Taunton (UK Parliament constituency)
| Taunton | |
|---|---|
| Former County constituency | |
| for the House of Commons | |
 Boundary of Taunton in Somerset for the 1997-2010 general election. |
|
 Location of Somerset within England. |
|
| County | Somerset |
| Major settlements | Taunton |
| 1918–2010 | |
| Number of members | One |
| Replaced by | Taunton Deane |
| 1295–1918 | |
| Number of members | Two (1295-1885), One (1885-1918) |
| Type of constituency | Borough constituency |
Taunton was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and its predecessors from 1295 to 2010, taking its name from the town of Taunton in Somerset. Until 1918, it was a parliamentary borough, electing two Member of Parliaments (MPs) between 1295 and 1885 and one from 1885 to 1918; the name was then transferred to a county constituency, electing one MP.
In the boundary changes that came into effect at the general election of 2010, the Boundary Commission for England replaced Taunton with a modified constituency called Taunton Deane, to reflect the district name.
Contents |
[edit] Boundaries
Taunton borough (to 1918): The borough consisted of the town of Taunton, Somerset. Until 1832, it retained the medieval boundaries, which included only part of the parish of St Mary Magdalene, Taunton, but the boundary act extended it to take in more of the town, including parts of Taunton St James, Wilton, West Monkton and Bishop's Hull parishes, which more than doubled its population.
Taunton county constituency (1918–2010): The county constituency created in 1918 effectively combined the borough with the southern part of the existing West Somerset or Wellington county division, so that it included the towns of Wellington and Wiveliscombe, many small villages and parts of Exmoor. Until local government reorganisation in the 1970s, it was defined as consisting of Taunton borough, Wellington Urban District, Wiveliscombe Urban District (until that was abolished) and the Dulverton, Taunton and Wellington rural districts. There were very minor boundary changes in 1983.
[edit] History
In the 2005 general election, the victorious Liberal Democrats candidate in Taunton required the smallest percentage swing from the Conservative MP for them to take the seat.
[edit] Members of Parliament
[edit] MPs 1295–1640
- Constituency created (1295)
-
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
| Parliament | First member | Second member | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1386 | William Portman | William Marchaunt | ||
| 1388 (Feb) | William Marchaunt | William Portman | ||
| 1388 (Sep) | William Marchaunt | William Damarle | ||
| 1390 (Jan) | William Marchaunt | John Porter | ||
| 1390 (Nov) | ||||
| 1391 | William Marchaunt | William Portman | ||
| 1393 | William Marchaunt | John Porter | ||
| 1394 | William Marchaunt | John Porter | ||
| 1395 | William Marchaunt | Walter Puryham | ||
| 1397 (Jan) | Robert Coullyng | Robert Eysel | ||
| 1397 (Sept) | Richard Marchaunt | John Northmore | ||
| 1399 | Walter Puryham | Edmund Rokes | ||
| 1401 | ||||
| 1402 | William Portman | Ralph Sargor | ||
| 1404 (Jan | ||||
| 1404 (Oct) | ||||
| 1406 | William Portman | Robert Bathe | ||
| 1407 | Richard Marchaunt | John Northmore | ||
| 1410 | Thomas Bacot | Thomas Edward | ||
| 1411 | ||||
| 1413 (Feb) | ||||
| 1413 (May) | John Rydon | Lewis John | ||
| 1414 (Apr) | John Marchaunt | Edmund Dyer | ||
| 1414 (Nov) | John Marchaunt | Edmund Dyer | ||
| 1415 | ||||
| 1416 (Mar) | ||||
| 1416 (Oct) | ||||
| 1417 | John Rydon | Walter Portman | ||
| 1419 | Walter Portman | Robert Croke | ||
| 1420 | Robert Croke | William Borde | ||
| 1421 (May) | Walter Portman | William Borde | ||
| 1421 (Dec) | Walter Portman | John Bowe | ||
| 1455 | Ralph Legh | |||
| 1467 | Sir William Danvers | |||
| 1470 | ?Sir William Danvers | |||
| 1472 | Sir William Danvers | |||
| 1510-1523 | No names known | |||
| 1529 | Thomas Cromwell | William Portman | ||
| 1536 | ?Richard Pollard | ?William Portman | ||
| 1547 | Sir Nicholas Hare | John Caryll | ||
| 1553 (Mar) | ? | |||
| 1553 (Oct) | James Basset | John Wingfield | ||
| 1554 (Apr) | William Barne | Oliver Vachell | ||
| 1554 (Nov) | Thomas Eden | John Norres | ||
| 1555 | Dr Valentine Dale | ? | ||
| 1558 | Richard Myrfield | |||
| 1559 | ? | ? | ||
| 1563-1567 | Miles Sandys | Anthony Leigh | ||
| 1571 | Robert Hill | Richard Blount died during the 1572 Parliament In his place Edmund Hodges |
||
| 1572-1581 | Roger Hill | |||
| 1584-1585 | Maurice Horner | William Goldwell | ||
| 1586-1587 | Francis Bacon | John Goldwell | ||
| 1588-1589 | Thomas Fisher | |||
| 1593 | William Aubrey, DCL | John Davidge | ||
| 1597-1598 | Edward Barker | Edward Hexte | ||
| 1601 | John Bond | Daniel Donne, DCL | ||
| 1604-1611 | Edward Hexte | |||
| Addled Parliament (1614) | James Clerke | John Dunn | ||
| 1621-1622 | Lewis Pope | Thomas Brereton | ||
| Happy Parliament (1624-1625) | Roger Prowse | |||
| Useless Parliament (1625) | Sir Hugh Portman | Edward Brereton | ||
| 1625-1626 | Sir Robert Gorges | George Browne | ||
| 1628 | Sir Hugh Portman | |||
| 1629-1640 | No Parliament summoned | |||
[edit] MPs 1640–1885
[edit] MPs since 1885
[edit] Elections
[edit] Elections in the 2000s
| General Election 2005: Taunton | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal Democrat | Jeremy Browne | 25,764 | 43.3 | +2.0 | |
| Conservative | Adrian Flook | 25,191 | 42.3 | +0.6 | |
| Labour | Andrew Govier | 7,132 | 12.0 | -2.9 | |
| UKIP | Helen Miles | 1,441 | 2.4 | +0.3 | |
| Majority | 573 | 1.0 | +0.6 | ||
| Turnout | 59,528 | 69.7 | +2.1 | ||
| Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative | Swing | -0.7 | |||
| General Election 2001: Taunton | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Adrian Flook | 23,033 | 41.7 | +3.0 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Jackie Ballard | 22,798 | 41.3 | -1.4 | |
| Labour | Andrew Govier | 8,254 | 14.9 | +1.4 | |
| UKIP | Michael Canton | 1,140 | 2.1 | N/A | |
| Majority | 235 | 0.4 | |||
| Turnout | 55,225 | 67.6 | -8.8 | ||
| Conservative gain from Liberal Democrat | Swing | ||||
[edit] Elections in the 1990s
| General Election 1997: Taunton | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal Democrat | Jackie Ballard | 26,064 | 42.7 | +1.9 | |
| Conservative | David Nicholson | 23,621 | 38.7 | -7.3 | |
| Labour | Elizabeth Lisgo | 8,248 | 13.5 | +0.8 | |
| Referendum Party | B. Ahern | 2,760 | 4.5 | N/A | |
| BNP | Les Andrews | 318 | 0.5 | N/A | |
| Majority | 2,443 | ||||
| Turnout | 76.5 | -5.8 | |||
| Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
| General Election 1992: Taunton[10] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | David Nicholson | 29,576 | 46.0 | −5.3 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Jackie Ballard | 26,240 | 40.8 | +7.1 | |
| Labour | Mrs L. Jean Hole | 8,151 | 12.7 | −2.2 | |
| Natural Law | Philip A. Leavey | 279 | 0.4 | +0.4 | |
| Majority | 3,336 | 5.2 | −12.4 | ||
| Turnout | 64,246 | 82.3 | +3.0 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −6.2 | |||
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ a b c Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 1)[self-published source?][better source needed]
- ^ Cobbett records Admiral Robert Blake as being elected for Taunton and Palmer for Bridgwater; but Brunton & Pennington agree with the Dictionary of National Biography that Blake was MP for Bridgwater and Palmer for Taunton.
- ^ At the general election of 1715, Warre and Portman were initially declared re-elected, but on petition (in a dispute over the franchise) they were adjudged not to have been duly elected and their opponents, Pynsent and Smith, were seated in their place
- ^ Styled Lord Cockermouth from October 1749
- ^ Created Earl of Tyrconnell (in the Peerage of Ireland), May 1761
- ^ Succeeded as The Lord Farnham , August 1759; created Viscount Farnham, September 1760 and Earl of Farnham, May 1763 (all these titles being in the Peerage of Ireland).
- ^ On petition, Stratford and Webb were adjudged not to have been duly elected, and their opponents, Halliday and Popham, were seated in their place
- ^ On petition, Mills' election was declared void and a by-election was held
- ^ On petition, the election of Cox was declared void and after scrutiny of the votes his opponent, James, was declared to have been duly elected
- ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge92/ge92index.htm. Retrieved 6 Dec 2010.
[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)
- Maija Jansson (ed.), Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons) (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988)
- J E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
- Browne Willis, Notitia Parliamentaria (London, 1750) [3]
- Frederic A Youngs, jr, Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol I (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979)
- The BBC/ITN Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies (Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services, 1983)
- Concise Dictionary of National Biography
- List of speakers: Parliaments of 1656 and 1658-9, Diary of Thomas Burton esq, volume 4: March - April 1659 (1828) at British History Online
