Nuneaton (UK Parliament constituency)
Encyclopedia
Nuneaton is a county 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.
removed the town of Bedworth, which was transferred to the newly created North Warwickshire
constituency. As a result the sitting MP, Les Huckfield
declined to stand and unsuccessfully sought the nomination in other constituencies such as Wigan
and Sedgefield
.
From 1983 to the 2010 election, the Nuneaton consistency covered most of the borough of Nuneaton & Bedworth (12 out of 17 wards
), and the northern part of the borough of Rugby
(3 out of 20 wards).
The remaining five wards of Nuneaton & Bedworth borough, covering the town of Bedworth
, formed – and indeed still form – part of the North Warwickshire constituency. The rest of Rugby borough formed part of the (now abolished) Rugby & Kenilworth constituency.
The composition of the constituency, in terms of borough wards, was as follows:
Places covered by the pre-2007 constituency include the town of Nuneaton
and the villages of Ansty
, Brinklow
, Bulkington
, Burton Hastings
, Monks Kirby
, Stretton-under-Fosse
, Wolston
and Wolvey
.
The new composition, in terms of borough wards, is therefore as follows:
Places covered by the new constituency include the town of Nuneaton and the villages of Ansley
, Ansley Common
, Birchley Heath
, Caldecote
, Furnace End
, Hartshill
, New Arley
, Old Arley
, Over Whitacre
and Whitacre Heath
.
The new constituency boundaries came into effect on 13 June 2007, and were used for the first time for the 2010 general election.
for nearly 50 years until they lost it to the Conservatives
in their heavy defeat in the 1983 general election
.
Labour regained the constituency at the 1992 election
, with Bill Olner
beating the incumbent Conservative Lewis Stevens
, and retaining the seat in 2001 and 2005. Bill Olner announced in 2007 that he would not be contesting the 2010 General Election and would be standing down at the end of the 2005-2010 parliament. Former Nuneaton and Bedworth
Council Leader, Marcus Jones
was successful in taking the seat for the Conservative Party at the 2010 election.
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.
Pre-2010
The boundary changes which took effect for the 1983 General ElectionUnited 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...
removed the town of Bedworth, which was transferred to the newly created North Warwickshire
North Warwickshire (UK Parliament constituency)
-Notes and references:...
constituency. As a result the sitting MP, Les Huckfield
Les Huckfield
Leslie John Huckfield is a British Labour politician, who served as Member of Parliament for Nuneaton from 1967 to 1983 and as an MEP from 1984 to 1989....
declined to stand and unsuccessfully sought the nomination in other constituencies such as Wigan
Wigan (UK Parliament constituency)
Wigan is a county 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...
and Sedgefield
Sedgefield (UK Parliament constituency)
Sedgefield is a county 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...
.
From 1983 to the 2010 election, the Nuneaton consistency covered most of the borough of Nuneaton & Bedworth (12 out of 17 wards
Wards of the United Kingdom
A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...
), and the northern part of the borough of Rugby
Rugby (borough)
Rugby is a local government district with borough status in eastern Warwickshire, England.The borough comprises the town of Rugby where the council has its headquarters, and the rural areas surrounding the town....
(3 out of 20 wards).
The remaining five wards of Nuneaton & Bedworth borough, covering the town of Bedworth
Bedworth
Bedworth is a market town in the Nuneaton and Bedworth district of Warwickshire, England. It lies northwest of London, east of Birmingham, and north northeast of the county town of Warwick. It is situated between Coventry, to the south, and Nuneaton, to the north.In the 2001 census the town...
, formed – and indeed still form – part of the North Warwickshire constituency. The rest of Rugby borough formed part of the (now abolished) Rugby & Kenilworth constituency.
The composition of the constituency, in terms of borough wards, was as follows:
- From Nuneaton & Bedworth: Abbey, Arbury, Attleborough, Bar Pool, Bulkington, Camp Hill, Galley Common, Kingswood, St Nicolas, Weddington, Wem Brook, Whitestone;
- From Rugby: Earl Craven & Wolston, Fosse, Wolvey.
