Peterborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Template:UK constituency infobox
Peterborough is a 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.
Boundaries
The City of Peterborough formed a parliamentary borough returning two members from 1541, with the rest of the Soke being part of Northamptonshire parliamentary county, except the area south of the River Nene in the historic county of Huntingdonshire and Thorney, in Cambridgeshire. Until 1832 when the whole of the parish of Saint John the Baptist was encompassed, the boundary, as far as is known, excluded the villages of Longthorpe, Dogsthorpe and Newark with Eastfield.
The Great Reform Act did not affect the borough, while the rural portion of the Soke was included in the northern division of Northamptonshire. New Fletton was transferred from Huntingdonshire in 1868 and in 1918 a new borough constituency was formed including the whole of the Soke and neighbouring parts of the administrative county of Northamptonshire, extending down to and beyond Thrapston and Corby. In 1948 the boundaries of the constituency were adjusted to correspond to those of the Soke and they remained much the same until 1970.[1]
Following their recent review of parliamentary representation in Cambridgeshire, the Boundary Commission for England has made minor alterations to the existing constituencies to deal with population changes. The electoral wards used to create the modified Peterborough constituency to be fought at the next United Kingdom general election are:
Bretton North, Bretton South, Central, Dogsthorpe, East, Eye and Thorney, Newborough, North, Park, Paston, Ravensthorpe, Walton, Werrington North, Werrington South, and West.[2]
The Peterborough wards of Barnack, Fletton, Glinton and Wittering, Northborough, Orton Longueville, Orton Waterville, Orton with Hampton, Stanground Central, and Stanground East form part of the North West Cambridgeshire constituency created in 1997. Eye and Thorney was previously included in the North East Cambridgeshire constituency.
Members of Parliament
Peterborough sent two members to parliament for the first time in 1547. Representation was reduced to one member under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. In 1966, the closest poll in the city's history, Sir Harmer Nicholls held the seat by three votes after 17 recounts. Nicholls was the Conservative member for Peterborough from 1950 to 1974, when he lost in the October election of that year to Labour's Michael Ward, having held on by just 22 votes in the election eight months earlier.[3][4]
In the unreformed House of Commons in order to be either a candidate or an elector for a county seat, a man had to own (not rent) freehold property valued for the land tax at two pounds a year (women could neither vote nor stand for election). This was known as the 40 shilling freehold. The franchise for borough seats varied enormously. Originally the dean and chapter had claimed the franchise and held that only residents of Minster Precincts were burgesses. By the interregnum, Peterborough was one of 37 boroughs in which suffrage was restricted to those paying scot and lot, a form of municipal taxation. In 1800 there were 2,000 registered voters in Northamptonshire and 400 in Peterborough. By 1835 this was 576, or about one per cent of the population.[5]
The Great Reform Act enfranchised those owning property worth the annual rental of £10 or more and the Second Reform Act extended this to all householders and lodgers paying £10pa or more in rent, so by 1868 the percentage of voters in Peterborough had risen to about 20%. The Third Reform Act extended the provisions of the previous act to the counties and the Fourth Reform Act widened suffrage futher by abolishing practically all property qualifications for men and by enfranchising women over 30 who met minimum property qualifications. This system, known as universal manhood suffrage, was first used in the 1918 general election.[6]
| Tenure | Incumbent | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Parliament of England | |||
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1547 - 1553 | Sir Wymond Carewe | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1547 - 1553 | Richard Pallady | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1553 - 1554 | Sir Walter Mildmay | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1553 - 1554 | Sir William Fitzwilliam | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1554 | Giles Isham | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1554 | William Lyvelly | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1554 - 1555 | John Gamble | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1555 - 1558 | Maurice Tyrell | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1555 - 1558 | John Mountsteven | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1558 - 1562 | Sir William Fitzwilliam | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1558 - 1572 | Robert Wyngfyld Jnr. | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1562 - 1572 | John Fitzwilliam | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1572 - 1584 | Hugh Fitzwilliam | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1572 - 1584 | Humphrey Mildmay | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1584 - 1588 | Sir William Fitzwilliam | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1584 - 1586 | James Scambler | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1586 - 1588 | Thomas Hacke | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1588 - 1597 | Sir Thomas Reede | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1588 - 1592 | Thomas Howland | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1592 - 1597 | Thomas Hacke | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1597 - 1601 | John Wingfield | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1597 - 1601 | Sir Richard Cecil of Wakerley | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1601 - 1603 | Nicholas Tufton | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1601 - 1603 | Goddard Pemberton | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1603 - 1614 | Sir Richard Cecil of Wakerley | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1603 - 1620 | Edward Wymarke | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1614 - 1620 | Sir William Walter | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1620 - 1623 | Mildmay Fane (later 2nd Earl of Westmorland) | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1620 - 1623 | Walter Fitzwilliam | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1623 - 1624 | Sir Francis Fane KB (later 1st Earl of Westmorland) | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1623 - 1640 | Laurance Whitacre | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1624 - 1625 | Sir Christopher Hatton KG | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1625 - 1640 | Mildmay Fane, Lord Burghersh (later 2nd Earl of Westmorland) | |
| The Short Parliament (April - May 1640) | |||
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1640 | David Cecil, Lord Burghley (later 3rd Earl of Exeter) | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1640 - 1654 | William Fitzwilliam, 2nd Baron Fitzwilliam of Lifford | |
| The Long Parliament (1640 - 1649) | |||
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1640 - 1654 | Sir Robert Napier, 2nd Baronet of Luton Hoo | |
| The Rump Parliament (1648 - 1653) | |||
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1654 - 1658 | Sir Humphrey Orme | |
| The Barebone's Parliament (1653) | |||
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1658 - 1660 | Francis St. John | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1658 - 1660 | Colonel Alexander Blake | |
| The First (1654 - 1655), Second (1656 - 1658) and Third (1659) Protectorate Parliaments | |||
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1660 - 1661 | Charles Fane, Lord le Despencer (later 3rd Earl of Westmorland) | |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1660 - 1671 | Sir Humphrey Orme | |
| The Rump Parliament recalled (1659) and the Long Parliament restored (1660) | |||
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1661 | Edward Palmer | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1661 - 1679 | William Fitzwilliam, 3rd Baron Fitzwilliam of Lifford (later 1st Earl Fitzwilliam) | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1671 - 1679 | Sir Vere Fane KB (later 4th Earl of Westmorland) | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1679 - 1685 | Francis St. John | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1679 - 1681 | Charles Orme | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1681 - 1685 | William Fitzwilliam, 3rd Baron Fitzwilliam of Lifford (later 1st Earl Fitzwilliam) | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1685 - 1689 | Charles Fitzwilliam | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1685 - 1688 | Charles Orme | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1688 - 1698 | Gilbert Dolben | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1689 - 1698 | Sir William Brownlow, 4th Baronet of Humby | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1698 - 1710 | Sidney Wortley-Montagu | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1698 - 1701 | Francis St. John | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1701 - 1710 | Sir Gilbert Dolben, 1st Baronet of Finedon | Whig |
| The Parliament of Great Britain | |||
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1710 - 1729 | John Fitzwilliam, Viscount Milton (later 2nd Earl Fitzwilliam) | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1710 - 1722 | Charles Parker | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1722 - 1727 | Sidney Wortley-Montagu | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:Tory Party/meta/color" | | 1727 | Sir Edward O'Bryan | Tory |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1727 - 1729 | Sidney Wortley-Montagu | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1729 - 1734 | Joseph Banks | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1729 - 1733 | Charles Gounter-Nicoll | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1733 - 1741 | Armstead Parker | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1734 - 1761 | Edward Wortley-Montagu | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1741 - 1742 | William Fitzwilliam, Viscount Milton (later 3rd Earl Fitzwilliam) | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1742 - 1747 | Armstead Parker | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1747 - 1768 | Sir Matthew Lamb, 1st Baronet of Brocket | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1761 - 1768 | Armstead Parker | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1768 - 1780 | Matthew Wyldbore | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1768 - 1774 | Henry Belasyse, Viscount Belasyse (later 2nd Earl Fauconberg) | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1774 - 1796 | Richard Benyon (the younger) | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1780 - 1786 | James Farrel Phipps | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1786 - 1802 | The Hon. Lionel Damer | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1796 - 1809 | Dr. French Laurence DCL | Whig |
| The Parliament of the United Kingdom | |||
