Banbury (UK Parliament constituency)

Banbury
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Banbury in Oxfordshire.
Location of Oxfordshire within England.
County	Oxfordshire
Population	117,928 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate	84,063 (December 2010)[2]
Major settlements	Banbury and Bicester
Current constituency
Created	1553
Member of parliament	Victoria Prentis (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South East England

Banbury is an Oxfordshire constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2015 by Victoria Prentis of the Conservative Party.^{[n 2]} The constituency is commonly, but erroneously, referred to as the North Oxfordshire constituency.

In terms of electorate, Banbury was the 13th largest constituency in the United Kingdom and the largest in Oxfordshire at the time of the 2010 general election.^[3]

History

The constituency was created January 26, 1554 through the efforts of Henry Stafford and Thomas Denton.^[4] Until 1885 it was a parliamentary borough, consisting only of the town of Banbury; since then it has been a county constituency, consisting of the northern part of Oxfordshire. It was the constituency represented by Lord North, the Prime Minister during the American War of Independence. Due to its nature as a safe Conservative seat, its MPs since 1922 have all served long terms in office. Every MP for Banbury since 1922 has been knighted. At the 2010 election, the constituency had the second largest population of any constituency in the United Kingdom after the Isle of Wight.

Constituency profile

The constituency is still heavily involved in agriculture, as well as modern industry, Research and Development, public services and to a lesser extent Defence.^[5] Despite a close election in 1923, the largest vote since 1922 has at each election been for a Conservative Party candidate to serve it, so has been a safe seat for the party since that date. In 2010 Tony Baldry almost doubled his large majority as the second party became the Liberal Democrats. The Conservative vote share and majority were increased at the 2015 general election.

Boundaries

1885-1918: The Municipal Borough of Banbury, and the Sessional Divisions of Banbury and Bloxham, Chadlington, and Wootton North.

1918-1950: The Municipal Boroughs of Banbury, Chipping Norton, and Woodstock, the Urban District of Witney, and the Rural Districts of Banbury, Chipping Norton, Witney, and Woodstock.

1950-1974: The Municipal Boroughs of Banbury, Chipping Norton, and Woodstock, the Urban District of Witney, the Rural Districts of Banbury, Chipping Norton, and Witney, and in the Rural District of Ploughley the civil parishes of Begbroke, Gosford and Water Eaton, Hampton Gay and Poyle, Kidlington, Shipton on Cherwell, Thrupp, and Yarnton.

1974-1983: The Municipal Boroughs of Banbury, Chipping Norton, and Woodstock, the Urban District of Bicester, the Rural Districts of Banbury and Chipping Norton, and in the Rural District of Ploughley the civil parishes of Ardley, Bucknell, Caversfield, Chesterton, Cottisford, Finmere, Fringford, Fritwell, Godington, Hardwick with Tusmore, Hethe, Kirtlington, Launton, Lower Heyford, Middleton Stoney, Mixbury, Newton Purcell with Shelswell, Somerton, Souldern, Stoke Lyne, Stratton Audley, and Upper Heyford.

1983-1997: The District of Cherwell wards of Adderbury, Ambrosden, Ardley, Bicester East, Bicester South, Bicester West, Bloxham, Bodicote, Calthorpe, Chesterton, Cropredy, Deddington, Easington, Fringford, Grimsbury, Hardwick, Heyford, Hook Norton, Hornton, Kirtlington, Launton, Neithrop, Otmoor, Ruscote, Sibford, Steeple Aston, and Wroxton, and the District of West Oxfordshire wards of Bartons and Tackley, and Wootton.

1997-2010: The District of Cherwell wards of Adderbury, Ambrosden, Ardley, Bicester East, Bicester South, Bicester West, Bloxham, Bodicote, Calthorpe, Chesterton, Cropredy, Deddington, Easington, Fringford, Grimsbury, Hardwick, Heyford, Hook Norton, Hornton, Kirtlington, Launton, Neithrop, Otmoor, Ruscote, Sibford, Steeple Aston, and Wroxton.

2010–present: The District of Cherwell wards of Adderbury, Ambrosden and Chesterton, Banbury Calthorpe, Banbury Easington, Banbury Grimsbury and Castle, Banbury Hardwick, Banbury Neithrop, Banbury Ruscote, Bicester East, Bicester North, Bicester South, Bicester Town, Bicester West, Bloxham and Bodicote, Caversfield, Cropredy, Deddington, Fringford, Hook Norton, Launton, Sibford, The Astons and Heyfords, and Wroxton.

The constituency covers the north-east of Oxfordshire, around Banbury and largely corresponds to the Cherwell local government district, with the principal exception of the large village of Kidlington on the outskirts of Oxford which lies in the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency, and some smaller villages to the north-east of Oxford that lie in the Henley constituency.

