826 election, the Corporation secured the result it wanted by admitting another thousand new freemen in time for them to vote: 3,113 freemen voted, of whom only 251 were Maldon residents.

After the Reform Act

In the initial drafts of the Reform Bill, Maldon was to lose one of its two seats. It was eventually spared this fate, but its population of 3,831 in 1831 left it very close to the borderline. The eventual Reform Act extended the borough by adding the neighbouring parish of Heybridge, increasing the population to 4,895; but with only 716 qualified voters under the new franchise its electorate was less than a quarter of what it had previously been. The constituency was a highly marginal one, victory rarely being secured by more than a handful of votes. In 1852, only 40 votes separated first place from fourth, and the second Tory's majority over his Whig opponent was only 6; after the losing candidates petitioned, alleging corruption, the election was declared void^[12] and Maldon's right to representation was suspended while a Royal Commission investigated. However, no major scandal was uncovered and (unlike some other boroughs similarly investigated at the same period) its right to vote was reinstated and a writ for a new by-election which took place in 1854 was issued.^[13]

Maldon county constituency (1885–1983)

The Second Reform Act, implemented in 1868, took seats from most of the smallest boroughs, and Maldon's representation was halved; but it was still too small, and at the election of 1885 the borough was abolished altogether. The county division into which the town was placed, however, was named after the town. (Officially, until 1918, it was the Eastern (or Maldon) Division of Essex; after that, simply the Maldon division.) As well as Maldon itself this contained the towns of Braintree, Halstead and Witham. Once again this constituency was a marginal one — almost the only rural county seat in the South East at this period not to be safely Conservative. The strength of the Liberal vote seems to have been based partly on the strength of Nonconformism in the Halstead area, but also on trade unionism among the agricultural labourers (which elsewhere in Essex was offset by a strongly Tory maritime vote which Maldon lacked).

After 1918, boundary changes added Burnham on Crouch and the surrounding district, but the constituency was still a rural one, with 35% of the occupied male population employed in the agricultural sector at the time of the 1921 census. The Labour Party rather than the Liberals were now the Conservatives' main opponents. When the Liberal Party split in 1922, Maldon's Liberals split as well, and the constituency was the first where the Lloyd George Liberals set up a constituency association, though this was apparently without the sanction of the national party headquarters and the association is not recorded as having organised any activities. In 1923 no Liberal candidate stood at all, and Labour captured the seat for the first time. The Conservatives retook the seat in 1924, holding it until the 1940s, but it was won by Tom Driberg in a wartime by-election; yet his hold on the seat was rarely secure and he eventually moved to sit for a safer seat. Thereafter Maldon remained Conservative until its abolition, though at first by the narrowest of margins.

The Maldon constituency was abolished in the boundary changes which came into effect at the 1983 election, being divided between the new Colchester South and Maldon and Rochford constituencies.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1332–1640

