Parliamentary representation from Cambridgeshire

Historic counties of England

The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...

of Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...

, located in the modern-day East of England

East of England

The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. It was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Essex has the highest population in the region.Its...

region, has been represented in Parliament since the 13th century. This article provides the list of constituencies which have formed the parliamentary representation from Cambridgeshire.

In 1889 the historic county was divided between the administrative counties

Administrative counties of England

Administrative counties were a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government from 1889 to 1974. They were created by the Local Government Act 1888 as the areas for which county councils were elected. Some large counties were divided into several administrative...

of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely

Isle of Ely

The Isle of Ely is a historic region around the city of Ely now in Cambridgeshire, England but previously a county in its own right.-Etymology:...

. The two administrative counties merged in 1965 to form Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely

Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely

Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely was, from 1965 to 1974, an administrative county of England. In 1974 it became part of an enlarged Cambridgeshire.-Formation:...

. In 1974 Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely was merged with Huntingdon and Peterborough

Huntingdon and Peterborough

Huntingdon and Peterborough was a short-lived administrative county in East Anglia in the United Kingdom. It existed from 1965 to 1974, when it became part of Cambridgeshire.-Formation:...

to form a new expanded non-metropolitan county

Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England

Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties are one of the four levels of subdivisions of England used for the purposes of local government outside Greater London. As originally constituted, the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties each consisted of multiple districts, had a county council and...

of Cambridgeshire. Huntingdonshire

Huntingdonshire

Huntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...

was a historic and administrative county in its own right, whereas the Soke of Peterborough

Soke of Peterborough

The Soke of Peterborough is an historic area of England that is traditionally associated with the City and Diocese of Peterborough, but considered part of Northamptonshire...

had been an administrative county which was part of the historic county of Northamptonshire.

This article covers only the constituencies wholly or predominantly within the area of the historic county of Cambridgeshire, both before and after the administrative changes of 1889, 1965 and 1974. Constituencies predominantly within the area of the historic county of Huntingdonshire are listed at Parliamentary representation from Huntingdonshire

Parliamentary representation from Huntingdonshire

The historic county of Huntingdonshire, located in the modern-day East of England region, has been represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom since the 13th century. This article provides the list of constituencies which have formed the parliamentary representation from Huntingdonshire.In...

. For more information on the constituencies currently covering the modern-day ceremonial county

Ceremonial counties of England

The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...

of Cambridgeshire, see List of Parliamentary constituencies in Cambridgeshire.

List of constituencies

Key to abbreviations:

Type:

BC: Borough constituency
CC: County constituency
UC: University constituency.

Notes:

C1: historic county of Cambridgeshire (until 1889)
C2: administrative county of Cambridgeshire (1889–1974)
C3: non-metropolitan/ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire (from 1974)
IE: administrative county of the Isle of Ely (1889–1974).

Note: Dates of representation prior to 1654 are provisional. The constituencies which existed in 1707 were previously represented in the Parliament of England

Parliament of England

The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...

.

North West Cambridgeshire does not include any part of the historic county of Cambridgeshire. It combines parts of the historic counties of Huntingdonshire and Northamptonshire.

