The Cotswolds (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 51°45′22″N 1°46′08″W / 51.756°N 1.769°W / 51.756; -1.769

The Cotswolds
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of The Cotswolds in Gloucestershire for the 2010 general election.
Location of Gloucestershire within England.
County	Gloucestershire
Electorate	78,439 (December 2010)[1]
Current constituency
Created	1997 (1997)
Member of Parliament	Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South West England

The Cotswolds 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.

Boundaries

The constituency was created in 1997 as Cotswold, mostly from the former seat of Cirencester and Tewkesbury.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Gloucestershire, the Boundary Commission for England have confirmed only minor alterations to the boundaries of this seat. It will gain Minchinhampton and part of Wotton-under-Edge. The name of the seat changed to The Cotswolds at the 2010 election to reflect the local district name, which is more commonly used. Before that, The Wrekin was the only constituency in the United Kingdom beginning with the word The.

Constituency Profile

The Cotswolds is a safe Conservative seat in an area of natural beauty and heritage, with its market towns constructed of beautiful Cotswold stone. The area is so popular with tourists that tourism has overtaken agriculture as the largest single employer in the area.

The largest town in the constituency is Cirencester which is not a big place by any means. Other settlements include Andoversford, Bourton-on-the-Water, Chipping Campden, Fairford, Lechlade, Moreton-in-Marsh, Northleach, Stow-on-the-Wold, Tetbury (and the neighbouring village of Doughton, location of Highgrove, the Prince of Wales's estate), and Wotton-under-Edge.

The seat has the highest number of listed buildings of any constituency in the UK. It also contains eight of the 20 most popular attractions in Gloucestershire, including Westonbirt Arboretum, Hidcote Manor, and Chedworth Roman Villa.

Members of Parliament

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown of the Conservative Party has represented the constituency since its creation; from 1992 he had represented Cirencester and Tewkesbury.

Election		Member [2]	Party
	1997	Geoffrey Clifton-Brown	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: The Cotswolds[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Geoffrey Clifton-Brown	29,075	53.0	+3.7
	Liberal Democrat	Mike Collins	16,211	29.6	+1.5
	Labour	Mark Dempsey	5,886	10.7	−7.9
	UKIP	Adrian Blake	2,292	4.2	+1.0
	Green	Kevin Lister	940	1.7	N/A
	Independent	Alex Steel	428	0.8	N/A
Majority			12,864	23.5	+2.2
Turnout			54,832	71.5	+4.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.1

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Cotswold
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Geoffrey Clifton-Brown	23,326	49.3	minus1.0
	Liberal Democrat	Philip Beckerlegge	13,638	28.8	+4.6
	Labour	Mark Dempsey	8,457	17.9	−4.7
	UKIP	Richard Buckley	1,538	3.2	+0.3
	Independent	James Derieg	392	0.8	N/A
Majority			9,688	20.5
Turnout			47,351	66.7	−0.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.8

General Election 2001: Cotswold
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Geoffrey Clifton-Brown	23,133	50.3	+4.0
	Liberal Democrat	Angela Lawrence	11,150	24.2	+1.3
	Labour	Richard Wilkins	10,383	22.6	-0.1
	UKIP	Jill Stopps	1,315	2.9	N/A
Majority			11,983	26.1
Turnout			45,981	67.5	-8.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Cotswold
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Geoffrey Clifton-Brown	23,698	46.4	N/A
	Liberal Democrat	David Gayler	11,733	23.0	N/A
	Labour	David Elwell	11,608	22.7	N/A
	Green	V. Michael	560	1.1	N/A
	Natural Law	H. Brighouse	129	0.3	N/A
Majority			11,965		N/A
Turnout				75.9	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Gloucestershire

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. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 6)
3. ^ BBC - Election 2010 - Cotswolds, The