Tatton (UK Parliament constituency)

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Tatton County constituency
Tatton shown within Cheshire, and Cheshire shown within England
Created:	1983
MP:	George Osborne
Party:	Conservative
Type:	House of Commons
County:	Cheshire
EP constituency:	North West England

Tatton 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.

Contents 1 Boundaries 1.1 Boundary review 2 History 3 Members of Parliament 4 Election results 5 References 6 Sources 7 See also

[edit] Boundaries

The constituency is in Cheshire in the north-west of England. It covers the north-western part of the Cheshire East unitary authority, including the towns of Knutsford and Wilmslow, and a number of villages such as Alderley Edge, Chelford, Handforth and Mobberley. It also covers the north-west part of the Cheshire West and Chester unitary authority, including some of the outskirts of Northwich.

The constituency is named after Tatton Park, a stately home within the constituency.

[edit] Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Cheshire, in 2007 the Boundary Commission for England made minor changes to the existing arrangement as a consequence of population changes. The electoral wards included in this modified constituency were (as at 12 April 2005) ^[1]:

• From the borough of Macclesfield - Alderley Edge, Chelford, Dean Row, Fulshaw, Handforth, High Legh, Hough, Knutsford Bexton, Knutsford Nether, Knutsford Norbury Booths, Knutsford Over, Lacey Green, Mere, Mobberley, Morley and Styal, and Plumley
• From the borough of Vale Royal - Barnton, Cogshall, Lostock and Wincham, Rudheath & South Witton, Seven Oaks and Marston,and Shakerley.

The changes were approved in 2007 and will come into effect at the next general election ^[2].

[edit] History

The constituency was created for the 1983 general election from parts of the constituencies of Warrington South, Cheadle, Eddisbury, and Knutsford. It was held by the Conservative Neil Hamilton until 1997.

Tatton shot to fame during the 1997 general election campaign, becoming one of the most high-profile constituencies at that election. Following Hamilton's implication in the Cash for Questions scandal of the 1990s, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats withdrew their candidates in favour of the former BBC journalist, Martin Bell, who stood as an Independent (although those two parties supported his "anti-corruption" campaign). Bell was ultimately victorious, with a majority of over 11,000 over Hamilton.

Bell did not contest the seat at the 2001 election, and the seat was won by Conservative George Osborne with a majority of 8,611 (20.8%). Osborne held the seat at the 2005 election with an increased majority, and became the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer that year. Tatton is middle-class commuter territory for Manchester, with Labour strong in only two wards (Barnton, Rudheath and South Witton), with most of the remainder being firmly Conservative.

[edit] Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1983	Neil Hamilton	Conservative
	1997	Martin Bell	Independent
	2001	George Osborne	Conservative

[edit] Election results

General Election 2005: Tatton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Osborne	21,447	51.8	+3.7
	Labour	Justin Madders	9,716	23.5	-3.8
	Liberal Democrat	Ainsley Arnold	9,016	21.8	+3.2
	UK Independence	Diane Bowler	996	2.4	+0.5
	Independent	Michael Gibson	239	0.6	+0.6
Majority			11,731	28.3	3.6
Turnout			41,414	64.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 2001: Tatton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Osborne	19,860	48.1	+10.7
	Labour	Steve Conquest	11,249	27.3
	Liberal Democrat	Mike Ash	7,685	18.6
	UK Independence	Mark Sheppard	769	1.9
	Independent Green	Peter Sharratt	734	1.8
	Tatton Group	Vivianne Allinson	505	1.2
	Independent	John Batchelor	322	0.8
	Independent	Jonathan Boyd Hunt	154	0.4
Majority			8,611	20.8
Turnout			41,278	63.5
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

General Election 1997: Tatton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Martin Bell	29,354	60.2
	Conservative	Neil Hamilton	18,277	37.5	-17.6
	Independent Conservative	S Hill	295	0.6
	Independent Conservative	S Kinsey	184	0.4
	Miss Moneypenny's Glamorous One Party	B Penhaul	128	0.3
	Albion Party	J Muir	126	0.3
	Natural Law	M Kennedy	123	0.3
	Lord Byro versus the Scallywag Tories	D Bishop	116	0.2
	Independent Conservative	R Nicholas	113	0.2
	Juice Party	J Price	73	0.1
Majority			11,077
Turnout				76.5
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

General Election 1992: Tatton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Neil Hamilton	31,658	55.1	+0.5
	Labour	Jon Kelly	15,798	27.5	+5.9
	Liberal Democrat	Cathy Hancox	9,597	16.7	-6.9
	Feudal Party	M Gibson	410	0.7	+0.2
Majority			15,860	27.6
Turnout				80.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1987: Tatton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Neil Hamilton	30,128	54.6	0.0
	SDP-Liberal Alliance	B Gaskin	13,034	23.6	-3.6
	Labour	Hazel Blears	11,760	21.3	+3.1
	Feudal Party	M Gibson	263	0.5
Majority			17,094	31.0
Turnout				76.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1983: Tatton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Neil Hamilton	27,877	54.6
	SDP-Liberal Alliance	D Levy	13,917	27.2
	Labour	D W Davies	9,295	18.2
Majority			13,960	27.3
Turnout				74.3

[edit] References

1. ^ The boroughs of Macclesfield and Vale Royal, along with their constituent wards, were abolished on 1 April 2009, when they became part of the new unitary authorities of Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester respectively; however, the boundaries of the parliamentary constituency remain fixed according to the wards in operation at 12 April 2005
2. ^ The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007, S.I. 2007/1681

[edit] Sources

• Data for the 2005 election are from the BBC.

• Data for the 2001 election are from http://www.election.demon.co.uk/.

• Data for the 1997 and 1992 results are taken from The Guardian.

• Data for 1983 and 1987 elections taken from http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/area/uk.htm

[edit] See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Cheshire

v • d • e Constituencies in North West England Labour Ashton-under-Lyne · Barrow and Furness · Birkenhead · Blackburn · Blackpool North and Fleetwood · Blackpool South · Bolton North East · Bolton South East · Bolton West · Bootle · Burnley · Bury North · Bury South · Carlisle · Chorley · City of Chester · Copeland · Crosby · Denton and Reddish · Eccles · Ellesmere Port and Neston · Halton · Heywood and Middleton · Hyndburn · Knowsley North and Sefton East · Knowsley South · Leigh · Liverpool Garston · Liverpool Riverside · Liverpool Walton · Liverpool Wavertree · Makerfield · Manchester Blackley · Manchester Central · Manchester Gorton · Morecambe and Lunesdale · Oldham East and Saddleworth · Oldham West and Royton · Pendle · Preston · Rossendale and Darwen · Salford · South Ribble · St Helens North · St Helens South · Stalybridge and Hyde · Stockport · Stretford and Urmston · Wallasey · Warrington North · Warrington South · Weaver Vale · West Lancashire · Wigan · Wirral South · Wirral West · Workington · Worsley · Wythenshawe and Sale East Conservative Altrincham and Sale West · Congleton · Crewe and Nantwich · Eddisbury · Fylde · Lancaster and Wyre · Macclesfield · Penrith and The Border · Ribble Valley · Tatton Liberal Democrat Cheadle · Hazel Grove · Manchester Withington · Rochdale · Southport · Westmorland and Lonsdale Independant Liverpool West Derby North West European constituency: Conservative (3) · Labour (2) · UKIP (1) · Liberal Democrats (1) · BNP (1)