Members of Parliament

Banbury borough (until 1885)

MPs 1554–1640

Constituency created 1554. (Even before the Reform Act of 1832, Banbury only returned one member to Parliament )

Parliament	Member
Parliament of 1554 (Apr)	Thomas Denton
Parliament of 1554 (Nov)	Edward Stafford, 3rd Baron Stafford
Parliament of 1555	Not known
Parliament of 1558	John Denton
Parliament of 1559	Thomas Lee
Parliament of 1563	Francis Walsingham (sat for Lyme Regis, replaced by Owen Brereton)
Parliament of 1571	Anthony Cope
Parliament of 1572
Parliament of 1584	Richard Fiennes
Parliament of 1586	Anthony Cope
Parliament of 1588
Parliament of 1593
Parliament of 1597
Parliament of 1601
Parliament of 1604–1611	(Sir) William Cope[6]
Addled Parliament (1614)
Parliament of 1621–1622
Happy Parliament (1624–1625)	Sir Erasmus Dryden
Useless Parliament (1625)	Sir William Cope
Parliament of 1626	James Fiennes
Parliament of 1628–1629	John Crew
No Parliament summoned 1629–1640

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

MPs 1640–1885

Year		Member[7]	Party
	April 1640	Nathaniel Fiennes	Parliamentarian
	1648	Fiennes excluded in Pride's Purge – seat left vacant
	1653	Banbury was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
	January 1659	Nathaniel Fiennes
	May 1659	Banbury was not represented in the restored Rump
	April 1660	Sir Anthony Cope
	1661	(Sir) John Holman[8]
	1685	Sir Dudley North
	1689	Sir Robert Dashwood
	1698	James Isaacson[9]
	1699	Sir John Cope
	1700	Patrick Friel
	1701	Charles North
	1713	Sir Jonathan Cope
	1722	Monoux Cope
	1727	Hon. Francis North
	1730	Toby Chauncy
	1733	William Knollys[10]
	1740	William Moore
	1746	John Willes
	1754	Frederick North, Lord North	Tory
	1790	George Augustus North, Lord North
	1792	Hon. Frederick North
	1794	William Holbech
	1796	Dudley Long North
	1806	William Praed
	1808	Dudley Long North
	1812	Frederick Sylvester North Douglas
	1819	Hon. Heneage Legge
	1826	Hon. Arthur Legge
	1830	Henry Villiers-Stuart
	1831	John Easthope	Whig
	1832	Henry William Tancred	Whig
	February 1859	Bernhard Samuelson	Liberal
	April 1859	Sir Charles Eurwicke Douglas	Liberal
	1865	Sir Bernhard Samuelson, Bt	Liberal
1885		Borough abolished – name transferred to county division

Banbury division of Oxfordshire/Banbury County Constituency (since 1885)

Election		Member[7]	Party
	1885	Sir Bernhard Samuelson	Liberal
	1895	Albert Brassey	Conservative
	1906	Hon. Eustace Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes	Liberal
	January 1910	Captain Robert Brassey	Conservative
	December 1910	Hon. (Sir) Eustace Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes[11]	Liberal
	1918 by-election	Sir Rhys Rhys-Williams, Bt	Liberal
	1922	Sir James Edmondson	Conservative
	1945	Sir Douglas Dodds-Parker	Conservative
	1959	Sir Neil Marten	Conservative
	1983	Sir Tony Baldry	Conservative
	2015	Hon. Victoria Prentis	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Banbury[12][13][14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Victoria Prentis[15]	30,749	53.0	+0.2
	Labour	Sean Woodcock	12,354	21.3	+2.1
	UKIP	Dickie Bird[16]	8,050	13.9	+8.9
	Liberal Democrat	John Howson	3,440	5.9	-14.5
	Green	Ian Middleton[17]	2,686	4.6	+2.9
	National Health Action	Roseanne Edwards	729	1.3	N/A
Majority			18,395	31.7	-0.7
Turnout			58,008	65.6[18]	+0.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 2010: Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Baldry	29,703	52.8	+5.9
	Liberal Democrat	David Rundle	11,476	20.4	+2.9
	Labour	Leslie Sibley	10,773	19.2	−8.9
	UKIP	Dr David Sebastian Fairweather	2,806	5.0	+2.8
	Green	Alastair White	959	1.7	−1.1
	Independent	Roseanne Edwards	524	0.9	N/A
Majority			18,227	32.4	21.8
Turnout			56,241	64.7	+0.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.5

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Baldry	26,382	46.9	+1.7
	Labour	Leslie Frederick Sibley	15,585	27.7	−7.3
	Liberal Democrat	Zoe Patrick	10,076	17.9	+2.0
	Green	Alyson Duckmanton	1,590	2.8	+0.3
	UKIP	Diana Heimann	1,241	2.2	+0.9
	National Front	James Starkey	918	1.6	N/A
	Your Party	Chris Rowe	417	0.7	N/A
Majority			10,797	19.2
Turnout			56,209	64.5	+3.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.5

