West Worcestershire (UK Parliament constituency)

West Worcestershire
County constituency
for the House of Commons

Boundary of West Worcestershire in Worcestershire.

Location of Worcestershire within England.
County Worcestershire
Electorate 73,001 (December 2010)[1]
Current constituency
Created 1997 (1997)
Member of Parliament Harriett Baldwin (Conservative)
Number of members One
Created from South Worcestershire, Leominster
1832 (1832)–1885 (1885)
Number of members Two
Type of constituency County constituency
Replaced by Bewdley, Droitwich, Evesham, East Worcestershire and North Worcestershire
Created from Worcestershire
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency West Midlands

West Worcestershire 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

West Worcestershire stretches from the Gloucestershire border in the south almost to Shropshire in the north. It takes in Pershore and Bredon Hill on the eastern side.

The major towns are Malvern to the west, Upton-upon-Severn in the centre, and Pershore to the east.

Boundary changes in 2010 moved Tenbury Wells from the Leominster constituency into West Worcestershire.

History

Present constituency

The present constituency of West Worcestershire was created in 1997.

1832-1885 constituency

An earlier constituency of West Worcestershire (formally, the Western division of Worcestershire) was created for the 1832 general election, by the Reform Act 1832 which radically changed the boundaries of many British parliamentary constituencies. It was created by the division of the old Worcestershire constituency (which had existed since 1290) into two new two-member constituencies: West Worcestershire and East Worcestershire.

The constituency then existed, basically unchanged, until its abolition by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election, when the constituency's territory was variously incorporated into the seats of Bewdley, Droitwich, Evesham, East Worcestershire and North Worcestershire.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1832–1885

Worcestershire West
Election 1st Member [2] 1st Party 2nd Member[2] 2nd Party
1832 Hon. Henry Lygon Tory Hon. Thomas Foley Whig
1833 by-election Henry Winnington Liberal
1834 Conservative
1841 Frederick Knight Conservative
1853 by-election Viscount Elmley Conservative
1863 by-election Hon. Frederick Lygon Conservative
1866 by-election William Edward Dowdeswell Conservative
1876 by-election Sir Edmund Lechmere, Bt Conservative
1885 constituency abolished

MPs since 1997

West Worcestershire

The current MP for the seat since 2010 is Harriett Baldwin of the Conservative Party.

The MP for the seat from 1997 to 2010 was Sir Michael Spicer of the Conservative Party. He previously represented the former seat of Worcestershire South from 1974, and was Chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee from 2001 to 2010. He stood down at the 2010 general election.

Election Member [2] Party
1997 Sir Michael Spicer Conservative
2010 Harriett Baldwin Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: West Worcestershire[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Harriett Baldwin 27,213 50.4 +5.4
Liberal Democrat Richard Burt 20,359 37.7 −1.2
Labour Penelope Barber 3,661 6.8 −3.7
UKIP Caroline Bovey 2,119 3.9 +0.7
Green Malcolm Victory 641 1.2 −1.2
Majority 6,854 12.7 +6.7
Turnout 53,993 73.7 +3.7
Conservative hold Swing +3.3

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: West Worcestershire
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Sir Michael Spicer 20,959 44.5 −1.5
Liberal Democrat Tom Wells 18,484 39.3 +5.3
Labour Qamar Bhatti 4,945 10.5 −3.5
UKIP Caroline Bovey 1,590 3.4 −0.1
Green Malcolm Victory 1,099 2.3 −0.2
Majority 2,475 5.3
Turnout 47,077 70.3 +3.2
Conservative hold Swing −3.4
General Election 2001: West Worcestershire
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Sir Michael Spicer 20,597 46.0
Liberal Democrat Michael Hadley 15,223 34.0
Labour Waquar Azmi 6,275 14.0
UKIP Ian Morris 1,574 3.5
Green Malcolm Victory 1,138 2.5
Majority 5,374 12.0
Turnout 67.1
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: West Worcestershire
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Sir Michael Spicer 22,223 45.0 N/A
Liberal Democrat Michael Hadley 18,377 37.2 N/A
Labour Neil Stone 7,738 15.7 N/A
Green S. Cameron 1,006 2.0 N/A
Majority 3,846 N/A
Turnout 76.3 N/A
Conservative hold Swing N/A

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. ^ a b c Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 5)
  3. ^ BBC - Election 2010 - Worcestershire West

Sources

Reference: Statutory Instrument 1987 No. 2208 The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) (Miscellaneous Changes) (No. 3) Order 1987 [1]

External links

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