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Bodmin
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
1295–1885
Number of members	1295–1868: two 1868–1885: one
Replaced by	Bodmin

Bodmin division of Cornwall
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
Bodmin in Cornwall 1974-83
1885–1983
Number of members	One
Replaced by	North Cornwall and South East Cornwall
Created from	Bodmin, East Cornwall and Liskeard

Bodmin was the name of a parliamentary constituency in Cornwall from 1295 until 1983. Initially, it was a parliamentary borough, which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England and later the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until the 1868 general election, when its representation was reduced to one member.

The old borough was abolished with effect from the 1885 general election, but the name was transferred to a county constituency, which elected a single member until the constituency was abolished with effect from the 1983 general election, when the area it then covered was divided between the existing North Cornwall and the new Cornwall South East.

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Boundaries

1885–1918: The Boroughs of Bodmin and Liskeard, the Sessional Division of East, South, and West Hundred, part of the Sessional Division of Powder Tywardreath, and the parishes of Bodmin, Helland, and Lanivet.

1918–1950: The Boroughs of Bodmin, Fowey, Liskeard, Lostwithiel, and Saltash, the Urban Districts of Callington, Looe, and Torpoint, the Rural Districts of Liskeard and St Germans, in the Rural District of St Austell the parishes of St Sampson and Tywardreath, and part of the Rural District of Bodmin.

1950–1974: The Boroughs of Bodmin, Fowey, Liskeard, Lostwithiel, and Saltash, the Urban Districts of Looe and Torpoint, the Rural Districts of Liskeard and St Germans, in the Rural District of St Austell the parishes of Lanlivery, Luxulyan, and St Sampson, and in the Rural District of Wadebridge the parishes of Blisland, Cardinham, Helland, Lanhydrock, Lanivet, and Withiel.

1974–1983: The Boroughs of Bodmin, Liskeard, and Saltash, the Urban Districts of Looe and Torpoint, the Rural Districts of Liskeard and St Germans, the Rural Borough of Lostwithiel, in the Rural District of St Austell the parishes of Lanlivery, Luxulyan, and St Sampson, and in the Rural District of Wadebridge and Padstow the parishes of Blisland, Cardinham, Helland, Lanhydrock, Lanivet, and Withiel.

History

Borough constituency (1295–1885)

The borough which was represented from the time of the Model Parliament consisted of the town of Bodmin though not the whole of the parish. Unlike many of the boroughs in Cornwall which were represented in the Unreformed House of Commons, Bodmin was a town of reasonable size and retained some importance; for most purposes, indeed, it was considered the county town of Cornwall. In 1831, the population of the borough was 3,375, and contained 596 houses.

The right to vote, however, was held not by the residents at large but by the town's corporation, consisting of a Mayor, 11 aldermen and 24 common councilmen. Contested elections were quite unknown before the Reform Act, the choice of the two MPs being left entirely to the "patron". However, this power did not arise, as in many rotten boroughs, from the patron being able to coerce the voters; in Bodmin, the patron was expected to meet the public and private expenses of the corporation and its members in return for their acquiescence at election time.

Early in the 18th century, the Robartes family (Earls of Radnor) were the accepted patrons. Their interest was inherited by George Hunt, whose mother was the Robartes heiress, but he ran into difficulties and could not afford to retain complete control. By the 1760s another local magnate, Sir William Irby, secured enough of the town's goodwill to have a say in the choice of one member, while Hunt continued to select the other. In 1816, the patron was Lord de Dunstanville, nominating both MPs, but he found himself so overburdened with debts that he was forced to give it up, and The Marquess of Hertford was induced to take over the patronage, and the corporation's debts.

While the MP was not expected to assume the same financial obligations as the patron, nor to attend to the needs of his constituents in the manner of a modern MP, they were expected to attend the election ball, a high point in the social calendar for the wives and daughters of the otherwise undistinguished corporation members. John Wilson Croker, elected in 1820, described the Bodmin ball as "tumultuous and merry " but "at once tiresome and foolish".

