Wells (UK Parliament constituency)

Wells
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Wells in Somerset.
Location of Somerset within England.
County	Somerset
Electorate	79,989 (December 2010)^[1]
Current constituency
Created	1885 (1885)
Member of Parliament	Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat)
Number of members	One
1295 (1295)–1868 (1868)
Number of members	Two
Type of constituency	Borough constituency
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South West England

Wells is a county constituency centred on the city of Wells in Somerset. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, by the first past the post voting system. The current MP is Tessa Munt, elected in 2010, of the Liberal Democrats.

The original two member borough constituency was created in 1295, and abolished by the Reform Act 1867 with effect from the 1868 general election.

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

Boundaries

The electoral wards which make up Wells constituency come from Mendip, and Sedgemoor districts.

From Mendip; Ashwick, Chilcompton and Stratton, Chewton Mendip and Ston Easton, Croscombe and Pilton, the Glastonbury divisions of St. Benedict's, St. Edmund's, St. John's, and St. Mary's; Moor, Rodney and Westbury, St. Cuthbert Out North, Shepton East, Shepton West, Street North, Street South, Street West, Wells Central, Wells St. Cuthbert's, Wells St. Thomas', and Wookey and St. Cuthbert Out West.
From Sedgemoor; Axbridge, Axe Vale, Berrow, Brean, Brent North, Burnham North, Burnham South, Cheddar and Shipham, Highbridge, Knoll, and Wedmore and Mark.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1295-1640

Parliament	First member	Second member
1386	Nicholas Cristesham	Thomas Phelpes ^[2]
1388 (Feb)	Richard Ferrour	Nicholas Cristesham ^[2]
1388 (Sep)	John Blithe	Thomas Hore ^[2]
1390 (Jan)	Nicholas More	Thomas Tanner ^[2]
1390 (Nov)
1391	John Newmaster	Roger Chapman ^[2]
1393	John Newmaster	John Blithe ^[2]
1394	John Newmaster	Thomas Hore^[2]
1395	Nicholas Cristesham	John Comeland ^[2]
1397 (Jan)	Nicholas More	Thomas Wynchester ^[2]
1397 (Sep)	Roger Chapman	William Greynton ^[2]
1399	Thomas Tanner	John Blithe ^[2]
1401
1402	John Wycombe	Roger Chapman ^[2]
1404 (Jan)	Roger Chapman	Richard Groos ^[2]
1404 (Oct)	Walter Dyer	John Bowyer ^[2]
1406	Thomas Wey	Thomas Jay ^[2]
1407	Walter Duddesdon	John Newmaster ^[2]
1410	John Russell	Luke Wilton ^[2]
1411
1413 (Feb)	John Horewode I	John Podmore ^[2]
1413 (May)	John Horewode I	Luke Wilton ^[2]
1414 (Apr)	John Podmore	Thomas Dynt ^[2]
1414 (Nov)	John Hynden	Thomas Dynt ^[2]
1415
1416 (Mar)
1416 (Oct)	Simon Bailly	John Cutte ^[2]
1417	Richard Setter	Hildebrand Eelwell ^[2]
1419	Richard Perys	Richard Langford ^[2]
1420	Richard Setter	Hildebrand Eelwell ^[2]
1421 (May)	Hildebrand Eelwell	Richard Perys ^[2]
1421 (Dec)	Robert Elwell	John Pedewell ^[2]
1510	John Welshot	John Mawdley I ^[3]
1512	Walter Sarger	Richard alias Robert Ruynon ^[3]
1515	Walter Sarger	Richard alias Robert Ruynon ^[3]
1523	Walter Sarger	John Mawdley I ^[3]
1529	John Cutte	John Mawdley II ^[3]
1536	?
1539	John Mawdley II	John Godwin ^[3]
1542	John Godwin	James Dyer ^[3]
1545	John Mawdley II	Anthony Gilbert ^[3]
1547	Thomas Clerke	John Aylworth ^[3]
First Parliament of 1553	John Aylworth	William Goodwin
Second Parliament of 1553	Thomas Lewis	John Goodwin
Parliament of 1554		John Mawdeley
Parliament of 1554-1555		William Gedney or Goodwin
Parliament of 1555		Maurice Llewellyn
Parliament of 1558	John Aylworth died during the 1572 Parliament In his place Ayshton Aylworth	John Mawdeley
Parliament of 1559		John Mawdeley
Parliament of 1563-1567		John Hippisley
Parliament of 1571		Henry Newton
Parliament of 1572-1581		William Bourman
Parliament of 1584-1585	John Biss	George Upton
Parliament of 1586-1587	Thomas Goodwin	William Smith
Parliament of 1588-1589	Thomas Purfrey	John Ayshe
Parliament of 1593	Richard Goodwin	James Goodwin
Parliament of 1597-1598	Leonard Crosse	William Watkins
Parliament of 1601	James Kirton	George Upton
Parliament of 1604-1611	James Kirton	Sir Robert Stapleton
Addled Parliament (1614)	Sidney Montagu	Thomas Southworth
Parliament of 1621-1622	(Sir) Edward Rodney
Happy Parliament (1624-1625)
Useless Parliament (1625)		Sir Thomas Lake
Parliament of 1625-1626		Sir Thomas Lake
Parliament of 1628-1629	Sir Ralph Hopton	John Baber
No Parliament summoned 1629-1640

