Barkston Ash (UK Parliament constituency)

Barkston Ash
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
1885 (1885)–1983 (1983)
Number of members	one
Replaced by	Selby
Created from	Eastern West Riding of Yorkshire

Barkston Ash was a parliamentary constituency centred on the village of Barkston Ash in the West Riding of Yorkshire (now part of North Yorkshire). It was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

History

The constituency was created under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, and in the main returned Conservative MPs at every general election until its abolition. However, it was briefly represented by the Liberal Joseph Andrews, who won the seat at a by-election in October 1905 after the death of its first MP, Sir Robert Gunter. The Conservatives regained the seat at the 1906 general election.

At the 1983 general election, Barkston Ash was replaced by the Selby constituency. As of the 2010 general election, the modern equivalent of Barkston Ash is Selby and Ainsty.

Boundaries

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 provided that the constituency was to consist of-

• the Sessional Divisions of-
  • Lower Barkston Ash
  • Skyrack (except so much as is comprised in the Osgoldcross and Pudsey Divisions)
  • Upper Barkston Ash (except so much as is comprised in the Osgoldcross Division)
  • Wetherby (except the Parishes (which are in the Wapentake of the Ainsty of York) of Tockwith, Bickerton, Thorpe Arch, Bilton, and Walton), and
• the Parishes of Grimston, Kirkby Wharf with North Milford, Newton Kyme with Toulston, Stutton with Hazlewood, Tadcaster West, Towton and Ulleskelf.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Sir Robert Gunter, Bt.	Conservative
	1905 by-election	Joseph Andrews	Liberal
	1906	Colonel George Lane-Fox	Conservative
	1931	Sir Leonard Ropner, Bt.	Conservative
	1964	Michael Alison	Conservative
	1983	constituency abolished: see Selby

Elections

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Barkston Ash
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Alison	40,381	56.3	+8.3
	Labour	John Muir	21,670	30.2	-2.2
	Liberal	Philip Pughe-Morgan	7,909	11.0	-8.6
	Ecology	David Corry	1,829	2.6	+2.6
Majority			18,711	26.1
Turnout			71,789	78.1	+2.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.3

General Election 1974 October: Barkston Ash
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Alison	30,498	48.0	-1.0
	Labour	John Muir	20,557	32.4	+2.4
	Liberal	Duncan Paige	12,483	19.7	-1.4
Majority			9,941	15.6
Turnout			63,538	75.8	-7.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.7

General Election 1974 February: Barkston Ash
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Alison	33,979	49.0	-10.6
	Labour	John Muir	20,782	30.0	-10.5
	Liberal	Duncan Paige	14,618	21.1	+21.1
Majority			13,197	19.0
Turnout			69,379	83.5	+7.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.1

General Election 1970: Barkston Ash
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Alison	35,198	59.6	+3.3
	Labour	Keith Grime	23,861	40.4	-3.3
Majority			11,337	19.2
Turnout			59,059	75.6	-4.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.3

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in North Yorkshire

References

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 1)