Witney (UK Parliament constituency)
Witney | |
---|---|
County constituency for the House of Commons | |
County | Oxfordshire |
Electorate | 78,220 (December 2010)[1] |
Major settlements | Witney, Carterton,Chipping Norton and Charlbury |
Current constituency | |
Created | 1983 |
Member of Parliament | David Cameron (Conservative) |
Seats | One |
Created from | Mid Oxfordshire and Banbury[2] |
Witney is a county constituency in Oxfordshire 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, and was created for the 1983 general election. It is a safe Conservative Party seat.
The constituency has been represented since 2001 by David Cameron, who has been Conservative leader since 2005 and Prime Minister since 2010.[3] On 22 February 2016, Cameron announced to parliament that he would resign as Prime Minister before the next general election, but would continue to stand as MP for Witney.
History
The constituency's first MP was Douglas Hurd, who served as a cabinet minister under both Margaret Thatcher and John Major, and retired in 1997. Hurd was succeeded by Shaun Woodward at the 1997 general election. However, Woodward defected to the Labour Party in 1999,[4] and Witney unexpectedly had a Labour MP. Woodward chose not to stand in Witney as a Labour candidate and moved to the Labour safe seat of St Helens South instead, following the practice of Alan Howarth in 1997.
At the 2001 general election, David Cameron was elected as MP for Witney and has held the seat since then. Cameron was re-elected to a fourth term as MP for the constituency at the 2015 general election with a majority of 25,155, the highest in his political career; on that occasion his Conservative Party won a surprise majority in the House of Commons, taking 330 seats to the opposition Labour Party's 232, and enabling them to become a majority government.
Boundaries
1983–1997: The District of West Oxfordshire wards of Ascott and Shipton, Aston Bampton and Standlake, Bampton, Bladon and Cassington, Brize Norton and Curbridge, Burford, Carterton North, Carterton South, Chadlington, Charlbury, Chipping Norton, Clanfield and Shilton, Combe and Stonesfield, Ducklington, Enstone, Eynsham, Filkins and Langford, Finstock and Leafield, Freeland and Hanborough, Hailey, Kingham, Milton-under-Wychwood, Minster Lovell, North Leigh, Rollright, Stanton Harcourt, Witney East, Witney North, Witney South, Witney West, and Woodstock, and the District of Cherwell wards of Gosford, North West Kidlington, South East Kidlington, and Yarnton.
1997–2010: The District of West Oxfordshire (the wards of Ascott and Shipton, Aston Bampton and Standlake, Bampton, Bartons and Tackley, Bladon and Cassington, Brize Norton and Curbridge, Burford, Carterton North, Carterton South, Chadlington, Charlbury, Chipping Norton, Clanfield and Shilton, Combe and Stonesfield, Ducklington, Enstone, Eynsham, Filkins and Langford, Finstock and Leafield, Freeland and Hanborough, Hailey, Kingham, Milton-under-Wychwood, Minster Lovell, North Leigh, Rollright, Stanton Harcourt, Witney East, Witney North, Witney South, Witney West, Woodstock, and Wootton), and the District of Cherwell ward of Yarnton.
2010–present: The District of West Oxfordshire (the wards of Alvescot and Filkins, Ascott and Shipton, Bampton and Clanfield, Brize Norton and Shilton, Burford, Carterton North East, Carterton North West, Carterton South, Chadlington and Churchill, Charlbury and Finstock, Chipping Norton, Ducklington, Eynsham and Cassington, Freeland and Hanborough, Hailey, Minster Lovell and Leafield, Kingham, Rollright and Enstone, Milton-under-Wychwood, North Leigh, Standlake, Aston and Stanton Harcourt, Stonesfield and Tackley, The Bartons, Witney Central, Witney East, Witney North, Witney South, Witney West, and Woodstock and Bladon).
