Harrogate and Knaresborough (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 53°59′20″N 1°28′26″W / 53.989°N 1.474°W / 53.989; -1.474

Harrogate and Knaresborough
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons

Outline map

Boundary of Harrogate and Knaresborough in North Yorkshire for the 2010 general election.

Outline map

Location of North Yorkshire within England.
County North Yorkshire
Electorate 75,044 (December 2010)
Major settlements Harrogate and Knaresborough
Current constituency
Created 1997
Member of parliament Andrew Jones (Conservative)
Number of members One
Created from Harrogate constituency
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency Yorkshire and the Humber

Harrogate and Knaresborough /ˈhærəɡɪt ənd ˈnɛərzbrə, -ɡeɪt-, -bruː/[1][2] is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Andrew Jones of the Conservative Party.[n 2]

Constituency profile

An area with little unemployment, a relatively large retired population and large neighbourhoods of high house prices[n 3][3] the former Harrogate constituency was a safe Conservative seat. When former Chancellor Norman Lamont stood for the Harrogate and Knaresborough seat in The New Labour landslide general election in 1997 Harrogate moved the way of other famous spa towns in England such as Bath[n 4] by returning the Liberal Democrat MP Phil Willis until Andrew Jones regained the seat for his party on Willis's retirement in the 2010 General Election with a swing of 9.1% and a margin of 1,039 votes.[4]

Boundaries

1997-2010: The Borough of Harrogate wards of Bilton, Duchy, East Central, Granby, Harlow, Knaresborough East, Knaresborough West, New Park, Pannal, Starbeck, Wedderburn, and West Central.

2010-present: The Borough of Harrogate wards of Bilton, Boroughbridge, Claro, Granby, Harlow Moor, High Harrogate, Hookstone, Killinghall, Knaresborough East, Knaresborough King James, Knaresborough Scriven Park, Low Harrogate, New Park, Pannal, Rossett, Saltergate, Starbeck, Stray, and Woodfield.

As its name suggests, the constituency is centred on the towns of Harrogate and Knaresborough, with no parts more than 10 miles (16 km) away from either.

History

Before 1950 the two eponymous towns had been part of the Ripon constituency. The constituency was created as Harrogate and following boundary changes in 1997 the name was changed to 'Harrogate and Knaresborough'.

The current constituency embraces three former borough constituencies: Aldborough (now a suburb of Boroughbridge civil parish) and Boroughbridge, which were abolished as 'rotten boroughs' by the Great Reform Act, 1832, and Knaresborough, abolished 1885.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMember[5] Party
1997 Phil Willis Liberal Democrat
2010 Andrew Jones Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2017: Harrogate and Knaresborough[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Andrew Jones 31,477 55.5 +2.7
Liberal Democrat Helen Flynn 13,309 23.5 +1.4
Labour Mark Sewards 11,395 20.1 +9.9
Independent Donald Fraser 559 1.0 N/A
Majority 18,168 32.0 +1.3
Turnout 56,907 73.0 +4.5
Conservative hold Swing +0.67
General Election 2015: Harrogate and Knaresborough[7][8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Andrew Jones 28,153 52.7 +7.0
Liberal Democrat Helen Flynn 11,782 22.1 -21.7
UKIP David Simister 5,681 10.6 +8.7
Labour Jan Williams 5,409 10.1 +3.7
Green Shan Oakes 2,351 4.4 N/A
Majority 16,371 30.7 +28.7
Turnout 53,376 69.0 -1.6
Conservative hold Swing +14.4
General Election 2010: Harrogate and Knaresborough[9][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Andrew Jones 24,305 45.7 +9.8
Liberal Democrat Claire Kelley 23,266 43.8 -8.4
Labour Kevin McNerney 3,413 6.4 -2.7
BNP Steve Gill 1,094 2.1 +1.1
UKIP John Upex 1,056 2.0 +0.3
Majority 1,039 2.0
Turnout 53,134 70.6 +3.9
Conservative gain from Liberal Democrat Swing 9.1

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Harrogate and Knaresborough[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Democrat Phil Willis 24,113 56.3 +0.7
Conservative Maggie Punyer 13,684 31.9 -2.7
Labour Lorraine Ferris 3,627 8.5 +1.1
UKIP Chris Royston 845 2.0 +0.2
BNP Colin Banner 466 1.1 N/A
Alliance For Change John Allman 123 0.3 N/A
Majority 10,429 24.3
Turnout 42,858 65.3 +0.7
Liberal Democrat hold Swing
General Election 2001: Harrogate and Knaresborough[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Democrat Phil Willis 23,445 55.6 +4.0
Conservative Andrew Jones 14,600 34.6 -3.8
Labour Alastair MacDonald 3,101 7.4 -1.4
UKIP Bill Brown 761 1.8 N/A
ProLife Alliance John Cornforth 272 0.6 N/A
Majority 8,845 21.0
Turnout 42,179 64.6 -8.2
Liberal Democrat hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Harrogate and Knaresborough[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Democrat Phil Willis 24,558 51.5 +18.2
Conservative Norman Lamont 18,322 38.5 -13.3
Labour Barbara Boyce 4,151 8.7 -4.8
Loyal Conservative John Blackburn 614 1.3 +1.3
Majority 6,236 13.0 N/A
Turnout 47,645 73.1 N/A
Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative Swing

See also

Notes and references

Notes
  1. ↑ A borough 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.
  3. ↑ In the 2001 census: worklessness was the status of (see Harrogate 009 Middle Layer SOA for access to the whole district): 1.0% of working age people compared to Yorkshire and the Humber: 2.6% England 2.3%
    However in the 2001 Census publication "Indices of Deprivation and Classification: Social Grade" 0.27% of the wider District population of 69,614 of working age were Class E: On state benefit, unemployed, lowest grade workers, slightly higher than 0.22% Yorkshire and the Humber average and 0.24% national average
  4. ↑ And for example more urban and less touristic Cheltenham, which is in the Gloucester conurbation
References
  1. ↑ "Harrogate". Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  2. ↑ "Harrogate". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "Property for Sale in Harrogate, North Yorkshire - Mouseprice". www.mouseprice.com.
  4. ↑ "Harrogate and Knaresborough: Blow to Lib Dems as close-run race ends in loss". Yorkshire Post. Johnston Press Digital Publishing. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
  5. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 1)
  6. ↑ "Harrogate & Knaresborough parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
  7. ↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "Harrogate & Knaresborough". BBC News. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  9. ↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "UK > England > Yorkshire & the Humber > Harrogate & Knaresborough". Election 2010. BBC. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  11. ↑ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  13. ↑ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
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