Bodmin retained both its MPs under the Reform Act, but its boundaries were extended to bring in more of Bodmin parish and the whole of the neighbouring parishes of Lanivet, Lanhydrock and Helland. This increased the population to 5,258, although only 252 were qualified to vote.

By the time of the second Reform Act in 1867, Bodmin's electorate was still below 400, and consequently its representation was halved with effect from the 1868 general election. The extension of the franchise more than doubled the electorate, but Bodmin was still far too small to survive as a borough, and was abolished in 1885.

County constituency (1885–1983)

The Bodmin constituency from 1885 until 1918, strictly called the South-Eastern or Bodmin Division of Cornwall, covered the whole of the south-east corner of the county, including as well as Bodmin itself the towns of Liskeard, Fowey, Lostwithiel and Saltash. Although predominantly rural, the string of small ports along its coast gave it a maritime as well as agricultural character. Through most of this period the constituency was marginal, the Unionists being helped by the popularity of their candidate Leonard Courtney, who had been Liberal MP for Liskeard when it was still a separate borough before joining the Liberal Unionists when the party split in 1886. Looe and the other fishing ports were predominantly Liberal and Fowey a Unionist stronghold, while the areas within the ambit of Plymouth's dockyards tended to vote against whichever was the sitting government. Another factor was the strength of non-conformist religion, as elsewhere in Cornwall, and this was thought to be the explanation for the Liberal gain in 1906, when agricultural seats elsewhere mostly remained with the Tories.

The boundary changes at the 1918 general election, which established what was now called Cornwall, Bodmin Division, and later Bodmin County Constituency, extended the constituency somewhat towards the centre of the county, taking in Callington and the surrounding district. These boundaries remained essentially unchanged for the remainder of the constituency's existence, except that Fowey was moved into the Truro constituency in 1974. As elsewhere in Cornwall, Labour never established a foothold in Bodmin, and the Liberals remained the main challengers to the Conservatives. The Conservatives held it continuously from 1945 to 1964, and at one point might have considered it a safe seat, but by the mid-1960s the Liberal revival had established it as a Liberal-Conservative marginal, which it remained until its abolition.

The Bodmin constituency ceased to exist as a result of the boundary changes implemented in 1983. Although the bulk of the constituency survived, Bodmin itself had been moved, enforcing a change of name: Bodmin joined North Cornwall, while the rest of the constituency was reunited with Fowey to become South East Cornwall. Bodmin's last Member, Robert Hicks, stood and was elected for the latter constituency.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1295–1640 — MPs 1640–1868 — MPs 1868–1983

