- Christchurch (UK Parliament constituency)
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Christchurch County constituency for the House of Commons 
Boundary of Christchurch in Dorset.
Location of Dorset within England.County 1983– Dorset
1572–1918: HampshireElectorate 69,008 (December 2010)[1] Major settlements Christchurch Current constituency Created 1983 Member of Parliament Christopher Chope (Conservative) Number of members One Created from Christchurch and Lymington, North Dorset, New Forest 1572–1918 Number of members 1572–1832: Two
1832–1918: OneType of constituency Borough constituency Replaced by New Forest and Christchurch Overlaps European Parliament constituency South West England Christchurch is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Centred on the town of Christchurch in Dorset, it elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
The original Christchurch constituency, a parliamentary borough, existed from 1572 until 1918.
The constituency was re-created as a county constituency in 1983 from parts of the seat of Christchurch and Lymington, North Dorset & New Forest. It has generally been a strongly Conservative seat, with the exception of a 1993 by-election caused by the death of Robert Adley when it was won by Diana Maddock for the Liberal Democrats.
Contents
Boundaries
The current boundaries includes Verwood and Three Legged Cross, West Moors, St Leonards and St Ives, Ferndown and West Parley, as well as the Borough of Christchurch.
The Boundary Commission for England's Fifth Report, laid before Parliament on 26 February 2007, proposes that Verwood and Three Legged Cross be transferred to the North Dorset constituency, and that Longham and Stapehill be transferred from North Dorset into the Christchurch constituency.
Constituency Profile
The area is not as rural as the adjoining New Forest constituencies, nor as urban as Bournemouth and Poole, and contains a mixed bag of coastal retirement havens, outlying Bournemouth suburbs and the town of Christchurch itself which has expanded to include dedicated villages of sheltered housing on its outskirts.
Consequently, the present Christchurch seat contains one of the most elderly electorates in the country - only Eastbourne and Devon East have an older average voter age, and Christchurch has the highest proportion of over-60s of any seat. Having recovered from an early-1990s by-election loss, it is a safe Conservative seat, with MP Christopher Chope attaining a majority of over 30% at the last general election. It is the safest Tory seat in the West Country, although it is on the very fringe of the area that usually qualifies as the South West region.
Bournemouth airport is located within the seat.
Members of Parliament
Parliamentary borough (1572–1918)
MPs 1572–1640
Parliament First member Second member Parliament of 1572-1581 Henry Knollys Matthew Evans Parliament of 1584-1585 Alexander Nevill Parliament of 1586-1587 Henry Ashley Parliament of 1588-1589 Justinian Champernoun Sampson Lennard Parliament of 1593 Robert West Richard Theakston Parliament of 1597-1598 Simon Willis Andrew Rogers Parliament of 1601 Henry Meere Parliament of 1604-1611 Richard Martin Nicholas Hyde Addled Parliament (1614) Sir Thomas Norton Henry Breton Parliament of 1621-1622 Sir George Hastings Nathaniel Tomkins Happy Parliament (1624-1625) Sir George Astmyll Useless Parliament (1625) Sir Thomas Wilford Parliament of 1625-1626 Robert Norton Parliament of 1628-1629 Henry Croke No Parliament summoned 1629-1640 MPs 1640–1832
Year First member[2] First party Second member[2] Second party April 1640 Arnold Herbert Henry Tulse November 1640 Matthew Davis Royalist 1642 Tulse died September(?) 