Oxford West and Abingdon (UK Parliament constituency)

Oxford West and Abingdon
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Oxford West and Abingdon in Oxfordshire.
Location of Oxfordshire within England.
County	Oxfordshire
Electorate	77,811 (December 2010)[1]
Current constituency
Created	1983 (1983)
Member of Parliament	Nicola Blackwood (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Oxford, Abingdon
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South East England

Oxford West and Abingdon 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. Its best-known MP was John Patten. The current MP is Nicola Blackwood of the Conservative Party, first elected at the 2010 general election.

History

The constituency was created in 1983 by the division of the former constituency of Oxford. Abingdon had its own seat prior to 1983.

The former Conservative Minister John Patten, MP for Oxford from 1979, won the West seat on its creation and remained the MP until he retired in 1997. On that occasion the seat was gained for the Liberal Democrats by Dr Evan Harris, who held the seat until the 2010 General Election, when it was regained by Conservative MP Nicola Blackwood.

Boundaries

The constituency includes the town of Abingdon, the village of Kidlington, and the western and northern parts of the city of Oxford, as well as a minority of the colleges of the University of Oxford. From 1983 to 2010 it included Oxford city centre and most of the Oxford Colleges, but the 2010 boundary changes transferred these to Oxford East.

Boundary review

The Boundary Commission review of constituencies prior to the 2010 general election changed the boundaries of this constituency. It is now made up of these district council wards:

• In the district of Vale of White Horse – Abingdon Abbey and Barton, Abingdon Caldecott, Abingdon Dunmore, Abingdon Fitzharris, Abingdon Northcourt, Abingdon Ock Meadow, Abingdon Peachcroft, Appleton and Cumnor, Kennington and South Hinksey, North Hinksey and Wytham, Radley, and Sunningwell and Wootton.
• In the city of Oxford – Jericho and Osney, North, St Margaret’s, Summertown, and Wolvercote.
• In the district of Cherwell – Kidlington North, Kidlington South and Yarnton, Gosford and Water Eaton.

This revision removed most of the colleges of the University of Oxford from the constituency, leaving only Worcester, St Hugh's, Lady Margaret Hall, St Anne's, St Antony's, Somerville, Green Templeton, St Cross and Wolfson.

Members of Parliament

• Constituency created (1983)

Election		Member[2]	Party
	1983	John Patten	Conservative
	1997	Evan Harris	Liberal Democrat
	2010	Nicola Blackwood	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Election results for Oxford West and Abingdon

A pre-election husting at the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency during the 2010 campaign. From left to right: Richard Stevens, Evan Harris (standing, incumbent), Tim Gardam (chair, Principal of St Anne’s College), Chris Goodall, Nicola Blackwood.

General Election 2010: Oxford West and Abingdon
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nicola Blackwood	23,906	42.3	+9.6
	Liberal Democrat	Evan Harris	23,730	42.0	-4.1
	Labour	Richard Stevens	5,999	10.6	-5.2
	UKIP	Paul Williams	1,518	2.7	+1.2
	Green	Chris Goodall	1,184	2.1	-1.7
	Animal Protection	Keith Mann	143	0.3	-
Majority			176	0.3
Turnout			56,480	65.3	-1.7
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrat		Swing	6.9

Elections in the 2000s

A pre-election husting at the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency during the 2005 campaign.

General Election 2005: Oxford West and Abingdon
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Evan Harris	24,336	46.3	−1.5
	Conservative	Amanda McLean	16,653	31.7	+1.7
	Labour	Antonia Bance	8,725	16.6	−1.1
	Green	Tom Lines	2,091	4.0	+1.2
	UKIP	Marcus Watney	795	1.5	+0.6
Majority			7,683	14.6
Turnout			52,600	65.6	+1.1
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing	−1.6

General Election 2001: Oxford West and Abingdon
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Evan Harris	24,670	47.8	+4.9
	Conservative	Ed Matts	15,485	30.0	-2.6
	Labour	Gillian Kirk	9,114	17.7	-2.5
	Green	Mike Woodin	1,423	2.8	+1.6
	UKIP	Marcus Watney	451	0.9	+0.5
	Independent	Sigrid Shreeve	332	0.6	N/A
	Extinction Club	Robert Twigger	93	0.2	N/A
Majority			9,185	17.8
Turnout			51,568	64.5	-13.5
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing	+3.8

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Oxford West and Abingdon[3][4][5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Evan Harris	26,268	42.9	+7.1
	Conservative	Laurence Harris	19,983	32.7	-13.6
	Labour	Susan Brown	12,361	20.2	+4.1
	Referendum Party	Gillian Eustace	1,258	2.1	N/A
	Green	Mike Woodin	691	1.1	-0.1
	UKIP	Rodney Buckton	258	0.4	N/A
	ProLife Alliance	Linda Hodge	238	0.4	N/A
	Natural Law	Anne Marie Wilson	91	0.1	+0.0
	Local Government	John Rose	48	0.1	N/A
Majority			6,285	10.2
Turnout			61,196	78.0
	Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative		Swing	+10.4

General Election 1992: Oxford West and Abingdon[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Patten	25,163	45.4	-1.0
	Liberal Democrat	Sir William Goodhart	21,624	39.0	+1.6
	Labour	Bruce Kent	7,652	13.8	-1.1
	Green	Mike Woodin	660	1.2	-0.1
	Liberal	Roger E. Jenking	194	0.3	N/A
	Anti-Federalist League	Miss Susan B. Nelson	98	0.2	N/A
	Natural Law	Geoffrey A. Wells	75	0.1	N/A
Majority			3,539	6.4
Turnout			55,466	76.7	-1.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.3

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Oxford West and Abingdon
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Patten	25,171	46.4	-1.3
	Social Democrat	Chris Huhne	20,293	37.4	+4.1
	Labour	J G Power	8,108	14.9	-2.0
	Green	D R Smith	695	1.3	+0.2
Majority			4,878	9.0
Turnout			54,267	78.4	+4.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.7

General Election 1983: Oxford West and Abingdon
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Patten	23,778	47.7
	Social Democrat	Evan Luard	16,627	33.3
	Labour	J H Jacottet	8,440	16.9
	Ecology	S G Starmer	544	1.1
	Monster Raving Loony	R A Jones	267	0.5
	Independent	C N Smith	95	0.2
	Independent	P M Doubleday	86	0.2
	Independent	R Pinder	26	0.1
Majority			7,151	14.4
Turnout			49,863	74.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

See also

• Oxford East
• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Oxfordshire

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 "O"
3. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/constit/417.htm. Retrieved 2011-01-07. 
4. ^ C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.451 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
5. ^ The 1997 election result is calculated relative to the notional, not the actual, 1992 result.
6. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge92/ge92index.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-06. 

Sources

• Election result, 2010 (BBC)
• Election result, 2005 (BBC)
• Election results, 1997–2001 (BBC)
• Election results, 1997–2001 (Election Demon)
• Election results, 1983–1997 (Election Demon)
• Election results, 1992–2005 (The Guardian)

Coordinates: 51°45′N 1°18′W / 51.75°N 1.30°W / 51.75; -1.30