Bristol West (UK Parliament constituency)

Bristol West
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Bristol West in Avon.
Location of Avon within England.
County	City of Bristol
Electorate	91,236 (December 2015)^[1]
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of parliament	Thangam Debbonaire (Labour)
Number of members	One
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South West England

Bristol West is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It covers the central and western parts of Bristol.

Boundaries

1885-1918: The Municipal Borough of Bristol wards of Clifton, St Augustine's, St Michael's, and Westbury, and the local government district of Horfield.

1918-1950: The County Borough of Bristol wards of Clifton North, Clifton South, Horfield, Redland, St Michael, and Westbury-on-Trym.

1950-1955: The County Borough of Bristol wards of Bishopston, Clifton, Redland, St Augustine, St James, and St Michael.

1955-1974: The County Borough of Bristol wards of Bishopston, Cabot, Clifton, Durdham, and Redland.

1974-1983: The County Borough of Bristol wards of Bishopston, Cabot, Clifton, District, Durdham, and Redland.

1983-1997: The City of Bristol wards of Ashley, Bishopston, Cabot, Clifton, Cotham, Henleaze, Redland, and Stoke Bishop.

1997-2010: The City of Bristol wards of Ashley, Bishopston, Cabot, Clifton, Cotham, Henleaze, Redland, Stoke Bishop, and Westbury-on-Trym.

2010-present: The City of Bristol wards of Ashley, Bishopston, Cabot, Clifton, Clifton East, Cotham, Easton, Lawrence Hill, and Redland.

Following the review into parliamentary representation in Bristol by the Boundary Commission for England, Bristol West was subject to significant boundary changes at the 2010 general election.^[2] Easton and Lawrence Hill wards were transferred from Bristol East, while Henleaze, Stoke Bishop and Westbury-on-Trym wards were lost to Bristol North West.

During the review, a proposal to rename the constituency as "Bristol Central" was rejected.^[2]

During the boundary review in 2012, the Conservatives insisted that all constituencies should comprise roughly similar populations. As a larger than average constituency, Bristol West is therefore likely to lose Easton ward to Bristol East.

History

Traditionally this was the safest Conservative seat in Bristol, covering its most middle-class areas. It was held by the party continuously for a century and was represented by a series of Conservative cabinet ministers including Michael Hicks-Beach, Oliver Stanley, Walter Monckton and William Waldegrave. The seat was held by the Conservatives for 112 years before Labour's Valerie Davey won it at the 1997 general election; Labour had been third in 1992.

At the 2005 election the seat was Liberal Democrat target number 18, and Conservative target number 50; it had been frequently described in the media as a "three-way marginal", and all parties fought hard for the constituency. The seat was taken by Liberal Democrat Stephen Williams with a large majority, thought to have been aided by the large student electorate, hostile to Labour's top-up fees policy. This Liberal Democrat success was similar to those in other seats with a large student population, such as Cambridge, Manchester Withington, Leeds North West and Cardiff Central. In the 2010 election, Stephen Williams held the seat with an increased majority.^[3] In the 2015 general election, however, the Liberal Democrat vote fell by 29.2% and Williams came third, over 10,000 votes behind the winning Labour candidate Thangam Debbonaire and more than 5,000 behind the Green Party candidate, who achieved the greatest increase in the Green vote (+23%) in any seat that election, albeit not enough to gain the seat. ^[4]

Members of Parliament

George Gibbs, MP for the area from 1906-28

	Member^[5]^[6]	Party
1885	Michael Hicks-Beach	Conservative
1906	George Abraham Gibbs	Conservative
1928	Cyril Thomas Culverwell	Conservative
1945	Oliver Stanley	Conservative
1951	Sir Walter T. Monckton	Conservative
1957	Robert Cooke	Conservative
1979	William Waldegrave	Conservative
1997	Valerie Davey	Labour
2005	Stephen Williams	Liberal Democrats
2015	Thangam Debbonaire	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Bristol West^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thangam Rachel Debbonaire	22,900	35.7	+8.1
	Green	Darren Hall	17,227	26.8	+23.0
	Liberal Democrat	Stephen Roy Williams	12,103	18.8	-29.2
	Conservative	Claire Hiscott	9,752	15.2	-3.2
	UKIP	Paul Turner	1,940	3.0	+1.8
	Independent	Dawn Parry	204	0.3	N/A
	Left Unity	Stewart Weston	92	0.1	N/A
Majority			5,673	8.8	-11.7
Turnout			64,218	72.0	+5.1
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrat		Swing	-7.5

(Note that the vote-share changes for 2010 are from the notional results on the new boundaries, not the actual 2005 results))

