- Chelmsford (UK Parliament constituency)
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Chelmsford Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Chelmsford in Essex.
Location of Essex within England.County Essex Electorate 77,835 (December 2010)[1] Current constituency Created 2010 Member of Parliament Simon Burns (Conservative) Number of members One Created from West Chelmsford, Maldon & East Chelmsford 1885–1997 Replaced by West Chelmsford, Maldon and Chelmsford East, Rayleigh Created from West Essex Overlaps European Parliament constituency East of England Chelmsford is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From the 2010 general election it has elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
A previous Chelmsford constituency existed from 1885 to 1997.
Contents
Boundaries
Following their review of parliamentary representation in Essex, the Boundary Commission for England created a new Chelmsford constituency.
A majority of the electorate for this new constituency come from the previous West Chelmsford constituency. A smaller element (around Great Baddow) comes from the Maldon & East Chelmsford constituency
The constituency is contained entirely within the Borough of Chelmsford though it is not coterminous with it. Wards from the borough will also comprise parts of the Maldon and Saffron Walden constituencies.
It contains the following wards from the Borough of Chelmsford:
Chelmer Village and Beaulieu Park, Galleywood, Goat Hall, Great Baddow East, Great Baddow West, Marconi, Moulsham and Central, Moulsham Lodge, Patching Hall, St Andrews, Springfield North, The Lawns, Trinity, Waterhouse Farm and Writtle
At its first contest in 2010, the seat was closely fought by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, who finished less than 10% apart, with Conservative candidate Simon Burns (the former MP for West Chelmsford) being elected. Labour polled 11%, despite having been only around 100 votes behind the Liberal Democrats in West Chelmsford in 2005, and even taking second place in 2001.
The previous Chelmsford constituency that existed before 1997 was often closely fought between the (then) Liberal party and the Conservatives, with the latter often winning by only small margins, even when they won the election nationally.
History
Chelmsford had its own constituency from 1885 until its abolition in 1997.
Under the proposals of the Boundary Commission for England the constituency was recreated for the 2010 general election.
Members of Parliament
MPs 1885–1997
Election Member [2] Party 1885 William James Beadel Conservative 1892 by-election Thomas Usborne Conservative 1900 Sir Carne Rasch, Bt Conservative 1908 by-election E. G. Pretyman Conservative 1918 Coalition Conservative 1922 Conservative 1923 Sydney Walter Robinson Liberal 1924 Sir Henry Honywood Curtis-Bennett Conservative 1926 by-election Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury Conservative 1931 Sir Vivian Leonard Henderson Conservative 1935 John Macnamara Conservative 1945 by-election Ernest Millington Common Wealth 1946 Labour 1950 Sir Hubert Ashton Conservative 1964 Norman St John-Stevas Conservative 1987 Simon Burns Conservative 1997 constituency abolished - see West Chelmsford,
Maldon and Chelmsford East, RayleighMPs since 2010
Election Member [2] Party 2010 Simon Burns Conservative Elections
Elections in the 2010s
General Election 2010: Chelmsford[3] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative Simon Burns* 25,207 46.2 +6.7 Liberal Democrat Stephen Robinson 20,097 36.8 +6.6 Labour Peter Dixon 5,980 11.0 -16.0 UKIP Ken Wedon 1,527 2.8 -0.6 BNP Michael Richard Bateman 899 1.6 +1.6 Green Angela Thomson 476 0.9 +0.9 English Democrats Claire Breed 254 0.5 +0.3 Reduce Tax On Beer Ben Sherman 153 0.3 +0.3 Majority 5,110 9.4 Turnout 54,593 70.4 +9.3 Conservative hold Swing - * Served in the 2005–2010 Parliament as MP for West Chelmsford
Elections in the 1990s
General Election 1992: Chelmsford[4] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative Simon Burns 39,043 55.3 +3.4 Liberal Democrat HP Nicholson 20,783 29.4 −11.1 Labour Dr. RK Chad 10,010 14.2 +7.3 Green Ms. EJ Burgess 769 1.1 +0.4 Majority 18,260 25.9 +14.4 Turnout 70,605 84.6 +2.5 Conservative hold Swing +7.2 Elections in the 1980s
General Election 1987: Chelmsford Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative Simon Burns 35,231 51.9 +4.3 Liberal Stuart Mole 27,470 40.5 -6.5 Labour Clive Playford 4,642 6.8 +1.7 Green A C Slade 486 0.7 +0.7 Majority 7,761 11.4 +10.8 Turnout 67,829 82.2 +2.8 Conservative hold Swing +5.4 General Election 1983: Chelmsford Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative Norman St John-Stevas 29,824 47.6 -2.0 Liberal Stuart Mole 29,446 47.0 +5.5 Labour Clive Playford 3,208 5.1 -3.8 Independent P D P Waite 127 0.2 +0.2 Majority 378 0.6 -9.3 Turnout 62,605 79.4 -4.5 Conservative hold Swing -4.7 Elections in the 1970s
General Election 1979: Chelmsford Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative Norman St John-Stevas 33,560 49.6 +8.0 Liberal Stuart Mole 28,337 41.5 +6.3 Labour S A Reeves 6,041 8.9 -14.3 Majority 5,471 8.1 +2.5 Turnout 68,186 81.0 +1.8 Conservative hold Swing +0.9 General Election October 1974: Chelmsford Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative Norman St John-Stevas 26,334 41.6 -1.3 Liberal Stuart Mole 22,332 35.2 +2.2 Labour J T Acklaw 14,711 23.2 -0.9 Majority 4,002 6.4 -3.5 Turnout 66,377 79.2 -4.7 Conservative hold Swing -1.8 General Election February 1974: Chelmsford Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative Norman St John-Stevas 28,560 42.9 Liberal Stuart Mole 21,929 33.0 Labour Frances Morrell 16,063 24.1 Majority 6,631 9.9 Turnout 66,552 83.9 Conservative hold Swing Boundary changes
Preceded by
Constituency createdUK Parliament constituency
Chelmsford (West), Writtle
1885 – 1997Succeeded by
Chelmsford WestUK Parliament constituency
Chelmsford (East), Great Baddow, Danbury
1885 – 1997Succeeded by
Maldon and Chelmsford EastUK Parliament constituency
Ingatestone
1885 – 1974Succeeded by
Brentwood and OngarUK Parliament constituency
Ongar
1885 – 1955Succeeded by
ChigwellUK Parliament constituency
Brentwood
1885 – 1950Succeeded by
RomfordSee also
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 Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 3)
- ^ Chelmsford, UKPollingReport
- ^ "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge92/i05.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
Sources
- F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1974 - 1983
- The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1983, 1987 & 1992
Categories:- Parliamentary constituencies in Essex
- United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies established in 1885
- United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies disestablished in 1997
- United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies established in 2010
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