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

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):

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

MPs since 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

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. http://www.boundarycommissionforengland.org.uk/electoral-figures/electoral-figures.htm. Retrieved 13 March 2011. 
  2. ^ The Chester district and its constituent wards were abolished on 1 April 2009, when they became part of the new unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester; however, the boundaries of the parliamentary constituency remain fixed according to the wards in operation at 12 April 2005.
  3. ^ The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007, S.I. 2007/1681.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "History of Parliament". http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/constituencies/chester. Retrieved 2011-09-22. 
  5. ^ a b c Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 3)
  6. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/b12.stm
  7. ^ "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge92/i05.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-06.