MPs 1640–1832

Election	1st Member^[4]		1st Party	2nd Member^[4]		2nd Party
April 1640		Sir Edward Rodney	Royalist		John Baber
November 1640		Sir Edward Rodney	Royalist		Sir Ralph Hopton	Royalist
August 1642	Rodney and Hopton disabled from sitting - both seats vacant
1645		Lislebone Long	Recruiter		Clement Walker
December 1648		Lislebone Long	Recruiter	Walker excluded in Pride's Purge - seat vacant
1653	Wells was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654		Lislebone Long		Wells had only one seat in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
1656		John Jenkyn
January 1659		Sir Lislebone Long			Thomas White
May 1659	Not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660		Henry Bull			Thomas White
1661		Sir Maurice Berkeley			Lord Richard Butler
1671		Sir Maurice Berkeley			John Hall
1679		Edward Berkeley			William Coward
1680		John Hall			William Coward
1685		Edward Berkeley			Thomas Wyndham
Jan 1690					William Coward
Feb 1690					Hopton Wyndham
1695					William Coward
1701		Henry Seymour Portman			William Coward
1705		Henry Seymour Portman			Maurice Berkeley
1708		Edward Colston			William Coward
1710		Edward Colston			Maurice Berkeley
1713		Sir Thomas Wroth
1715		Thomas Strangways Horner
May 1716		William Coward			William Piers
Jun 1716		Thomas Strangways Horner
1717		John Dodd
1719		Thomas Edwards
1722					Francis Gwyn
1727					Edward Prideaux Gwyn
1729					William Piers
1734					George Hamilton
1735		William Piers			George Speke
1741		Francis Gwyn			George Speke
1747		Francis Gwyn			George Hamilton
1754		The Lord Digby			Charles Tudway
1757		Captain Robert Digby			Charles Tudway
1761		The Lord Digby			Clement Tudway
1765		Robert Child
1782		John Curtis
1784		William Thomas Beckford
1790		Henry Berkeley Portman
1796		(Sir) Charles Taylor	Whig
1815		(Sir) Charles Taylor	Whig		John Paine Tudway	Tory
1830		John Edwards-Vaughan	Tory		John Lee Lee	Whig

MPs 1832–1868

Election	1st Member^[4]		1st Party		2nd Party
1832		Norman Lamont	Whig	John Lee Lee	Whig
1834 by-election		Nicholas William Ridley Colborne	Whig	John Lee Lee	Whig
1837		Richard Blakemore	Conservative	William Goodenough Hayter	Whig
1852		Robert Charles Tudway	Conservative
1855 by-election		Hedworth Hylton Jolliffe	Conservative
1865		Hedworth Hylton Jolliffe	Conservative	Arthur Divett Hayter	Liberal
1868	borough constituency abolished