MPs 1295–1640

Parliament	First member	Second member
1351/52	Johannes De Tremayn[1][a 1]
Parliament of 1386	John Breton II	Henry Baudyn
First Parliament of 1388 (Feb)	Stephen Bant	John Syreston
Second Parliament of 1388 (Sep)	John Breton I	Henry Baudyn
First Parliament of 1390 (Jan)	John Breton I	Henry Baudyn
Second Parliament of 1390 (Nov)	?	?
Parliament of 1391	John Breton I	Thomas Bere
Parliament of 1393	John Breton I	John Drewe
Parliament of 1394	?	?
Parliament of 1395	John Tregoose	Thomas Bere
First Parliament of 1397 (Jan)	Stephen Trenewith	Thomas Bere
Second Parliament of 1397 (Sep)	John Trelawny I	John Breton I
Parliament of 1399	John Burgh I	James Halappe
Parliament of 1401	?	?
Parliament of 1402	John Nicoll	William Slingsby
First Parliament of 1404 (Jan)
Second Parliament of 1404 (Oct)
Parliament of 1406	Richard Allet	Benedict Burgess
Parliament of 1407	Michael Froden	Michael Hoge
Parliament of 1410	Otto Tregonan	William Moyle
Parliament of 1411	Otto Tregonan	John Wyse
First Parliament of 1413 (Feb)
Second Parliament of 1413 (May)	John But	Robert Treage
First Parliament of 1414 (Apr)	John But	Otto Tregonan
Second Parliament of 1414 (Nov)	John Clink	John But
Parliament of 1415 or 1416 (Mar)	Nicholas Jop	Otto Tregonan
Parliament of 1416 (Oct)
Parliament of 1417	Otto Tregonan	John Trewoofe
Parliament of 1419	Nicholas Bouy	John Trewoofe
Parliament of 1420	John Lawhire	Robert Treage
First Parliament of 1421 (May)	Otto Tregonan	David Urban
Second Parliament of 1421 (Dec)	William Chentleyn	Philip Motty
Parliament of 1437	James Flamank	Thomas Lanhergy
Parliament of 1515	John Flamank	Thomas Trott
Parliament of 1529	Thomas Treffry I	Gilbert Flamank
Parliament of 1545	Thomas Treffry II	Henry Chiverton
Parliament of 1547	Henry Chiverton	John Caplyn
First Parliament of 1553 (Mar)	John Caplyn	Ralph Cholmley
Second Parliament of 1553	Henry Chiverton	Thomas Mildmay
First Parliament of 1554 (Apr)		John Sulyard
Second Parliament of 1554 (Nov)	John Courtney	Ralph Michell
Parliament of 1555	Thomas Williams	Humphrey Cavill
Parliament of 1558	Walter Hungerford	John Norreys
Parliament of 1558/9	Nicholas Carminowe	Digory Chamond
Parliament of 1562	John Mallett	Francis Browne
Parliament of 1563–1567
Parliament of 1571	Humphrey Smith	John Kestall
Parliament of 1572–1581	Thomas Cromwell	Edmund Pooley
Parliament of 1584–1585	John Audley	Gilbert Mitchell
Parliament of 1586–1587	Emmanuel Chamond	Brutus Browne
Parliament of 1588–1589		Hugh Beeston
Parliament of 1593	Anthony Bennet	Richard Cannock
Parliament of 1597–1598	Sir Bernard Grenville	John Herbert
Parliament of 1601	William Lower	John Pigot
Parliament of 1604–1611	John Stone	Richard Spray
Addled Parliament (1614)	Christopher Spray	Richard Edgecumbe
Parliament of 1621–1622	Sir John Trevor	James Bagge, junior
Happy Parliament (1624–1625)	Sir Thomas Stafford	Charles Berkeley
Useless Parliament (1625)	Henry Jermyn	Robert Caesar
Parliament of 1625–1626		Sir Richard Weston
Parliament of 1628–1629	Sir Robert Killigrew	Humphrey Nicholls
No Parliament summoned 1629–1640