Places covered by the pre-2007 constituency include the town of Nuneaton
Nuneaton
Nuneaton is the largest town in the Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth and in the English county of Warwickshire.Nuneaton is most famous for its associations with the 19th century author George Eliot, who was born on a farm on the Arbury Estate just outside Nuneaton in 1819 and lived in the town for...
and the villages of Ansty
Ansty, Warwickshire
Ansty is a village and civil parish just outside the outskirts of Coventry, about northeast of the city centre. Ansty was part of the County of the City of Coventry until that county was dissolved in 1842....
, Brinklow
Brinklow
Brinklow is a village and parish in the Rugby district of Warwickshire, England. It is about halfway between Rugby and Coventry, and has a population of 1,041 ....
, Bulkington
Bulkington
Bulkington is a large village and former parish in the Nuneaton and Bedworth district of Warwickshire, UK. In the 2001 census it had a population of 6,303. It is located around north-east of Coventry, just east of the towns of Nuneaton and Bedworth and south-west of Hinckley...
, Burton Hastings
Burton Hastings
Burton Hastings and Stretton Baskerville is a village in Warwickshire. It lies about four miles south-east of Nuneaton and is named after the Hastings family who held the manor until 1529. Burton Hastings is often used by commuters who work in nearby towns....
, Monks Kirby
Monks Kirby
Monks Kirby is a village and civil parish in north-eastern Warwickshire, England. The population of the parish is 434 .Monks Kirby is located around one mile east of the old Fosse Way, around 8 miles north-west of Rugby, seven miles north-east of Coventry and six miles west of Lutterworth....
, Stretton-under-Fosse
Stretton-under-Fosse
Stretton-under-Fosse is a village and civil parish in the English county of Warwickshire. In 2001 its population was recorded as 185.The village contains a number of old cottages along its main street. Just outside Stretton is an old manor house Newbold Revel, which is now used as a training...
, Wolston
Wolston
Wolston is a village and civil parish in the Rugby borough of Warwickshire, England. The village is located roughly halfway between Rugby and Coventry, and has a population of about 2,300. It is close to the A45 road and the Roman road the Fosse Way....
and Wolvey
Wolvey
Wolvey is a village and parish in Warwickshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,741.The village, originally on the main route between Leicester and Coventry, is now on the B4065 and B4109 roads and is located on the Warwickshire/Leicestershire border in an outlying...
.
2010 onwards
Following a review of constituency boundaries in Warwickshire in 2001/02, an extra constituency was created in the county to reflect an increase in the electorate; this had an impact on all the existing constituencies. The Nuneaton constituency was modified as follows:- the three Rugby borough wards of Earl Craven & Wolston, Fosse, and Wolvey were lost to the new Rugby constituency;
- the Nuneaton & Bedworth borough ward of Bulkington was also lost to the new Rugby constituency;
- the two North WarwickshireNorth WarwickshireNorth Warwickshire is a local government district and borough in Warwickshire, England. The main town in the district is Atherstone where the council is based...
borough wards of Arley & Whitacre, and Hartshill were gained from the North Warwickshire constituency.
The new composition, in terms of borough wards, is therefore as follows:
- From North Warwickshire: Arley & Whitacre, Hartshill;
- From Nuneaton & Bedworth: Abbey, Arbury, Attleborough, Bar Pool, Camp Hill, Galley Common, Kingswood, St Nicolas, Weddington, Wem Brook, Whitestone.
Places covered by the new constituency include the town of Nuneaton and the villages of Ansley
Ansley, Warwickshire
Ansley is a village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. The parish includes Ansley Common, Ansley Hall, Birchley Heath, and formerly Ansley Hall Colliery. The village is just to the west of Nuneaton, and near Arley, Astley and Church End.Ansley Parish...
, Ansley Common
Ansley Common
Ansley Common is a village in Warwickshire, England....
, Birchley Heath
Ansley, Warwickshire
Ansley is a village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. The parish includes Ansley Common, Ansley Hall, Birchley Heath, and formerly Ansley Hall Colliery. The village is just to the west of Nuneaton, and near Arley, Astley and Church End.Ansley Parish...
