Stevenage (UK Parliament constituency)

Stevenage
County constituency
for the House of Commons

Outline map

Boundary of Stevenage in Hertfordshire.

Outline map

Location of Hertfordshire within England.
County Hertfordshire
Electorate 69,357 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements Stevenage
Current constituency
Created 1983
Member of parliament Stephen McPartland (Conservative)
Number of members One
Created from Hertford & Stevenage, Hitchin, and East Hertfordshire
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency East of England

Stevenage is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Stephen McPartland, a Conservative.[n 2]

History

The constituency was created in 1983 from parts of the seats of Hertford and Stevenage, Hitchin, and East Hertfordshire. A Southern England new town seat with volatile voting patterns, it was Conservative held between 1983 and 1997 until Labour easily gained it, but their winning margin in 2005 was small and the Conservatives gained the seat at the 2010 election.

Its main predecessor, named first, was also a bellwether of the national result. Shirley Williams has been the most prominent member, in fact the second frontbencher since 1974. She held it when she was a Secretary of State in government from 1974 until 1979, Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection and then Paymaster General. Barbara Follett achieved two ministerial roles from 2007 until 2010.

Boundaries

The constituency covers the Borough of Stevenage, as well as the villages of Codicote and Knebworth to the south and Aston and Datchworth to the east.[2]

Before the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies for the 2010 election, the constituency included Benington and Walkern. These villages are now in North East Hertfordshire.[3]

Constituency profile

The main town is known for its fast rail links to London and proximity to Luton Airport which accompanies a few headquarters of global businesses based in the seat. Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 higher than the national average of 3.8%, and eastern regional average of 3.2%, at 4.0% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.[4]

Members of Parliament

ElectionMember[5] Party
1983 Timothy Wood Conservative
1997 Barbara Follett Labour
2010 Stephen McPartland Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Stevenage [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
UKIP David Collins[7]
Independent David Cox[7]
English Democrats Charles Vickers
Conservative Stephen McPartland
TUSC Trevor Palmer [8]
Labour Sharon Taylor
Liberal Democrat Susan Van De Ven[9]
Green Graham White[10]

UKIP originally selected Christopher Vickers, who stood down after being charged with GBH.[11]

General Election 2010: Stevenage[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Stephen McPartland 18,491 41.4 +6.0
Labour Co-op Sharon Taylor 14,913 33.4 −9.7
Liberal Democrat Julia Davies 7,432 16.6 −1.7
UKIP Marion Mason 2,004 4.5 +1.4
BNP Michael Green 1,007 2.3 N/A
English Democrats Charles Vickers 366 0.8 N/A
NCDMV! Stephen Phillips 327 0.7 N/A
Independent David Cox 80 0.2 N/A
Your Right To Democracy Party Ltd. Andrew Ralph 31 0.1 N/A
Majority 3,578 8.0
Turnout 44,651 64.8 +2.1
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +8.0

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Stevenage
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Barbara Follett 18,003 42.9 −9.0
Conservative George Freeman 14,864 35.4 +3.7
Liberal Democrat Julia Davies 7,610 18.1 +3.9
UKIP Victoria Peebles 1,305 3.1 N/A
Independent Antal Losonczi 152 0.4 −0.4
Majority 3,139 7.5
Turnout 41,934 62.7 +2.0
Labour hold Swing −6.4
General Election 2001: Stevenage
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Barbara Follett 22,025 51.9 −3.5
Conservative Graeme Quar 13,459 31.7 −1.1
Liberal Democrat Harry Davies 6,027 14.2 +5.3
Socialist Alliance Steve Glennon 449 1.1 N/A
Independent Antal Losonczi 320 0.8 N/A
ProLife Alliance Sarah Bell 173 0.4 N/A
Majority 8,566 20.2
Turnout 42,453 60.7 −15.9
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Stevenage
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Barbara Follett 28,440 55.4 +16.8
Conservative Timothy Wood 16,858 32.8 −11.1
Liberal Democrat Alex Wilcock 4,588 8.9 −8.2
Referendum Party Jeffery Michael Coburn 1,194 2.3 N/A
ProLife Alliance David Bundy 196 0.4 N/A
Natural Law Andrew Calcraft 110 0.2 −0.2
Majority 11,582 22.6
Turnout 51,386 76.6
Labour gain from Conservative Swing 14.0
General Election 1992: Stevenage[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Timothy Wood 26,652 45.7 +3.6
Labour Judith Church 21,764 37.3 +11.9
Liberal Democrat Andrew A. Reilly 9,668 16.6 −15.9
Natural Law Andrew Calcraft 233 0.4 N/A
Majority 4,888 8.4 −1.2
Turnout 58,317 83.0 +2.5
Conservative hold Swing −4.1

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Stevenage
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Timothy Wood 23,541 42.1 +2.7
Social Democratic Ben Stoneham 18,201 32.5 −3.6
Labour Malcolm Robert Crawford Withers 14,229 25.4 +1.4
Majority 5,340 9.5
Turnout 80.5
Conservative hold Swing
General Election 1983: Stevenage
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Timothy Wood 20,787 39.4 N/A
Social Democratic Ben Stoneham 19,032 36.1 N/A
Labour S. Reeves 12,673 24.0 N/A
BNP D.R. Bowmaker 236 0.5 N/A
Majority 1,755 3.3 N/A
Turnout 52,728 77.9 N/A
Conservative win (new seat)

See also

Notes and references

Notes
  1. ↑ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
  2. ↑ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
References
  1. ↑ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  2. ↑ 2010 post-revision map non-metropolitan areas and unitary authorities of England
  3. ↑ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007 No. 1681". Office of Public Sector Information. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
  4. ↑ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
  5. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 5)
  6. ↑ http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/stevenage/
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Member of Parliament for Stevenage". YourNextMP. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  8. ↑ http://www.tusc.org.uk/txt/320.pdf
  9. ↑ "List of selected candidates". Liberal Democrats. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  10. ↑ http://northherts.greenparty.org.uk/candidates.html
  11. ↑ "Former Stevenage Ukip candidate Christopher Vickers to appear in court on GBH charge". Hertfordshire Mercury. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "Stevenage". BBC Online (BBC). 7 May 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  13. ↑ "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.

Coordinates: 51°53′N 0°10′W / 51.883°N 0.167°W