Hereford (UK Parliament constituency)

Hereford
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons

Boundary of Hereford in Herefordshire.

Location of Herefordshire within England.
County Herefordshire
Major settlements Hereford
1918 (1918)–2010 (2010)
Number of members One
Replaced by Hereford and South Herefordshire, North Herefordshire
1295 (1295)–1918 (1918)
Number of members 1295–1885: Two
1885–1918: One
Type of constituency Borough constituency

Hereford was, until 2010, a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since 1918, it had elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post voting system.

Previously, Hereford had been a parliamentary borough which from 1295 to 1885 had elected two MPs, using the bloc vote system in contested elections. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 the borough's representation had been reduced to one seat at the 1885 general election, and for the 1918 general election the borough was abolished and replaced with a county division which carried the same name but covered a wider geographical area.

Contents

History

Hereford sent two representatives to Parliament from the beginning of the reign of Edward I. Although a county town, the early elections were always held at a different location from those of the shire, the former taking place at the Guildhall, the latter in the castle.

In 1885 representation was reduced to one Member.

Journalist Robin Day stood as the Liberal candidate in the 1959 General Election.

From 1931 until 1997, Hereford was held by the Conservative Party, before being taken by Paul Keetch of the Liberal Democrats at the 1997 general election. Keetch served as the Liberal Democrats' spokesman for defence from October 1999 until May 2005, and announced on 17 November 2006 that he would not be standing at the next election.

Following the review by the Boundary Commission for England of parliamentary representation in Herefordshire, taking effect at the 2010 general election, two parliamentary constituencies have been allocated to the county. The Hereford seat has been abolished and replaced by the Hereford and South Herefordshire seat, while the remainder of the county is covered by the North Herefordshire seat. [1]

Boundaries

In its final form, the Hereford constituency contained the city of Hereford and most of South Herefordshire, including Ross-on-Wye but excluding Ledbury and Much Marcle both of which were in the Leominster constituency.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1295–1640

Parliament First member Second member
1386 John Wych Henry Catchpole I [2]
1388 (Feb) William Jonet Thomas Chippenham I [2]
1388 (Sep) William Jonet William Breinton [2]
1390 (Jan) John Wych James Nash [2]
1390 (Nov) Henry Catchpole II James Nash [2]
1391 Thomas Buryton John Prophet [2]
1393 Thomas Buryton John Wych [2]
1394
1395 Hugh Wigan William Speed [2]
1397 (Jan) Hugh Wigan James Nash [2]
1397 (Sep) Hugh Wigan Thomas Buryton [2]
1399 James Nash Thomas Buryton [2]
1401 Hugh Wigan Thomas Whitefield [2]
1402 Thomas Chippenham John Troney [2]
1404 (Jan)
1404 (Oct)
1406 Henry Chippenham Hugh Wigan [2]
1407 Hugh Wigan Roger ...feld [2]
1410
1411
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May) Henry Chippenham George Breinton [2]
1414 (Apr) John Wilton Richard Strange [2]
1414 (Nov) Henry Chippenham George Breinton [2]
1415
1416 (Mar) Henry Chippenham George Breinton [2]
1416 (Oct)
1417 John Wilton John Orchard [2]
1419 Richard Strange John Abrahall [2]
1420 Henry Chippenham II John Falk [2]
1421 (May) William Buryton Richard Strange [2]
1421 (Dec) Henry Chippenham Nicholas Chippenham [2]
1510
1512 Roland Brydges Reginald Mynors[3]
1515 Roland Brydges Reginald Mynors [3]
1523  ?
1529 Richard Warnecombe Thomas Havard [3]
1536  ?
1539  ?
1542 Richard Warnecombe Thomas Havard [3]
1545  ?
1547 Thomas Havard William Berkeley, died
and replaced Jan 1552 by John Warnecombe [3]
1553 (Mar) Hugh Welshe  ? [3]
1553 (Oct) Sir John Price Thomas Havard [3]
1554 (Apr) Thomas Havard Thomas Bromwich [3]
1554 (Nov) William Smothye Leonard Boldyng [3]
1555 Hugh Gebons Morgan Owgan [3]
1558 Henry Dudeston John Gibbs [3]
1558/1559 John Kerry Thomas Church[4]
1562/1563 Thomas Webbe, died
and replaced 1566 by John Hyde		 Henry Green [4]
1571 James Warnecombe Thomas Church [4]
1572 (Apr) James Warnecombe Gregory Price [4]
1584 Gregory Price James Boyle [4]
1586 (Sep) Gregory Price Thomas Jones [4]
1588 Gregory Price Nicholas Garnons [4]
1593 Gregory Price Thomas Mallard [4]
1597 Gregory Price Anthony Pembridge [4]
1601 Walter Hardman Thomas Jones [4]
1604 Walter Hardman John Hoskins
1614 John Hoskins John Warden
1621-1622 John Rodd Richard Weaver
1624 Sir James Clerk Richard Weaver
1625 Sir James Clerk Richard Weaver
1626 Sir James Clerk Richard Weaver
1628 The Viscount Scudamore John Hoskins
1629–1640 No Parliaments summoned

