Wansdyke (UK Parliament constituency)

Wansdyke
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Wansdyke in Avon for the 2005 general election.
Location of Avon within England.
County	Somerset
1983 (1983)–2010 (2010)
Number of members	One
Replaced by	North East Somerset

Wansdyke was a county 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.

The constituency was created for the 1983 general election, and abolished at the 2010 general election.

History

Until 1997, it was a safe seat for the Conservative Party. It then became a Labour-held marginal until its abolition.

Boundaries

From 1997, Wansdyke covered the part of Bath and North East Somerset not in the Bath constituency. It also contained six wards or parts of wards from South Gloucestershire Council. It was named after the former Wansdyke district, itself named after the Wansdyke, a historical earthwork.

The constituency was located between the cities of Bristol and Bath, including the towns of Keynsham, Midsomer Norton, Radstock and Saltford, as well as the Chew Valley to the south of Bristol. It also covered parts of South Gloucestershire to the east of Bristol, including Bitton, Longwell Green and Oldland Common.

At the 2010 general election the seat was replaced with a new North East Somerset constituency. The parts in South Gloucestershire were transferred to the Kingswood constituency.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1983	Jack Aspinwall	Conservative
	1997	Dan Norris	Labour
	2010	Constituency abolished: see North East Somerset

Elections

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Wansdyke
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dan Norris	20,686	40.6	−6.2
	Conservative	Chris Watt	18,847	37.0	+1.5
	Liberal Democrat	Gail Coleshill	10,050	19.7	+5.3
	UKIP	Peter Sandell	1,129	2.2	+0.9
	Independent	Geoffrey Parkes	221	0.4	N/A
Majority			1,839	3.6
Turnout			50,933	72.4	+2.5
	Labour hold		Swing	−3.8

General Election 2001: Wansdyke
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dan Norris	23,206	46.8	+2.8
	Conservative	Chris Watt	17,593	35.5	+0.2
	Liberal Democrat	Gail Coleshill	7,135	14.4	-2.4
	Green	Francis Hayden	958	1.9	N/A
	UKIP	Peter Sandell	655	1.3	+0.5
Majority			5,613	11.3
Turnout			49,547	69.9	-9.1
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Wansdyke
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dan Norris	24,117	44.1	+16.4
	Conservative	Mark Prisk	19,318	35.3	−12.9
	Liberal Democrat	Jeff Manning	9,205	16.8	−6.0
	Referendum Party	K. Clinton	1327	2.4	+2.4
	Independent	T. Hunt	438	0.8	+0.8
	Monster Raving Loony	P. House	225	0.4	+0.4
	Natural Law	S. Lincoln	92	0.2	+0.2
Majority			4,799	8.7
Turnout			54,722	79.3	0
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	-14.65

General Election 1992: Wansdyke
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jack Aspinwall	31,389	48.2	−3.3
	Labour	Dan Norris	18,048	27.7	+4.5
	Liberal Democrat	Mrs D Darby	14,834	22.8	−2.4
	Green	FE Hayden	800	1.2	+1.2
Majority			13,341	20.5	−5.9
Turnout			65,071	84.2	+3.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	−3.9

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Avon