General Election 2010: Bristol West^[3]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Stephen Roy Williams	26,593	48.0	+8.9
	Labour	Paul Smith	15,227	27.5	−9.0
	Conservative	Nick Yarker	10,169	18.4	+2.0
	Green	Ricky Knight	2,090	3.8	−1.8
	UKIP	Christopher Lees	655	1.2	−0.1
	Independent	Danny Kushlick	343	0.6
	English Democrats	Jon Baker	270	0.5
Majority			11,366	20.5	+11.6
Turnout			55,347	66.9	+3.3
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Stephen Roy Williams	21,987	38.3	+9.4
	Labour	Valerie Davey	16,859	29.4	−7.4
	Conservative	David John Pattison Martin	15,429	26.9	−1.9
	Green	Justin M. Quinnell	2,163	3.8	+0.3
	UKIP	Simon D. Muir	439	0.8	−0.1
	Socialist Labour	Bernard J. Kennedy	329	0.6	−0.5
	Save Bristol North Baths Party	Douglas J. Reid	190	0.3	+0.3
Majority			5,128	8.9
Turnout			57,396	70.5	+4.9
	Liberal Democrat gain from Labour		Swing	+8.4

General Election 2001: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Valerie Davey	20,505	36.8	+1.6
	Liberal Democrat	Stephen Roy Williams	16,079	28.9	+0.9
	Conservative	Pamela Joy Chesters	16,040	28.8	−4.0
	Green	John F.L. Devaney	1,961	3.5	+2.2
	Socialist Labour	Bernard J. Kennedy	590	1.1	+0.7
	UKIP	Simon D. Muir	490	0.9	N/A
Majority			4,426	7.9
Turnout			55,665	65.6	−7.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Bristol West^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Valerie Davey	22,068	35.2	+10.5
	Conservative	William Arthur Waldegrave	20,575	32.8	−9.4
	Liberal Democrat	Charles R. Boney	17,551	28.0	−2.7
	Referendum	Lady R.E. Margot Beauchamp	1,304	2.1	N/A
	Green	Justin M. Quinnell	852	1.4	+0.4
	Socialist Labour	Roy C.M.T. Nurse	244	0.4	N/A
	Natural Law	Jai J. Brierley	47	0.1	−0.1
Majority			1,493	2.4
Turnout			62,641	73.8
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General Election 1992: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Arthur Waldegrave	22,169	42.2	−3.3
	Liberal Democrat	Charles R. Boney	16,098	30.7	−0.6
	Labour	Hedley Bashforth	12,992	24.7	+3.8
	Green	Alastair Sawday	906	1.7	−0.3
	Natural Law	David J. Cross	104	0.2	N/A
	Revolutionary Communist	Ben Brent	92	0.2	N/A
	Struck off Doctors Alliance	Phil J. Hammond	87	0.2	N/A
	Anti-Federalist League	Tim P.E. Hedges	42	0.1	N/A
Majority			6,071	11.5	−2.7
Turnout			52,490	74.0	−1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.4

