Amber Valley (UK Parliament constituency)

Amber Valley
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Amber Valley in Derbyshire.
Location of Derbyshire within England.
County	Derbyshire
Electorate	69,538 (December 2010)
Current constituency
Created	1983 (1983)
Member of Parliament	Nigel Mills (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	East Midlands

Amber Valley 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 voting system. It is a marginal constituency between the Conservative and Labour parties. The current MP is the Conservatives' Nigel Mills, first elected at the 2010 general election.

History

The constituency was created in 1983 and was held by the Conservative Phillip Oppenheim from its creation until Labour's Judy Mallaber defeated Oppenheim in 1997. She was narrowly defeated in 2010 by the Conservative Nigel Mills.

Boundaries

The pre-2010 boundaries of Amber Valley

Following its review of parliamentary representation in Derbyshire, the Boundary Commission for England has created a seat of Mid Derbyshire. This creation has consequences for neighbouring seats, including Amber Valley from which some wards have been taken in the creation of the new seat.

The modified Amber Valley constituency fought at the 2010 general election was created from the following electoral wards:

• Alfreton; Codnor and Waingroves; Heage and Ambergate; Heanor and Loscoe; Heanor East; Heanor West; Ironville and Riddings; Kilburn, Denby and Holbrook; Langley Mill and Aldercar; Ripley; Ripley and Marehay; Shipley Park, Horsley and Horsley Woodhouse; Somercotes; Swanwick; Wingfield.

The town of Belper has been moved into the new Mid Derbyshire constituency.

Constituency profile

Amber Valley constituency covers the Derbyshire market towns of Alfreton, Heanor and Ripley, all of which are favourably disposed to the Labour Party. However the constituency also has a considerable rural / suburban element, stretching from the edge of the Peak District to the northern edge of Derby, which is more favourably disposed to the Conservatives. It can therefore be considered a marginal seat.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1983	Phillip Oppenheim	Conservative
	1997	Judy Mallaber	Labour
	2010	Nigel Mills	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: Amber Valley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nigel Mills	17,746	38.6	+4.7
	Labour	Judy Mallaber	17,210	37.4	−9.0
	Liberal Democrat	Tom Snowdon	6,636	14.4	+2.1
	BNP	Michael Clarke	3,195	7.0	+4.1
	UKIP	Sue Ransome	906	2.0	+0.3
	Monster Raving Loony	Sam Thing	265	0.6	N/A
Majority			536	1.2	−11.3
Turnout			45,958	65.5	+1.5
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+6.9

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Amber Valley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Judy Mallaber	21,593	45.6	−6.3
	Conservative	Gillian Shaw	16,318	34.4	−1.3
	Liberal Democrat	Kate Smith	6,225	13.1	+0.7
	BNP	Paul Snell	1,243	2.6	N/A
	Veritas	Alex Stevenson	1,224	2.6	N/A
	UKIP	Hugh Price	788	1.7	N/A
Majority			5,275	11.1	−5.1
Turnout			47,391	62.9	+2.6
	Labour hold		Swing	−3.8

General Election 2001: Amber Valley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Judy Mallaber	23,101	51.9	−2.8
	Conservative	Gillian Shaw	15,874	35.7	+2.2
	Liberal Democrat	Kate Smith	5,538	12.4	+4.7
Majority			7,227	16.2	−5.1
Turnout			44,513	60.3	−15.6
	Labour hold		Swing	−2.5

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Amber Valley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Judy Mallaber	29,943	54.7	+10.3
	Conservative	Phillip Oppenheim	18,330	33.4	−13.0
	Liberal Democrat	R Shelley	4,219	7.7	−1.4
	Referendum Party	I McGibbon	2,283	4.2	N/A
Majority			11,613	21.3	+19.2
Turnout			72,116	76.0	−8.7
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	11.7

General Election 1992: Amber Valley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Phillip Oppenheim	27,418	46.1	−5.3
	Labour	John Cooper	26,706	44.9	+10.6
	Liberal Democrat	G Brocklebank	5,294	8.9	−5.3
Majority			712	1.2	−15.9
Turnout			59,418	84.7	+3.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	−7.9

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Amber Valley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Phillip Oppenheim	28,603	51.4	+9.7
	Labour	DM Bookbinder	19,103	34.4	−0.9
	Liberal	S Reynolds	7,904	14.2	−7.1
Majority			9,500	17.1	+10.7
Turnout			68,478	81.2	+4.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.3

General Election 1983: Amber Valley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Phillip Oppenheim	21,502	41.7
	Labour	DM Bookbinder	18,184	35.3
	Liberal	B Johnson	10,989	21.3
	Independent	P Griffiths	856	1.7
Majority			3,318	6.4
Turnout			66,720	77.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Derbyshire