1642 - seat left vacant March 1643 Davis disabled from sitting - seat vacant 1645 Richard Edwards Parliamentarian John Kempe Parliamentarian December 1648 Kempe not recorded as sitting after Pride's Purge 1653 Christchurch was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate January 1659 John Bulkeley Henry Tulse May 1659 Not represented in the restored Rump March 1660 John Hildesley Henry Tulse 1661 Humphrey Weld February 1679 Sir Thomas Clarges August 1679 George Fulford 1685 Anthony Ettrick 1689 Francis Gwyn William Ettrick 1695 Viscount Cornbury 1701 Francis Gwyn 1710 (Sir) Peter Mews [3] 1717 Francis Gwyn [4] 1724 by-election Edward Prideaux Gwyn 1726 by-election Jacob Banks 1727 Joseph Hinxman Charles Wither 1732 by-election Philip Lloyd 1734 Edward Hooper 1740 by-election (Sir) Charles Armand Powlett [5] 1748 by-election Sir Thomas Robinson 1751 by-election Harry Powlett 1754 Hon. John Mordaunt 1761 Hon. Thomas Robinson James Harris Whig Nov,mber 1770 by-election James Harris (junior) Whig 1774 Hon. Thomas Villiers Hyde [6] Tory 1780 Sir James Harris Whig 1781 by-election (Sir) John Frederick [7] 1788 by-election Hans Sloane Tory 1790 George Rose 1796 William Stewart Rose May 1800 by-election William Chamberlayne 1802 William Sturges Bourne Tory 1812 William Edward Tomline March 1818 by-election Sir George Henry Rose Tory June 1818 William Sturges Bourne Tory 1826 George Pitt Rose 1832 Representation reduced to one member MPs 1832–1918
Election Member[2] Party 1832 Sir George William Tapps-Gervis, Bt Conservative 1837 Sir George Henry Rose Conservative 1844 by-election Hon. Edward Harris Conservative 1852 John Edward Walcott Conservative 1868 Edmund Haviland-Burke Liberal 1874 Sir Henry Drummond Wolff Conservative 1880 Horace Davey Liberal 1885 Charles Edward Baring Young Conservative 1892 Abel Henry Smith Conservative 1900 Kenneth Robert Balfour Conservative 1906 Arthur Acland Allen Liberal 1910 Henry Page Croft Conservative 1917 National 1918 constituency abolished: see Bournemouth & New Forest and Christchurch County constituency
MPs since 1983
Election Member[2] Party 1983 Robert Adley Conservative 1993 by-election Diana Maddock Liberal Democrat 1997 Christopher Chope Conservative Elections
Elections in the 2010s
General Election 2010: Christchurch Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative Christopher Chope 27,888 56.4 +1.1 Liberal Democrat Martyn Hurll 12,478 25.3 +1.2 Labour Robert Deeks 4,849 9.8 -5.8 UKIP David Williams 4,201 8.5 +3.4 Majority 15,410 31.2 Turnout 49,416 71.8 +1.4 Conservative hold Swing +1.4 Elections in the 2000s
General Election 2005: Christchurch Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative Christopher Chope 28,208 54.7 −0.4 Liberal Democrat Leslie Coman 12,649 24.5 −3.3 Labour Jim King 8,051 15.6 +0.5 UKIP David Hughes 2,657 5.2 +3.2 Majority 15,559 30.2 Turnout 51,565 69.6 +2.1 Conservative hold Swing +1.4 General Election 2001: Christchurch Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative Christopher Chope 27,306 55.1 +8.7 Liberal Democrat Dorothy Webb 13,762 27.8 -14.8 Labour Judith Begg 7,506 15.1 +8.2 UKIP Margaret Strange 993 2.0 +0.9 Majority 13,544 27.3 Turnout 49,567 67.5 -11.0 Conservative hold Swing Elections in the 1990s
General Election 1997: Christchurch Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative Christopher Chope 26,095 46.43 Liberal Democrat Diana Maddock 23,930 42.58 Labour C Mannan 3,884 6.91 Referendum Party R Spencer 1,684 3.0 UKIP R Dickinson 606 1.08 Majority 2,165 3.85 Turnout 71,566 78.53 Conservative gain from Liberal Democrat Swing 18.30 Christchurch by-election, 1993 Party Candidate Votes % ±% Liberal Democrat Diana Maddock 33,164 62.2 +38.6 Conservative Robert Hayward 16,737 31.4 -32.2 Labour Nigel Lickley 1,453 2.7 -9.4 Anti-Federalist League Alan Sked 878 1.6 Monster Raving Loony David Sutch 404 0.8 Independent Conservative Andrew Bannon 357 0.7 Sack Graham Taylor Peter Newman 80 0.2 Buy the Daily Sport Tara Bardot-Jackson 67 0.1 Save the National Health Service Peter A. Hollyman 60 0.1 Highlander IV Wednesday Promotion John Crockard 48 0.1 Natural Law Mark Griffiths 45 0.1 -0.3 Ian For King Mark Belcher 23 0.0 Alfred The Chicken Karl Fitzhugh 18 0.0 Rainbow Alliance John Walley 16 0.0 Majority 16,427 30.8 Turnout 74.2 Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative Swing 35.4 General Election 1992: Christchurch[8] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative Robert Adley 36,627 63.5 −2.4 Liberal Democrat Rev. D Bussey 13,612 23.6 −0.9 Labour A Lloyd 6,997 12.1 +2.6 Natural Law JT Barratt 243 0.4 N/A Chauvinist Raving Alliance AD Wareham 175 0.3 N/A Majority 23,015 39.9 −1.4 Turnout 57,654 80.7 +4.4 Conservative hold Swing −0.7 Elections in the 1980s