Parliament	First member	Second member
1386	Richard Bush	John Glover[14]
1388 (Feb)	John Dyer	Henry Hales[14]
1388 (Sep)	John Crakebon	John Welles[14]
1390 (Jan)	John Skinner I	John Joce[14]|
1390 (Nov)
1391	John Welles	John Page[14]
1393	John Skinner	John Glover[14]
1394
1395
1397 (Jan)	John Glover	John Joce[14]
1397 (Sep)
1399	John Joce	John Crakebon[14]
1401
1402	John Page	Thomas Paffe[14]
1404 (Jan)	John Burgess	Thomas Paffe[14]
1404 (Oct)
1406	John Flower	Robert Painter[14]
1407	John Page	John Hockham[14]
1410	?William Wade[14]
1411	John Flower	John Burgess[14]
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)	Richard Galon	John Burgess[14]
1414 (Apr)
1414 (Nov)	John Flower	John Burgess[14]
1415
1416 (Mar)
1416 (Oct)
1417	Thomas Paffe	Richard Sampson[14]
1419	Richard Galon	William Bennett[14]
1420	John Burgess	Richard Galon[14]
1421 (May)	John Cooper	Richard Bawde[14]
1421 (Dec)	William Burgh	William Gore[14]
1422	Robert Darcy[15]
1487	Sir Richard Fitzlewis[16]
1491	Robert Plummer[16]
1504	Sir William Say
1510	Sir Richard FitzLewis	Thomas Hintlesham[17]
1512	Thomas Cressener	?[17]
1515	John Strangman	?[17]
1523	John Bozom	Thomas Wyburgh[17]
1529	Thomas Tey	Edward Peyton[17]
1536	William Harris	John Raymond[17]
1539	John Edmonds	William Bonham[17]
1542	Edward Bury	Henry Dowes[17]
1545	Clement Smith	Nicholas Throckmorton[17]
1547	Sir Clement Smith	Henry Dowes, died and replaced by Jan 1552 by William Bassett[17]
1553 (Mar)	Sir Walter Mildmay	Henry Fortescue[17]
1553 (Oct)	?Anthony Browne	John Raymond[17]
1554 (Apr)	Thomas Hungate	Edmund Tyrrell[17]
1554 (Nov)	Anthony Browne	John Wiseman[17]
1555	Sir Henry Radclyffe	Richard Weston[17]
1558	Edmund Tyrrell	Roger Appleton, died and replaced by Nov 1558 by Henry Golding[18]
1559	Sir Humphrey Radcliffe	Henry Golding[18]
1562–3	John Lathom	Richard Argall[18]
1571	Peter Osborne. sat for Guildford, repl. by George Blythe	Gabriel Croft[18]
1572	Thomas Gent	Vincent Harris, died and repl. Oct 1574 by Edward Sulyard[18]
1584	Edward Lewknor	William Wiseman[18]
1586	John Butler	Edward Lewknor[18]
1588	John Butler	William Vernon, sick and replaced by Edward Lewknor[18]
1593	Sir Thomas Mildmay, Bt	Edward Lewknor[18]
1597	Thomas Harris	William Wiseman[18]
1601	William Wiseman	Richard Weston[18]
1604	Sir Edward Lewknor, died and replaced 1605 by Sir Theophilus Howard	William Wiseman, died and replaced 1610 by Sir John Sammes
1610	Sir Robert Rich
1614	Sir John Sammes	Charles Chiborne
1621-1622	Sir Henry Mildmay	Sir Julius Caesar
1624	Sir William Masham, Bt	Sir Arthur Harris
1625	Sir William Masham, Bt	Sir Henry Mildmay
1626	Sir William Masham, Bt	Sir Thomas Cheek
1628-1629	Sir Henry Mildmay	Sir Arthur Harris
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned

MPs 1640–1868

Year		First member[19]	First party		Second member[19]	Second party
April 1640		Sir Henry Mildmay	Parliamentarian		John Porter
November 1640					Sir John Clotworthy	Parliamentarian
January 1648				Clotworthy disabled from sitting January 1648, but readmitted June 1648
June 1648					Sir John Clotworthy	Parliamentarian
December 1648				Clotworthy excluded in Pride's Purge - seat vacant
1653	Maldon was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654		Colonel Joachim Matthews		Maldon had only one seat in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
1656
January 1659					Henry Mildmay
May 1659		Colonel Sir Henry Mildmay			One seat vacant
April 1660		Tristram Conyers			Henry Mildmay
June 1660					Edward Herrys
1661		Sir John Tyrell			Sir Richard Wiseman
1677		Sir William Wiseman, 1st Baronet
March 1679					Sir John Bramston
October 1679					Sir Thomas Darcy, 1st Baronet
1685		Sir John Bramston
1689		Charles Montagu
1693					Sir Eliab Harvey
1695		Irby Montagu
1699					John Bullock
January 1701					William Fytche
November 1701		John Comyns
1708		Sir Richard Child			Thomas Richmond	Whig
1710		John Comyns[n 3]
1711					William Fytche
1712					Thomas Bramston I
1715		Samuel Tufnell
1722		Sir John Comyns
1727		Henry Parsons			Thomas Bramston II
1734					Martin Bladen
1740		Benjamin Keene
1741		Sir Thomas Drury, Bt			Robert Colebrooke
1747		Sir Richard Lloyd, KC
1754[20]		Colonel John Bullock
1761[20]					Bamber Gascoyne	Independent
1768[20]					John Huske
1773[20]					Charles Rainsford
1774[20]		John Strutt	Tory		Hon. Richard Savage Nassau
1780[20]					Eliab Harvey
1784[20]					The Lord Waltham
1787[20]					Sir Peter Parker, Bt
1790		Joseph Strutt	Tory[21]		Charles Western	Whig[21]
1806					Benjamin Gaskell[n 4]	Whig[21]
1807					Charles Western	Whig[21]
1812					Benjamin Gaskell	Whig[21]
1826		Hon. George Allanson-Winn	Tory[21]		Thomas Barrett-Lennard	Whig[21][22][23][24][25][26]
1827		Hugh Dick	Tory[21]
1830		Quintin Dick	Tory[21]
1834			Conservative[21]
1837					John Round	Conservative[21]
1847		David Waddington	Conservative		Thomas Barrett-Lennard	Whig[21][22][23][24][25][26]
1852 [12]		Charles du Cane	Conservative		Taverner John Miller	Conservative
1853	Writ suspended[13]
1854		George Peacocke	Conservative		John Bramley-Moore	Conservative
1857		Thomas Western	Whig
1859			Liberal		George Peacocke[n 5]	Conservative
1865		Ralph Earle	Conservative
1868	Representation reduced to one member

