Kingswood is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

. It elects one Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency has existed since the February 1974 general election

United Kingdom general election, February 1974

The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...

.

History

This marginal constituency has been held by both the Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 and Labour

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

 parties during the time of its existence. The current MP, elected in 2010, is the Conservative Chris Skidmore.

Boundaries

The constituency covers part of the South Gloucestershire

South Gloucestershire

South Gloucestershire is a unitary district in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, in South West England.-History:The district was created in 1996, when the county of Avon was abolished, by the merger of former area of the districts of Kingswood and Northavon...

 unitary authority, consisting of the eastern suburbs of Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

 outside of the city boundary, including the town of Kingswood

Kingswood, South Gloucestershire

Kingswood is an urban area in South Gloucestershire, England, bordering the City of Bristol to the west. It is located on both sides of the A420 road, which connects Bristol and Chippenham and which forms the high street through the principal retail zone...

 itself. It largely corresponds to the former borough of Kingswood

Kingswood (borough)

Kingswood was, from 1974 to 1996, a non-metropolitan district of the County of Avon, England.It was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by the merger of the Kingswood and Mangotsfield urban districts with Warmley Rural District from the administrative county of...

.

Following the review of parliamentary representation in South Gloucestershire by the Boundary Commission for England, the Kingswood constituency has had its boundaries changed with effect from the 2010 general election. In particular, all wards in the constituency are now from the South Gloucestershire authority, and are as follows:

• Willsbridge, Bitton, Hanham, Kings Chase, Longwell Green, Oldland Common, Parkwall, Rodway, Siston, Woodstock.

Prior to 2010, the Frome Vale and Hillfields wards of the City of Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

 were part of the Kingswood constituency, but have been transferred to Bristol East

Bristol East (UK Parliament constituency)

Bristol East is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

. Within South Gloucestershire, the Kingswood seat has gained Hanham, Bitton and Oldland Common from the former Wansdyke

Wansdyke (UK Parliament constituency)

Wansdyke was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

 constituency, but lost Downend and Staple Hill to the new Filton and Bradley Stoke seat.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	Feb 1974 United Kingdom general election, February 1974 The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...	Terry Walker	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
	1979 United Kingdom general election, 1979 The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...	Jack Aspinwall Jack Aspinwall Jack Heywood Aspinwall is a British politician. In the February 1974 and October 1974 elections, he was the Liberal Party candidate for Kingswood, but changed his allegiance and was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament for the same seat in 1979...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
	1983 United Kingdom general election, 1983 The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...	Robert Hayward Robert Hayward Robert Antony Hayward OBE is a British former Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Kingswood from 1983 to 1992, when he lost his seat to Labour's Roger Berry...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
	1992 United Kingdom general election, 1992 The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...	Roger Berry Roger Berry Dr Roger Leslie Berry is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Kingswood from 1992 to 2010.-Early life:...	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
	2010	Chris Skidmore	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

At the 2005 general election, Labour received more votes in this constituency than any other. However, the number of votes for the second-placed Conservatives meant that it was not Labour's largest majority.

Elections in the 1990s