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MPs 1640–1868

Year	1st member		1st party	2nd member		2nd party
April 1640		Richard Prideaux			Sir Richard Wynn[2]
November 1640		John Arundell	Royalist		Anthony Nicholl[3]	Parliamentarian
January 1644	Arundel disabled from sitting - seat vacant
1648		Thomas Waller
December 1648	Waller excluded in Pride's Purge - seat vacant			Nichols not known to have sat after Pride's Purge
1653	Bodmin was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
January 1659		John Silly			William Turner
May 1659	Not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660		Hender Robartes			John Silly
1661					Sir John Carew
1679					Nicholas Glynn
1689		Sir John Cutler Bt
1693		Russell Robartes
1695					John Hoblyn	Tory
July 1702		John Grobham Howe	Tory
December 1702		Francis Robartes
1706					Thomas Herne
1708		John Trevanion[4]			Russell Robartes
1710		Francis Robartes
1713					Thomas Sclater
1715					John Legh
1718		Charles Beauclerk
1722		Isaac le Heup			Richard West
January 1727					John LaRoche
August 1727		Robert Booth
1733		Sir John Heathcote
1741		Thomas Bludworth
1747		Sir William Irby
1753					George Hunt
1761		John Parker
1762		Sir Christopher Treise
1768		James La Roche
1780		William Masterman
1784		Sir John Morshead			Thomas Hunt
1789					George Wilbraham
1790					Roger Wilbraham
1796					John Nesbitt
July 1802					Charles Shaw-Lefevre, sat for Reading	Whig
December 1802		Josias du Pre Porcher			John Sargent
August 1806					James Topping
November 1806		William Wingfield	Tory[5]		Davies Giddy, later Gilbert	Tory[5]
1807		Sir William Oglander	Tory[5]
1812		Charles Bathurst	Tory[5]
1818		Thomas Bradyll	Tory[5]
1820		John Wilson Croker	Tory[5]
1826		Horace Seymour	Tory[5]
1832		William Peter	Whig[5]		Samuel Thomas Spry	Whig[5]
1835		Charles Vivian	Whig[6][7][5]
1837						Conservative[5][8]
1841					John Dunn Gardner	Conservative[5]
1843		Sir Samuel Thomas Spry	Conservative[5]
1847		James Wyld	Radical[9][10][11]		Henry Lacy	Whig[12][13]
1852		William Michell	Conservative[14][15][16][17]		Charles Graves-Sawle	Whig
1857		Hon. John Vivian	Whig[18][19]		James Wyld	Radical[9][10][20]
April 1859		Hon. Frederick Leveson-Gower	Liberal		William Michell	Conservative
August 1859					James Wyld	Liberal
1868	Representation reduced to one member

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MPs 1868–1983

Election		Member	Party
1868		Representation reduced to one member
	1868	Hon. Frederick Leveson-Gower	Liberal
	1885	Leonard Courtney	Liberal Unionist
	1900	Sir Lewis Molesworth	Liberal Unionist
	1906	Thomas Agar-Robartes	Liberal
	1906 by-election	Freeman Freeman-Thomas	Liberal
	1910	Cecil Grenfell	Liberal
	1910	Sir Reginald Pole-Carew	Liberal Unionist
	1916 by-election	Charles Hanson	Coalition Conservative
	1922 by-election	Isaac Foot	Liberal
	1924	Gerald Harrison	Conservative
	1929	Isaac Foot	Liberal
	1935	John Rathbone	Conservative
	1941 by-election	Beatrice Rathbone (later Wright)	Conservative
	1945	Sir Douglas Marshall	Conservative
	1964	Peter Bessell	Liberal
	1970	Robert Hicks	Conservative
	Feb 1974	Paul Tyler	Liberal
	Oct 1974	Robert Hicks	Conservative
1983		constituency abolished

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Elections

1840s – 1850s – 1860s – 1870s – 1880s – 1890s – 1900s – 1910s – 1920s – 1930s – 1940s – 1950s – 1960s – 1970s

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Bodmin (2 seats)^[8][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	Charles Vivian	224	44.7
	Conservative	John Dunn Gardner	142	28.3
	Conservative	Samuel Thomas Spry	135	26.9
Majority			82	16.4
Turnout			227	61.7
Registered electors			368
	Whig hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Vivian succeeded to the peerage, becoming 2nd Baron Vivian and causing a by-election.

By-election, 9 February 1843: Bodmin^[8][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Samuel Thomas Spry	165	50.6	−4.6
	Whig	Charles Graves-Sawle	161	49.4	+4.7
Majority			4	1.2	N/A
Turnout			326	80.5	+18.8
Registered electors			405
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	−4.7

General election 1847: Bodmin (2 seats)^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Radical	James Wyld	297	44.1	N/A
	Whig	Henry Lacy	259	38.5	−6.2
	Conservative	Samuel Thomas Spry	117	17.4	−37.8
Turnout			337 (est)	83.9 (est)	+22.2
Registered electors			401
Majority			38	5.6	N/A
	Radical gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A
Majority			142	21.1	+4.7
	Whig hold		Swing	+6.4

