Tewkesbury (UK Parliament constituency)

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Tewkesbury
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire.
Outline map
Location of Gloucestershire within England.
County Gloucestershire
Electorate 77,206 (December 2010)[1]
Current constituency
Created 1997
Member of parliament Laurence Robertson (Conservative)
Number of members One
Created from Cirencester & Tewkesbury, Cheltenham and West Gloucestershire
1610–1918
Number of members 1610–1868: Two
1868–1918: One
Type of constituency Borough constituency
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency South West England

Tewkesbury is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 1997 recreation by Laurence Robertson, a Conservative.[n 2]

History

1610 to 1918

Tewkesbury existed in this period, first in the parliamentary borough form. It returned two MPs until this was reduced to one in 1868, then saw itself become instead a larger county division under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, and it was abolished in 1918.

Prominent politicians
  • William Dowdeswell was Chancellor of the Exchequer for two years under Rockingham, and his short tenure of this position appears to have been a successful one, he being in Lecky's words a good financier, but nothing more. To general astonishment, he refused to abandon his friends and to take an office under The 1st Earl of Chatham ("Pitt the Elder"), who succeeded Rockingham in August 1766. Dowdeswell then led the Rockingham party in the House of Commons, taking an active part in debate until his death. In 1774 he warned MPs against passing the Boston Port Act, related to the later Boston Tea Party.

1997 to date

The fourth periodic review of Westminster constituencies in 1997 saw the seat's recreation, from the similar, but slightly larger county division Tewkesbury and Cirencester, compared to the present seat.

Boundaries

1885-1918: The Municipal Boroughs of Gloucester and Tewkesbury, the Sessional Divisions of Berkeley, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Tewkesbury, and Winchcombe, part of the Sessional Division of Whitminster, and the parish of Slimbridge.

1997-2010: The Borough of Tewkesbury wards of Ashchurch, Bishop's Cleeve East, Bishop's Cleeve North, Bishop's Cleeve South, Brockworth Glebe, Brockworth Moorfield, Brockworth Westfield, Churchdown Brookfield, Churchdown Parton, Churchdown Pirton, Cleeve Hill, Coombe Hill, Crickley, De Winton, Dumbleton, Gotherington, Horsbere, Innsworth, Shurdington, Tewkesbury Mitton, Tewkesbury Newtown, Tewkesbury Prior's Park, Tewkesbury Town, Twyning, and Winchcombe, and the Borough of Cheltenham wards of Leckhampton with Up Hatherley, Prestbury, and Swindon.

2010-present: The Borough of Tewkesbury wards of Ashchurch with Walton Cardiff, Badgeworth, Brockworth, Churchdown Brookfield, Churchdown St John’s, Cleeve Grange, Cleeve Hill, Cleeve St Michael’s, Cleeve West, Coombe Hill, Hucclecote, Innsworth with Down Hatherley, Isbourne, Northway, Oxenton Hill, Shurdington, Tewkesbury Newtown, Tewkesbury Prior’s Park, Tewkesbury Town with Mitton, Twyning, and Winchcombe, the Borough of Cheltenham wards of Prestbury and Swindon Village, and the City of Gloucester ward of Longlevens.

The constituency was created in 1997 from parts of the seats of Cirencester and Tewkesbury, Cheltenham and West Gloucestershire.

As its name suggests, the main town in the constituency is Tewkesbury, but other settlements include Twyning, Ashchurch, Bishop's Cleeve, Winchcombe, Prestbury, Brockworth, Churchdown, Innsworth and Longlevens.[2]

Constituency profile

The town has a raised centre with the second largest parish church in the country that is the church of a former Benedictine monastery, named Tewkesbury Abbey, the town also has its own mustard and July medieval battle festival. Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.2% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.[3]

Members of Parliament

MPs 1610–1629

  • Constituency created (1610)

The constituency was enfranchised on 23 March 1610 - the first record of its members sworn is 16 April 1610.[4]

Parliament First member Second member
Parliament of 1604-1611 (1610) Sir Dudley Digges Edward Ferrers
Addled Parliament (1614) Sir John Ratcliffe
Parliament of 1621-1622 Giles Brydges
Happy Parliament (1624-1625) Sir Baptist Hicks
Useless Parliament (1625)
Parliament of 1625-1626
Parliament of 1628-1629 Sir Thomas Colepeper
May 1628 Sir William Hicks