As part of the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies the Boundary Commission reported in 2004[5] that the seat of Witney could be composed from the entire district of West Oxfordshire.[6] Seven years later[7] the Commission recommended no change.[8]
In the late 19th century, the Bampton East petty sessional division, with Witney at its heart, formed one part of the Woodstock constituency.[9]
Until 1974, much of the seat remained as part of the Woodstock and latterly Banbury constituency.[10] From 1974 to 1983, the area was included in the Mid Oxfordshire seat along with parts of Bullingdon and Ploughley[citation needed]. Since 1983, Witney has been a full parliamentary seat in its own right and comprises the whole of the District of West Oxfordshire with surrounding villages attached until 1997.
Carterton is the second largest populated town with 14,000[citation needed] and is situated alongside RAF Brize Norton which is vital to the local economy, being one of the largest and busiest Royal Air Force stations in the country[citation needed].
For the 2010 general election, the Witney Parliamentary Constituency boundaries changed and it become co-terminous with the boundaries of West Oxfordshire District Council.
Members of Parliament
Election | Member[11] | Party | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1983 | Douglas Hurd | Conservative | Later Baron Hurd of Westwell; Cabinet minister 1984–95 |
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1997 | Conservative | MP for St Helens South from 2001; later Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | |
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1999[4] | Labour | ||
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 2001 | David Cameron | Conservative | Leader of the Conservative Party 2005–present; Prime Minister 2010–present |
Elections
Elections in the 2010s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | David Cameron | 35,201 | 60.2 | +1.4 | |
Labour | Duncan Enright | 10,046 | 17.2 | +4.2 | |
UKIP | Simon Strutt | 5,352 | 9.2 | +5.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | Andy Graham | 3,953 | 6.8 | −12.7 | |
Green | Stuart Sutherland MacDonald | 2,970 | 5.1 | +0.9 | |
NHA | Clive Peedell | 616 | 1.1 | N/A | |
Wessex Regionalist | Colin Roland Bex | 110 | 0.2 | +0.1 | |
Independent | Christopher Tompson | 94 | 0.2 | N/A | |
Reduce VAT in Sport | Vivien Inez Saunders | 56 | 0.1 | N/A | |
Give Me Back Elmo | Bobby Smith | 37 | 0.1 | N/A | |
Land Party | Deek Jackson | 35 | 0.1 | N/A | |
Independent | Nathan Paul Handley | 12 | 0.02 | N/A | |
Majority | 25,155 | 43.0 | +3.6 | ||
Turnout | 58,482 | 73.3 | +0.00 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | -1.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | David Cameron | 33,973 | 58.8 | +9.4 | |
Liberal Democrats | Dawn Barnes | 11,233 | 19.4 | −3.1 | |
Labour | Joe Goldberg | 7,511 | 13.0 | −9.4 | |
Green | Stuart Sutherland MacDonald | 2,385 | 4.1 | +1.0 | |
UKIP | Count Nikolai Tolstoy | 2,001 | 3.5 | +0.9 | |
Monster Raving Loony | Howling Laud Hope | 234 | 0.3 | N/A | |
Independent | Paul Wesson | 166 | 0.3 | N/A | |
Independent | Johnnie Cook | 151 | 0.3 | N/A | |
Wessex Regionalist | Colin Roland Bex | 62 | 0.1 | N/A | |
Independent | Aaron Barschak | 53 | 0.1 | N/A | |
Majority | 22,740 | 39.4 | +12.5 | ||
Turnout | 57,769 | 73.3 | +4.3 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +6.3 |
Elections in the 2000s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | David Cameron | 26,571 | 49.3 | +4.3 | |
Liberal Democrats | Liz Leffman | 12,415 | 23.0 | +2.7 | |
Labour | Tony Gray | 11,845 | 22.0 | −6.8 | |
Green | Richard Dossett-Davies | 1,682 | 3.2 | +0.9 | |
UKIP | Paul Wesson | 1,356 | 2.5 | +0.9 | |
Majority | 14,156 | 26.3 | +10.1 | ||
Turnout | 53,869 | 69.0 | +3.1 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +0.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | David Cameron | 22,153 | 45.0 | +2.0 | |
Labour | Michael Bartlet | 14,180 | 28.8 | −1.8 | |
Liberal Democrats | Gareth Epps | 10,000 | 20.3 | +0.5 | |
Green | Mark Stevenson | 1,100 | 2.2 | +1.1 | |
