Preston (UK Parliament constituency)

UK constituency infobox
Name = Preston
Map1 = Preston
Map2 = Lancashire
Entity = Lancashire
Type = Borough
County = Lancashire
Year = 1295, 1529, 1983
MP = Mark Hendrick
Party = Labour Co-operative
EP = North West England

Preston is a borough 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 current seat of Preston was confirmed in time for the 1997 Election. The seat crossed the River Ribble to include Bamber Bridge and Walton-le-Dale from South Ribble District Council. Preston, which was then not a city, lost the north-eastern Fulwood area to Ribble Valley and the western areas of Ingol, Tanterton, Lea and Cottam to Fylde.

For the years 1950 to 1970, Preston was divided into the constituencies of Preston North and Preston South. In time for the 1983 general election, the boundaries on which the current seat is drawn were confirmed. From the then Preston North and South seats, all but one component - the Fulwood area - forms the unified Preston seat.

Boundary review

Following its review of parliamentary representation in Lancashire which reported in 2004, the Boundary Commission for England recommended that, in time for the next election, Preston will lose the towns of Bamber Bridge and Walton-le-Dale and gain the Preston electoral ward of Ingol. This means the electoral wards which are used to create the new constituency of Preston are all within the city council's boundaries.

*Ashton, Brookfield, Deepdale, Fishwick, Ingol, Larches, Moor Park, Ribbleton, Riversway, St George's, St Matthew's, Town Centre, Tulketh and University.

The ward of Lea is within the constituency of Fylde.

The wards of Fulwood are within the constituency of Wyre and Preston North

Members of Parliament

1295-1640

* 1559: Roger Alford
* 1559: Richard Cooke
* 1571: Edward Baeshe
* 1572-1581: George Horsey
* 1597-1598: Sir John Stanhope
* 1597-1601: John Brograve
* 1604-1611: Sir Vincent Skinner
* 1604-1611: William Holte
* 1614: Henry Banaster
* 1614-1622: (Sir) Edward Mosley
* 1621-1622: Sir William Pooley

1640-1950

1983-present

Notes

History

The borough and now city of Preston has been represented by Labour MPs since 1983. The former Preston North and Preston South seats were amongst the most marginal in the country - in 1979, Robert Atkins won Preston North by 29 votes for the Conservatives.

With the suburban and "small c" conservative Fulwood area within Ribble Valley and from 2009 Wyre and Preston North constituencies, the southern portion has awarded MPs with much healthier and secure majorities. Almost all of Preston's representatives up to the creation of two constituencies in 1946, and since its recreation as a single constituency in 1983, have been Labour candidates.

In 1997, Audrey Wise secured a majority of over 18,000. The collapse of the Conservative vote - 10 percentage points down from 1992 - was firmly with the pattern of the Tory fortunes in that year.

The death of Audrey Wise in 2000 triggered a by-election. In the Preston by-election, former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Lancashire Central constituency, with Preston at its heart, Mark Hendrick secured a victory with a 4,400 majority. The surprise of the night was the result of the fledgling Socialist Alliance, for whom Terry Cartright saved his deposit.

Less than a year later, the 2001 general election returned Mark Hendrick with a much healthier 12,200 majority, up against South Ribble councillor Graham O'Hare for the Conservatives and local Liberal Democrat leader Bill Chadwick. In real terms, all three main parties lost support from 1997 - Labour down by over 8,000 votes, Conservatives reduced by over 2,200 and LibDems 2,300 lower. One notable candidate in 2001 was David Braid, also a candidate in a number of other seats that year, who had been the "Battle for Britain" candidate in the previous year's by-election.

The 2005 general election election was notable for the changes in share of the vote of the minor parties. The first ever Respect candidate, local councillor Michael Lavalette, firmly saved his deposit with nearly 7% of the vote. The LibDems, who had chosen former Conservative County Councillor William Parkinson, had their best result since 1997. Fiona Bryce, for the Conservatives, remained in second place and saw her share of the vote remain stable despite the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) polling over 1,000 votes. These results meant that Mark Hendrick secured another term as MP, but his vote number was 3,000 less than 2001 and 12,000 less than Audrey Wise in 1997.

Boundary changes to be put in place for the next election remove Bamber Bridge and Walton-le-Dale from the constituency, and bring in the city council ward of Ingol. The South Ribble elements are Labour/Tory dogfight wards, whilst Ingol has a LibDem/Tory preference. These moves should cancel each other out, ultimately helping Labour, but it should be remembered that local factors can be more important than boundary reviews in fighting elections.

