Colchester (UK Parliament constituency)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Colchester | |
|---|---|
| Borough constituency | |
| for the House of Commons | |
 Boundary of Colchester in Essex. |
|
 Location of Essex within England. |
|
| County | Essex |
| Electorate | 73,638 (December 2010)[1] |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 1997 |
| Member of Parliament | Bob Russell (Liberal Democrat) |
| Number of members | One |
| Created from | Colchester North, South Colchester and Maldon |
| 1295–1983 | |
| Number of members | one (two 1295-1885) |
| Replaced by | Colchester North and Colchester South & Maldon |
| Overlaps | |
| European Parliament constituency | East of England |
Colchester 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.
Contents |
[edit] History
The borough has sent representatives to Parliament since 1295. Two members were sent until 1885, when representation was reduced to one.
[edit] Boundaries
Following their review of parliamentary representation in Essex, the Boundary Commission for England created a modified Colchester constituency formed from the following electoral wards
- Berechurch, Castle, Christ Church, Harbour, Highwoods, Lexden, Mile End, New Town, Prettygate, St Andrew's, St Anne's, St John's, and Shrub End. These boundaries came into effect for the 2010 general election.
From 1997 to 2010 the seat had very similar boundaries.
The present Colchester constituency most closely resembles the old seat of Colchester North, which was held by the Conservative Bernard Jenkin from 1992 to 1997.
[edit] Constituency Profile
Once the basis for one or two semi-rural seats, the modern-day Colchester constituency is a compact, urban core, containing the attractive town centre (often referred to as the oldest town in Britain) and surrounding neighbourhoods.
The seat has one of Britain's largest residential military populations, but the non-military vote in Colchester has been swinging in favour of the Liberal Democrats since 1997, when Bob Russell was elected with a small majority. Russell has increased both his total vote and percentage share in each of the succeeding elections. At the 2010 election it was the only non-Conservative seat in Essex.
[edit] Members of Parliament
[edit] MPs 1295–1640
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[edit] MPs 1640–1885
[edit] Notes
- ^ Succeeded to a baronetcy, April 1648
- ^ Webster and Rebow were re-elected in 1714, but on petition the result was reversed and Gore declared to have been duly elected instead, following a dispute over whether foreigners could be made freemen of the borough and thereby acquire voting rights
- ^ Webster was re-elected in 1710, but on petition the result was reversed and Gore and Corsellis declared to have been duly elected instead, following a further dispute over foreign freemen's voting rights
- ^ At the election of 1741, Olmius and Martin were returned as elected, but on petition their election was declared void and their opponents, Savill and Gray, declared elected in their place
- ^ At the election of 1754, Gray was re- elected, but on petition his election was declared void and his opponent, Rebow, declared elected in his place
- ^ a b On petition, Potter's election was declared void on the grounds of defective qualification and his opponent, Affleck, declared duly elected
- ^ Admiral from 1784
- ^ On petition, Potter was declared ineligible on the grounds of bankruptcy, and a writ for a new election was issued
- ^ Harvey was re-elected in 1820 but on petition his election was declared void on the grounds of defective qualification and a by-election was held
- ^ On petition, Spottiswoode's election was declared void and a by-election was held
[edit] MPs 1885–1983
See also: List of MPs of Colchester, 1885–1983
[edit] MPs since 1997
| Election | Member[5] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Bob Russell | Liberal Democrat | |
[edit] Elections
[edit] Elections in the 2010s
| General Election 2010: Colchester[6] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal Democrat | Bob Russell | 22,151 | 48.0 | +0.3 | |
| Conservative | Will Quince | 15,169 | 32.9 | +0.8 | |
| Labour | Jordan Newell | 5,680 | 12.3 | −7.9 | |
| UKIP | John Pitts | 1,350 | 2.9 | N/A | |
| BNP | Sidney Chaney | 705 | 1.5 | N/A | |
| Green | Peter Lynn | 694 | 1.5 | N/A | |
| English Democrats | Eddie Bone | 335 | 0.7 | N/A | |
| Peoples Party Essex | Garryck Noble | 35 | 0.1 | N/A | |
| Independent | Paul Shaw | 20 | 0.0 | N/A | |
| Majority | 6,982 | 15.1 | −0.5 | ||
| Turnout | 46,139 | 62.3 | +5.8 | ||
| Liberal Democrat hold | Swing | −0.2 | |||
[edit] Elections in the 2000s
| General Election 2005: Colchester | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal Democrat | Bob Russell | 21,145 | 47.1 | +4.5 | |
| Conservative | Kevin Bentley | 14,868 | 33.1 | +3.2 | |
| Labour | Laura Bruni | 8,886 | 19.8 | −5.2 | |
| Majority | 6,277 | 14.0 | |||
| Turnout | 44,899 | 56.8 | +0.7 | ||
| Liberal Democrat hold | Swing | +0.6 | |||
| General Election 2001: Colchester | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal Democrat | Bob Russell | 18,627 | 42.6 | +8.2 | |
| Conservative | Kevin Bentley | 13,074 | 29.9 | -1.5 | |
| Labour | Chris Fegan | 10,925 | 25.0 | -5.6 | |
| UKIP | Roger Lord | 631 | 1.4 | N/A | |
| Grey Party | Len Overy-Owen | 479 | 1.1 | N/A | |
| Majority | 5,553 | 12.7 | |||
| Turnout | 43,736 | 56.1 | -13.5 | ||
| Liberal Democrat hold | Swing | ||||
[edit] Elections in the 1990s
| General Election 1997: Colchester | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal Democrat | Bob Russell | 17,886 | 34.4 | ||
| Conservative | Stephan Shakespeare | 16,335 | 31.4 | ||
| Labour | R. Green | 15,891 | 30.5 | ||
| Referendum Party | J. Hazell | 1,776 | 3.4 | ||
| Natural Law | L. Basker | 148 | 0.3 | ||
| Majority | 1,551 | 3.0 | |||
| Turnout | 69.2 | ||||
[edit] See also
[edit] 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 e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/constituencies/colchester. Retrieved 2011-10-16.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/constituencies/colchester. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/constituencies/colchester. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
- ^ a b c d Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 5)[self-published source?][better source needed]
- ^ BBC - Election 2010 - Colchester
[edit] Sources
- 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]
- F W S Craig, "British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885" (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
- J E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
- Henry Stooks Smith, The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847 (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig - Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973)
- Victoria County History of Essex online at www.british-history.ac.uk