Constituencies wholly or predominantly in the historic county

Constituency	Type	From	To	MPs	Notes
Cambridge Cambridge (UK Parliament constituency) Cambridge is a parliamentary 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 voting system....	BC	1295	present	2 (1554 – 1654)	C1, C2, C3
				1 (1654 – 1659)
				2 (1659 – 1885)
				1 (1885 - present)
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency) Cambridgeshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represented by two Knights...	CC	1290	1885	2 (1290 - 1654)	C1, C2, C3
				4 (1654 – 1659)
				2 (1659 – 1832)
				3 (1832 – 1885)
		1918	1983	1
Cambridge University Cambridge University (UK Parliament constituency) Cambridge University was a university constituency electing two members to the British House of Commons, from 1603 to 1950.-Boundaries, Electorate and Election Systems:...	UC	1603	1950	2 (1603 – 1654)	C1, C2
				1 (1654 – 1659)
				2 (1659 – 1950)
Chesterton Chesterton (UK Parliament constituency) Chesterton is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was created upon the splitting up of the three member Cambridgeshire constituency into three single member divisions in 1885...	CC	1885	1918	1	C2
Ely Isle of Ely (UK Parliament constituency) Isle of Ely was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, centred on the Isle of Ely in Cambridgeshire...	BC	1295	1296	2	C1
Isle of Ely Isle of Ely (UK Parliament constituency) Isle of Ely was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, centred on the Isle of Ely in Cambridgeshire...	CC	1654	1659	2	C1, IE, C3
	CC	1918	1983	1	C1, IE, C3
Newmarket Newmarket (UK Parliament constituency) Newmarket is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was created upon the splitting up of the three member Cambridgeshire constituency into three single member divisions in 1885. The seat was abolished in 1918.-Boundaries:...	CC	1885	1918	1	C2
North East Cambridgeshire	CC	1983	present	1	C3, included a part of historic Northamptonshire prior to 2010.
South Cambridgeshire South Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency) South Cambridgeshire is a 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 :...	CC	1997	present	1	C3
South East Cambridgeshire	CC	1983	present	1	C3
South West Cambridgeshire South West Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency) South West Cambridgeshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. Created in 1983 upon the abolition of the Cambridgeshire constituency, it was abolished in 1997 and succeeded by the constituencies of South Cambridgeshire and Huntingdon....	CC	1983	1997	1	C3, included a part of historic Huntingdonshire
Wisbech Wisbech (UK Parliament constituency) Wisbech is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was created upon the abolition of an undivided Cambridgeshire county constituency in 1885 and was itself abolished in 1918.-Boundaries:...	CC	1885	1918	1	C2

Periods constituencies represented

	1290 – 1295	1295 – 1296	1603 – 1654	1654 – 1659	1885 – 1918	1918 – 1950	1983 – 1997	1997 – present
Cambridge Cambridge (UK Parliament constituency) Cambridge is a parliamentary 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 voting system....		1295 – present
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency) Cambridgeshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represented by two Knights...	1290 – 1885					1918 – 1983
Cambridge University Cambridge University (UK Parliament constituency) Cambridge University was a university constituency electing two members to the British House of Commons, from 1603 to 1950.-Boundaries, Electorate and Election Systems:...			1603 – 1950
Chesterton Chesterton (UK Parliament constituency) Chesterton is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was created upon the splitting up of the three member Cambridgeshire constituency into three single member divisions in 1885...					1885 – 1918
Ely Isle of Ely (UK Parliament constituency) Isle of Ely was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, centred on the Isle of Ely in Cambridgeshire...		1295 – 1296
Isle of Ely Isle of Ely (UK Parliament constituency) Isle of Ely was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, centred on the Isle of Ely in Cambridgeshire...				1654 – 1659		1918 – 1983
Newmarket Newmarket (UK Parliament constituency) Newmarket is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was created upon the splitting up of the three member Cambridgeshire constituency into three single member divisions in 1885. The seat was abolished in 1918.-Boundaries:...					1885 – 1918
North East Cambridgeshire							1983 – present
South Cambridgeshire South Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency) South Cambridgeshire is a 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 :...								1997 – present
South East Cambridgeshire							1983 – present
South West Cambridgeshire South West Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency) South West Cambridgeshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. Created in 1983 upon the abolition of the Cambridgeshire constituency, it was abolished in 1997 and succeeded by the constituencies of South Cambridgeshire and Huntingdon....							1983 – 1997
Wisbech Wisbech (UK Parliament constituency) Wisbech is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was created upon the abolition of an undivided Cambridgeshire county constituency in 1885 and was itself abolished in 1918.-Boundaries:...					1885 – 1918

Summary of Constituencies by Type and Period

Type	1290	1295	1296	1603	1654	1659	1832	1885	1918	1950	1983	1997	next
Borough	-	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
County	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	3	2	2	3	3	3
University	-	-	-	1	1	1	1	1	1	-	-	-	-
Total	1	3	2	3	4	3	3	5	4	3	4	4	4

Summary of Members of Parliament by Type and Period

Type	1290	1295	1296	1603	1654	1659	1832	1885	1918	1950	1983	1997	next
Borough	-	4	2	2	1	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1
County	2	2	2	2	6	2	3	3	2	2	3	3	3
University	-	-	-	2	1	2	2	2	2	-	-	-	-
Total	2	6	4	6	8	6	7	6	5	3	4	4	4

List of constituencies

Constituencies wholly or predominantly in the historic county

Periods constituencies represented

Summary of Constituencies by Type and Period

Summary of Members of Parliament by Type and Period

See also