General Election 1987: Christchurch Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative Robert Adley 35,656 65.89 SDP–Liberal Alliance Miss H.J. McKenzie 13,282 24.55 Labour Ms. C.E. Longhurst 5,174 9.56 Majority 22,374 41.35 Turnout 76.25 Conservative hold Swing General Election 1983: Christchurch Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative Robert Adley 31,722 67.07 SDP–Liberal Alliance S Alexander 11,984 25.34 Labour John Mitchell 3,590 7.59 Majority 19,738 41.73 Turnout 72.22 Conservative hold Swing See 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 c d Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 4)
- ^ Knighted July 1712
- ^ Gwyn was re-elected in 1722, but had also been elected for Wells, which he chose to represent, and did not sit again for Christchurch
- ^ Knighted (KB), 1749
- ^ Styled Lord Hyde from June 1776
- ^ Succeeded to a baronetcy, April 1783
- ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge92/ge92index.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
Sources
- The BBC/ITN Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies (Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services, 1983)
- Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
- British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1977)
- British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1974)
- Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume I 1832-1885, edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976)
- Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume II 1886-1918, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1978)
- Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume III 1919-1945, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1979)
- Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) [1]
- 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) [2]
- 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)
- Browne Willis, Notitia Parliamentaria (London, 1750) [3]
- Frederic A Youngs, jr, Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol I (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979)
Constituencies in South West England (55) Conservative (36) Bournemouth East · Bournemouth West · Bridgwater and West Somerset · Bristol North West · Camborne and Redruth · Central Devon · Christchurch · Devizes · East Devon · Filton and Bradley Stoke · Forest of Dean · Gloucester · Kingswood · Newton Abbot · North Dorset · North East Somerset · North Somerset · North Swindon · North Wiltshire · Plymouth Sutton and Devonport · Poole · Salisbury · South Dorset · South East Cornwall · South Swindon · South West Devon · South West Wiltshire · Stroud · Tewkesbury · The Cotswolds · Tiverton and Honiton · Torridge and West Devon · Totnes · Truro and Falmouth · West Dorset · Weston-super-Mare
Liberal Democrats (15) Labour (4) South West England European constituency: Conservative (3) · UKIP (2) · Liberal Democrats (1)
Christchurch, Dorset See also: History of Christchurch · Listed buildings in Christchurch Areas Blackwater · Burton · Fairmile · Friars Cliff · Highcliffe · Hoburne · Hurn · Jumpers Common · Knapp · Mudeford · Portfield · Purewell · Somerford · Sopley · Stanpit · WinktonRivers Attractions Christchurch Castle · Christchurch Harbour · Christchurch Priory · Highcliffe Castle · Mudeford Quay · The Museum of Electricity · The Red House Museum · Stanpit Marsh · TucktoniaSchools Burton CoE Primary · Christchurch Junior · Highcliffe · Mudeford Infants · Mudeford Junior · The Priory CoE Primary · Somerford Infants · Somerford Junior · The Grange · TwynhamRailway
stationsAir travel Hospital Politics Christchurch (UK Parliament constituency) · Christchurch and Lymington (UK Parliament constituency) · Christchurch by-election, 1993 · Christchurch local electionsBattle Battle of MudefordCategories:- Parliamentary constituencies in Dorset
- Parliamentary constituencies in Hampshire (historic)
- United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies established in 1572
- United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies disestablished in 1918
- United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies established in 1983
- Politics of Christchurch, Dorset
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