Great Yarmouth (UK Parliament constituency)

Great Yarmouth
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk.
Location of Norfolk within England.
County	Norfolk
Electorate	70,526 (December 2010)^[1]
Current constituency
Created	1295, 1885 (1295, 1885)
Member of Parliament	Brandon Lewis (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	East of England

Great Yarmouth is a 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.

There has been a Great Yarmouth constituency sending MPs every Parliament since the 13th century except between 1868 and 1885; it was a parliamentary borough until 1950, and has been a county constituency since then. Between 1950 and 1974, the constituency was called simply Yarmouth, and has been known informally by that name at other periods.

Former MP Tony Wright referred to the constituency as a natural Conservative seat due to the affluent Norfolk farms and villages that offset the areas of deprivation and unemployment.^[2]

1 Boundaries
2 Members of Parliament
3 Elections
4 See also
5 Notes and references
6 Sources

Boundaries

The constituency covers the area around Great Yarmouth in Norfolk. Despite its rural area, there is a substantial amount of industry in Great Yarmouth, making the seat a marginal.

Members of Parliament

Great Yarmouth borough

Great Yarmouth was a 2-seat constituency from 1660 until 1868, when it was disenfranchised. It was recreated for the 1885 general election as a single-seat constituency.

MPs 1295–1640

Year	First member	Second member
1386	Ralph Ramsey	John Beketon ^[3]
1388 (Feb)	Ralph Ramsey	John Ellis ^[3]
1388 (Sep)	Ralph Ramsey	John Hacon ^[3]
1390 (Jan)	Ralph Ramsey	John Ellis ^[3]
1390 (Nov)
1391	Ralph Ramsey	John Hacon ^[3]
1393	John Hacon	John Ellis ^[3]
1394
1395	Ralph Ramsey	Hugh atte Fenn ^[3]
1397 (Jan)	Richard Cley	Hugh atte Fenn ^[3]
1397 (Sep)	Ralph Ramsey	William Oxney I ^[3]
1399	John Beketon	Hugh Atte Fenn ^[3]
1401
1402
1404 (Jan)	Roger Adams	Geoffrey Pamping ^[3]
1404 (Oct)
1406	Robert Ellis I	Henry Rafman ^[3]
1407	Robert Clere	Peter atte Fenn ^[3]
1410	William Parker	Alexander atte Gapp ^[3]
1411	Nicholas Cates	Peter Atte Fenn ^[3]
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May)	William Oxney II	Alexander atte Gapp ^[3]
1414 (Apr)
1414 (Nov)	Geoffrey Pamping	Robert Ellis II ^[3]
1415
1416 (Mar)
1416 (Oct)
1417	Henry S[pitling]	Richard [?Ellis] ^[3]
1419	William Colkirk	John Cranley ^[3]
1420	Thomas Dengaine	Robert Ellis II ^[3]
1421 (May)	Thomas Covehithe	Robert Ellis II ^[3]
1421 (Dec)	Richard Ellis	Robert Cupper ^[3]
1504	Thomas More^[4]
1510-1523	No names known^[5]
1529	Humphrey Wingfield	John Ladde, died and replaced 1353 or 1354 by Philip Bernard ^[5]
1536	?	?
1539	?	?
1542	Sir Humphrey Wingfield	William Burgh ^[5]
1545	Sir William Woodhouse	Robert Eyre ^[5]
1547	Sir William Woodhouse	Robert Eyre ^[5]
1553 (Mar)	Sir William Woodhouse	Nicholas Firmage ^[5]
1553 (Oct)	Robert Eyre	Simon More ^[5]
1554 (Apr)	William Bishop	John Echard ^[5]
1554 (Nov)	Thomas Hunt	William Mayhew ^[5]
1555	Nicholas Fen	Cornelius Bright ^[5]
1558	Sir Thomas Woodhouse	William Barker^[6]
1558/9	Sir Thomas Woodhouse	William Barker ^[6]
1562	William Grice	Thomas Timperley ^[6]
1571	William Barker	William Grice ^[6]
1572	William Grice	John Bacon, died and replaced Feb 1576 by Edward Bacon ^[6]
1584	William Grice	Thomas Damet ^[6]
1586	William Grice	Thomas Damet ^[6]
1588	John Stubbe	Roger Drury ^[6]
1593	Thomas Damet	John Felton ^[6]
1597	Henry Hobart	John Felton ^[6]
1601	Henry Hobart	Thomas Damet ^[6]
1604–1611	Thomas Damet	John Wheeler
1614	Theophilus Finch	George Hardware
1621–1622	Benjamin Cooper	Edward Owner
1624	Benjamin Cooper	George Hardware
1625	Sir John Corbet	Edward Owner
1626	Sir John Corbet	Thomas Johnson
1628	Sir John Corbet	Sir John Wentworth
1629–1640	No Parliaments convened