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Arthur Waldegrave	24,695	45.5	−3.6
	Liberal	George Robin Paget Ferguson	16,992	31.3	+1.9
	Labour	Mrs. Mary Caroline Georghiou	11,337	20.9	+1.4
	Green	Mrs. Gundula Audrey Dorey	1,096	2.0	N/A
	Communist	Miss Veronica Ralph	134	0.3	N/A
Majority			7,703	14.2	−5.5
Turnout			54,254	75.0	+4.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1983: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Arthur Waldegrave	25,400	49.1
	Liberal	George Robin Paget Ferguson	15,222	29.4
	Labour	Mrs. P.R. Tatlow	10,094	19.5
	Ecology	J.F.K. Scott	872	1.7
	Independent	S. Boyle	142	0.3
Majority			10,178	19.7
Turnout			51,730	70.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Arthur Waldegrave	22,257	52.6
	Labour	V. Bath	9,691	22.9
	Liberal	B. Silver	8,881	21.0
	Ecology	J.K. Ingham	1,154	2.7
	National Front	M. Jones	246	0.6
	Independent	R.R. Redmore	93	0.2
Majority			12,566	29.7
Turnout				71.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Gordon Cooke	18,555	46.9
	Liberal	Robert G.R. Stacey	11,598	29.3
	Labour	J. Malos	9,372	23.7
Majority			6,957	17.6
Turnout				65.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election February 1974: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Gordon Cooke	21,141	48.3
	Liberal	Robert G.R. Stacey	13,076	29.9
	Labour	J. Malos	9,526	21.8
Majority			8,065	18.4
Turnout				72.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1970: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Gordon Cooke	20,110	60.2
	Labour	David J. Blackman	8,175	24.5
	Liberal	Robert G.R. Stacey	5,108	15.3
Majority			11,935	35.7
Turnout				66.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Gordon Cooke	19,783	56.7
	Labour	Leslie Walter Bosisto	8,265	23.7
	Liberal	Robert G.R. Stacey	6,850	19.6
Majority			11,518	33.0
Turnout				72.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1964: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Gordon Cooke	21,230	58.0
	Liberal	Keith Basil Wedmore	7,366	20.1
	Labour	Donald McLaren	7,306	20.0
	Taxpayers' Coalition Party	P. Michael Kingston	709	1.9
Majority			13,864	37.9
Turnout				73.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Gordon Cooke	27,768	67.3
	Labour	Michael Francis Lovell Cocks	7,651	18.6
	Liberal	Colin Allen Hart-Leverton	5,835	14.1
Majority			20,117	48.7
Turnout				73.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bristol West by-election 7 March 1957
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Gordon Cooke	24,585	70.2
	Labour	William Thomas Rodgers	10,423	29.8
Majority			14,162	40.4
Turnout				61.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Walter Turner Monckton	32,767	75.3
	Labour	Walter Hamlet Johnson	10,766	24.7
Majority			22,001	50.6
Turnout				74.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Walter Turner Monckton	25,858	63.6
	Labour	Harold Lawrance	11,716	28.8
	Liberal	David Goldblatt	3,115	7.7
Majority			14,142	34.8
Turnout				80.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bristol West by-election 15 February 1951
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Walter Turner Monckton	22,216	81.4
	Labour	Harold Lawrance	5,072	18.6
Majority			17,144	62.8
Turnout				53.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1950: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Oliver Frederick George Stanley	24,920	58.9
	Labour	Edward S.D. Bishop	12,677	30.0
	Liberal	Miss Hilda Nuttall	4,688	11.1
Majority			12,243	28.9
Turnout				82.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Oliver Frederick George Stanley	32,149	48.6
	Labour	William Edward Balmer	25,163	38.0
	Liberal	Desmond Allhusen	8,849	13.4
Majority			6,986	10.6
Turnout				74.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1935: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Cyril Thomas Culverwell	36,820	71.0
	Labour	Percy Williams	15,058	29.0
Majority			21,762	42.0
Turnout				70.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1931: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Cyril Thomas Culverwell	43,264	83.0
	Labour	F.E. White	8,875	17.0
Majority			34,389	66.0
Turnout				79.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1929: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Cyril Thomas Culverwell	25,416	53.7
	Labour	Lady Clare Annesley	11,961	25.3
	Liberal	William Nichols Marcy	9,909	21.0
Majority			13,455	28.4
Turnout				77.7
	Unionist hold		Swing

Bristol West by-election, 1928
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Cyril Thomas Culverwell	16,970	57.2
	Labour	Lady Clare Annesley	7,702	26.0
	Liberal	William Nichols Marcy	4,996	16.8
Majority			9,268	31.2
	Unionist hold		Swing

General Election 1924: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	George Abraham Gibbs	23,574	79.0
	Labour	M. Giles	6,276	21.0
Majority			17,298	58.0
	Unionist hold		Swing

General Election 1923: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	George Abraham Gibbs	Unopposed	n/a	n/a
	Unionist hold		Swing	n/a

General Election 1922: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	George Abraham Gibbs	18,124	62.0
	Liberal	Frank Walter Raffety	11,100	38.0
Majority			7,024	24.0
	Unionist hold		Swing

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1918: Bristol West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	George Abraham Gibbs	Unopposed	n/a	n/a
	Unionist hold		Swing	n/a

endorsed by Coalition Government

Notes and references

↑ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
1 2 "Fifth Periodical Report" (PDF). Boundary Commission for England. 26 February 2007. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
1 2 "Election 2010: Bristol West". BBC News (BBC). 7 May 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
↑ "UK ELECTION RESULTS". electionresults.blogspot.co.uk.
↑ "Bristol West 1885-". Hansard. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
↑ "Members 1979-2010" (PDF). House of Commons Library. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
↑ McNamara, Stephen (20 April 2010). "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll" (PDF). Acting Returning Officer, Bristol City Council. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
↑ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.

Constituencies in South West England (55)

Conservative (51)	Bath Bournemouth East Bournemouth West Bridgwater and West Somerset Bristol North West Camborne and Redruth Central Devon Cheltenham Chippenham Christchurch Devizes East Devon Filton and Bradley Stoke Forest of Dean Gloucester Kingswood Mid Dorset and North Poole Newton Abbot North Cornwall North Devon North Dorset North East Somerset North Somerset North Swindon North Wiltshire Plymouth Moor View Plymouth Sutton and Devonport Poole Salisbury Somerton and Frome South Dorset South East Cornwall South Swindon South West Devon South West Wiltshire St Austell and Newquay St Ives Stroud Taunton Deane Tewkesbury The Cotswolds Thornbury and Yate Tiverton and Honiton Torbay Torridge and West Devon Totnes Truro and Falmouth Wells West Dorset Weston-super-Mare Yeovil

Labour (4)	Bristol East Bristol South Bristol West Exeter

South West England European constituency: Conservative (2) Green (1) Labour (1) UKIP (2)

Coordinates: 51°27′47″N 2°36′30″W / 51.46301°N 2.60827°W / 51.46301; -2.60827

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