Blaby (UK Parliament constituency)

Blaby
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Blaby in Leicestershire for the 2005 general election.
Location of Leicestershire within England.
County	Leicestershire
1974 (1974)–2010 (2010)
Number of members	One
Replaced by	South Leicestershire
European Parliament constituency	East Midlands

Blaby 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 system of election. It is a safe Conservative seat.

Following its review of parliamentary representation in Leicestershire, the Boundary Commission for England has made minor alterations to the existing boundaries of Blaby, which it has been re-named South Leicestershire.

Boundaries

Blaby constituency was created in 1974 from parts of the Harborough seat. It is named for the village of Blaby in south west Leicestershire. A safe Conservative seat consisting mostly of middle-class commuter towns and villages for the neighbouring city of Leicester, it was held for many years by the former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson.

Boundary review

Following its review of parliamentary representation in Leicestershire, the Boundary Commission for England has changed the name of the Blaby constituency to South Leicestershire. This change will occur for the general election in 2010.

The electoral wards used to create the new constituency are;

• From the district of Harborough: Broughton Astley-Astley, Broughton Astley-Broughton, Broughton Astley-Primethorpe, Broughton Astley-Sutton, Dunton, Lutterworth Brookfield, Lutterworth Orchard, Lutterworth Springs, Lutterworth Swift, Misterton, Peatling, and Ullesthorpe
• From Blaby: Blaby South, Cosby with South Whetstone, Countesthorpe, Croft Hill, Enderby and St John's, Millfield, Narborough and Littlethorpe, Normanton, North Whetstone, Pastures, Ravenhurst and Fosse, Saxondale, Stanton and Flamville, and Winstanley

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party	Notes
	Feb 1974	Nigel Lawson	Conservative	Later Baron Lawson of Blaby; Cabinet minister 1981-89
	1992	Andrew Robathan	Conservative
	2010	Constituency abolished: see South Leicestershire

Elections

General election results

Elections in the 2000s

From the general election of 2010, Blaby has been re-shaped and re-named South Leicestershire.

General Election 2005: Blaby
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew Robathan	22,487	45.5	−0.9
	Labour	J David Morgan	14,614	29.6	−3.8
	Liberal Democrat	Jeff Stephenson	9,382	19.0	+1.6
	BNP	Michael Robinson	1,704	3.5	+0.7
	UKIP	Delroy Young	1,201	2.4	N/A
Majority			7,873	15.9	+2.9
Turnout			49,388	65.5	+1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.5

General Election 2001: Blaby
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew Robathan	22,104	46.4	+0.6
	Labour	J David Morgan	15,895	33.4	−0.4
	Liberal Democrat	Geoff Welsh	8,286	17.4	+2.5
	BNP	Edward Scott	1,357	2.8	+1.9
Majority			6,209	13.0	+1.0
Turnout			47,642	64.5	−11.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Blaby
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew Robathan	24,564	45.8	−12.1
	Labour	Ross Willmott	18,090	33.8	+13.0
	Liberal Democrat	Geoff Welsh	8,001	14.9	−5.3
	Referendum Party	Robert Harrison	2,018	3.8	N/A
	BNP	John Peacock	523	1.0	+0.2
	Independent	Terence Stokes	397	0.7	N/A
Majority			6,871	12.0	−25.2
Turnout			53,593	76.1	−7.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1992: Blaby
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew Robathan	39,498	57.9	−2.6
	Labour	Ethel Ranson	14,151	20.8	+6.3
	Liberal Democrat	Marjorie Lewin	13,780	20.2	−4.8
	BNP	John Peacock	521	0.8	N/A
	Natural Law	S. Lincoln	260	0.4	N/A
Majority			25,347	37.2	+1.6
Turnout			68,210	83.4	+2.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Blaby
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nigel Lawson	37,732	60.5	+1.8
	SDP–Liberal Alliance (Liberal)	Richard Lustig	15,556	25.0	−3.0
	Labour	J.M. Roberts	9,046	14.5	+2.2
Majority			22,176	35.6	+4.8
Turnout			62,334	80.9	+3.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1983: Blaby
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nigel Lawson	32,689	58.7	+0.6
	SDP–Liberal Alliance (Liberal)	Richard Lustig	15,573	28.0	+11.8
	Labour	C. Wrigley	6,838	12.3	−9.7
	National Front	P. Gegan	568	1.0	−2.6
Majority			17,116	30.8	−5.3
Turnout			55,668	77.4	−5.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Blaby
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nigel Lawson	33,221	58.1	+8.2
	Labour	T.K. Hill	12,581	22.0	−4.0
	Liberal	D. Inman	9,277	16.2	−7.9
	National Front	P. Gegan	2,056	3.6	N/A
Majority			20,640	36.1	+12.2
Turnout			57,135	83.3	+5.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: Blaby
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nigel Lawson	25,405	49.9	+1.2
	Labour	M.F. Fox	13,244	26.0	+1.1
	Liberal	D. Inman	12,290	24.1	−2.3
Majority			12,161	23.9	+1.6
Turnout			50,939	78.3	−7.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election February 1974: Blaby
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nigel Lawson	26,892	48.7	N/A
	Liberal	G. Broad	14,594	26.4	N/A
	Labour	D.E. Lack	13,749	24.9	N/A
Majority			12,298	22.3	N/A
Turnout			55,235	85.6	N/A

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Leicestershire and Rutland

Sources

• United Kingdom Parliamentary Election Results 1997 - Elections (1997)
• Guardian Unlimited Politics | Ask Aristotle | Blaby - Election History - Elections (1992–1997)
• UK General Elections since 1832 - Elections (1974–1992)

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Surrey East	Constituency represented by the Chancellor of the Exchequer 1983–1989	Succeeded by Huntingdon