City of Chester (UK Parliament constituency)

City of Chester
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of City of Chester in Cheshire.
Location of Cheshire within England.
County	Cheshire
Electorate	68,280 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements	Chester
Current constituency
Created	1918 (1918)
Member of Parliament	Stephen Mosley (Conservative)
Number of members	One
1545 (1545)–1918 (1918)
Number of members	1545–1880: Two 1885–1918: One
Type of constituency	Borough constituency
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	North West England

City of Chester is a county 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.

Contents 1 Boundaries 2 Boundary Review 3 History 4 Members of Parliament 4.1 MPs 1545 to 1660 4.2 MPs 1660–1880 4.3 MPs since 1885 5 Elections 5.1 Elections in the 2010s 5.2 Elections in the 2000s 5.3 Elections in the 1990s 6 See also 7 Notes and references

Boundaries

The constituency covers the city of Chester, and parts of the surrounding Cheshire West and Chester unitary authority, including the villages of Aldford, Capenhurst, Christleton, Guilden Sutton, Newtown, Pulford and Saughall.

Much of the city of Chester itself is residential of varying characteristics, with more middle-class areas such as Upton and the large rural council estate of Blacon. However, the estate of Blacon is now owned, run and maintained by the Chester And District Housing Trust CDHT.

Boundary Review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Cheshire, the Boundary Commission for England made minor changes to the existing arrangement as a consequence of population changes. The electoral wards included in this modified constituency were (as at 12 April 2005):

• Blacon Hall, Blacon Lodge, Boughton, Boughton Heath, Christleton, City and St Anne's, College, Curzon and Westminster, Dodleston, Handbridge and St Mary's, Hoole All Saints, Hoole Groves, Huntington, Lache Park, Mollington, Newton Brook, Newton St Michaels, Saughall, Upton Grange, Upton Westlea, and Vicars Cross, all from the Chester District ^[2]

The changes were approved in 2007 and came into effect at the 2010 general election.^[3]

History

As part of a county palatine with a parliament of its own until the early 16th century Chester was not enfranchised until an Act of 1543. From then on it returned two MPs to Parliament until 1885, when the representation was reduced to one member.

Prior to 1997, Chester was a seat traditionally held by the Conservative Party, although their majorities over Labour were not always large.

Labour's Christine Russell gained the seat easily at the 1997 election and held it until 2010. Her majority over the Conservatives had been reduced to under 1,000 at the 2005 election.

Four of the six candidates at the 2010 General Election had contested the seat previously; Christine Russell (1997, 2001, 2005); Allan Weddell (2001, 2005); Ed Abrahms (2005) and Tom Barker (1992). All candidates had contested at least one election for local authorities for wards inside the constituency.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1545 to 1660

Year	First member	Second member
1547	Richard Sneyd	William Aldersey [4]
1553 (Mar)	Richard Sneyd	Randall Mainwaring [4]
1553 (Oct)	Richard Sneyd	Thomas Massey [4]
1554 (Apr)	Richard Sneyd	William Aldersey [4]
1554 (Nov)	Richard Sneyd	Thomas Massey [4]
1555	William Gerard	William Aldersey [4]
1558	Sir Lawrence Smith	William Gerard [4]
1559 (Jan)	Sir Lawrence Smith	William Gerard I[4]
1562/1563	William Gerard I	John Yerworth [4]
1571	William Gerard I	William Glasier [4]
1572 (Apr)	William Gerard I	William Glasier [4]
1584 (Nov)	Richard Birkheved	Richard Bavand [4]
1586 (Sep)	Richard Birkheved	Peter Warburton [4]
1588/1589	Richard Birkheved	Peter Warburton [4]
1593	Richard Birkheved	Gilbert Gerard [4]
1597 (Sep)	Peter Warburton	Willism Brock [4]
1601	Hugh Glasier	Thomas Gamull [4]
1604	Thomas Lawton	Hugh Glasier
1614	Edward Whitby	John Bingley
1621–1622	Edward Whitby	John Ratcliffe
1624	Edward Whitby	John Savage
1625	Edward Whitby	John Savage
1626	Edward Whitby	William Samuel
1628–1629	Edward Whitby	John Ratcliffe
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned
Apr 1640	Sir Thomas Smith	Robert Brerewood
Nov 1640	Sir Thomas Smith	Francis Gamull	Both disabled 1644
1645	William Edwards	John Ratcliffe
1653	Chester not represented in Barebones Parliament
1654	Charles Walley	One seat only
1656	Edward Bradshaw	One seat only
1659	Jonathan Ridge	John Griffith

MPs 1660–1880

Year			First member[5]	First party	Second member[5]	Second party
		1660	John Ratcliffe		William Ince
		1661			Sir Thomas Smith, Bt
		1673	Robert Werden	Tory
		1675			William Williams
		1679	Sir Thomas Grosvenor, Bt	Tory
		1681	Roger Whitley	Whig
		1685	Sir Thomas Grosvenor, Bt	Tory	Robert Werden	Tory
		1689	Roger Whitley	Whig	George Mainwaring	Whig
		1690	Sir Thomas Grosvenor, Bt	Tory	Sir Richard Levinge, Bt	Tory
		1695			Roger Whitley	Whig
		January 1698			Thomas Cowper
		July 1698			Peter Shakerley	Tory
		1701	Sir Henry Bunbury, Bt	Tory
		1715			Sir Richard Grosvenor, Bt
		1727	Sir Thomas Grosvenor, Bt
		January 1733			Sir Robert Grosvenor, Bt
		March 1733	Sir Charles Bunbury, Bt
		1742	Philip Henry Warburton
		1754	Sir Richard Grosvenor, Bt
		1755			Thomas Grosvenor
		1761	Richard Wilbraham-Bootle
		1790	Viscount Belgrave
		1795			Thomas Grosvenor
		1802	Richard Erle-Drax-Grosvenor
		1807	John Grey Egerton
		1818	Viscount Belgrave	Tory
		1826			Lord Robert Grosvenor	Whig
		1830	Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, Bt	Conservative
		1831	Foster Cunliffe-Offley
		May 1832	John Finchett Maddock
		December 1832	Sir John Jervis	Liberal
		1847			Earl Grosvenor	Liberal
		1850	William Owen Stanley
		1857	Enoch Gibbon Salisbury
		1859	Philip Stapleton Humberston
		1865	William Henry Gladstone	Liberal
		1868	Henry Cecil Raikes	Conservative
		1869			Hon. Norman Grosvenor
		1874			John George Dodson	Liberal
		1880			Beilby Lawley