General Election 2001: Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Baldry	23,271	45.2	+2.3
	Labour	Leslie Frederick Sibley	18,052	35.0	+0.2
	Liberal Democrat	Anthony William Worgan	8,216	15.9	−0.8
	Green	Bevis Malory Cotton	1,281	2.5	+1.6
	UKIP	Stephen Andrew Harris	695	1.3	+0.7
Majority			5,219	10.2
Turnout			51,515	61.1	−14.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997:Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Baldry	25,076	42.9	-12.1
	Labour	Hazel Y. Peperell	20,339	34.8	+8.3
	Liberal Democrat	Catherine Bearder	9,761	16.7	-1.4
	Referendum	James W. Ager	2,245	3.84	New
	Green	Bevis Malory Cotton	530	0.91	New
	UKIP	L. King	364	0.62	New
	Natural Law	Ian Pearson	131	0.22	-0.2
Majority			4,737	8.1
Turnout			58,446	75.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1992:Banbury[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Baldry	32,215	55.0	−1.2
	Labour	Angela Billingham	15,495	26.5	+6.1
	Liberal Democrat	Geoffrey J. Fisher	10,602	18.1	−5.3
	Natural Law	Robin Ticciati	250	0.4	N/A
Majority			16,720	28.6	−4.2
Turnout			58,562	81.5	+5.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	−3.6

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987:Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Baldry	29,716	56.18	+2.8
	Social Democratic	David Charles Rowland	12,386	23.42	-3.5
	Labour	James Anthony Honeybone	10,789	20.40	+1.4
Majority			17,330	32.77
Turnout				76.15
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1983:Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Baldry	26,225	53.36
	Social Democratic	Keith Fitchett	13,200	26.86
	Labour	Brian Hodgson	9,343	19.01
	Monster Raving Loony	David Brough[20]	383	0.78	N/A
Majority			13,025	26.50
Turnout				75.24
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979:Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Harry Neil Marten	31,137	54.70
	Labour	Brian Hodgson	16,623	29.20
	Liberal	M White	8,658	15.21
	National Front	I Cherry	504	0.89
Majority			14,514	25.50
Turnout				78.29
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election October 1974:Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Harry Neil Marten	24,210	47.35
	Labour	Anthony C Booth	18,019	35.24
	Liberal	D Charlton	8,352	16.34
	Independent English Nationalist	J Barbour	547	1.07
Majority			6,191	12.11
Turnout				75.71
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election February 1974:Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Harry Neil Marten	25,167	45.43
	Labour	Anthony C Booth	18,289	33.01
	Liberal	Geoffrey J Fisher	11,947	21.56
Majority			6,878	12.41
Turnout				82.77
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1970:Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Harry Neil Marten	36,712	53.41
	Labour	Anthony C Booth	25,166	36.61
	Liberal	Geoffrey J Fisher	6,859	9.98
Majority			11,546	16.80
Turnout				77.36
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966:Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Harry Neil Marten	28,932	47.53
	Labour	David Wright Young	24,529	40.30
	Liberal	Penelope Jessel	7,407	12.17
Majority			4,403	7.23
Turnout				81.95
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1964:Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Harry Neil Marten	27,281	47.18
	Labour	Gerald Teasdale Fowler	22,159	38.32
	Liberal	Francis John Ware	7,851	13.58
	Farmers' Candidate	James Hayward	534	0.92
Majority			5,122	8.86
Turnout				82.40
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Harry Neil Marten	26,413	50.61
	Labour	David J Buckle	19,699	37.75
	Liberal	Kenneth Colman	6,074	11.64
Majority			6,714	12.87
Turnout				81.02
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Douglas Dodds-Parker	25,598	54.38
	Labour	Norman Francis Stogdon	21,473	45.62
Majority			4,125	8.76
Turnout				77.14
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Douglas Dodds-Parker	23,246	46.84
	Labour	William J. Bird	19,672	39.64
	Liberal	Lawrence William Robson	6,706	13.51
Majority			3,574	7.20
Turnout				82.85
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1950: Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Douglas Dodds-Parker	21,365	43.46
	Labour	Cyril Rawlett Fenton	19,408	39.48
	Liberal	Lawrence William Robson	8,392	17.07
Majority			1,957	3.98
Turnout				83.60
	Conservative hold		Swing

Election in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Douglas Dodds-Parker	23,777	52.00
	Labour	Richard Brian Kerry Roach	21,951	48.00
Majority			1,826	3.99
Turnout				70.55
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 14 November 1935 : Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Albert James Edmondson	21,904	65.66	n/a
	Labour	W E Wade	11,456	34.34	n/a
Majority			10,448	31.32	n/a
Turnout				65.82	n/a
	Conservative hold		Swing	n/a