MPs 1885–present

	Member^[4]	Party
1885	Sir Richard Horner Paget, Bt.	Conservative
1895	Hylton Jolliffe	Conservative
1899 by-election	Robert Edmund Dickinson	Conservative
1906	Thomas Ball Silcock	Liberal
Jan 1910	George John Sandys	Conservative
1918	Harry Greer	Coalition Conservative
1922	Robert Bruford	Conservative
1923	Arthur Hobhouse	Liberal
1924	Sir Robert Arthur Sanders, Bt.	Conservative
1929	Anthony John Muirhead	Conservative
1939	Lt. Col. Dennis Coleridge Boles	Conservative
1951	Lynch Maydon	Conservative
1970	Robert Boscawen	Conservative
1983	David Heathcoat-Amory	Conservative
2010	Tessa Munt	Liberal Democrats

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: Wells^[5]^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Tessa Munt	24,560	44.0	+6.1
	Conservative	David Heathcoat-Amory	23,760	42.5	-1.0
	Labour	Andy Merryfield	4,198	7.5	-8.1
	UKIP	Jake Baynes	1,711	3.1	+0.1
	BNP	Richard Boyce	1,004	1.8	N/A
	Green	Chris Briton	631	1.1	N/A
Majority			800	1.4
Turnout			55,864	70.3	+2.6
	Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative		Swing	+3.6

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Wells
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Heathcoat-Amory	23,071	43.6	−0.2
	Liberal Democrat	Tessa Munt	20,031	37.8	−0.5
	Labour	Dan Whittle	8,288	15.6	+0.2
	UKIP	Steve Reed	1,575	3.0	+0.8
Majority			3,040	5.7
Turnout			52,965	68.0	−1.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.1

General Election 2001: Wells
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Heathcoat-Amory	22,462	43.8	+4.4
	Liberal Democrat	Graham Oakes	19,666	38.3	-0.1
	Labour	Andy Merryfield	7,915	15.4	-2.7
	UKIP	Steve Reed	1,104	2.2	N/A
	Wessex Regionalist	Colin Bex	167	0.3	N/A
Majority			2,796	5.5
Turnout			51,314	69.2	-8.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1992: Wells^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Heathcoat-Amory	28,620	49.6	−4.0
	Liberal Democrat	HPN Temperley	21,971	38.0	+0.5
	Labour	JW Pilgrim	6,126	10.6	+1.9
	Green	MR Fenner	1,042	1.8	+1.8
Majority			6,649	11.5	−4.5
Turnout			57,759	82.7	+3.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.2

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Wells
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Heathcoat-Amory	28,624	53.52
	Liberal	A. Butt-Philip	20,083	37.55
	Labour	P. James	4,637	8.67
	Independent	J.S. Fish	134	0.25
Majority			8,541	15.97
Turnout				79.59
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1983: Wells
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Heathcoat-Amory	25,385	52.65
	Liberal	A. Butt-Philip	18,810	39.01
	Labour	A.M. Leigh	3,747	7.77
	Independent	G. Livings	273	0.57
Majority			6,575	13.64
Turnout				77.57
	Conservative hold		Swing

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.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/constituencies/wells. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/constituencies/wells. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 2)
^ "General Election 2010". Mendip District Council. 20 April 2010. http://www.mendip.gov.uk/CouncilService.asp?id=SX9452-A7831664&cat=136#SX9452-A7831811. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
^ "BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Wells". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/f02.stm.
^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge92/ge92index.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-06.

Sources

Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd edition ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
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) [1]
Henry Stooks Smith, The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847, Volume 2 (London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co, 1845) [2]

Constituencies in South West England (55)

Conservative (36)	Bournemouth East Bournemouth West Bridgwater and West Somerset Bristol North West Camborne and Redruth Central Devon Christchurch Devizes East Devon Filton and Bradley Stoke Forest of Dean Gloucester Kingswood Newton Abbot North Dorset North East Somerset North Somerset North Swindon North Wiltshire Plymouth Sutton and Devonport Poole Salisbury South Dorset South East Cornwall South Swindon South West Devon South West Wiltshire Stroud Tewkesbury The Cotswolds Tiverton and Honiton Torridge and West Devon Totnes Truro and Falmouth West Dorset Weston-super-Mare

Liberal Democrats (15)	Bath Bristol West Cheltenham Chippenham Mid Dorset and North Poole North Cornwall North Devon St Austell and Newquay St Ives Somerton and Frome Taunton Deane Thornbury and Yate Torbay Wells Yeovil

Labour (4)	Bristol East Bristol South Exeter Plymouth Moor View

South West England European constituency: Conservative (3) UKIP (2) Liberal Democrats (1)