Cambridge University was a university constituency electing two members to the British House of Commons, from 1603 to 1950.
This university constituency was created by a Royal Charter of 1603. It was abolished in 1950 by the Representation of the People Act 1948.
The constituency was not a physical area. Its electorate consisted of the graduates of the University. Before 1918 the franchise was restricted to male graduates with a Doctorate or MA d...
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Cambridge University was a university constituency electing two members to the British House of Commons, from 1603 to 1950.
This university constituency was created by a Royal Charter of 1603. It was abolished in 1950 by the Representation of the People Act 1948.
The constituency was not a physical area. Its electorate consisted of the graduates of the University. Before 1918 the franchise was restricted to male graduates with a Doctorate or MA degree. Sedgwick records that the electors numbered 377, in 1727. For the 1754-1790 period Namier and Brooke estimated the electorate at about 500.
The constituency returned two Members of Parliament. Before 1918 they were elected using the bloc vote. From 1918, the MPs were elected by the Single Transferable Vote method.
In the early 18th century the University electorate were mostly Tory. However the Whig ministers of King George I were able to persuade the King to use the royal prerogative power to confer doctorates, so from 1727 the...
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