MPs 1640–1868

Election		First member^[7]	First party		Second member^[7]	Second party
April 1640		Miles Corbet	Parliamentarian		Edward Owner	Parliamentarian
November 1640					Edward Owner	Parliamentarian
December 1648				Owner not recorded as sitting after Pride's Purge
1653	Great Yarmouth was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654		Colonel William Goffe			Thomas Dunn
1656		Charles George Cook			William Burton
January 1659		Charles George Cook			William Burton
May 1659	Great Yarmouth was unrepresented in the restored Rump
April 1660		Sir John Potts			Sir William D'Oyly
1661		Sir William Coventry			Sir William D'Oyly
1678					Sir Thomas Medowe
February 1679					Richard Huntingdon
August 1679		George England			Richard Huntingdon
1681		George England			Sir James Johnson
1685		Sir William Cook			John Friend
1689		George England			Samuel Fuller
1698					John Nicholson
January 1701					Samuel Fuller
November 1701		John Burton			John Nicholson
1702		Benjamin England			John Nicholson
1708		Roger Townshend			Richard Ferrier
1709		Nathaniel Symonds
1710		George England
1715		George England			Horatio Townshend
1722		Hon. Charles Townshend			Horatio Walpole
1723		William Townshend			Horatio Walpole
1734		William Townshend			(Sir) Edward Walpole ^[8]
1738		Roger Townshend
1747		Hon. Charles Townshend
1756		Charles Townshend
1768		Charles Townshend			Hon. Richard Walpole
1784		Captain Sir John Jervis ^[9]			Henry Beaufoy
1790		Charles Townshend			Henry Beaufoy
1795		Charles Townshend			Brigadier Stephens Howe
May 1796		Lord Charles Townshend killed by brother, 1796			Brigadier Stephens Howe
October 1796		Major-General William Loftus			Henry Jodrell
1802		Captain Sir Thomas Troubridge ^[10]			Thomas Jervis
1806		Hon. Edward Harbord			Dr Stephen Lushington	Whig
1808		Hon. Edward Harbord			Giffin Wilson
1812		William Loftus			Edmund Knowles Lacon
1818		Thomas Anson	Whig		Charles Edmund Rumbold	Whig
1819		Hon. George Anson	Whig		Charles Edmund Rumbold	Whig
1835		Thomas Baring	Conservative		Winthrop Mackworth Praed	Conservative
1837		Charles Edmund Rumbold	Whig		William Wilshere	Whig
1847 ^[11]		Lord Arthur Lennox	Conservative		Octavius Edward Coope	Conservative
1848		Joseph Sandars	Conservative		Charles Edmund Rumbold	Whig
1852		Sir Edmund Lacon	Conservative		Charles Edmund Rumbold	Whig
March 1857 ^[12]		William Torrens McCullagh	Whig		Edward William Watkin	Whig
August 1857		Adolphus William Young	Whig		John Mellor	Whig
1859		Sir Edmund Lacon, Bt	Conservative		Sir Henry Stracey, Bt	Conservative
1865		Sir Edmund Lacon, Bt	Conservative		James Goodson	Conservative
1868	Constituency disfranchished for corruption

MPs 1885–1950

1885: Constituency revived, electing only a single member

Election		Member^[7]	Party
1885		Sir Henry Whatley Tyler	Conservative
1892		James Marshall Moorsom	Liberal
1895		Sir John Colomb	Conservative
1906		(Sir) Arthur Fell	Conservative
1922		Arthur Harbord	Liberal
1924		Sir Frank Meyer	Conservative
1929		Sir Arthur Harbord	Liberal
1931		Sir Arthur Harbord	Liberal National
1941 by-election		Percy William Jewson	Liberal National
1945		Ernest Kinghorn	Labour
1950	Great Yarmouth borough abolished: new county constituency named Yarmouth

Yarmouth division of Norfolk

MPs 1950–1974

Election		Member^[7]	Party
1950		Ernest Kinghorn	Labour
1951		Anthony Fell	Conservative
1966		Hugh Gray	Labour
1970		Anthony Fell	Conservative
Feb 1974	Constituency renamed Great Yarmouth