, Caldecote
Caldecote, Warwickshire
Caldecote is a village in Warwickshire, England, 2 miles north of Nuneaton and south of the A5.-Further reading:Sheasby, Alan Skylark Fields: A Forties Childhood Exeter, Devon: Wheaton Publishers Ltd/Warwickshire Books, ISBN 1-871942-04-7...
, Furnace End
Furnace End
Furnace End is a hamlet in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England. It is located on the B4114 road where the road intersects with the B4098 about half way between the market towns of Coleshill and Atherstone. Other nearby places include Nether Whitacre, Over...
, Hartshill
Hartshill
Hartshill is a village in the borough of North Warwickshire, England.Hartshill is three miles from Nuneaton town centre but is still regarded as a suburb of the town despite being in the North Warwickshire borough....
, New Arley
Arley, Warwickshire
Arley is a civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. The parish includes two settlements, New Arley and Old Arley. Old Arley is to the west of the Bourne Brook and the railway line, and New Arley is to the east....
, Old Arley
Old Arley
Old Arley is a village in Warwickshire, England....
, Over Whitacre
Over Whitacre
Over Whitacre is a hamlet in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England.It is one of 'The Whitacres' – Over Whitacre, Nether Whitacre and Whitacre Heath, although Whitacre heath is actually the heath of Nether Whitacre and not a separate parish.The hamlet appears in...
and Whitacre Heath
Whitacre Heath
Whitacre Heath is a small village in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England.It is one of 'The Whitacres' - Whitacre Heath, Nether Whitacre and Over Whitacre. Whitacre Heath is actually the heath of Nether Whitacre and not a separate parish.Whitacre Heath is newer...
.
The new constituency boundaries came into effect on 13 June 2007, and were used for the first time for the 2010 general election.
History
A seat with a strong industrial and mining tradition, Nuneaton was held by the Labour PartyLabour 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...
for nearly 50 years until they lost it to the Conservatives
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...
in their heavy defeat in the 1983 general election
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...
.
Labour regained the constituency at the 1992 election
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...
, with Bill Olner
Bill Olner
William John Olner is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Nuneaton from 1992 until 2010...
beating the incumbent Conservative Lewis Stevens
Lewis Stevens
Lewis David Stevens is a British Conservative Party politician.On his second attempt, Stevens was elected Member of Parliament for the marginal seat of Nuneaton in 1983, after the retirement of Labour incumbent Les Huckfield...
, and retaining the seat in 2001 and 2005. Bill Olner announced in 2007 that he would not be contesting the 2010 General Election and would be standing down at the end of the 2005-2010 parliament. Former Nuneaton and Bedworth
Nuneaton and Bedworth
Nuneaton and Bedworth is a local government district with borough status, in northern Warwickshire, England, consisting of the densely populated towns of Nuneaton and Bedworth, the village of Bulkington and the green belt land in between. It has a population of just over 120,000.It borders the...
Council Leader, Marcus Jones
Marcus Jones (UK politician)
Marcus Charles Jones is a British Conservative Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Nuneaton since 2010. Previously, he had been Leader of Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council.-Education and early career:...
was successful in taking the seat for the Conservative Party at the 2010 election.