General Election 27 October 1931: Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Albert James Edmondson	unopposed	n/a	n/a
	Conservative hold		Swing	n/a

Election in the 1920s

General Election 30 May 1929: Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Albert James Edmondson	16,444	45.5	-7.2
	Liberal	Ronald Wilberforce Allen	13,800	38.2	+7.4
	Labour	Lawrence A Wingfield	5,894	16.3	-0.2
Majority			2,644	7.3	-14.6
Turnout				78.7	-0.6
	Unionist hold		Swing	-7.3

General Election 29 October 1924 : Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Albert James Edmondson	15,053	52.7
	Liberal	Sir Harry Calvert Verney	8,825	30.8
	Labour	Arthur Ernest Monks	4,733	16.5
Majority			6,228	21.9
Turnout				79.3
	Unionist hold		Swing

CB Fry

General Election 6 December 1923: Banbury [21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Albert James Edmondson	12,490	45.8	-0.7
	Liberal	Charles Burgess Fry	12,271	45.0	+15.6
	Labour	Ernest Nathaniel Bennett	2,500	9.2	-14.9
Majority				0.8	-16.3
Turnout				76.0	-0.4
	Unionist hold		Swing	-8.2

General Election 15 November 1922: Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Albert James Edmondson	12,491
	Liberal	James Harold Early	7,885
	Labour	Ernest Nathaniel Bennett	6,463
Majority
Turnout
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing

Election in the 1910s

General Election 14 December 1918: Banbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rhys Rhys-Williams	unopposed	n/a	n/a
	Liberal hold		Swing	n/a

Banbury by-election, 1918[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rhys Rhys-Williams	unopposed	n/a	n/a
	Liberal hold		Swing	n/a

General Election 1914/15: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Liberal: Eustace Fiennes
• Unionist:

General Election December 1910: Banbury [22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Eustace Edward Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes	3,629	50.6
	Conservative	Robert Bingham Brassey	3,538	49.4
Majority			91	1.2
Turnout			7,167	90.2
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

General Election January 1910: Banbury [22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Bingham Brassey	3,831	52.1
	Liberal	Eustace Edward Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes	3,516	47.9
Majority			315	4.2
Turnout			7,347	92.4
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Elections in the 1900s

General Election 1906: Banbury[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Eustace Edward Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes	3,992	58.8
	Conservative	George Child Villiers	2,796	41.2
Majority			1,196	17.6
Turnout			6,788	87.6
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

General Election 1900: Banbury [22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Albert Brassey	3,632	56.3
	Liberal	Eustace Edward Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes	2,821	43.7
Majority			811	12.6
Turnout			6,453	82.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Neighbouring constituencies

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Oxfordshire
• Henley
• Oxford East
• Oxford West and Abingdon
• Wantage
• Witney
• History of Banbury, Oxfordshire

Notes and references

Notes

1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

References

1. "Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
2. "Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
3. http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/find-information-by-subject/elections-and-referendums/past-elections-and-referendums/uk-general-elections/2010-uk-general-election-results/banbury?SQ_DESIGN_NAME=search_clean
4. Bindoff, p. 30.
5. See Bicester and Banbury
6. Succeeded as baronet, July 1615
7. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 1)
8. Created a baronet, June 1663
9. Expelled from the House of Commons
10. Knollys claimed and used the title Viscount Wallingford, but his claim was disallowed by the House of Lords
11. Created a baronet, June 1916
12. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
13. http://www.cherwell.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=10679
14. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000539
15. http://www.webcitation.org/6TzPE1DYa
16. "Oxfordshire PPC Candidates: first in south east". UKIP South East. 12 September 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
17. http://www.greenoxfordshire.com/imid99
18. total electorate 88420 from Cherwell District Council elections office 28 May 2015 and accepted by House of Commons Library 18 June 2015
19. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 Dec 2010.
20. "Sir Tony’s first victory", Banbury Guardian, 30 March 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015
21. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-49, FWS Craig
22. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)

Sources

• Iain Dale, ed. (2003). The Times House of Commons 1929, 1931, 1935. Politico's (reprint). ISBN 1-84275-033-X.
• The Times House of Commons 1945. The Times. 1945.
• The Times House of Commons 1950. The Times. 1950.
• The Times House of Commons 1955. The Times. 1955.
• Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807)
• Stanley T. Bindoff et al. (1982). The House of Commons: 1509 – 1558 ; 1, Appendices, constituencies, members A – C, Volume 4. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 0-436-04282-7. pp. 30–31.
• D Brunton & D H Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
• F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
• The Constitutional Year Book for 1913 (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913)

Coordinates: 51°58′N 1°18′W / 51.96°N 1.30°W