MPs 1868–1983

Election		Member[19]	Party
	1868	Edward Hammond Bentall	Liberal
	1874	George Sandford	Conservative
	1878	George Courtauld	Liberal
	1885	Arthur Kitching	Liberal
	1886	Charles Wing Gray	Conservative
	1892	Cyril Dodd	Liberal
	1895	Hon. Charles Strutt	Conservative
	1906	Thomas Bethell	Liberal
	1910	James Fortescue Flannery	Conservative
	1922	Edward Ruggles-Brise	Conservative
	1923	Valentine Crittall	Labour
	1924	Edward Ruggles-Brise	Conservative
	1942	Tom Driberg	Ind. Labour
	1945		Labour
	1955	Brian Harrison	Conservative
	1974	John Wakeham	Conservative
1983		constituency abolished

MPs since 2010

The re-formed Maldon seat was fought for the first time at the 2010 general election.

Election		Member[19]	Party
	2010	Sir John Whittingdale	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Next general election: Maldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Whittingdale[27]
Majority
Turnout

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Maldon^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Whittingdale	36,304	72.0	+4.1
	Labour	Stephen Capper	6,263	12.4	-8.9
	Liberal Democrats	Colin Baldy	5,990	11.9	+7.6
	Green	Janet Band	1,851	3.7	+1.6
Majority			30,041	59.6	+13.0
Turnout			50,408	69.4	-0.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	+6.5

General election 2017: Maldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Whittingdale	34,111	67.9	+7.3
	Labour	Peter Edwards	10,681	21.3	+9.5
	Liberal Democrats	Zoe O'Connell	2,181	4.3	-0.2
	UKIP	Jesse Pryke	1,899	3.8	-10.9
	Green	Steve Betteridge	1,073	2.1	-1.0
	BNP	Richard Perry	257	0.5	New
Majority			23,430	46.6	+0.7
Turnout			50,202	70.2	+0.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.0

General election 2015: Maldon^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Whittingdale	29,112	60.6	+0.8
	UKIP	Beverley Acevedo[30]	7,042	14.7	+9.6
	Labour	Peter Edwards[31]	5,690	11.8	−0.9
	Independent	Ken Martin	2,424	5.0	New
	Liberal Democrats	Zoe O'Connell[32]	2,157	4.5	−14.8
	Green	Bob Graves[33]	1,504	3.1	New
	Sustainable Population	John Marett	116	0.2	New
Majority			22,070	45.9	+5.4
Turnout			48,045	69.6	0.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 2010: Maldon^[34][35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Whittingdale	28,661	59.8
	Liberal Democrats	Elfreda Tealby-Watson	9,254	19.3
	Labour	Swatantra Nandanwar	6,070	12.7
	UKIP	Jesse Pryke	2,446	5.1
	BNP	Len Blaine	1,464	3.1
Majority			19,407	40.5
Turnout			47,895	69.6
	Conservative win (new seat)

