Forest of Dean (UK Parliament constituency)

Forest of Dean
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire for the 2010 general election.
Location of Gloucestershire within England.
County	Gloucestershire
Electorate	68,703 (December 2010)
Current constituency
Created	1997 (1997)
Member of Parliament	Mark Harper (Conservative)
Number of members	One
1885 (1885)–1950 (1950)
Number of members	One
Type of constituency	County constituency
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South West England

Forest of Dean 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.

It was created for the 1885 general election to replace part of West Gloucestershire, and abolished for the 1950 election. It was re-established for the 1997 general election.

Boundaries

The Forest of Dean constituency covers Gloucestershire west of the river Severn, and lies in the south west of England, near the Welsh border.

The core of the constituency consists of the Royal Forest of Dean itself, which was established by William the Conqueror nearly a thousand years ago and is one of the last surviving Royal Forests in England.

The area has a rich industrial and mining history, which is evidenced by the market towns of Coleford and Cinderford, and the old port of Lydney from where coal mined in the Forest of Dean Coalfield would start its journey to all parts of the world. The Dean’s rich industrial heritage and spectacular natural beauty unsurprisingly means tourism is an increasingly important aspect of Forest life.

The Wye Valley forms the western border of the Forest and is an area of outstanding natural beauty, whilst the Vale of Leadon forms the northern portion of the constituency. The Vale consists of quintessentially unspoilt English countryside with rolling farmland centred around the picturesque Roman town of Newent, and also produces fine English wine.

The constituency also includes parishes from Tewkesbury district, including Forthampton, Chaceley Hole, Hasfield, Ashleworth, and Highnam.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1885–1950

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Thomas Blake	Liberal
	1887 by-election	Godfrey Blundell Samuelson	Liberal
	1892	Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke	Liberal
	1911 by-election	Henry Webb	Liberal
	1918	James Wignall	Labour
	1925 by-election	Albert Arthur Purcell	Labour
	1929	David John Vaughan	Labour
	1931 by-election	Sir John Vigers Worthington	National Labour
	1935	Morgan Philips Price	Labour
	1950	constituemcy abolished

MPs since 1997

Election		Member	Party
	1997	Diana Organ	Labour
	2005	Mark Harper	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: Forest of Dean
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Harper	22,853	46.9	+6.0
	Labour	Bruce Hogan	11,789	24.2	-12.4
	Liberal Democrat	Christopher Coleman	10,676	21.9	+4.7
	UKIP	Tim Congdon	2,522	5.2	+2.8
	Green	James Greenwood	923	1.9	-0.2
Majority			11,064	22.7
Turnout			48,763	71.3	+0.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+9.2

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Forest of Dean
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Harper	19,474	40.9	+2.1
	Labour	Isabel Owen	17,425	36.6	−6.8
	Liberal Democrat	Christopher Coleman	8,185	17.2	+4.3
	UKIP	Patricia Hill	1,140	2.4	+0.9
	Green	Stephen Tweedie	991	2.1	−0.7
	Independent	Anthony Reeve	300	0.6	N/A
	English Democrats	Gerald Morgan	125	0.3	N/A
Majority			2,049	4.3
Turnout			47,640	70.9	+3.6
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+4.5

General Election 2001: Forest of Dean
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Diana Organ	19,350	43.4	-4.8
	Conservative	Mark Harper	17,301	38.8	+3.2
	Liberal Democrat	David Gayler	5,762	12.9	+0.6
	Green	Simon Pickering	1,254	2.8	N/A
	UKIP	Allen Prout	661	1.5	N/A
	Independent	Gerald Morgan	279	0.6	+0.2
Majority			2,049	4.6
Turnout			44,607	67.3	-11.4
	Labour hold		Swing

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Gloucestershire