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Parliamentary boroughs are a type of administrative division, usually covering urban areas, that are entitled to representation in a Parliament
Parliament

A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom....
. The term came into use in the 19th century in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, when certain boroughs were disenfranchised, becoming merely municipal borough
Municipal borough

Municipal boroughs were a type of local government which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002....
s. The two sets of boroughs were detached further by being allowed to have different boundaries. Originally many parliamentary boroughs were multi-member constituencies, but the Reform Act
Reform Act

In the United Kingdom, Reform Act is a generic term used for legislation concerning electoral matters. It is most commonly used for laws passed to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the British House of Commons....
s eventually divided them all into single-member divisions.






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Parliamentary boroughs are a type of administrative division, usually covering urban areas, that are entitled to representation in a Parliament
Parliament

A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom....
. The term came into use in the 19th century in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, when certain boroughs were disenfranchised, becoming merely municipal borough
Municipal borough

Municipal boroughs were a type of local government which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002....
s. The two sets of boroughs were detached further by being allowed to have different boundaries. Originally many parliamentary boroughs were multi-member constituencies, but the Reform Act
Reform Act

In the United Kingdom, Reform Act is a generic term used for legislation concerning electoral matters. It is most commonly used for laws passed to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the British House of Commons....
s eventually divided them all into single-member divisions. Divisions of parliamentary boroughs eventually became known as borough constituencies. Parliamentary boroughs did not hold borough status in the United Kingdom
Borough status in the United Kingdom

Borough status in the United Kingdom is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the Borough Council or inhabitants of the district....
.

Two seat boroughs

The last few seats to be represented by 2 members in the 1945-50 parliament were
  • Blackburn
    Blackburn (UK Parliament constituency)

    Blackburn is a constituency represented in the British House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The town currently elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
  • Bolton
    Bolton (UK Parliament constituency)

    Bolton was a borough constituency centred on the town of Bolton in the county of Lancashire. It returned two Member of Parliament to the British House of Commons for the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the bloc vote system....
  • Brighton
    Brighton (UK Parliament constituency)

    Brighton was a United Kingdom constituencies of the UK House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 until it was divided into single-member seats from the United Kingdom general election, 1950....
  • City of London
    City of London (UK Parliament constituency)

    The City of London was a former United Kingdom Parliament of the United Kingdom constituency. It was a United Kingdom constituencies of the British House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950....
  • Derby
    Derby (UK Parliament constituency)

    Derby is a former United Kingdom Parliament of the United Kingdom constituency. It was a United Kingdom constituencies of the British House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950....
  • Dundee
    Dundee (UK Parliament constituency)

    Dundee was a constituency of the British House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1950, when it was split into Dundee East and Dundee West ....
  • Norwich
    Norwich (UK Parliament constituency)

    Norwich was a borough constituency which was represented in the British House of Commons. Consisting of the city of Norwich in Norfolk, it returned two Member of Parliament from 1298 until it was abolished for the United Kingdom general election, 1950....
  • Oldham
    Oldham (UK Parliament constituency)

    Oldham was a United Kingdom constituencies centred on the town of Oldham, England. It returned two Member of Parliament to the British House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
  • Preston
    Preston (UK Parliament constituency)

    Preston is a borough constituency represented in the British House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
  • Southampton
    Southampton (UK Parliament constituency)

    Southampton was a United Kingdom constituencies which was represented in the British House of Commons. Centred on the town of Southampton, it returned two Member of Parliament from 1295 until it was abolished for the United Kingdom general election, 1950....
  • Stockport
    Stockport (UK Parliament constituency)

    Stockport is a borough constituency represented in the British House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
  • Sunderland
    Sunderland (UK Parliament constituency)

    Sunderland was a borough constituency of the British House of Commons, created by the Reform Act 1832 for the United Kingdom general election, 1832....


Three Northern Ireland county constituencies also had two seats at that time:
  • County Antrim
  • Down
    Down (UK Parliament constituency)

    Down is former UK Parliament constituency in Ireland. It was a two member constituency and existed in two periods, 1801-1885 and 1922-1950....
  • Fermanagh and Tyrone
    Fermanagh and Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)

    Fermanagh and Tyrone was a Parliamentary Constituency in the British United Kingdom House of Commons....


All these seats were split for the 1950 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1950

The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour party government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservative party , the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five seats over all other parties, and th...
.

Some university constituencies had multiple seats until their abolition in 1950:
  • Cambridge University
    Cambridge University (UK Parliament constituency)

    Cambridge University was a university constituency electing two members to the British House of Commons, from 1603 to 1950....
  • Combined English Universities
    Combined English Universities (UK Parliament constituency)

    Combined English Universities was a university constituency represented in the United Kingdom Parliament . It was formed by enfranchising and combining all the English Universities, except for Cambridge University , Oxford University and London University , which were already separately represented....
  • Oxford University
    Oxford University (UK Parliament constituency)

    Oxford University was a university constituency electing two members to the British House of Commons, from 1603 to 1950....


See also

  • United Kingdom constituencies
    United Kingdom constituencies

    In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly....