Plymouth Drake (UK Parliament constituency)

Plymouth Drake
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
County	Devon
1974 (1974)–1997 (1997)
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Plymouth Sutton
1918 (1918)–1950 (1950)
Number of members	One

Plymouth Drake was a borough constituency in the city of Plymouth, in Devon. It elected one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the first past the post system of election.

History

The first Drake constituency was created for the 1918 general election, and abolished for the 1950 general election. For most of this time it was held by the Conservative Party. It was a Labour gain in the Attlee landslide of 1945, although it had been held by Labour once before, in the 1929-31 Parliament.

The second incarnation of the constituency was created for the February 1974 general election. For the whole of its 23-year existence it was represented by just one MP, Dame Janet Fookes of the Conservative Party. It was always a marginal seat during this period, but Dame Janet managed to survive many strong challenges at each general election she fought, including winning with a majority of just 34 in October 1974 - making Drake the most marginal Conservative seat at that election. She served as a Deputy Speaker of the House to Betty Boothroyd from 1992, and retired from the Commons in 1997.

The constituency was abolished for the 1997 general election, with its wards being transferred to the redrawn constituency of Plymouth Sutton, which was gained by the Labour Party in the Blair landslide of that year. Most of the territory of Drake is now covered by the constituency of Plymouth Sutton and Devonport.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1918–1950

Election		Member	Party
	1918	Sir Arthur Shirley Benn, later Baron Glenravel	Conservative
	1929	James John Hamlyn Moses	Labour
	1931	Frederick Edward Guest	Conservative
	1937 by-election	Henry Guest	Conservative
	1945	Hubert Medland	Labour
	1950	constituency abolished

MPs 1974–1997

Election		Member	Party
	Feb 1974	Dame Janet Fookes	Conservative
	1997	constituency abolished: see Plymouth Sutton

Elections

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1992: Plymouth Drake
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dame Janet Fookes	17,075	43.7	+2.4
	Labour Co-op	P Telford	15,062	38.6	+14.5
	Liberal Democrat	Mrs VA Cox	5,893	15.1	−18.2
	Independent Ind SD	DM Stanbury	476	1.2	+1.2
	Green	Mrs AE Harrison	441	1.1	−0.1
	Natural Law	TJ Pringle	95	0.2	N/A
Majority			2,013	5.2	−2.8
Turnout			39,042	75.6	−1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	−6.0

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Devon