Paddington North (UK Parliament constituency) facts for kids

Paddington North was an area in London that elected one person, called a Member of Parliament (MP), to speak for them in the UK Parliament. This MP was chosen using a system called "first past the post," where the candidate with the most votes wins. The area was created for elections in 1885. It stopped being a separate area for elections in February 1974.

This part of London had many different types of homes. There were grand apartment buildings, typical London terraced houses, and homes for working-class families. Over time, the area became less wealthy. After World War II, many new social housing projects were built. This changed Paddington North from a place that often voted for the Conservative Party to one that usually voted for the Labour Party.

What Were the Boundaries of Paddington North?

Paddington North in London 1885-1918

Paddington North in London 1918-1950

Paddington North in London 1950-1974

Map of Paddington Borough Wards in 1916

Paddington North first covered the northern part of the old Paddington Parish. In 1885, it was officially defined as "ward number 2" of the Parish. This ward had most of the voters in Paddington at that time.

In 1918, the boundaries were changed. The constituency now included the northern part of the Metropolitan Borough of Paddington. This new area had grown a lot, so the boundaries needed to shift. It ended up including the Harrow Road, Queen's Park, and Maida Vale areas. It also included part of the Church ward, north of the Harrow Road and Little Venice canal basin.

The boundaries stayed the same in 1948. However, the Church ward, which was split by the election boundary, was renamed the Town ward.

What Was Paddington North Like?

Unlike the southern part of Paddington, this area was mostly residential. When it was first created in 1885, some parts of Maida Vale were still open fields.

Until 1918, the constituency included Paddington railway station and the Paddington canal basin. It also had St Mary's Hospital. The south-east side had parts of Edgware Road with shops and entertainment. This included The Metropolitan Theatre, a famous music hall that was open for most of the constituency's existence. Between Harrow Road and the canals of Little Venice was a busy area. It grew around the old St. Mary's Church in the 1840s and was the original settlement of Paddington.

North of the canal, along Maida Vale, there were large houses with gardens. At first, single families lived in them. But over time, these homes were split into flats. In the 1930s, new mansion blocks were built along Maida Vale. This type of housing was already common along Elgin Avenue since the early 1900s.

The houses became smaller and cheaper as you went west. Shirland Road was roughly the dividing line. An area near Westbourne Square (which was actually triangular) quickly became a slum. However, this was not typical for the area north of the canal. Much of this slum area was moved to Paddington South in 1918. Further up Harrow Road, the homes were typical London terraced houses. A unique building was J. Welford's dairies, built in the 1880s at Shirland Road and Elgin Avenue.

After the 1918 boundary changes, the constituency included the Queen's Park ward. This area was built from the 1870s specifically for working-class families. A company built small, two-story homes for skilled workers. Many of these workers were railway employees at Paddington station.

Changes and New Buildings

As London grew, it made sense to knock down some older, less dense housing. New, taller buildings could then be built for more working-class families. In 1937, the Church Commissioners built Dibden House, with about 200 flats for social rent, at the top of Maida Vale. After World War II, many large social housing projects were built in the area. The first big one was John Aird Court and Fleming Court. These were built by the Paddington Borough Council in 1948, near Harrow Road.

The biggest changes happened along Maida Vale itself. The London County Council (LCC) rebuilt this area from 1959 to 1964. They built mid-rise and high-rise flats, including three 21-story tower blocks north of Elgin Avenue. At the same time, the Church Commissioners built the Stuart Tower for private owners. Further north, the LCC built low-rise flats along Carlton Vale. The southern part of the constituency saw many buildings demolished to make way for the Marylebone flyover and to rebuild Harrow Road.

In the 1960s, the Greater London Council (GLC) redeveloped the area around Elgin Avenue and Harrow Road. They built two 20-story tower blocks there. The GLC tried a new building method called 'Indulex' for these blocks and two others in Tower Hamlets. These blocks had a steel frame covered with glass-reinforced polyester.

Political History of Paddington North

The 1885 Election

In 1885, a new election area was created in North West London. Both the Conservatives and Liberals thought they could win it. The Conservatives chose Lionel Louis Cohen first. He was a leading figure in the City of London Conservative Association. Cohen's wife was from Paddington. Lord Randolph Churchill also gave speeches to support Cohen.