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Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Bodmin (2 seats)^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	William Michell	273	38.2	+29.5
	Whig	Charles Graves-Sawle	157	22.0	−16.5
	Conservative	William Henderson[21]	149	20.8	+12.1
	Radical	Edward Capel Whitehurst[22]	82	11.5	−32.6
	Peelite	Henry Carr[23][24][25]	54	7.6	N/A
Turnout			358 (est)	97.4 (est)	+13.5
Registered electors			367
Majority			116	16.2	N/A
	Conservative gain from Radical		Swing	+22.9
Majority			8	1.1	−20.0
	Whig hold		Swing	−18.7

General election 1857: Bodmin (2 seats)^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Whig	John Vivian	244	38.5	N/A
	Radical	James Wyld	190	30.0	+18.5
	Conservative	William Michell[26]	169	26.7	−11.5
	Whig	Harvey Lewis[27][28]	31	4.9	N/A
Turnout			317 (est)	81.3 (est)	−16.1
Registered electors			390
Majority			54	8.5	+7.4
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A
Majority			21	3.3	N/A
	Radical gain from Conservative		Swing	+15.0

General election 1859: Bodmin (2 seats)^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Frederick Leveson-Gower	215	37.1	N/A
	Conservative	William Michell	198	34.1	+7.4
	Liberal	James Wyld	167	28.8	−1.2
Turnout			290 (est)	74.4 (est)	−6.9
Registered electors			390
Majority			17	2.9	−0.4
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
Majority			31	5.3	N/A
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+4.3

Michell resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Manor of Northstead, causing a by-election.

By-election, 13 August 1859: Bodmin^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	James Wyld	Unopposed
	Liberal gain from Conservative

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Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Bodmin (2 seats)^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Frederick Leveson-Gower	263	42.8	+5.7
	Liberal	James Wyld	238	38.7	+9.9
	Conservative	Charles Locock Webb[29]	114	18.5	−15.6
Majority			124	20.2	+17.3
Turnout			365 (est)	91.8 (est)	+17.4
Registered electors			397
	Liberal hold		Swing	+6.8
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+8.9

The seat was reduced to one member for the 1868 election.

General election 1868: Bodmin^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Frederick Leveson-Gower	424	55.9	+13.1
	Liberal	James Wyld	334	44.1	+5.4
Majority			90	11.9	−8.3
Turnout			758	85.6	−6.2
Registered electors			886
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

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Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Bodmin^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Frederick Leveson-Gower	464	57.5	+1.6
	Liberal	Charles Eldon Sargeant[30]	230	28.5	N/A
	Conservative	Charles Locock Webb[29]	113	14.0	N/A
Majority			234	29.0	+17.1
Turnout			807	84.2	−1.4
Registered electors			959
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

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Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Bodmin^[31][8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Frederick Leveson-Gower	418	52.7	−4.8
	Liberal	James Ross Farquharson[32]	375	47.3	+18.8
Majority			43	5.4	−23.6
Turnout			793	87.8	+3.6
Registered electors			903
	Liberal hold		Swing	−11.8

General election 1885: Bodmin^[33][34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Leonard Courtney	4,254	57.8	+5.1
	Conservative	Charles Ernest Edgcumbe	3,101	42.2	N/A
Majority			1,153	15.6	+10.2
Turnout			7,355	80.3	−7.5
Registered electors			9,158
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1886: Bodmin^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Unionist	Leonard Courtney	3,763	64.2	+22.0
	Liberal	John Abraham[35]	2,101	35.8	−22.0
Majority			1,662	28.4	N/A
Turnout			5,864	64.0	−16.3
Registered electors			9,158
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+22.0

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Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Bodmin^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Unionist	Leonard Courtney	3,809	51.6	−12.6
	Liberal	John McDougall	3,578	48.4	+12.6
Majority			231	3.2	−25.2
Turnout			7,387	79.7	+15.7
Registered electors			9,263
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	−12.6