Independent | Barry Beadle | 1,003 | 2.0 | N/A | |
UKIP | Kenneth Dukes | 767 | 1.6 | +0.2 | |
Majority | 7,973 | 16.2 | +3.8 | ||
Turnout | 49,203 | 65.9 | −10.8 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +1.9 |
Elections in the 1990s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Shaun Woodward | 24,282 | 43.0 | −14.8 | |
Labour | Alexander J Hollingsworth | 17,254 | 30.6 | +12.5 | |
Liberal Democrats | Angela Lawrence | 11,202 | 19.9 | −2.7 | |
Referendum | Geoffrey Brown | 2,262 | 4.0 | N/A | |
UKIP | Michael Montgomery | 765 | 1.4 | N/A | |
Green | Sue N Chapple-Perrie | 636 | 1.1 | +0.00 | |
Majority | 7,028 | 12.4 | −27.3 | ||
Turnout | 56,401 | 76.7 | −4.2 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | -13.7 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Douglas Hurd | 36,256 | 56.4 | −1.1 | |
Labour | James Plaskitt | 13,688 | 21.3 | +4.6 | |
Liberal Democrats | Ian M Blair | 13,393 | 20.8 | −4.9 | |
Green | Charlotte Beckford | 716 | 1.1 | N/A | |
Natural Law | Sally B Catling | 134 | 0.2 | N/A | |
Ind. Conservative | Marilyn CC Brown | 119 | 0.2 | N/A | |
Majority | 22,568 | 35.1 | +3.4 | ||
Turnout | 64,306 | 81.9 | +4.7 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | -2.8 |
Elections in the 1980s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Douglas Hurd | 33,458 | 57.5 | +2.1 | |
Liberal | Muriel Eda Burton | 14,994 | 25.8 | −5.1 | |
Labour | Christine Frances Collette | 9,733 | 16.7 | +2.9 | |
Majority | 18,464 | 31.7 | +7.2 | ||
Turnout | 58,185 | 77.3 | +2.6 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +3.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Douglas Hurd | 28,695 | 55.4 | N/A | |
Liberal | Philip John Baston | 15,983 | 30.8 | N/A | |
Labour | Carole B Douse | 7,145 | 13.8 | N/A | |
Majority | 12,712 | 24.5 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 51,823 | 74.7 | N/A | ||
Conservative win (new seat) |
Neighbouring constituencies
See also
- List of Parliamentary constituencies in Oxfordshire
- Henley (UK Parliament constituency)
- Oxford East (UK Parliament constituency)
- Oxford West and Abingdon (UK Parliament constituency)
- Wantage (UK Parliament constituency)
Notes and references
- ^ "Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- ^ "'Witney', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
- ^ "David Cameron". Witney Conservatives. 6 May 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
- ^ a b "Anger as Tory defects to Labour". BBC News. 18 December 1999. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
- ^ Review area- Oxfordshire Boundary Commission for England via National Archives
- ^ Final Recommendations – Oxfordshire BCE via National Archives
- ^ What's Proposed – Oxfordshire Boundary Commission for England
- ^ South West recommendations BCE
- ^ 1885 Boundary Commission map Vision of Britain
- ^ 1917 Boundary Commission map Vision of Britain
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 5)
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ http://www.westoxon.gov.uk/media/1045231/statements-of-persons-nominated-and-notice-of-poll-for-parliamentary-election-7-may-2015.pdf
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14001046
- ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
{{cite web}}
:|archive-date=
/|archive-url=
timestamp mismatch; 26 July 2013 suggested (help) - ^ Statement of Persons Nominated, West Oxfordshire District Council
- ^ "2010 Witney Election Result". BBC News. 6 May 2010. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
- ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
- ^ C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.178 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
- ^ The 1997 election result is calculated relative to the notional, not the actual, 1992 result.
- ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
- ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "UK General Election results June 1987". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "UK General Election results June 1983". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 5 February 2011.