Northavon (UK Parliament constituency)

Northavon
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Northavon in Avon for the 2005 general election.
Location of Avon within England.
County	1983-1996 Avon 1996-2010 South Gloucestershire
Major settlements	Thornbury, Yate, Chipping Sodbury
1983 (1983)–2010 (2010)
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Thornbury and Yate, Filton and Bradley Stoke

Northavon was, from 1983 until 2010, a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

History

The constituency was established in 1983. Held initially by the Conservative Party, it was gained narrowly by the Liberal Democrats in 1997, then swung heavily in their favour in 2001 and was held again in 2005.

Boundaries

Northavon covered the same area as the former Northavon district (the more rural part of the current South Gloucestershire district) at its creation, but some of the constituency moved to Bristol North West with the boundary review implemented in 1997. The constituency included suburban and industrial areas on the outskirts of Bristol and several dormitory towns and small villages.

Following the review by the Boundary Commission for England of parliamentary representation in the former Avon county, taking effect at the 2010 general election, the Northavon seat has been abolished. It has been largely replaced by the Thornbury and Yate seat, but also by Filton and Bradley Stoke.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1983	Sir John Cope	Conservative
	1997	Steve Webb	Liberal Democrat
	2010	Constituency abolished: see Thornbury and Yate and Filton and Bradley Stoke

Elections

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Northavon
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Steve Webb	30,872	52.3	-0.1
	Conservative	Chris Butt	19,839	33.6	-1.1
	Labour	Patricia Gardener	6,277	10.6	-1.0
	UKIP	Adrian Blake	1,032	1.7	+0.4
	Green	Alan Pinder	922	1.6	+1.6
	Independent (politician)	Thomas Beacham	114	0.2	+0.2
Majority			11,033	18.7
Turnout			59,056	72.2	+1.5
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing	-0.1

General Election 2001: Northavon
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Steve Webb	29,217	52.4	+10.0
	Conservative	Carrie Ruxton	19,340	34.7	-4.3
	Labour	Robert Hall	6,450	11.6	-4.1
	UKIP	Carman Carver	751	1.3	+1.3
Majority			9,877	17.7
Turnout			55,758	70.7	-8.4
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Northavon
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Steve Webb	26,500	42.4	+7.9
	Conservative	John Cope	24,363	39.0	−12.8
	Labour	R Stone	9,767	15.6	+3.5
	UKIP	J Parfitt	1,900	3.0	N/A
Majority			2,137	3.4	−13.9
Turnout			62,530	79.1
	Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative		Swing	+10.4

General Election 1992: Northavon
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Cope	35,338	50.3	−4.1
	Liberal Democrat	Mrs HR Larkins	23,477	33.4	+1.7
	Labour	Mrs NPJ Norris	10,290	14.6	+0.7
	Green	J Greene	789	1.1	+1.1
	Liberal	PJR Marx	380	0.5	−31.2
Majority			11,861	16.9	−5.8
Turnout			70,274	84.3	+4.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.9

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Avon