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Maldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Wakeham	29,585	57.8	+14.3
	Labour	Robert Oliver	12,848	25.1	−4.9
	Liberal	Michael Wright	8,730	17.1	−9.4
Majority			16,737	32.7	+19.2
Turnout			51,163	77.9	+1.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Maldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Wakeham	20,485	43.5	−0.4
	Labour	Anthony John Shaw	14,098	30.0	+3.4
	Liberal	Roderick Beale	12,473	26.5	−3.0
Majority			6,387	13.5	-0.9
Turnout			47,056	76.2	-6.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Maldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Wakeham	22,088	43.9
	Liberal	John Beale	14,866	29.5
	Labour	Vera Morris	13,368	26.6
Majority			7,222	14.4
Turnout			50,322	82.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1970: Maldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Brian Harrison	29,229	50.6	+5.1
	Labour	Stephen Haseler	22,957	39.8	-4.6
	Liberal	John Beale	5,574	9.7	-0.4
Majority			6,272	10.9	+9.8
Turnout			57,760	79.8	-3.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Maldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Brian Harrison	22,572	45.5	+0.1
	Labour	Bruce Douglas-Mann	22,066	44.4	+2.3
	Liberal	William H. Jacks	5,015	10.10	-2.37
Majority			506	1.1	-2.1
Turnout			49,653	83.29
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1964: Maldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Brian Harrison	21,547	45.37
	Labour	S. Gordon Richards	20,016	42.15
	Liberal	William H. Jacks	5,924	12.47
Majority			1,531	3.22
Turnout			47,487	83.28
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Maldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Brian Harrison	21,772	48.21
	Labour	S. Gordon Richards	19,532	43.25
	Liberal	Leonard Charles Montague Walsh	3,860	8.55	New
Majority			2,240	4.96
Turnout			45,164	83.02
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1955: Maldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Brian Harrison	22,002	50.63
	Labour	Lynton Scutts	21,452	49.37
Majority			550	1.26	N/A
Turnout			43,454	83.52
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

General election 1951: Maldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tom Driberg	22,756	50.79
	Conservative	Aubrey R. Moody	22,052	49.21
Majority			704	1.58
Turnout			44,808	87.38
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1950: Maldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tom Driberg	20,567	47.53
	Conservative	Aubrey R. Moody	18,843	43.55
	Liberal	William Drummond Abernethy	3,859	8.92	New
Majority			1,724	3.98
Turnout			43,269	86.16
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

Driberg was elected in 1942 as an Independent Labour candidate, but took the Labour Party whip in January 1945, and stood in the 1945 election as a Labour Party candidate.

General election, 1945: Maldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tom Driberg	22,480	60.4	N/A
	Conservative	Melford Stevenson	14,753	39.6	-13.8
Majority			7,727	20.8	N/A
Turnout			37,233	74.5	+0.7
	Labour gain from Independent Labour		Swing

1942 Maldon by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Labour	Tom Driberg	12,219	61.3	New
	Conservative	Reuben Hunt	6,226	31.3	−22.1
	National Independent and Agricultural	Richard Matthews	1,476	7.4	New
Majority			5,993	30.0	N/A
Turnout			19,921	44.4	−29.4
	Independent Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General election, 1935: Maldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Ruggles-Brise	17,072	53.4	−17.4
	Labour	William Frederick Toynbee	9,264	28.9	−0.3
	Liberal	Hilda Buckmaster	5,680	17.7	New
Majority			7,808	24.5	−16.1
Turnout			32,016	73.8	−0.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election, 1931: Maldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Ruggles-Brise	22,055	70.8	+27.0
	Labour	William Frederick Toynbee	9,078	29.2	−5.9
Majority			12,977	41.6	+32.9
Turnout			31,133	74.7	−4.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General election, 1929: Maldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Edward Ruggles-Brise	14,020	43.8	−8.5
	Labour	Herbert Evans	11,224	35.1	−1.8
	Liberal	Herbert Alfred May	6,748	21.1	+10.3
Majority			2,796	8.7	−6.7
Turnout			31,992	79.5	−3.1
	Unionist hold		Swing	-3.3

General election, 1924: Maldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Edward Ruggles-Brise	13,209	52.3	+2.3
	Labour	Valentine Crittall	9,323	36.9	−13.2
	Liberal	Herbert Reginald Graham Brooks	2,724	10.8	New
Majority			3,886	15.4	N/A
Turnout			25,256	82.6	+13.0
	Unionist gain from Labour		Swing

General election, 1923: Maldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Valentine Crittall	10,329	50.1	+22.3
	Unionist	Edward Ruggles-Brise	10,280	49.9	+2.7
Majority			49	0.2	N/A
Turnout			21,892	69.6	−5.2
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+9.7