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1885 United Kingdom general election, 1885 -Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:... |
Jasper Wilson Johns Jasper Wilson Johns Jasper Wilson Johns was a civil engineer, merchant, railway promoter and Liberal Party politician.Johns was the son of Thomas Evans Johns of Cardiganshire and his wife Elizabeth Tudor Avis. Johns became a civil engineer and practiced until 1854. He was then involved in William Bird & Co. of... |
Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day... |
|
| 1886 United Kingdom general election, 1886 -Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the UK general election, 1886*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**... |
John Stratford Dugdale John Dugdale (Conservative politician) John Stratford Dugdale was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom.He as elected at the 1886 general election as Member of Parliament for Nuneaton, having stood unsuccessfully in 1885. He stood down at the 1892 general election, and did not stand again.- External links :... |
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... |
|
| 1892 United Kingdom general election, 1892 The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 July to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury, win the greatest number of seats, but not enough for an overall majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won many more seats than in the 1886 general election... |
Francis Newdigate Francis Newdegate Sir Francis Alexander Newdigate Newdegate GCMG was Governor of Tasmania from 1917 to 1920, and Governor of Western Australia from 1920 to 1924.... , from 1902 Francis Newdigate-Newdegate |
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... |
|
| 1906 United Kingdom general election, 1906 -Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**... |
William Johnson William Johnson (Nuneaton MP) William Johnson was an English coal miner, trade unionist and Liberal-Labour politician from Warwickshire. He sat in the House of Commons from 1906 to 1918.- Early life :... |
Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day... |
|
| 1909 | 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... |
||
| 1918 United Kingdom general election, 1918 The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did... |
Sir Henry Maddocks Henry Maddocks (politician) Sir Henry Maddocks was a British Conservative Party politician .Standing as a Coalition Conservative, he was elected at the 1918 general election as Member of Parliament for Nuneaton division of Warwickshire, and re-elected in 1922... |
Coalition Conservative | |
| 1923 United Kingdom general election, 1923 -Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***... |
Herbert Willison Herbert Willison Herbert Willison was an English solicitor and Liberal Party, later Liberal National politician.-Family and education:Willison was born in Cosgrove, Northamptonshire. He received his education in Northamptonshire and Birmingham... |
Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day... |
|
| 1924 United Kingdom general election, 1924 - Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *... |
Arthur Hope | 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... |
|
| 1929 United Kingdom general election, 1929 -Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***... |
Francis Smith | 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... |
|
| 1931 United Kingdom general election, 1931 The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the... |
Edward North | 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... |
|
| 1935 United Kingdom general election, 1935 The United Kingdom general election held on 14 November 1935 resulted in a large, though reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Conservative Stanley Baldwin. The greatest number of MPs, as before, were Conservative, while the National Liberal vote held steady... |
Reginald Fletcher Reginald Fletcher, 1st Baron Winster Reginald Thomas Herbert Fletcher, 1st Baron Winster PC was a British Liberal then Labour politician. He was Minister of Supply under Clement Attlee between 1945 and 1946 and Governor of Cyprus between 1946 and 1949.... |
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... |
|
| 1942 by-election Nuneaton by-election, 1942 The Nuneaton by-election, 1942 was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Nuneaton on 9 March 1942. The seat had become vacant when the Labour Member of Parliament Reginald Fletcher was raised to the peerage as Baron Winster... |
Frank Bowles Frank Bowles, Baron Bowles Francis George Bowles, Baron Bowles was a British solicitor and politician. A long-serving Member of Parliament , Bowles served briefly as a Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, but is perhaps best known for agreeing to give up his safe seat to make way for Minister of Technology Frank... |
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... |
|
| 1965 by-election | Frank Cousins Frank Cousins Frank Cousins PC was a British trade union leader and Labour politician.He was born in Bulwell, Nottinghamshire, and became a full-time official in the road transport section of the Transport and General Workers' Union in July 1938... |
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... |
|
| 1967 by-election Nuneaton by-election, 1967 The Nuneaton by-election of 16 December 1966 was held after the resignation of Labour MP Frank Cousins:The seat was safe, having been won by Labour at the United Kingdom general election, 1966 by over 11,000 votes-Candidates:... |
Les Huckfield Les Huckfield Leslie John Huckfield is a British Labour politician, who served as Member of Parliament for Nuneaton from 1967 to 1983 and as an MEP from 1984 to 1989.... |
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... |
|
| 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... |
Lewis Stevens Lewis Stevens Lewis David Stevens is a British Conservative Party politician.On his second attempt, Stevens was elected Member of Parliament for the marginal seat of Nuneaton in 1983, after the retirement of Labour incumbent Les Huckfield... |
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... |
Bill Olner Bill Olner William John Olner is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Nuneaton from 1992 until 2010... |
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 | Marcus Jones Marcus Jones (UK politician) Marcus Charles Jones is a British Conservative Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Nuneaton since 2010. Previously, he had been Leader of Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council.-Education and early career:... |
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... |
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