The Liberals had trouble choosing a candidate. They invited several people to speak, including Henry Gladstone, son of the Liberal leader William Ewart Gladstone. In the end, they chose William Digby, a writer. Digby strongly supported more power for people in India.

At first, things looked tough for the Conservatives. At one meeting for Lionel Cohen, people cheered loudly for Joseph Chamberlain, a Liberal, when his ideas were mentioned. When the meeting ended, a vote of confidence in Cohen was strongly opposed by the crowd. On November 7, 1885, 2,000 working men marched to a meeting. They spoke out against Cohen, saying he supported "protectionism" (taxes on imports), even though he said he supported "free trade."

Near election day, the Jewish Chronicle newspaper brought up that Cohen supported the Marquess of Salisbury. Salisbury had opposed giving Jews more legal rights in the 1850s. Cohen said his work in the Jewish community was not political. Salisbury himself wrote to say that his old speech should not be used in the election. Digby got support from a railway workers' union.

As election day got closer, both parties felt confident. The Conservatives thought Jewish, Catholic, and Church of England voters would support Cohen. Liberals thought non-conformist voters would support them. On election day, the Conservatives won, but only by 685 votes. This showed the seat was not very safe.

The 1886 Election

Another election happened in June 1886. Lionel Cohen decided to run again. William Digby said he would not. So, the Paddington North Liberals invited John Kempster to be their candidate. Kempster was a director of a company that built homes for working-class people, so he was popular.

In this election, Irish voters changed sides. In 1885, they had supported the Conservatives. But now, Gladstone supported "home rule" for Ireland (meaning Ireland would govern itself). This led to strong Irish support for the Liberals. The Irish vote in Paddington North was large. Cohen spoke against home rule, and Kempster supported it. Cohen was re-elected with a slightly larger majority of 911 votes.

The 1887 By-election

In 1887, Lionel Cohen became ill and died on June 26. This meant a special election, called a by-election, had to be held. The Conservatives quickly chose John Aird to run. Aird was an engineer and contractor with lots of experience, and he lived in Paddington. The Liberals chose Edmund Routledge, from the Routledge publishing family.

The main issue was still home rule for Ireland. Liberals wanted to promote their policy better this time. Routledge also said he believed Ireland should still send MPs to the UK Parliament even with home rule. This was enough for George Otto Trevelyan, a leading Liberal Unionist, to support him. However, another Liberal Unionist, the Marquess of Hartington, supported Aird.

On election day, a false rumor spread that Aird's company hired foreign workers to compete with British firms. The election results showed that the Liberals had gained ground in Paddington North since 1886. However, it was not enough to take the seat from the Conservatives.

The 1892 Election

The Liberals hoped to win the 1892 general election. They had become stronger since 1886. Paddington North Liberals chose Thomas Terrell, a lawyer and writer. Terrell started campaigning early. He held big meetings to talk about the "Gladstone London Programme," which criticized landlords for not supporting government services in London.

Terrell got support from a group that wanted to limit alcohol sales. But when this group sent out a leaflet attacking Aird, its leaders said they had not approved it, and it had to be taken back. Terrell did better than the Liberals in the 1887 by-election, but he still lost by 310 votes.

The 1895 Election

The 1895 general election happened suddenly. The Paddington North Liberals chose their chairman, George H. Maberly, as their candidate. Maberly was hesitant at first but accepted on June 27. His name was similar to a Conservative named Major-General Moberly, which caused some confusion.

Aird strongly criticized the previous Liberal government. He said they spent too much time on "abstract constitutional ideas" and not enough on "constructive social reform." He supported women's suffrage for widows or single women who owned homes. Following the national trend, Aird increased his majority to almost 1,000 votes.

The 1900 Election

For the 1900 general election, Wilfrid Fordham was chosen as the Liberal candidate. He was a young lawyer and shared his uncle's politics: he opposed the South African war and supported temperance (limiting alcohol). Aird was chosen again by the Conservatives. He criticized the Liberals for having "socialistic policies" and supported the government's approach in South Africa.

Aird also supported working together in industry to avoid strikes. However, local labor groups supported Fordham. He got the endorsement of the Shop Assistants' Union. Fordham's campaign was energetic, but voters were more focused on other issues. Aird's majority increased.

