Acton was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, created for the 1918 general election. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election.
Boundaries and boundary changes
DatesLocal authorityMapsWards1918–1945Municipal Borough of ActonActon Urban District1945–1974Municipal Borough of Acton (before 1965)London Borough of Ealing (after 1965)Acton Urban DistrictRepresentation of the People Act 1948, Sch. 1, at Middlesex (B) Borough Constituencies (page 107) http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1948/65/pdfs/ukpga_19480065_en.pdfParliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970 (S.I. 1970 number 1674), Sch 1 (list of contents of existing seats) at page 5454 (or 11 of 76)1974–1983London Borough of EalingCentral, East, Hanger Hill, Heathfield, Southfield and Springfield.Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970 (S.I. 1970 number 1674), Sch 2 (list of contents of new seats) at page 5491 (or 48 of 76)
1918–1945 The constituency was formed entirely from the existing constituency of Ealing
1945–1974 The constituency was subject to minor boundary changes.
1974–1983 Wards to the west were transferred from the abolished constituency of Ealing South as well as minor parts of Ealing North.
History The seat was created by the Representation of the People Act 1918 which increased the number of seats where population had expanded such as in Middlesex due to the conurbation growing around the County of London. It was based on the town of Acton. The seat consisted of the Acton Urban District which became a Municipal Borough in 1921.
A redistribution of Parliamentary seats, which took effect at the 1950 United Kingdom general election made no change to the boundaries; its legislation, affecting election expenses and returning officer re-classified, the seat as a borough constituency.
In 1965 the area became part of the London Borough of Ealing and Greater London.
In the redistribution which took effect at the February 1974 general election, the seat to the west, Ealing South, was abolished and this seat absorbed most of its area to reach the electoral quota, it having been heavily underweight in electorate. The seat in statute and statutory instrument became variously Ealing: Acton and/or simply Acton where under a heading of London Borough of Ealing. From the review effective from the election of 1983 it became Ealing Acton. Components 1918–74: Acton M.B. Note per the London Government Act 1963 the Metropolitan Borough ceased to exist in 1965, its functions being replaced by the larger London Borough of Ealing. 1974–83: Six wards (the old area plus the centre of the new larger borough, further west), namely: The London Borough of Ealing wards: Central, East, Hanger Hill, Heathfield, Southfield and Springfield.Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970 (S.I. 1970 number 1674), Sch 2 (list of contents of new seats) at page 5491 (or 48 of 76)
The change was extension, along all of the former western edge.
Members of Parliament ElectionMemberPartyNotes 1918 Sir Harry Brittain Unionist 1929 James Shillaker Labour 1931 Hubert Duggan Conservative Died October 1943 1943 by-election Henry Longhurst Conservative 1945 Joseph Sparks Labour 1959 Philip Holland Conservative 1964 Bernard Floud Labour Died October 1967 1968 by-election Kenneth Baker Conservative 1970 Nigel Spearing Labour 1974 Sir George Young Conservative Contested Ealing Acton following redistribution1983 constituency abolished: see Ealing Acton
Elections Elections in the 1910s
Elections in the 1920s
Elections in the 1930s
Elections in the 1940s
Elections in the 1950s
Elections in the 1960s
Elections in the 1970s
1970 notional result Party Vote % Conservative 21,400 49.7 Labour 18,700 43.4 Liberal 3,000 7.0Turnout43,10066.0Electorate65,305
Notes
References