North Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

North Dorset
County constituency

North Dorset shown within Dorset, and Dorset shown within England
Created: 1885
MP: Robert Walter
Party: Conservative
Type: House of Commons
County: Dorset
EP constituency: South West England

North Dorset is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The constituency covers North Dorset local government district and most (geographically) of East Dorset. It is largely rural, with five small market towns: Blandford Forum, Gillingham, Shaftesbury, Wimborne Minster and Sturminster Newton.

The Boundary Commission for England's Fifth Report, laid before Parliament on 26 February 2007, proposes that Wimborne Minster be transferred to the Mid Dorset and North Poole constituency, and that Verwood and Three Legged Cross be transferred from the Christchurch constituency to the North Dorset constituency.

[edit] Members of Parliament

Year Member Party
1885 Edwin Berkeley Portman Liberal
1892 John Kenelm Digby Wingfield-Digby Conservative
1905 Arthur Walters Wills Liberal
Jan. 1910 Sir Randolf Littlehales Baker, Bt Conservative
1918 William Philip Colfox Conservative
1922 John Emlyn Emlyn-Jones Liberal
1924 Sir Cecil Hanbury Unionist
1937 Angus Valdemar Hambro Conservative
1945 Charles Frank Byers, later Baron Byers Liberal
1950 Robert Crouch Conservative
1957 Sir Richard Glyn Conservative
1970 David James Conservative
1979 Sir Nicholas Baker Conservative
1997 Robert Walter Conservative

[edit] Election results

General Election 2005: North Dorset
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Walter 23,714 44.9 -1.8
Liberal Democrat Emily Gasson 21,470 40.7 +2.0
Labour John Yarwood 4,596 8.7 -2.5
UK Independence Richard Frampton Hobbs 1,918 3.6 +1.5
Green Ralph Arliss 1,117 2.1 +2.1
Majority 2,244 4.2 -3.8
Turnout 52,815 71.1 +4.8
Conservative hold Swing
Source BBC News, 2005
General Election 2001: North Dorset
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Walter 22,314 46.7 +2.4
Liberal Democrat Emily Gasson 18,517 38.7 -0.4
Labour Mark Wareham 5,334 11.2 +0.9
UK Independence Peter Jenkins 1,019 2.1 +0.6
Lower Excise Duty Party Joseph Duthie 391 0.8 N/A
Independent (politician) Cora Bone 246 0.5 N/A
Majority 3,797 8.0
Turnout 47,821 66.3 -10.0
Conservative hold Swing

[edit] See also