MPs 1640–1885

Event First member[5] First party Second member[5] Second party
April 1640 Richard Weaver Richard Seaborne
November 1640 Richard Weaver Parliamentarian Richard Seaborne Royalist
1642 James Scudamore Royalist
May 1643 Scudamore disabled from sitting - seat vacant
January 1644 Seaborne disabled from sitting - seat vacant
1646 Bennet Hoskyns Edmund Weaver [6]
December 1648 Hoskyns excluded in Pride's Purge - seat vacant
1653 Hereford was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654 Bennet Hoskyns Hereford had only one seat in the First and
Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
1656 Colonel Wroth Rogers
January 1659 Nathan Rogers Roger Bosworth
May 1659 Not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660 Herbert Westfaling Roger Bosworth
November 1660 Sir Henry Lingen
April 1661 Sir Edward Hopton
September 1661 Herbert Westfaling
1662 Roger Vaughan
1673 The Viscount Scudamore
1679 Bridstock Harford Paul Foley Country Whig
1681 Herbert Aubrey
1685 Thomas Geers
January 1689 Sir William Gregory Paul Foley Country Whig
June 1689 Henry Cornewall
1695 James Morgan
1698 Hon. James Brydges
1699 Samuel Pytts
1701 Thomas Foley
1715 The Viscount Scudamore
1717 Herbert Rudhale Westfaling
1722 William Mayo
1723 James Wallwyn
1727 Marquess of Carnarvon Thomas Geers [7]
1734 Thomas Foley Sir John Morgan
1741 Edward Cope Hopton Thomas Geers Winford
1747 Lieutenant General Henry Cornewall Daniel Leighton
1754 Charles Fitzroy Scudamore John Symons Tory
1764 John Scudamore
1768 (Sir) Richard Symons [8]
April 1784 Earl of Surrey [9] Whig
July 1784 Robert Philipps
1785 James Walwyn
1796 John Scudamore, junior
1800 Thomas Powell Symonds
1805 Richard Philip Scudamore
1818 Viscount Eastnor
1819 Richard Philip Scudamore
1826 Edward Bolton Clive Whig
1832 Robert Biddulph Whig
1837 Daniel Higford Davall Burr Conservative
July 1841 Henry William Hobhouse Whig
October 1841 Robert Pulsford Whig
1845 Sir Robert Price, Bt Whig
1847 Henry Morgan-Clifford Whig
1857 George Clive Whig
1859 Liberal Liberal
1865 Richard Baggallay Conservative
1868 [10] John William Shaw Wylie Liberal
1869 Edward Clive Liberal Chandos Wren-Hoskyns Liberal
1871 George Arbuthnot Conservative
1874 Evan Pateshall Conservative George Clive Liberal
1878 George Arbuthnot Conservative
1880 Joseph Pulley Liberal Robert Reid Liberal
1885 Representation reduced to one member