MPs 1640–1868

Year First member[5] First party Second member[5] Second party
April 1640 Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper Sir Edward Alford
November 1640 Double return — election declared void[6]
August 1641 Sir Robert Cooke Parliamentarian Sir Edward Alford[7] Royalist
1641 Edward Stephens Parliamentarian
August 1643 Cooke died — seat left vacant
1645 John Stephens
December 1648 Edward Stephens excluded in Pride's Purge - seat vacant
1653 Tewkesbury was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654 Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper - chosen for Wiltshire - replaced by Francis St John Tewkesbury had only one seat in the First and
Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
1656 Francis White
January 1659 Edward Cooke Robert Long[n 3]
May 1659 Not represented in the restored Rump
April 1660 (Sir) Henry Capell Richard Dowdeswell
1673 Sir Francis Russell
1685 Richard Dowdeswell
1690 Sir Henry Capell
1692 Sir Francis Winnington
1698 Charles Hancock
1701 Edmund Bray
1708 Henry Ireton
1710 William Bromley
1712 William Dowdeswell
1713 Charles Dowdeswell
1714 Anthony Lechmere
1717 Nicholas Lechmere
1721 The Viscount Gage[n 4]
1722 Brigadier George Reade
1734 Robert Tracy
1741 John Martin
1747 William Dowdeswell Whig
1754 Nicolson Calvert Whig John Martin, junior
1761 Sir William Codrington Tory
1774 Joseph Martin Whig
1776 James Martin Whig
1792 Lieutenant-Colonel William Dowdeswell Tory
1797 Christopher Bethell Codrington Tory
1807 Charles Hanbury Tracy Whig
1812 John Edmund Dowdeswell Tory John Martin Whig
January 1832 Charles Hanbury Tracy Whig
December 1832 John Martin Whig
1835 William Dowdeswell Conservative
1837 John Martin Whig
1847 Humphrey Brown Whig
1857 Hon. Frederick Lygon Conservative
1859 James Martin Liberal
1864 John Yorke Conservative
1865 William Edward Dowdeswell Conservative
1866 Sir Edmund Lechmere, Bt Conservative
1868 Representation reduced to one Member

MPs 1868–1918

Election Member[5] Party
1868 William Edwin Price Liberal
1880 by-election Richard Martin Liberal
1885 John Yorke Conservative
1886 Sir John Dorington, Bt Conservative
1906 Hon. Michael Hicks Beach (Viscount Quenington from 1915) Conservative
1916 by-election William Frederick Hicks-Beach Conservative
1918 Constituency abolished

MPs since 1997

Election Member[5] Party
1997 Laurence Robertson Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Tewkesbury[8][9][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Laurence Robertson 30,176 54.5 +7.3
Labour Ed Buxton 8,204 14.6 +3.2
Liberal Democrat Alistair Cameron 7,629 13.8 -21.7
UKIP Stuart Adair[11] 7,128 12.9 +8.7
Green Jemma Clarke[12] 2,207 4.0 +3.0
Majority 21,972 39.7 +28.0
Turnout 55,344 70.1 -0.3
Conservative hold Swing [13]
General Election 2010: Tewkesbury[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Laurence Robertson 25,472 47.2 -1.9
Liberal Democrat Alistair Cameron 19,162 35.5 +7.1
Labour Stuart Emmerson 6,253 11.6 -8.7
UKIP Brian Jones 2,230 4.1 N/A
Green Matthew Sidford 525 1.0 -2.2
Monster Raving Loony George Ridgeon 319 0.6 N/A
Majority 6,310 11.7
Turnout 53,961 70.4 +8.2
Conservative hold Swing -4.5

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Tewkesbury[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Laurence Robertson 22,339 49.1 +3.0
Liberal Democrat Alistair Cameron 12,447 27.4 +1.2
Labour Charles Mannan 9,179 20.2 −6.7
Green Robert Rendell 1,488 3.3 N/A
Majority 9,892 21.8
Turnout 45,453 63.0 −0.7
Conservative hold Swing +0.9
General Election 2001: Tewkesbury[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Laurence Robertson 20,830 46.1 +0.3
Labour Keir Dhillon 12,167 26.9 +0.7
Liberal Democrat Steve Martin 11,863 26.2 -1.8
Independent Charles Vernall 335 0.7 N/A
Majority 8,663 19.2
Turnout 45,195 63.7 -12.5
Conservative hold Swing

Election in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Tewkesbury[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Laurence Robertson 23,859 45.8
Liberal Democrat John Sewell 14,625 28.1
Labour Kelvin Tustin 13,665 26.2
Majority 9,234 17.7
Turnout 76.2
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1910s

General Election December 1910[18] Electorate 13,155
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Hon. Michael Hugh Hicks Beach 5,699 52.0 -1.2
Liberal Robert Ashton Lister 5,267 48.0 +3.3
Turnout 10,966 83.4 -3.1
Majority 432 4.0 -4.5
Conservative hold Swing -2.3

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See also

Notes and references

Notes
  1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
  2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
  3. Cannot have been Sir Robert Long Bt as stated by Williams as he was a Royalist
  4. of Castle Island, Ireland
References
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  2. 2010 post-revision map non-metropolitan areas and unitary authorities of England
  3. Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
  4. W R Williams Parliamentary History of the County of Gloucester
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 1)[self-published source][better source needed]
  6. At the election of November 1640 a double return was made: Sir Robert Cooke, Sir Edward Alford, John Craven and Edward Stephens were all returned. The election was declared void on 6 August 1641.
  7. Alford's election was declared void and his opponent, Stephens, was declared duly elected. However, Alford had also been elected for Arundel, and continued to sit for that borough
  8. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. http://www.tewkesbury.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=3537&p=0 19Jun2015
  10. http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/tewkesbury/
  11. http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/tewkesbury/
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  13. swing not useful as change of party order from previous election
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  18. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918

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]
  • The Constitutional Year Book for 1913 (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913)
  • F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
  • J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
  • Henry Stooks Smith, The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847 (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig — Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973)
  • Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 1)[self-published source][better source needed]