North Wiltshire (UK Parliament constituency)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
North Wiltshire County constituency |
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North Wiltshire shown within Wiltshire, and Wiltshire shown within England | |
Created: | 1832, 1983 |
MP: | James Gray |
Party: | Conservative |
Type: | House of Commons |
County: | Wiltshire |
EP constituency: | South West England |
North Wiltshire is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Until 1983, it was known as Chippenham.
Contents |
[edit] Boundaries
As the name suggests, the constituency covers most of north Wiltshire. However, it excludes the town of Swindon which is represented by North Swindon and South Swindon.
North Wiltshire constituency was formed for the 1983 general election, with boundaries identical to the former Chippenham constituency (1885–1983). [1]
For the 54th general election, the North Wiltshire constituency changes radically, as a result of boundary change recommendations. The name will be retained by the northernmost part of the current constituency, focussed on the town of Malmesbury and Cricklade, while the largest town of Chippenham will be given its own seat, along with the nearby market towns of Bradford on Avon, Calne and Melksham. North Wiltshire MP James Gray has indicated his intention to stand for the new North Wiltshire seat, while the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for the Chippenham seat is Devon farmer Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones.
While North Wiltshire has a long history of returning Conservative candidates, its district council has always been a closely-fought battle between Conservative and Liberal Democrat. The new split is expected to see the more rural North Wiltshire be a slightly safer Conservative seat than the more urban Chippenham seat.
[edit] Members of Parliament
[edit] MPs 1832-1885
Election | 1st Member | 1st Party | 2nd Member | 2nd Party | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1832 | Paul Methuen | Sir John Astley | ||||
1835 | Walter Long | |||||
1837 | Sir Francis Burdett | |||||
Feb 1844 | Thomas Sotheron-Estcourt | Conservative | ||||
Mar. 1865 | Lord Charles Brudenell-Bruce | |||||
1865 | Richard Penruddocke Long | |||||
1868 | Sir George Jenkinson | |||||
1874 | George Sotheron-Estcourt | |||||
1880 | Walter Long | |||||
1885 | Redistribution of Seats Act: constituency abolished |
[edit] MPs 1983-present
- 1983 — 1997: Richard Needham, Conservative
- 1997 — present: James Gray, Conservative
[edit] Election results
General Election 2005: North Wiltshire | |||||
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Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | James Gray | 26,282 | 46.9 | +1.4 | |
Liberal Democrat | Paul Fox | 20,979 | 37.4 | −0.8 | |
Labour | David Nash | 6,794 | 12.1 | −2.2 | |
UK Independence | Neil Dowdney | 1,428 | 2.5 | +0.4 | |
Independent (politician) | Philip Allnatt | 578 | 1.0 | N/A | |
Majority | 5,303 | 9.5 | |||
Turnout | 56,061 | 69.3 | +2.0 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +1.1 |
General Election 2001: North Wiltshire | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | James Gray | 24,090 | 45.5 | +1.7 | |
Liberal Democrat | Hugh Pym | 20,212 | 38.2 | +0.4 | |
Labour | Jo Garton | 7,556 | 14.3 | +0.1 | |
UK Independence | Neil Dowdney | 1,090 | 2.1 | +1.4 | |
Majority | 3,878 | 7.3 | |||
Turnout | 52,948 | 67.3 | -7.6 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +0.7 |
General Election 1997: North Wiltshire | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | James Gray | 25,390 | 43.8 | ||
Liberal Democrat | S Cordon | 21,915 | 37.8 | ||
Labour | N Knowles | 8,261 | 14.2 | ||
Referendum Party | M Purves | 1,774 | 3.1 | ||
UK Independence | A Wood | 410 | 0.7 | ||
Natural Law | J Forsyth | 263 | 0.4 | ||
Majority | 3,475 | 6.0 | |||
Turnout | 58,013 | 74.9 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | -9.3 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "About North Wiltshire" from the website of James Gray MP. Retrieved on October 18, 2006.
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