Looking back at former MPs and the history of the Crosby & Waterloo Constituencies 1918-2010

Monday, 10 July, 2023

Local News

WATERLOO CONSTITUENCY 1918 - 1950 (Prior to 1918 Crosby & Waterloo formed part of the Southport Constituency between 1885-1918)

1918 - 1923 - Lt.-Col. Albert Buckley CBE DSO - Conservative
1923 - 1950 - Cap Sir Harold Malcolm Bullock - Conservative

CROSBY CONSTITUENCY 1950 - 2010

1950 - 1953 - Cap Sir Harold Malcolm Bullock - Conservative (By-election was held in 1953 after Bullock resigned to become a Baronet in 1954) (Attached at the bottom of the page is a picture of his election address from either the 1950 or 1951 General Election)
1953 - 1981 - Sir Rodney Graham Page - Conservative (By-election was held in 1981 after Page died in office) (Attached at the bottom of the page is a picture of his election address from the 1966 General Election)
1981 - 1983 - Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams - Social Democrat - (later Baroness Williams of Crosby, of Stevenage in the County of Hertfordshire)
1983 - 1997 - Sir George Malcolm Thornton - Conservative (Attached at the bottom of the page is his election address from the 1983 and 1997 General Elections)
1997 - 2010 - Claire Curtis-Thomas - Labour

HISTORICAL FACTS ABOUT THE CONSTITUENCIES

Albert Buckley was the only previous MP to have been born in Crosby in 1877.
Cap Sir Harold Malcolm Bullock's great-granddaughter is well known sports presenter Clare Balding.
Largest Conservative majority: 19,272 at the 1979 General Election.
Largest Labour majority: 8,353 at the 2001 General Election.
All 3 previous Conservative MPs for Crosby went by their middle names and not Christian names.
Shirley Williams was part of the gang of four who broke from the Labour party to form the SDP in 1981.
Sir Malcolm Thornton was previously the MP for Liverpool Garston 1979-1983.
When Shirley Williams won the 1981 By-Election for the SDP Crosby was one of the safest Conservative seats in England.
From the 1950s until well into the 1970s the Conservative party had over 1000 members in Blundellsands Ward alone.
The Constituency had 4 Conservative Clubs - Formby, Crosby, Aintree and Maghull & District, as well as 2 Constitutional Clubs in Litherland and Waterloo.
The Maghull & District Conservative Club was founded in 1912, and one of the founder members was the businessman,inventor and politician Frank Hornby. He was briefly Conservative MP for Everton (1931-1935). He died in Maghull in 1936 and is buried in St.Andrews Church, Maghull.
Most Conservative votes ever polled: 34,768 at 1979 Election.
Most Labour votes ever polled: 22,549 at 1997 Election.
At the 1950 General Election turnout in the Crosby Constituency was 84.5% and 82.5% in 1992.
Simon Mahon, Labour MP for the Bootle Constituency (1950-1979) lived in the Crosby Constituency after his retirement in 1979. He died in 1986.
Boundary changes for the 1997 Election resulted in the electoral wards of Molyneux, Park and Sudell (Predominantly Aintree, Maghull & Lydiate) being moved into one of the most absurd Constituencies ever created - Knowsley North & Sefton East, whilst Crosby inherited Church Ward from the Bootle Constituency. Had the same boundaries from 1992 remained for the 1997 General Election then the result could have been very different.
Former Liberal Democrat Councillor for Victoria Ward and Mayor of Sefton Anthony Hill contested the Crosby Constituency for the Liberals at the October 1974 and 1979 General Elections.
WWII veteran Col Sir Gerard McClellan was Patron of Crosby Conservative Association until his death aged 90 in 2004. He was previously Chairman of Liverpool Conservatives from 1975 to 1985 and a Councillor for Childwall Ward.
Sir John Moores, founder of Littlewoods and former Chairman of Everton FC was Patron of Formby Conservatives for many years and between 1933 and 1940 was a councillor for the Sefton parish for Sefton Rural District. He resided in Freshfield, Harington Ward.
Sir Kenneth Thompson, former Conservative MP for the Liverpool Walton Constituency (1950-1964) was a Merseyside County Councillor for Formby 1973-1981. He also served as a Councillor in Liverpool (Fazakerley Ward) for many years, first being elected in 1938. He resided in Formby, Harington Ward and died in 1984.