General election, 1922: Maldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Edward Ruggles-Brise	10,337	47.2	−3.9
	Labour	George Dallas	6,085	27.8	−11.8
	Liberal	James Parish	5,470	25.0	+15.7
Majority			4,252	19.4	+7.9
Turnout			21,892	74.8	+18.1
	Unionist hold		Swing

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Maldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	James Fortescue Flannery	8,138	51.1
	Labour	George Dallas	6,315	39.6	New
	Liberal	Ernest William Tanner	1,490	9.3
Majority			1,823	11.5
Turnout			15,943	56.7
	Unionist hold		Swing
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Election results 1832–1918

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: Maldon ^[21][36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Thomas Barrett-Lennard	448	39.3
	Tory	Quintin Dick	416	36.5
	Whig	Peter Luard Wright[37]	277	24.3
Turnout			671	93.7
Registered electors			716
Majority			32	2.8
	Whig hold
Majority			139	12.2
	Tory hold

General election 1835: Maldon ^[21][36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Quintin Dick	441	36.6	+18.4
	Whig	Thomas Barrett-Lennard	407	33.8	−29.8
	Conservative	Henry St John-Mildmay	356	29.6	+11.4
Turnout			721	91.4	−2.3
Registered electors			789
Majority			34	2.8	−9.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+16.7
Majority			51	4.2	+1.4
	Whig hold		Swing	−29.8

General election 1837: Maldon ^[21][36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Quintin Dick	420	34.4	−2.2
	Conservative	John Round	407	33.3	+3.7
	Whig	Thomas Barrett-Lennard	395	32.3	−1.5
Majority			25	2.1	−0.7
Turnout			760	86.8	−4.6
Registered electors			876
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.7
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+2.2

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Maldon ^[21][36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Quintin Dick	472	35.5	+1.1
	Conservative	John Round	446	33.5	+0.2
	Whig	Thomas Abdy	413	31.0	−1.3
Majority			33	2.5	+0.4
Turnout			815	95.3	+8.5
Registered electors			855
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.4

General election 1847: Maldon ^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Waddington	461	34.6	+1.1
	Whig	Thomas Barrett-Lennard	443	33.3	+2.3
	Conservative	Quintin Dick	427	32.1	−3.4
Turnout			887 (est)	93.3 (est)	−2.0
Registered electors			951
Majority			18	1.3	−1.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	—
Majority			16	1.2	N/A
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.3

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Maldon ^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Du Cane	370	26.3	N/A
	Conservative	Taverner John Miller	357	25.4	N/A
	Whig	Thomas Barrett-Lennard	351	24.9	−8.4
	Ind. Conservative	Quintin Dick[38]	330	23.4	−8.7
Majority			6	0.5	−0.8
Turnout			704 (est)	83.3 (est)	−10.0
Registered electors			845
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing

The 1852 election was declared void on petition due to bribery and treating,^[39] and the writ was suspended in March 1853.^[12] A by-election was held in August 1854 to fill the vacancy.

By-election, 17 August 1854: Maldon ^[36][40][41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Peacocke	406	29.2	+2.9
	Conservative	John Bramley-Moore	399	28.7	+3.3
	Whig	Thomas Barrett-Lennard	335	24.1	−0.8
	Radical	Thomas MacEnteer[42]	217	15.6	N/A
	Peelite	Quintin Dick[43]	34	2.4	−21.0
Majority			64	4.6	+4.1
Turnout			696 (est)	71.8 (est)	−11.5
Registered electors			968
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.9

General election 1857: Maldon ^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Thomas Western	427	35.8	+10.9
	Conservative	John Bramley-Moore	405	34.0	+7.7
	Conservative	George Peacocke	360	30.2	+4.8
Majority			22	1.8	N/A
Turnout			810 (est)	92.1 (est)	+8.8
Registered electors			879
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	−0.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.8

General election 1859: Maldon ^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Peacocke	503	37.0	+6.8
	Liberal	Thomas Western	431	31.7	−4.1
	Conservative	Augustus William Henry Meyrick[44]	427	31.4	−2.6
Turnout			896 (est)	83.7 (est)	−8.4
Registered electors			1,071
Majority			72	5.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.4
Majority			4	0.3	−1.5
	Liberal hold		Swing	−4.2