General election 1895: Bodmin^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Unionist	Leonard Courtney	4,035	53.6	+2.0
	Liberal	John McDougall	3,492	46.4	−2.0
Majority			543	7.2	+4.0
Turnout			7,527	78.3	−1.4
Registered electors			9,607
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	+2.0

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Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Bodmin^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Unionist	Lewis Molesworth	4,280	56.9	+3.3
	Liberal	Thomas Snape	3,248	43.1	−3.3
Majority			1,032	13.8	+6.6
Turnout			7,528	75.1	−3.2
Registered electors			10,026
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	+3.3

General election 1906: Bodmin^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Thomas Agar-Robartes	5,201	56.3	+13.2
	Liberal Unionist	H. B. Grylls	4,029	43.7	−13.2
Majority			1,172	12.6	N/A
Turnout			9,230	86.0	+10.9
Registered electors			10,731
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing	+13.2

1906 Bodmin by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Freeman Freeman-Thomas	4,969	56.2	−0.1
	Liberal Unionist	George Sandys	3,876	43.8	+0.1
Majority			1,093	12.4	−0.2
Turnout			8,845	82.4	−3.6
Registered electors			10,731
	Liberal hold		Swing	−0.1

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Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Bodmin^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Cecil Grenfell	5,133	50.2	−6.1
	Liberal Unionist	Reginald Pole-Carew	5,083	49.8	+6.1
Majority			50	0.4	−12.2
Turnout			10,216	88.4	+2.4
Registered electors			11,553
	Liberal hold		Swing	−6.1

General election December 1910^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Unionist	Reginald Pole-Carew	5,021	50.2	+0.4
	Liberal	Isaac Foot	4,980	49.8	−0.4
Majority			41	0.4	N/A
Turnout			10,001	86.6	−1.8
Registered electors			11,553
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+0.4

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 the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• 
  Unionist: Charles Hanson
  


• 
  Liberal: Isaac Foot
  

1916 Bodmin by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Charles Hanson	Unopposed
	Unionist hold

General election 1918: Bodmin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
C	Unionist	Charles Hanson	12,228	58.4	+8.2
	Liberal	Isaac Foot	8,705	41.6	−8.2
Majority			3,523	16.8	+16.4
Turnout			20,933	69.1	−17.5
	Unionist hold		Swing	+8.2
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

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Elections in the 1920s

1922 Bodmin by-election: Bodmin^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Isaac Foot	13,751	56.4	+14.8
C	Unionist	Frederick Poole	10,610	43.6	-14.8
Majority			3.141	12.8	29.6
Turnout				74.8	+5.7
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+14.8
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

General election 1922: Bodmin^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Isaac Foot	14,292	53.4	-3.0
	Unionist	Frederick Poole	12,467	46.6	+3.0
Majority			1,825	6.8	-6.0
Turnout				80.4
	Liberal hold		Swing	-3.0

General election 1923: Bodmin^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Isaac Foot	14,536	53.6	+0.2
	Unionist	Frederick Poole	12,574	46.4	-0.2
Majority			1,962	7.2	+0.4
Turnout				82.0	+1.6
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.2

General election 1924: Bodmin^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Gerald Harrison	14,163	51.1	+4.7
	Liberal	Isaac Foot	13,548	48.9	-4.7
Majority			615	2.2	9.4
Turnout				82.4	+0.4
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+4.7

General election 1929: Bodmin^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Isaac Foot	16,002	46.3	−2.6
	Unionist	Gerald Harrison	15,088	43.7	−7.4
	Labour	Paul Reed	3,437	10.0	n/a
Majority			914	2.6	4.8
Turnout				84.9	+2.5
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+2.4

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Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Bodmin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Isaac Foot	unopposed	n/a	n/a
	Liberal hold		Swing	n/a

General election 1935: Bodmin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	John Rathbone	17,485	50.4	n/a
	Liberal	Isaac Foot	14,732	42.4	n/a
	Labour	Harold E. J. Falconer	2,496	7.2	n/a
Majority				8.0	n/a
Turnout				82.3	n/a
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	n/a

