London University (UK Parliament constituency)

Boundaries, electorate and history

This university constituency was created by the Reform Act 1867. The first election took place during the United Kingdom general election, 1868. The constituency returned one Member of Parliament, using the first past the post electoral system.

The constituency was not a physical area. Its electorate consisted of the graduates of the University of London. Before 1918 only male graduates qualified. From 1918 all graduates qualified, including women over thirty (reduced to twenty one when universal adult suffrage on equal terms was introduced before the United Kingdom general election, 1929).

The constituency was almost abolished in 1918. The original proposal of the Speaker's Conference, which considered electoral reform before the Representation of the People Act 1918 was enacted, was to combine all the English and Welsh universities except for Oxford and Cambridge into a three-member constituency. However, during consideration of the legislation it was agreed that London University should continue to return one member. The University of Wales was also given its own seat. The other universities, which were still to be combined, had their proposed representation reduced to two members. (Source: Pugh).

All the university constituencies were abolished in 1950, by the Representation of the People Act 1948.

Members of Parliament

This is a list of people who have represented this University in the Parliament of the United Kingdom between 1868 and 1950.

Notes:-

Elections

General Elections, from 1918 when most constituencies polled on the same day, were on different polling days from territorial constituencies. The polls for university constituencies were open for five days.

Coalition Conservative is considered to be equivalent to Conservative, as is National Independent equivalent to Independent.

Elections in the 1860s

Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1910s