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Maldon ^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Peacocke	461	36.2	−0.8
	Conservative	Ralph Earle	420	32.9	+1.5
	Liberal	Thomas Western	394	30.9	−0.8
Majority			26	2.0	−3.3
Turnout			835 (est)	97.1 (est)	+13.4
Registered electors			859
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.2
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+1.0

Seat reduced to one member

General election 1868: Maldon ^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Hammond Bentall	657	56.6	+25.7
	Conservative	George Sandford	504	43.4	−25.7
Majority			153	13.2	N/A
Turnout			1,161	83.1	−14.0
Registered electors			1,397
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+25.7

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Maldon ^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Sandford	632	54.9	+11.5
	Liberal	John Bennett[45]	519	45.1	-11.5
Majority			113	9.8	N/A
Turnout			1,151	75.6	−7.5
Registered electors			1,522
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+11.5

Sandford's resignation caused a by-election.

1878 Maldon by-election^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	George Courtauld	671	55.9	+10.8
	Conservative	William Abdy	530	44.1	-10.8
Majority			141	11.8	N/A
Turnout			1,201	78.3	+2.7
Registered electors			1,534
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+10.8

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Maldon ^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	George Courtauld	679	51.1	+6.0
	Conservative	William Abdy	651	48.9	-6.0
Majority			28	2.2	N/A
Turnout			1,330	85.0	+9.4
Registered electors			1,564
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+6.0

General election 1885: Maldon ^[46][47][48]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Kitching	4,509	53.8	+2.7
	Conservative	Charles Wing Gray	3,878	46.2	-2.7
Majority			631	7.6	+5.4
Turnout			8,387	85.0	0.0
Registered electors			9,869
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.7

General election 1886: Maldon ^[46][47]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Wing Gray	4,143	52.9	+6.7
	Liberal	Edward Barnard	3,686	47.1	-6.7
Majority			457	5.8	N/A
Turnout			7,829	79.3	-5.7
Registered electors			9,869
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+6.7

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Maldon ^[46][47]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Cyril Joseph Settle Dodd	4,321	51.0	+3.9
	Conservative	Charles Wing Gray	4,153	49.0	-3.9
Majority			168	2.0	N/A
Turnout			8,474	83.4	+4.1
Registered electors			10,160
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+3.9

General election 1895: Maldon ^[46][47][49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Strutt	4,618	53.5	+4.5
	Liberal	Cyril Joseph Settle Dodd	4,006	46.5	-4.5
Majority			612	7.0	N/A
Turnout			8,624	85.9	+2.5
Registered electors			10,041
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+4.5

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Maldon ^[46][47][49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Strutt	4,649	58.5	+5.0
	Liberal	John Henderson	3,301	41.5	−5.0
Majority			1,348	17.0	+10.0
Turnout			7,950	79.4	−6.5
Registered electors			10,018
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.0

General election 1906: Maldon ^[46][47]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Bethell	4,773	50.8	+9.3
	Conservative	Charles Strutt	4,624	49.2	−9.3
Majority			149	1.6	N/A
Turnout			9,397	88.5	+9.1
Registered electors			10,613
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+9.3

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Maldon ^[46][50]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Fortescue Flannery	5,691	54.1	+4.9
	Liberal	Thomas Bethell	4,822	45.9	-4.9
Majority			869	8.2	N/A
Turnout			10,513	91.3	+2.8
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+4.9

General election December 1910: Maldon ^[46][50]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Fortescue Flannery	5,386	53.4	-0.7
	Liberal	James Jardine	4,693	46.6	+0.7
Majority			693	6.8	-1.4
Turnout			10,069	87.5	-3.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.7

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;

• Unionist: James Fortescue Flannery
• Liberal: E. Tweedy Smith

Pre-1832 election results

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Maldon ^[21][51]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	Quintin Dick	Unopposed
	Whig	Thomas Barrett-Lennard	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 3,400
	Tory hold
	Whig hold

General election 1831: Maldon ^[21][51]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	Quintin Dick	Unopposed
	Whig	Thomas Barrett-Lennard	Unopposed
Registered electors			c. 3,400
	Tory hold
	Whig hold

See also

• 1942 Maldon by-election
• List of parliamentary constituencies in Essex

Notes

References

Sources