Times Guide to the House of Commons

I bought my first "Times Guide..." in 1975 in Hull, where the price of the October 1974 Guide had been reduced. I've been hooked ever since - and have even acquired some pre-1974 guides. As well as including biographical details of MPs - Election results are given in detail (with calculations done to provide information about swing and majorities. There is an analysis section (what a joy for nerds like me!) and written articles about the previous parliament and the election itself.

My biggest disappointment was that after the 1997 Guide (in other words for 2001 when I was first a candidate), they dropped the biographical details of defeated candidates!

My copy is on its way - for further details visit the website.

UK Guides

Over the last two days I have briefly described two guides to Members of Congress. In the UK there are similar guides to Parliaments. I have been buying copies of the "Times Guide to the House of Commons" since I picked up a copy of the October 1974 Edition whilst visiting Hull in the mid 1970s. My greatest regret is that the Times Guide stopped giving details of the major defeated candidates in each constituency from their 2001 edition. It was in 2001 that I first stood for Parliament!

The first Times Guide covered the 1880 election. The earliest one in my personal collection is 1966. Other publishers have started their own guides. Dod's produces a guide after each general election - where MP's are listed by order of surname (The Times Guide lists in Constituency order). An "Almanac of British Politics" has been published for the last 35 years. While this gives a brief biography of each MP, it's strength is the detail it gives of each constituency. The current edition has lots of details about the new constituencies which take effect at the forthcoming General Election.