• Constituency suspended (1880)

MPs since 1885

• Voting restored (1885)

Election		Member[5]	Party
	1885	Balthazar Walter Foster	Liberal
	1886	Robert Armstrong Yerburgh	Conservative
	1906	Alfred Moritz Mond	Liberal
	1910, January	Robert Armstrong Yerburgh	Conservative
	1916 by-election	Sir Owen Cosby Philipps	Conservative
	1922	Sir Charles William Cayzer	Conservative
	1940 by-election	Sir Basil Nield	Conservative
	1959	John Meredith Temple	Conservative
	1974, February	Peter Morrison	Conservative
	1992	Gyles Brandreth	Conservative
	1997	Christine Russell	Labour
	2010	Stephen Mosley	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: City of Chester[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stephen Mosley	18,995	40.6	+3.8
	Labour	Christine Russell	16,412	35.1	-3.8
	Liberal Democrat	Lizzie Jewkes	8,930	19.1	-2.8
	UKIP	Allan Weddell	1,225	2.6	+0.9
	English Democrats	Ed Abrams	594	1.3	+0.6
	Green	Tom Barker	535	1.1	+1.1
	Independent	John Whittingham	99	0.2	+0.2
Majority			2,583	5.5
Turnout			46,853	67.9	+3.6
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+3.9

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: City of Chester
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Christine Russell	17,458	38.9	-9.6
	Conservative	Paul Offer	16,543	36.8	+3.7
	Liberal Democrat	Mia Jones	9,818	21.9	+7.2
	UKIP	Allan Weddell	776	1.7	-0.3
	English Democrats	Ed Abrams	308	0.7	+0.7
Majority			917	2.0
Turnout			44,903	64.3	+0.5
	Labour hold		Swing	-6.7

General Election 2001: City of Chester
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Christine Russell	21,760	48.5	-4.5
	Conservative	David Jones	14,866	33.1	-1.1
	Liberal Democrat	Tony Dawson	6,589	14.7	+5.2
	UKIP	Allan Weddell	899	2.0	N/A
	Independent	George Rogers	763	1.7	+1.4
Majority			6,894	15.4
Turnout			44,877	63.8	-14.7
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.7

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: City of Chester
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Christine Russell	29,806	53.0	+11.0
	Conservative	Gyles Brandreth	19,253	34.2	-9.9
	Liberal Democrat	David Simpson	5,353	9.5	-3.4
	Referendum Party	R. Mullen	1,487	2.6	N/A
	Monster Raving Loony	I Sanderson	204	0.4	N/A
	West Cheshire College In Crisis	J Gerrard	154	0.3	N/A
Majority			10,553	18.2
Turnout				78.4	-5.5
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	10.5

General Election 1992: City of Chester[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gyles Brandreth	23,411	44.1	−0.8
	Labour	DE Robinson	22,310	42.0	+6.4
	Liberal Democrat	JG Smith	6,867	12.9	−6.6
	Green	MT Barker	448	0.8	N/A
	Natural Law	SRH Cross	98	0.2	N/A
Majority			1,101	2.1	−7.2
Turnout			53,134	83.9	+4.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−3.6

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Cheshire

Notes and references

Constituencies in North West England (75) Labour (47) Ashton-under-Lyne Barrow and Furness Birkenhead Blackburn Blackley and Broughton Blackpool South Bolton North East Bolton South East Bolton West Bootle Bury South Chorley Copeland Denton and Reddish Ellesmere Port and Neston Garston and Halewood Halton Heywood and Middleton Hyndburn Knowsley Leigh Liverpool Riverside Liverpool Walton Liverpool Wavertree Liverpool West Derby Makerfield Manchester Central Manchester Gorton Oldham East and Saddleworth Oldham West and Royton Preston Rochdale St Helens North St Helens South and Whiston Salford and Eccles Sefton Central Stalybridge and Hyde Stockport Stretford and Urmston Wallasey Warrington North West Lancashire Wigan Wirral South Workington Worsley and Eccles South Wythenshawe and Sale East Conservative (22) Altrincham and Sale West Blackpool North and Cleveleys Bury North Carlisle City of Chester Congleton Crewe and Nantwich Eddisbury Fylde Lancaster and Fleetwood Macclesfield Morecambe and Lunesdale Pendle Penrith and The Border Ribble Valley Rossendale and Darwen South Ribble Tatton Warrington South Weaver Vale Wirral West Wyre and Preston North Liberal Democrats (6) Burnley Cheadle Hazel Grove Manchester Withington Southport Westmorland and Lonsdale North West England European constituency: Conservative (3) Labour (2) UKIP (1) Liberal Democrats (1) BNP (1)