Election results

Election box candidate with party link
party = United Kingdom Independence Party
candidate = Pat Gaskell
votes =
percentage =
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Co-operative
candidate = Mark Hendrick
votes =
percentage =
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
candidate = Mark Jewell
votes =
percentage =
change =

Elections of the 2000s

Election box begin
title=General Election 2005: PrestonElection box candidate with party link
party = Labour Co-operative
candidate = Mark Hendrick
votes = 17,210
percentage = 50.5
change = -6.5Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Fiona Bryce
votes = 7,803
percentage = 22.9
change = -0.1Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
candidate = William Parkinson
votes = 5,701
percentage = 16.7
change = +3.5Election box candidate with party link
party = RESPECT The Unity Coalition
candidate = Michael Lavalette
votes = 2,318
percentage = 6.8
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = United Kingdom Independence Party
candidate = Ellen Boardman
votes = 1,049
percentage = 3.1
change = "N/A"Election box majority
votes = 9,407
percentage = 21.6
change = Election box turnout
votes = 34,081
percentage = 53.8
change = +4.6Election box hold with party link
winner = Labour Co-operative
swing = -3.2

Election box begin
title=General Election 2001: PrestonElection box candidate with party link
party = Labour Co-operative
candidate = Mark Hendrick
votes = 20,540
percentage = 57.0
change = -3.8Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Graham O’Hare
votes = 8,272
percentage = 23.0
change = +1.0Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
candidate = Bill Chadwick
votes = 4,746
percentage = 13.2
change = -1.5Election box candidate with party link
party = Independent (politician)
candidate = Bilal Patel
votes = 1,241
percentage = 3.4
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Green Party of England and Wales
candidate = Richard Merrick
votes = 1,019
percentage = 2.8
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Independent (politician)
candidate = David Braid
votes = 223
percentage = 0.6
change = "N/A"Election box majority
votes = 12,268
percentage = 34.0
change = Election box turnout
votes = 36,041
percentage = 49.2
change = -16.6Election box hold with party link
winner = Labour Co-operative
swing =

Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Co-operative
candidate = Mark Hendrick
votes = 9,765
percentage = 45.7
change = - 15.1Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Graham O'Hare
votes = 5,339
percentage = 25.0
change = + 3.1Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
candidate = Bill Chadwick
votes = 3,454
percentage = 16.2
change = + 1.5Election box candidate with party link
party = Socialist Alliance (England)
candidate = Terry Cartwright
votes = 1,210
percentage = 5.7
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = United Kingdom Independence Party
candidate = Gregg Beaman
votes = 458
percentage = 2.1
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Green Party of England and Wales
candidate = John Ashforth
votes = 441
percentage = 2.1
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Independent (politician)
candidate = Peter Garrett
votes = 416
percentage = 2.0
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = British National Party
candidate = Chris Jackson
votes = 229
percentage = 1.1
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Independent (politician)
candidate = David Franklin-Braid
votes = 51
percentage = 0.2
change = "N/A"Election box majority
votes =
percentage =
change = Election box turnout
votes =
percentage = 29.4
change = Election box hold with party link
winner = Labour Co-operative
swing =

Elections of the 1990s

Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Audrey Wise
votes = 29,220
percentage = 60.8
change = +6.5Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Paul Gray
votes = 10,540
percentage = 21.9
change = -5.9Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
candidate = Bill Chadwick
votes = 7,045
percentage = 14.7
change = -2.5Election box candidate with party link
party = Referendum Party
candidate = John Porter
votes = 924
percentage = 1.9
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Natural Law Party
candidate = John Ashforth
votes = 345
percentage = 0.7
change = +0.0Election box majority
votes =
percentage =
change = Election box turnout
votes =
percentage =
change = Election box hold with party link
winner = Labour Party (UK)
swing =

Election box begin
title=General Election 1992: PrestonElection box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Audrey Wise
votes = 24,983
percentage = 54.3
change = +1.8Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = S G O'Toole
votes = 12,808
percentage = 27.8
change = -0.7Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
candidate = William Chadwick
votes = 7,897
percentage = 17.2
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Natural Law Party
candidate = J Aycliffe
votes = 341
percentage = 0.7
change = Election box majority
votes = 12,175
percentage = 26.5
change = +2.5Election box turnout
votes = 46,029
percentage = 71.7
change = +0.7Election box hold with party link
winner = Labour Party (UK)
swing =

