South West Surrey
Encyclopedia
South West Surrey 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.
district of Surrey
, including the towns of Farnham
, Godalming
and Haslemere
.
The Boundary Commission has made its final recommendations for boundary changes in Surrey
. Proposed changes to South West Surrey would see the relignment of the boundary with Guildford
in order to bring it in line with the recent adjustment of local government wards. Guildford's electorate is the largest of the county and the review aims to reduce it. Two wards are currently split between the two constituencies: Bramley
, Busbridge
and Hascombe
, which will be placed entirely in South West Surrey; and Alfold
, Cranleigh
Rural and Ellens Green which will be placed entirely in Guildford. The net effect is to increase the number of voters in South West Surrey and reduce the number in Guildford.
A public review was called, dealing primarily with objections to transferring Bramley to South West Surrey. Many petitioned to argue that the village's links, especially transport, are mainly with Guildford rather than the towns of Godalming
and Farnham
. The precedent of the previous review was cited, when a proposal to move Bramley out of Guildford and into Mole Valley
was rejected after local opposition. However the review felt that this did not justify splitting the ward (something the Boundary Commission seeks to avoid completely) and that the other parts of the ward had strong links to Godalming. Furthermore it cited the point that in the previous review Bramley Parish Council had stated that if it were to be moved it would prefer to be moved to South West Surrey and thus argued that the previous objection was not strong enough.
. It has been consistently won by the Conservative Party
, though the majority dropped to a mere 861 votes in 2001
, leaving it the Liberal Democrat's third target constituency by swing required. Since then, however, the Conservative majority has substantially increased, exceeding 16,000 in 2010.
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| colspan="2" | New creation:
gain.
| align="right" | Swing
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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.
Boundaries
It covers the WaverleyWaverley, Surrey
Waverley is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England. The borough's headquarters are in the town of Godalming, with Farnham and Haslemere being the other large notable towns....
district of Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, including the towns of Farnham
Farnham
Farnham is a town in Surrey, England, within the Borough of Waverley. The town is situated some 42 miles southwest of London in the extreme west of Surrey, adjacent to the border with Hampshire...
, Godalming
Godalming
Godalming is a town and civil parish in the Waverley district of the county of Surrey, England, south of Guildford. It is built on the banks of the River Wey and is a prosperous part of the London commuter belt. Godalming shares a three-way twinning arrangement with the towns of Joigny in France...
and Haslemere
Haslemere
Haslemere is a town in Surrey, England, close to the border with both Hampshire and West Sussex. The major road between London and Portsmouth, the A3, lies to the west, and a branch of the River Wey to the south. Haslemere is approximately south-west of Guildford.Haslemere is surrounded by hills,...
.
The Boundary Commission has made its final recommendations for boundary changes in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. Proposed changes to South West Surrey would see the relignment of the boundary with Guildford
Guildford (UK Parliament constituency)
Guildford is a county constituency in Surrey which returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system....
in order to bring it in line with the recent adjustment of local government wards. Guildford's electorate is the largest of the county and the review aims to reduce it. Two wards are currently split between the two constituencies: Bramley
Bramley, Surrey
Bramley is a village and civil parish about three miles south of Guildford in the Borough of Waverley in Surrey, south east England. With a population of c.3,300 most of the parish lies in the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There is evidence of iron age settlement in the area,...
, Busbridge
Busbridge
Busbridge is a village and civil parish in the borough of Waverley in Surrey. It has a population of 758. It forms part of the Waverley ward of Bramley, Busbridge and Hascombe....
and Hascombe
Hascombe
Hascombe is a village in Surrey, England. It contains a cluster of cottages and country estates, St Peter's church, the village green and The White Horse pub, all nestling between wooded hillsides in Surrey, England....
, which will be placed entirely in South West Surrey; and Alfold
Alfold
Alfold is small village and civil parish on the Surrey/West Sussex border in England. The parish clerk is Mrs L.R. Enticknap.Originally sited perhaps for the glass making . Charcoal was extensively burnt in the parish for gunpowder works in Dunsfold, Cranleigh, and Sussex.Alfold is not mentioned in...
, Cranleigh
Cranleigh
Cranleigh is a large village, self-proclaimed the largest in England, and is situated 8 miles south east of Godalming in Surrey. It lies to the east of the A281 which links Guildford with Horsham; neighbouring villages include: Ewhurst, Alfold and Hascombe....
Rural and Ellens Green which will be placed entirely in Guildford. The net effect is to increase the number of voters in South West Surrey and reduce the number in Guildford.
A public review was called, dealing primarily with objections to transferring Bramley to South West Surrey. Many petitioned to argue that the village's links, especially transport, are mainly with Guildford rather than the towns of Godalming
Godalming
Godalming is a town and civil parish in the Waverley district of the county of Surrey, England, south of Guildford. It is built on the banks of the River Wey and is a prosperous part of the London commuter belt. Godalming shares a three-way twinning arrangement with the towns of Joigny in France...
and Farnham
Farnham
Farnham is a town in Surrey, England, within the Borough of Waverley. The town is situated some 42 miles southwest of London in the extreme west of Surrey, adjacent to the border with Hampshire...
. The precedent of the previous review was cited, when a proposal to move Bramley out of Guildford and into Mole Valley
Mole Valley (UK Parliament constituency)
Mole Valley 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.-Boundaries:...
was rejected after local opposition. However the review felt that this did not justify splitting the ward (something the Boundary Commission seeks to avoid completely) and that the other parts of the ward had strong links to Godalming. Furthermore it cited the point that in the previous review Bramley Parish Council had stated that if it were to be moved it would prefer to be moved to South West Surrey and thus argued that the previous objection was not strong enough.
History
The constituency was created in 1983, largely replacing the former seat of FarnhamFarnham (UK Parliament constituency)
Farnham was a parliamentary constituency in the county of Surrey, in south east England. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918, until it was abolished for the 1983 general election...
. It has been consistently won by the Conservative Party
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...
, though the majority dropped to a mere 861 votes in 2001
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
, leaving it the Liberal Democrat's third target constituency by swing required. Since then, however, the Conservative majority has substantially increased, exceeding 16,000 in 2010.
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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... |
Maurice Macmillan | 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... |
|
| 1984 by-election South West Surrey by-election, 1984 The South West Surrey by-election, 1984 was a parliamentary by-election held on 3 May 1984 for the British House of Commons constituency of South West Surrey.- Previous MP :... |
Virginia Bottomley Virginia Bottomley Virginia Bottomley, Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone, PC, DL is a British Conservative Party politician. She was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons from 1984 to 2005. She was raised to the peerage in 2005... |
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... |
|
| 2005 United Kingdom general election, 2005 The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160.... |
Jeremy Hunt | 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
Elections in the 1990s
This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1992 and 1997 general elections and thus change in share of vote is based on a notional calculation.Elections in the 1980s
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| colspan="2" | New creation:
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...
gain.
| align="right" | Swing
| align="right" | N/A
||
|-
See also
- South West Surrey by-election, 1984South West Surrey by-election, 1984The South West Surrey by-election, 1984 was a parliamentary by-election held on 3 May 1984 for the British House of Commons constituency of South West Surrey.- Previous MP :...
- List of Parliamentary constituencies in Surrey
Sources
- Election result, 2005 (BBC)
- Election results, 1997 - 2001 (BBC)
- Election results, 1997 - 2001 (Election Demon)
- Election results, 1983 - 1992 (Election Demon)
- Election results, 1992 - 2010 (Guardian)
- By-election result, 1984
- UK Constituency Maps