Great Yarmouth County Constituency

MPs since 1974

Election	Member^[7]	Party
February 1974	Anthony Fell	Conservative
1983	Michael Carttiss	Conservative
1997	Tony Wright	Labour
2010	Brandon Lewis	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: Great Yarmouth^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Brandon Lewis	18,571	43.1	+5.0
	Labour	Tony Wright	14,295	33.2	-12.4
	Liberal Democrat	Simon Partridge	6,188	14.4	+3.3
	UKIP	Alan Baugh	2,066	4.8	+0.5
	BNP	Bosco Tann	1,421	3.3	N/A
	Green	Laura Biggart	416	1.0	N/A
	Independent	Margaret McMahon-Morris	100	0.2	N/A
Majority			4,276	9.9
Turnout			43,057	61.2	+1.2

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Great Yarmouth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tony Wright	18,850	45.6	−4.8
	Conservative	Mark Fox	15,795	38.2	−0.9
	Liberal Democrat	Stephen Newton	4,585	11.1	+2.7
	UKIP	Bertie Poole	1,759	4.3	+2.2
	Legalise Cannabis	Michael Skipper	389	0.9	N/A
Majority			3,055	7.4
Turnout			41,378	60.1	+1.8
	Labour hold		Swing	−2.0

General Election 2001: Great Yarmouth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tony Wright	20,344	50.4	-3.0
	Conservative	Charles Reynolds	15,780	39.1	+3.5
	Liberal Democrat	Maurice Leeke	3,392	8.4	-2.6
	UKIP	Bertie Poole	850	2.1	N/A
Majority			4,564	11.3
Turnout			40,366	58.3	-13.0
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Great Yarmouth^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tony Wright	20,854	53.4
	Conservative	Michael Carttiss	17,416	35.6
	Liberal Democrat	Derek Wood	5,381	11.0
Majority			8,668
Turnout				71.2

General Election 1992: Great Yarmouth^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Carttiss	25,505	47.9	−3.8
	Labour	Barbara Baughan	20,196	38.0	+6.8
	Liberal Democrat	Malcolm Scott	7,225	13.6	−3.5
	Natural Law	Ms. P Larkin	284	0.5	N/A
Majority			5,309	10.0	−10.6
Turnout			53,210	77.9	+3.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	−5.3

Notes and references

^ "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.
^ http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?story_id=16051034 The Economist: Great Yarmouth
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v "History of Parliament". http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/constituencies/great-yarmouth. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
^ "History of Parliament". http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/more-thomas-i-147778-1535. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "History of Parliament". http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/constituencies/great-yarmouth. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k "History of Parliament". http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/constituencies/great-yarmouth. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "G" (part 2)
^ Knighted (KB), 1753
^ Rear-Admiral from 1787
^ Rear-Admiral from 1804
^ The result of the 1847 election was declared void on petition, and a by-election was held
^ The result of the 1857 election was declared void on petition, and writ for a by-election was issued. No by-election was necessary as only two candidates were nominated, and they were returned unopposed.
^ ^a ^b http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/guide/seat-profiles/greatyarmouth
^ "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge92/i10.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-06.

Sources

Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) [1]
D Brunton & D H Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808) [2]
The Constitutional Year Book for 1913 (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913)
F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949 (Glasgow: Political Reference Publications, 1969)
Maija Jansson (ed.), Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons) (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988) [3]
J E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)

Constituencies in the East of England (58)

Conservative (52)	Basildon and Billericay Bedford Braintree Brentwood and Ongar Broadland Broxbourne Bury St Edmunds Castle Point Central Suffolk and North Ipswich Chelmsford Clacton Epping Forest Great Yarmouth Harlow Harwich and North Essex Hemel Hempstead Hertford and Stortford Hertsmere Hitchin and Harpenden Huntingdon Ipswich Maldon Mid Bedfordshire Mid Norfolk North East Bedfordshire North East Cambridgeshire North East Hertfordshire North West Cambridgeshire North West Norfolk Norwich North Peterborough Rayleigh and Wickford Rochford and Southend East Saffron Walden St Albans South Basildon and East Thurrock South Cambridgeshire South East Cambridgeshire Southend West South Norfolk South Suffolk South West Bedfordshire South West Hertfordshire South West Norfolk Stevenage Suffolk Coastal Thurrock Watford Waveney Welwyn Hatfield West Suffolk Witham

Liberal Democrats (4)	Cambridge Colchester North Norfolk Norwich South

Labour (2)	Luton North Luton South

East of England European constituency: Conservative (3) UKIP (2) Liberal Democrats (1) Labour (1)