General election 1939/40:
Another general election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;

• 
  Conservative: John Rathbone
  


• 
  Liberal: John Foot
  


• 
  Labour: R. H. Baker (withdrew)

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Elections in the 1940s

1941 Bodmin by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Beatrice Rathbone	unopposed	n/a	n/a
	Conservative hold		Swing	n/a

General election 1945: Bodmin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Douglas Marshall	15,396	43.8
	Liberal	John Foot	13,349	38.0
	Labour	Jack Hubert Pitts	6,401	18.2
Majority			2,047	5.8
Turnout				76.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

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Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Bodmin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Douglas Marshall	19,441	49.2
	Liberal	John Foot	11,649	29.5
	Labour	William Royle	8,434	21.3
Majority			7,792	19.7
Turnout				84.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1951: Bodmin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Douglas Marshall	20,086	50.9	+1.7
	Liberal	T. Stuart Roseveare	10,088	25.6
	Labour	William Royle	9,244	23.5
Majority			9,998	25.3
Turnout				84.6	+0.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1955: Bodmin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Douglas Marshall	17,858	49.2
	Liberal	T. Stuart Roseveare	10,199	28.0
	Labour	E. Fraser Wilde	8,304	22.8
Majority			7,659	21.2
Turnout				79.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1959: Bodmin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Douglas Marshall	16,853	46.0
	Liberal	Peter Bessell	14,052	38.3
	Labour	Thomas F. Mitchell	5,769	15.7
Majority			2,801	7.7
Turnout				81.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

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Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Bodmin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Peter Bessell	18,046	48.6
	Conservative	Douglas Marshall	14,910	40.2
	Labour	Thomas F. Mitchell	4,172	11.2
Majority			3,136	8.45
Turnout				82.7
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

General election 1966: Bodmin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Peter Bessell	18,144	46.6
	Conservative	John Gorst	16,121	41.4
	Labour	Robert Blank	4,674	12.0
Majority			2,023	5.2
Turnout				84.4
	Liberal hold		Swing

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Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Bodmin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Robert Hicks	20,187	48.3
	Liberal	Paul Tyler	16,267	38.9
	Labour	Alfred F. Long	5,350	12.8
Majority			3,920	9.4
Turnout				80.6
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

General election February 1974: Bodmin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Paul Tyler	20,283	44.2
	Conservative	Robert Hicks	20,274	44.2
	Labour	G. Lonsdale	5,328	11.61
Majority			9	0.0
Turnout				83.3
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

General election October 1974: Bodmin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Robert Hicks	20,756	45.5
	Liberal	Paul Tyler	20,091	44.0
	Labour	P. C. Knight	4,814	10.5
Majority			665	1.5
Turnout				82.3
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

General election 1979: Bodmin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Robert Hicks	27,922	54.9
	Liberal	Paul Tyler	17,893	35.2
	Labour	N. Knowles	3,508	6.9
	Mebyon Kernow	Roger Holmes	865	1.7
	Ecology	C. Retallack	465	0.9
	National Front	M. Carter	235	0.5
Majority			10,029	19.7
Turnout				82.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

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Notes

References

Sources

• The History of Parliament Trust, Bodmin, Borough from 1386 to 1868


• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 4)


• D. Brunton & D. H. Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)


• 
  Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808) [1]
  


• 
  F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)


• Michael Kinnear, The British Voter (London: BH Batsford, Ltd, 1968)


• Lewis Namier, The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd edition - London: St Martin's Press, 1961)


• Henry Pelling, Social Geography of British Elections 1885-1910 (London: Macmillan, 1967)


• J. Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)


• Edward Porritt and Annie G Porritt, The Unreformed House of Commons (Cambridge University Press, 1903)


• 
  Willis, Browne (1750). Notitia Parliamentaria, Part II: A Series or Lists of the Representatives in the several Parliaments held from the Reformation 1541, to the Restoration 1660 ... London. p. 1.
  


• Frederic A. Youngs Jr, "Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol I" (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979)