MPs 1885–2010

Event Member[5] Party
1885 Joseph Pulley Liberal
1886 Sir Joseph Russell Bailey Conservative
1892 William Grenfell Liberal
1893 by-election Charles Wallwyn Radcliffe Cooke Conservative
1900 John Stanhope Arkwright Conservative
1912 by-election Professor William Hewins Liberal Unionist
1918 Charles Thornton Pulley Coalition Conservative
1921 by-election Samuel Roberts Coalition Conservative
1922 Conservative
1929 Frank Owen Liberal
1931 James Thomas Conservative
1956 by-election David Gibson-Watt Conservative
1974 Sir Colin Shepherd Conservative
1997 Paul Keetch Liberal Democrat
2010 Constituency abolished: see Hereford and South Herefordshire

Notes

  1. ^ "Final recommendations for Parliamentary constituencies in the county of Herefordshire". Boundary Commission for England. 2004-01-07. http://www.boundarycommissionforengland.org.uk/review_areas/downloads/FR_NR_Hereford.doc. Retrieved 2010-05-05. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x "History of Parliament". http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/constituencies/hereford. Retrieved 2011-09-19. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "History of Parliament". http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/constituencies/hereford. Retrieved 2011-09-19. 
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "History of Parliament". http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/constituencies/hereford. Retrieved 2011-09-19. 
  5. ^ a b c Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 2)
  6. ^ It is not known for certain whether Weaver sat after Pride's Purge: a "Mr Weaver" was re-admitted and Edmund Weaver appears in one list of members of the Rump, but he is not listed in the House of Commons Journals, and Brunton & Pennington suggest he has probably been confused with John Weaver, MP for Stamford (who was certainly a member)
  7. ^ Later adopted the surname Winford
  8. ^ Created a baronet, May 1774
  9. ^ Surrey was also elected for Carlisle, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Hereford
  10. ^ On petition, the election of 1868 was declared void and a by-election was held

Elections

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Hereford
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrat Paul Keetch 20,285 43.3 +2.4
Conservative Virginia Taylor 19,323 41.2 +2.5
Labour Tom Calver 4,800 10.2 -4.9
Green Brian Lunt 1,052 2.2 -0.5
UKIP Christpher Kingsley 1,030 2.2 -0.5
Independent Peter Morton 404 0.9 N/A
Majority 962 2.1 -0.1
Turnout 46,894 65.3 +0.1
Liberal Democrat hold Swing −0.1
General Election 2001: Hereford
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrat Paul Keetch 18,244 40.9 -7.1
Conservative Virginia Taylor 17,276 38.7 +3.4
Labour David Hallam 6,739 15.1 +2.6
UKIP Clive Easton 1,184 2.7 N/A
Green David Gillett 1,181 2.6 N/A
Majority 968 2.2 -10.4
Turnout 44,624 65.2 -10.0
Liberal Democrat hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Hereford
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrat Paul Keetch 25,198 47.9
Conservative Colin Shepherd 18,550 35.3
Labour Chris Chappell 6,596 12.6
Referendum Party Clive Easton 2,209 4.2
Majority 6,648 12.6
Turnout 52,553 75.2
Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative Swing
General Election 1992: Hereford[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Colin Shepherd 26,727 47.2 −0.3
Liberal Democrat GG Jones 23,314 41.2 −3.6
Labour Ms. JE Kelly 6,005 10.6 +2.9
Green CT Mattingly 596 1.1 +1.1
Majority 3,413 6.0 +3.3
Turnout 56,642 81.3 +3.2
Conservative hold Swing +1.7

See also

External links

Notes and references

  1. ^ "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge92/i11.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-06. 

Sources

Constituencies in the West Midlands (59)
Conservative (33)
Labour (24)
Liberal Democrats (2)