Heston and Isleworth (UK Parliament constituency)

Heston and Isleworth (/ˈzəlwərθ/ EYE-zəl-wərth) was a constituency between 1945 and 1974 for the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It contained Heston, Hounslow, Isleworth and Osterley in Middlesex which became parts of outer west London in 1965.

Heston and Isleworth
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
1945–February 1974
Seatsone
Created fromTwickenham (former northern part of)
Replaced byBrentford & Isleworth (newly created seat)
Feltham & Heston (newly created seat) (with other contributory seats)
Heston and Isleworth depicted in Middlesex which was abolished during the seat's lifetime, in 1965, as a local government entity. The boundaries of nearby seats shown are those between 1945 and 1950.

Its candidates returned were Conservative except for siding with the Labour Party's landslide victory which returned the Attlee Ministry (in 1945). Conservative Richard Reader Harris saw a slim 2.25% majority at the 1966 election which saw the start of the Second Wilson Ministry.

Boundaries

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1950–1955: The Borough of Heston and Isleworth.[1]

1955–1974: The Borough of Heston and Isleworth wards of Heston, Hounslow Central, Hounslow South, Hounslow West, Isleworth North, Isleworth South, and Spring Grove.[2]

Profile

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The core of the two towns Hounslow and Isleworth became urban before the 19th century along with the intended senior Army officer's retirement estate of Spring Grove which adjoins Isleworth and the village centre of Heston in the north-west. Two major green tracts, part-farmland and part-ornamental skirted the seat, Osterley Park (its House being the former home of the Earl of Jersey) and Syon Park (its House being the metropolitan home of the Duke of Northumberland). They were adjoined by small rows of grand urban homes and high-attainment schools.

The area has a brief Thames riverside by largely Georgian Old Isleworth facing the international botanical centre of excellence Kew Gardens and one medieval Middlesex village hubs at Heston. The bulk of the centre and west of the seat developed into housing in the 20th century, with small parks and allotments and ending in barren, stony Hounslow Heath to the west, with many transport depots and light industrial uses. Late additions include groups of tower blocks in the northern extreme of Heston, centre of Hounslow and east of Mogden Sewage Treatment Works all erected during the short life of the seat. By contrast the inter-war houses and green low-rise-biased flats at Osterley, Heston, Woodlands, New Brentford and Hounslow are connected to within 40 minutes of Central London variously by the Hounslow Loop Line or the Piccadilly Line and were built for a London commuter belt middle class market in a range of styles.[3] The age of the automobile and aeroplane began while Heston and Isleworth was a seat. The Great West Road was a by-pass to Brentford that became a western artery and was the catalyst for mass ribbon-development of wider-fronted housing as well as of large manufacturing buildings. The popular private offer for the "commuter" generation was pairs of semi-detached houses in ’Tudorbethan’ or vernacular style, with wider windows and usually simple hipped roofs. Council housing with layouts based on Garden City ideals, and linear but edge-defining developments of flats continued until the mid-1970s.[3]

Members of Parliament

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Election Member Party
1945 W. R. Williams Labour
1950 Richard Reader Harris Conservative
1970 Barney Hayhoe Conservative
Feb 1974 constituency abolished

Elections

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Heston and Isleworth seat

Elections in the 1940s

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General election 1945: Heston and Isleworth[4][5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William Williams 29,192 54.33
Conservative Reginald Maudling 22,623 42.10
Independent Nationalist Wallace Henry Glydd Drake-Brockman 1,919 3.57
Majority 6,569 12.23
Turnout 53,734 74.40
Registered electors 72,219
Labour win (new seat)

Elections in the 1950s

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General election 1950: Heston and Isleworth[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Reader Harris 33,292 50.07 +7.97
Labour William Williams 29,013 43.64 −9.69
Liberal Duncan Keith Overell 4,183 6.29 New
Majority 4,279 6.44 N/A
Turnout 66,488 86.06 +11.66
Registered electors 77,262
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +8.83
General election 1951: Heston and Isleworth[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Reader Harris 35,468 54.22 +4.15
Labour Peter A W Merriton 29,944 45.78 +2.14
Majority 5,524 8.44 −3.79
Turnout 65,412 83.81 −2.25
Registered electors 78,048
Conservative hold Swing +1.01
General election 1955: Heston and Isleworth[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Reader Harris 25,705 57.25 +3.03
Labour Olive Mary Renier 19,193 42.75 −3.03
Majority 6,512 14.50 +6.06
Turnout 44,898 78.93 −4.88
Registered electors 56,881
Conservative hold Swing +3.03
General election 1959: Heston and Isleworth[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Reader Harris 24,486 54.43 −2.82
Labour Thomas Ponsonby 15,636 34.76 −7.99
Liberal Wilfred Percival Letch 4,867 10.82 New
Majority 8,850 19.67 +5.17
Turnout 44,989 81.62 +2.69
Registered electors 55,121
Conservative hold Swing +2.59

Elections in the 1960s

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General election 1964: Heston and Isleworth[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Reader Harris 19,181 46.51 −7.92
Labour John Dore 15,651 37.95 +3.19
Liberal Harry Charles Seigal 6,409 15.54 +4.72
Majority 3,530 8.56 −11.11
Turnout 41,241 78.25 −3.37
Registered electors 52,703
Conservative hold Swing -5.56
General election 1966: Heston and Isleworth[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Reader Harris 18,222 44.36 −2.15
Labour Neville Sandelson 17,296 42.11 +4.16
Liberal Richard L. Afton 5,559 13.53 −2.01
Majority 926 2.25 −6.31
Turnout 41,077 79.92 +1.67
Registered electors 51,400
Conservative hold Swing -3.16

Elections in the 1970s

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General election 1970: Heston and Isleworth[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Barney Hayhoe 21,580 55.96 +11.63
Labour Geoffrey J Samuel 16,981 44.04 +1.93
Majority 4,599 11.92 +9.67
Turnout 38,561 71.54 −8.38
Registered electors 53,902
Conservative hold Swing +4.85

References

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  1. ^ "Representation of the People Act 1948: Schedule 1", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1948 c. 65 (sch. 1), retrieved 23 July 2023
  2. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (Spelthorne, Feltham and Heston and Isleworth) Order 1955. SI 1955/166". Statutory Instruments 1955. Part II. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1956. pp. 2168–2169.
  3. ^ a b London Borough of Hounslow Urban context and character study London Borough of Hounslow, 2014, pp23, 32-37. Accessed 2017-05-21
  4. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results July 1945". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  5. ^ Craig, FWS (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-49 (1st ed.). London and Basingstoke: The Macmillan Press Ltd. ISBN 978-1-349-81467-1.
  6. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1950". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  7. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1951". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  8. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1955". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  9. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1959". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  10. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1964". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  11. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1966". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  12. ^ Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1970". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 11 April 2016.