Worcester (UK Parliament constituency)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Worcester Borough constituency |
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| Worcester shown within Worcestershire, and Worcestershire shown within England | |
| Created: | 1295 |
| MP: | Michael Foster |
| Party: | Labour |
| Type: | House of Commons |
| County: | Worcestershire |
| EP constituency: | West Midlands |
Worcester is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
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[edit] Boundaries
The constituency covers the city of Worcester, with exactly the same boundaries as the city. It borders the Mid Worcestershire constituency to the east, and West Worcestershire to the west.
[edit] History
Many political commentators and journalists look on Worcester as having the demographic statistics which most closely mirror those as in the United Kingdom as a whole. As such the term "Worcester Woman" has come into use as a description for a typical voter.
A Conservative seat for many years, Worcester was represented by the high-profile Conservative cabinet minister Peter Walker for three decades, from a by-election in 1961 until he stood down in 1992. Peter Luff (also Conservative) held the seat until 1997, when he moved to the new Mid Worcestershire constituency.
Michael Foster of the Labour Party took the seat in the 1997 general election. This can be put down to a combination of Labour's landslide victory nationally, but also to the fact that boundary changes meant the constituncy was now solely an urban area, rather than also containing much of the surrounding countryside.
Peter Walker's son, Robin Walker, was selected as the Conservative candidate for the seat in August 2006.
The constituency is marginal and has been selected as a "target" by the Conservative Party.
[edit] Members of Parliament
- Constituency created in 1295
[edit] MPs 1660-1885
| Year | First member | Second member |
|---|---|---|
| 1660 | Thomas Street | Thomas Hall |
| 1661 | Sir Rowland Berkeley | |
| 1679 | Sir Francis Winnington | |
| 1681 | Henry Herbert, later Baron Herbert | |
| 1685 | Sir William Bromley | Bridges Nanfan |
| 1689 | Sir John Somers | |
| 1693 | Samuel Swift | |
| 1694 | Charles Cocks | |
| 1695 | Samuel Swift | |
| 1701 | Thomas Wylde | |
| 1718 | Samuel Sandys, later Baron Sandys | |
| 1727 | Sir Richard Lane | |
| 1734 | Richard Lockwood | |
| 1741 | Thomas Winnington | |
| 1744 | Sir Henry Harpur | |
| 1746 | Thomas Vernon | |
| 1747 | Thomas Geers Winford | |
| 1748 | Robert Tracy | |
| 1754 | Henry Crabb-Boulton | |
| 1761 | John Walsh | |
| 1773 | Thomas Bates Rous | |
| 1774, Mar | Nicholas Lechmere | |
| 1774, Oct | Thomas Bates Rous | |
| 1780 | William Ward, later Viscount Dudley | |
| 1784 | Samuel Smith | |
| 1789 | Edmund Wigley | |
| 1790 | Edmund Lechmere | |
| 1796 | Abraham Robarts | |
| 1802 | Joseph Scott | |
| 1806 | Henry Bromley | |
| 1807 | William Gordon | |
| 1816 | Viscount Deerhurst | |
| 1818 | Thomas Henry Hastings Davies | |
| 1826 | George Richard Robinson | |
| 1835 | Joseph Bailey | |
| 1837 | Thomas Henry Hastings Davies | |
| 1841 | Sir Thomas Wilde, later Baron Truro | |
| 1846 | Sir Denis Le Marchant | |
| 1847 | Osman Ricardo | Francis Rufford |
| 1852 | William Laslett | |
| 1860 | Richard Padmore | |
| 1865 | Alexander Clunes Sheriff | |
| 1868 | William Laslett | |
| 1874 | Thomas Rowley Hill | |
| 1878 | John Derby Allcroft | |
| 1880 | Aeneas John McIntyre | |
| 1885 | Representation reduced to one member | |
[edit] MPs 1885-present
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1885 | George Higginson Allsopp | ||
| 1906 | George Henry Williamson | ||
| 1908 by-election | Sir Edward Alfred Goulding, later Baron Wargrave | Conservative | |
| 1922 | Richard Robert Fairbairn | Liberal | |
| 1923 | William Pomeroy Crawford Greene | Conservative | |
| 1945 | George Ward, later Viscount Ward of Witley | Conservative | |
| 1961 by-election | Peter Edward Walker | Conservative | |
| 1992 | Peter James Luff | Conservative | |
| 1997 | Michael John Foster | Labour | |
[edit] Election results
| General Election 2005: Worcester | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Michael Foster | 19,421 | 41.9 | −6.7 | |
| Conservative | Margaret Harper | 16,277 | 35.1 | −0.4 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Mary Dhonau | 7,557 | 16.3 | +3.7 | |
| UK Independence | Richard Chamings | 1,113 | 2.4 | −0.9 | |
| British National Party | Martin Roberts | 980 | 2.1 | N/A | |
| Green | Chris Lennard | 921 | 2.0 | N/A | |
| Independent (politician) | Prudence Dowson | 119 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Majority | 3,144 | 6.8 | |||
| Turnout | 46,388 | 64.1 | +2.1 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | −3.2 | |||
| General Election 2001: Worcester | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Michael Foster | 21,478 | 48.6 | -1.5 | |
| Conservative | Richard Adams | 15,712 | 35.5 | -0.2 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Paul Chandler | 5,578 | 12.6 | +0.1 | |
| UK Independence | Richard Chamings | 1,442 | 3.3 | +1.5 | |
| Majority | 5,766 | 13.1 | |||
| Turnout | 44,210 | 62.0 | -12.5 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
[edit] See also
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