Pictures attached of Sir Malcolm Thornton MP, Sir Graham Page MP and Captain Sir Malcolm Bullock MP are courtesy of @Conservatives Conservative Party Archive Trust.

1997 Sir Malcolm Thornton pictures 2 & 3 from SCCA's personal collection of election literature.

Attachments

Attachment	Size
Thornton (1.85 MB)	1.85 MB
Page (2.78 MB)	2.78 MB
Bullock (2.83 MB)	2.83 MB
Thornton 2 (1.06 MB)	1.06 MB
Thornton 3 (839.91 KB)	839.91 KB

Looking back at former MPs and the history of the Crosby & Waterloo Constituencies 1918-2010

WATERLOO CONSTITUENCY 1918 - 1950 (Prior to 1918 Crosby & Waterloo formed part of the Southport Constituency between 1885-1918)

1918 - 1923 - Lt.-Col. Albert Buckley CBE DSO - Conservative

1923 - 1950 - Cap Sir Harold Malcolm Bullock - Conservative

CROSBY CONSTITUENCY 1950 - 2010

1950 - 1953 - Cap Sir Harold Malcolm Bullock - Conservative (By-election was held in 1953 after Bullock resigned to become a Baronet in 1954) (Attached at the bottom of the page is a picture of his election address from either the 1950 or 1951 General Election)

1953 - 1981 - Sir Rodney Graham Page - Conservative (By-election was held in 1981 after Page died in office) (Attached at the bottom of the page is a picture of his election address from the 1966 General Election)

1981 - 1983 - Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams - Social Democrat - (later Baroness Williams of Crosby, of Stevenage in the County of Hertfordshire)

1983 - 1997 - Sir George Malcolm Thornton - Conservative (Attached at the bottom of the page is his election address from the 1983 and 1997 General Elections)

1997 - 2010 - Claire Curtis-Thomas - Labour

HISTORICAL FACTS ABOUT THE CONSTITUENCIES

Albert Buckley was the only previous MP to have been born in Crosby in 1877.

Cap Sir Harold Malcolm Bullock's great-granddaughter is well known sports presenter Clare Balding.

Largest Conservative majority: 19,272 at the 1979 General Election.

Largest Labour majority: 8,353 at the 2001 General Election.

All 3 previous Conservative MPs for Crosby went by their middle names and not Christian names.

Shirley Williams was part of the gang of four who broke from the Labour party to form the SDP in 1981.

Sir Malcolm Thornton was previously the MP for Liverpool Garston 1979-1983.

When Shirley Williams won the 1981 By-Election for the SDP Crosby was one of the safest Conservative seats in England.

From the 1950s until well into the 1970s the Conservative party had over 1000 members in Blundellsands Ward alone.

The Constituency had 4 Conservative Clubs - Formby, Crosby, Aintree and Maghull & District, as well as 2 Constitutional Clubs in Litherland and Waterloo.

The Maghull & District Conservative Club was founded in 1912, and one of the founder members was the businessman,inventor and politician Frank Hornby. He was briefly Conservative MP for Everton (1931-1935). He died in Maghull in 1936 and is buried in St.Andrews Church, Maghull.

Most Conservative votes ever polled: 34,768 at 1979 Election.

Most Labour votes ever polled: 22,549 at 1997 Election.

At the 1950 General Election turnout in the Crosby Constituency was 84.5% and 82.5% in 1992.

Simon Mahon, Labour MP for the Bootle Constituency (1950-1979) lived in the Crosby Constituency after his retirement in 1979. He died in 1986.

Former Liberal Democrat Councillor for Victoria Ward and Mayor of Sefton Anthony Hill contested the Crosby Constituency for the Liberals at the October 1974 and 1979 General Elections.

WWII veteran Col Sir Gerard McClellan was Patron of Crosby Conservative Association until his death aged 90 in 2004. He was previously Chairman of Liverpool Conservatives from 1975 to 1985 and a Councillor for Childwall Ward.

Sir John Moores, founder of Littlewoods and former Chairman of Everton FC was Patron of Formby Conservatives for many years and between 1933 and 1940 was a councillor for the Sefton parish for Sefton Rural District. He resided in Freshfield, Harington Ward.

Attachments

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