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1802 - 1819 | William Elliot | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1809 - 1812 | Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock KG (later 7th Duke of Bedford) | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1812 - 1816 | George Ponsonby | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1816 - 1819 | The Hon. William Lamb FRS (later 2nd Viscount Melbourne) | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1819 - 1830 | Sir James Scarlett (later 1st Baron Abinger) | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1819 - 1847 | Sir Robert Heron, 2nd Baronet of Newark | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1830 - 1833 | Charles William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, Viscount Milton (later 5th Earl Fitzwilliam) | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1833 - 1841 | John Nicholas Fazakerley | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1841 - 1859 | The Hon. George Wentworth-Fitzwilliam | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1847 - 1852 | William George Cavendish (later 2nd Baron Chesham) | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1852 | The Hon. Richard Watson | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1852 - 1853 | George Hammond Whalley | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1853 - 1868 | Thomson Hankey | Whig |
| style="background-color: Template:British Whig Party/meta/color" | | 1859 - 1878 | George Hammond Whalley | Whig / Liberal |
| style="background-color: Template:/meta/color" | | 1868 - 1874 | William Wells | |
| style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1874 - 1878 | Thomson Hankey | Liberal |
| style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1878 - 1889 | William John Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, Viscount Milton | Independent Liberal |
| style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1880 - 1883 | George Hampden Whalley | Liberal |
| style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1883 - 1885 | Sir Sydney Charles Buxton GCMG (later 1st Earl Buxton) | Liberal |
| style="background-color: Template:Liberal Unionist Party/meta/color" | | 1889 - 1895 | Sir Alpheus Cleophas Morton | Liberal Unionist |
| style="background-color: Template:Liberal Unionist Party/meta/color" | | 1895 - 1906 | Sir Robert Purvis | Liberal Unionist / Conservative |
| style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1906 - 1918 | Sir Granville George Greenwood | Liberal |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1918 - 1929 | Major Sir Henry Leonard Campbell Brassey, 1st Baronet (later 1st Baron Brassey) of Apethorpe Sitting member for North Northants. from 1910 | Conservative and Unionist |
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1929 - 1931 | James Francis Horrabin | Labour |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1931 - 1943 | David George Brownlow Cecil, Lord Burghley KCMG (later 6th Marquess of Exeter) | Conservative and Unionist |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1943 - 1945 | John Michael Henry Hely-Hutchinson, Viscount Suirdale (later 7th Earl of Donoughmore) | Conservative and Unionist |
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Co-operative/meta/color" | | 1945 - 1950 | Stanley Tiffany | Labour Co-operative |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1950 - 1974 | Sir Harmar Nicholls JP, 1st Baronet of Darlaston (later Lord Harmar-Nicholls) | Conservative and Unionist |
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1974 - 1979 | Michael John Ward | Labour |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1979 - 1997 | Dr. Sir Brian Stanley Mawhinney PhD (later Lord Mawhinney) | Conservative and Unionist |
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1997 - 2005 | Helen Rosemary Brinton (later Mrs. Clark) | Labour |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 2005 - date | Stewart James Jackson | Conservative and Unionist |
Election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Stewart Jackson | 17,354 | 42.1 | +4.1 | |
| Labour | Helen Clark | 14,624 | 35.5 | −9.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Nick Sandford | 6,876 | 16.7 | +2.2 | |
| UKIP | Mary Herdman | 1,242 | 3.0 | +0.6 | |
| National Front | Terry Blackham | 931 | 2.3 | +2.3 | |
| Motorcycle News | Marc Potter | 167 | 0.4 | ||
| Majority | 2,730 | 6.6 | |||
| Turnout | 41,194 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +7.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Helen Brinton | 17,975 | 45.1 | −5.2 | |
| Conservative | Stewart Jackson | 15,121 | 38.0 | +2.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Nick Sandford | 5,761 | 14.5 | +3.8 | |
| UKIP | Julian Fairweather | 955 | 2.4 | +1.7 | |
| Majority | 2,854 | 7.1 | |||
| Turnout | 39,812 | 61.4 | −11.4 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
References
- ^ Youngs, Frederic A. Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England (Volume II: Northern England) Royal Historical Society, London, 1991
- ^ Clegg QC, William General Review of Parliamentary Constituency boundaries in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Assistant Commissioner's report to the Chairman and Members of the Boundary Commission for England, 18 March 2004 and Final Recommendations for Parliamentary Constituencies in the Counties of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Boundary Commission for England, 19 January 2005
- ^ Tebbs, Herbert F. Peterborough: A History (pp.192-194) The Oleander Press, Cambridge, 1979
- ^ Craig, Frederick Walter Scott British Parliamentary Election Results 1832 - 1970 (4 vols.) Macmillan, London, 1971 - 1977
- ^ Knight, Charles Peterborough in 1840 Old Towns of England Originally published in The Penny Magazine by The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
- ^ Pelling, Henry Mathison A Social Geography of British Elections 1885 - 1910 (pp.96-97 & 106-124) Macmillan, London, 1967
See also
- List of Parliamentary constituencies in Cambridgeshire
- North West Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency)
External links