North Warwickshire (UK Parliament constituency)

North Warwickshire
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of North Warwickshire in Warwickshire.
Location of Warwickshire within England.
County	Warwickshire
Electorate	70,544 (December 2010)[1]
Current constituency
Created	1983 (1983)
Member of Parliament	Dan Byles (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Meriden Nuneaton
1832 (1832)–1885 (1885)
Number of members	Two
Type of constituency	County constituency
Replaced by	Nuneaton Rugby Stratford-on-Avon Tamworth
Created from	Warwickshire
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	West Midlands

North Warwickshire is a parliamentary 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.

The current North Warwickshire constituency was created for the 1983 general election. An earlier two-member North Warwickshire constituency existed from 1832 to 1885.

Boundaries

The current constituency covers a similar area to the district of North Warwickshire including the town of Atherstone and the villages of Arley, Baddesley Ensor, Coleshill, Hartshill, Kingsbury and Polesworth. However, it also includes the town of Bedworth, which lies in the Nuneaton and Bedworth district.

History

History 1832–1885

The North Warwickshire constituency was created for the 1832 general election, when the Great Reform Act divided the former Warwickshire constituency into two new divisions: North Warwickshire and South Warwickshire.

Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, North Warwickshire was abolished for the 1885 general election, when Warwickshire was divided into four new single-member constituencies: Nuneaton, Rugby, Stratford-on-Avon and Tamworth.

History 1983–present

The current North Warwickshire county constituency was created for the 1983 general election, replacing parts of the Meriden and Nuneaton constituencies. The seat was won by Francis Maude of the Conservative Party at the 1983 general election, who held in until 1992, when it was taken by Mike O'Brien of Labour. Labour held the seat comfortably until 2010.

On 8 March 2007, former Army Officer and polar explorer Daniel Byles was selected at an open primary to contest North Warwickshire for the Conservative Party at the 2010 general election.

Constituency profile

Warwickshire North is probably the most working-class and industrial of the six constituencies in the county, and politically the most promising for Labour, though in the 2010 election all six Warwickshire constituencies were Conservative gains, with North falling unexpectedly on a substantial swing. It is now hyper-marginal.

Like the rest of the county, the area includes some pleasant rural commuter villages, but there is a history of coal mining and heavy industry in the area, and with that a strong Labour vote.

The current boundaries include Bedworth, just north of Coventry, and the historic market town of Atherstone which has seen considerable population expansion in recent years.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1832–1885

Election	1st Member[2]		1st Party	2nd Member[2]		2nd Party
1832		William Stratford Dugdale	Conservative		Sir John Eardley-Wilmot, Bt	Conservative
1843 by-election					Charles Newdigate Newdegate	Conservative
1847		Richard Spooner	Conservative
1864 by-election		William Bromley-Davenport	Conservative
1884 by-election		Philip Muntz	Liberal
1885	Constituency abolished: see Nuneaton, Rugby, Stratford-on-Avon and Tamworth

MPs since 1983

Election		Member[2]	Party
	1983	Francis Maude	Conservative
	1992	Mike O'Brien	Labour
	2010	Dan Byles	Conservative

Elections

Election	Political result		Candidate		Party	Votes	%	±%
General Election 2010 [3][4] Turnout: 47,265 (67.4%) +4.5		Conservative gain from Labour Majority: 54 (0.1%) -16.0 Swing: +7.7% from Lab to Con		Dan Byles	Conservative	18,993	40.2	+8.2
				Mike O'Brien	Labour	18,939	40.1	-8.0
				Stephen Martin	Liberal Democrat	5,481	11.6	-1.9
				Jason Holmes	BNP	2,106	4.5	+0.4
				Steven Fowler	UKIP	1,335	2.8	+0.1
				David Lane	English Democrats	411	0.9	N/A
General Election 2005 Turnout: 46,939 (62.2%) +2.0		Labour hold Majority: 7,553 (16.1%) -5.6 Swing: +2.8% from Lab to Con		Mike O'Brien	Labour	22,561	48.1	-6.0
				Ian Gibb	Conservative	15,008	32.0	-0.4
				Jerry Roodhouse	Liberal Democrat	6,212	13.2	+1.8
				Michaela Mackenzie	BNP	1,910	4.1	N/A
				Iain Campbell	UKIP	1,248	2.7	+0.6
General Election 2001 Turnout: 44,409 (60.2%) -14.6		Labour hold Majority: 9,639 (21.7%) -5.5 Swing: +2.6% from Lab to Con		Mike O'Brien	Labour	24,023	54.1	-4.3
				Geoffrey Parsons	Conservative	14,384	32.4	+1.2
				William Powell	Liberal Democrat	5,052	11.4	+4.0
				John Flynn	UKIP	950	2.1	+1.1
General Election 1997 Turnout: 54,239 (74.7%) -8.1		Labour hold Majority: 14,767 (27.2%) +24.8 Swing: +12.4% from Con to Lab		Mike O'Brien	Labour	31,669	58.4	+12.3
				Stephen Hammond	Conservative	16,902	31.2	-13.4
				William Powell	Liberal Democrat	4,040	7.4	-2.9
				Roland Mole	Referendum Party	917	1.7	N/A
				Christopher Cooke	UKIP	533	1.0	N/A
				Ian Moorecroft	Independent	178	0.3	N/A
General Election 1992 [5] Turnout: 59,862 (82.8%) +4.0		Labour gain from Conservative Majority: 1,453 (2.4%) −2.6 Swing: +3.7% from Con to Lab		Mike O'Brien	Labour	27,577	46.1	+6.0
				Francis Maude	Conservative	26,124	43.6	−1.4
				N.R. Mitchell	Liberal Democrat	6,161	10.3	−4.6

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Warwickshire

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. ^ ^{a b c} Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 1)
3. ^ http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/guide/seat-profiles/warwickshirenorth
4. ^ "UK > England > West Midlands > Warwickshire North". Election 2010. BBC. 7 May 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/d28.stm. Retrieved 10 May 2010. 
5. ^ "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge92/i21.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-06. 

Coordinates: 52°30′N 1°42′W / 52.50°N 1.70°W / 52.50; -1.70