Elections of the 1980s

Election box begin
title=General Election 1987: PrestonElection box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Audrey Wise
votes = 23,341
percentage = 52.5
change = 5.8Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = R T Chandran
votes = 12,696
percentage = 28.5
change = -3.3Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Party (UK)
candidate = J P Wright
votes = 8,452
percentage = 19.0
change = Election box majority
votes = 10,645
percentage = 24.0
change = +9.1Election box turnout
votes = 44,489
percentage = 71.0
change = -0.8Election box hold with party link
winner = Labour Party (UK)
swing =

Election box begin
title=General Election 1983: PrestonElection box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Stanley Thorne
votes = 21,810
percentage = 46.7
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = T N Huntley
votes = 17,832
percentage = 31.8
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Social Democratic Party (UK)
candidate = M J Connolly
votes = 10,039
percentage = 21.5
change = Election box majority
votes = 6,978
percentage = 14.9
change = Election box turnout
votes = 46,681
percentage = 71.8
change = Election box hold with party link
winner = Labour Party (UK)
swing =

Elections of the 1940s

(See Preston by-election, 1946)

In 1940, Conservative candidate Randolph Churchill was election unopposed on the death of Conservative MP A.C Moreing

Election box begin
title=General Election 1945: Preston (2 seats)Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = S Segal
votes = 33,053
percentage = 24.2
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = J W Sunderland
votes = 32,889
percentage = 24.1
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Randolph Churchill
votes = 29,129
percentage = 21.4
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = J Amery
votes = 27,885
percentage = 20.4
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Party (UK)
candidate = J Toulmin
votes = 8,251
percentage = 6.1
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Communist Party of Great Britain
candidate = P J Devine
votes = 5,168
percentage = 3.8
change = Election box majority
votes = 3,760
percentage = 2.7
change = Election box turnout
votes =
percentage = 77.0
change = Election box hold with party link
winner = Labour Party (UK)
swing =

Elections of the 1930s

(See Preston by-election, 1936)

Election box begin
title=General Election 1935: Preston (2 seats)Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = A C Moreing
votes = 37,219
percentage = 26.9
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = W M Kirkpatrick
votes = 36,797
percentage = 26.7
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = R A Lyster
votes = 32,225
percentage = 23.3
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = R L Reiss
votes = 31,827
percentage = 23.1
change = Election box majority
votes = 4,572
percentage = 3.4
change = Election box turnout
votes =
percentage = 81.9
change = Election box hold with party link
winner = Conservative Party (UK)
swing =

Election box begin
title=General Election 1931: Preston (2 seats)Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = W M Kirkpatrick
votes = 46,276
percentage = 32.5
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = A C Moreing
votes = 45,843
percentage = 32.2
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = T Shaw
votes = 25,710
percentage = 18.0
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = E Porter
votes = 24,660
percentage = 17.3
change = Election box majority
votes = 20,133
percentage = 14.2
change = Election box turnout
votes =
percentage = 84.6
change =

Elections of the 1920s

(See Preston by-election, 1929)

Election box begin
title=General Election 1929: Preston (2 seats)Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = T Shaw
votes = 37,705
percentage = 29.5
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Party (UK)
candidate = W Jowitt
votes = 31,277
percentage = 24.4
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = A B Howitt
votes = 29,116
percentage = 22.8
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = C Emmott
votes = 27,754
percentage = 21.7
change = Election box candidate
party = Independent Labour
candidate = S Holden
votes = 2,111
percentage = 1.6
change = Election box majority
votes = 8,589
percentage = 6.7
change = Election box turnout
votes =
percentage = 78.2
change =

ee also

*List of Parliamentary constituencies in Lancashire

References

*Robert Beatson, "A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament" (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) [http://books.google.com/books?vid=024wW9LmFc5kXY0FI2&id=Gh2wKY2rkDUC&printsec=toc&dq=Return+of+Members+of+Parliament&as_brr=1&sig=SK5GVtGLfWQ9ovZDbyZObAyIO5I#PPP9,M1]
*D Brunton & D H Pennington, "Members of the Long Parliament" (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
*"Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803" (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808) [http://www2.odl.ox.ac.uk/gsdl/cgi-bin/library?e=p-000-00---0modhis06--00-0-0-0prompt-10---4------0-1l--1-en-50---20-about---00001-001-1-1isoZz-8859Zz-1-0&a=d&cl=CL1]
* "The Constitutional Year Book for 1913" (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913)
*F W S Craig, "British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885" (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
* F W S Craig, "British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949" (Glasgow: Political Reference Publications, 1969)
* Maija Jansson (ed.), "Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons)" (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988)
* J E Neale, "The Elizabethan House of Commons" (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
* J Holladay Philbin, "Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales" (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
*Henry Stooks Smith, "The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847" (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig - Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973)
*Rayment