The 1906 Election

After the 1900 election, Aird was in his late sixties. In 1904, at age seventy, he announced he would step down because he could no longer do his duties. The Conservatives chose Lionel Phillips, a businessman, but he was too busy. They then invited John Aird, the son of the MP, but he had already been chosen for another area. Finally, the Conservatives selected Arthur Strauss, a metal merchant and former MP.

The Liberals easily chose Leo Chiozza Money, a famous economist and journalist. He was a rising star in the party. His fight to win the seat for the Liberals got attention across the country. Money was helped by Dr. Clifford, who was famous for protesting the Education Act of 1903.

Money was from Genoa, and Strauss was Jewish. This led to a group of local voters forming a committee. They said it was "intolerable" that neither party had chosen an Englishman as a candidate. They asked Sir Henry Burdett to run as an Independent Unionist. Burdett accepted, saying he didn't object to Strauss for being Jewish, but for being a foreigner. Strauss supported "Tariff Reform" (taxes on imports), while Burdett supported "Free Trade."

One of Burdett's meetings was very noisy, and some attendees complained of being robbed.

When Burdett's supporters claimed he was the true Conservative candidate, the former Mayor of Paddington, William Urquhart, wrote to newspapers. He said Strauss had been properly chosen and criticized Burdett for splitting the vote. Strauss's election leaflet attacked Burdett, leading Burdett to sue him. A leaflet was also circulated by Dr. Clifford saying that Chiozza Money was not an atheist. On election day, Chiozza Money won the seat easily, getting more votes than Strauss and Burdett combined.

The January 1910 Election

Even though they lost the seat, the Conservatives again chose Arthur Strauss as their candidate. Some members still opposed Strauss. They asked the Conservative Central Office to step in, but it refused. These members then formed the "League of Patriotic Electors of North Paddington." Strauss was officially adopted as the Conservative candidate. The League decided not to run due to a sudden political crisis over the 1909 budget.

Strauss again promoted "Tariff Reform." He pointed to Germany, the United States, and some British colonies that used protective tariffs. Chiozza Money, as an economist, was praised by Winston Churchill (who was a Liberal then) for his knowledge. He was also popular with working men in Harrow Road. It was expected to be a close fight. In the end, Strauss won the seat back by almost 900 votes.

After this election, some legal cases arose. On December 27, 1909, two police officers were attacked by three men who were later convicted. During the election, Liberals sent out a leaflet claiming these men were sent to shout down Chiozza Money at his meetings. They blamed the men's landlord, George Steer. Steer sued the printers of the leaflet and the Liberal agent for libel. The jury sided with Steer and awarded him £100 in damages.

The December 1910 Election

Soon after the January 1910 election, it became clear that another election might be needed to solve the political crisis. Leo Chiozza Money, who was no longer an MP, was a popular choice for Liberal groups looking for candidates. He was considered for a by-election in Glamorgan but decided not to run. At the same time, he told the Paddington North Liberals that he would not run for their seat again. He later ran for a seat in East Northamptonshire.

The Liberals tried to get Chiozza Money to change his mind, but he refused. So, they chose James Fairbank, a member of Paddington Borough Council. However, Fairbank withdrew due to illness in July. Then, Leonard Franklin, who was chairman of the North Paddington Liberal Association, was chosen. This made Paddington North one of only two areas where both candidates were Jewish.

Strauss spent his time as an MP arranging for ten people from his constituency to visit Germany. They wanted to see the effects of protective tariffs. The election was strongly fought, and Strauss won again. His majority was slightly smaller, at 589 votes.

Members of Parliament for Paddington North

Election Results for Paddington North

Elections in the 1880s

Following the death of Lionel Cohen:

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1900s

Henry Burdett

Elections in the 1910s

Chiozza Money

Arthur Strauss

Elections in the 1920s

*Adopted as official Liberal candidate, but party withdrew support during campaign following exposure of crooked past.

Elections in the 1930s

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: Brendan Bracken
• Labour: G M Copeland

Elections in the 1940s

Following the resignation of Sir Noel Mason-Macfarlane:

Elections in the 1950s

Following the resignation of Bill Field:

Elections in the 1960s

Following the death of Ben Parkin:

Elections in the 1970s