North Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 51°00′21″N 2°11′51″W / 51.0058°N 2.1976°W

North Dorset
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of North Dorset in Dorset.
Location of Dorset within England.
County	Dorset
Electorate	73,010 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements	Blandford Forum, Gillingham, Shaftesbury, Sturminster Newton and Verwood
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of parliament	Simon Hoare (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South West England

North Dorset is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Simon Hoare, a Conservative.^{[n 2]}

History

This seat was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, since which it has been served at various times by candidates from only two parties. For 19 of the years between 1885 and 1950 it has been served by a Liberal and for the other years it has been served only by Conservatives.

Constituency profile

The constituency covers North Dorset local government district and most (geographically) of East Dorset. It is largely rural, with a lower than average proportion of social housing and five small towns shown in the infobox. The largest town is Verwood, and the most central is the market town of Blandford Forum, north of the port of Poole.

Boundaries

1885-1918: The Municipal Borough of Shaftesbury, the Sessional Divisions of Blandford, Shaftesbury, and Sturminster, and part of the Sessional Division of Sherborne.

1918-1950: The Municipal Boroughs of Blandford Forum and Shaftesbury, the Urban District of Sherborne, the Rural Districts of Blandford, Shaftesbury, Sherborne, and Sturminster, and part of the Rural District of Wimborne and Cranborne.

1950-1983: The Municipal Boroughs of Blandford Forum and Shaftesbury, the Urban District of Wimborne Minster, and the Rural Districts of Blandford, Shaftesbury, Sturminster, and Wimborne and Cranborne.

1983-1997: The District of North Dorset, the District of Wimborne wards of Colehill, Corfe Mullen Central, Corfe Mullen North, Corfe Mullen South, Crane, Holt, Sixpenny Handley, Sturminster Marshall, Vale of Allen, and Wimborne Minster, and the District of Purbeck wards of Lytchett Matravers and Lytchett Minster.

1997-2010: The District of North Dorset, and the District of East Dorset wards of Colehill, Crane, Holt, Longham, Sixpenny Handley, Stapehill, Sturminster Marshall, Vale of Allen, and Wimborne Minster.

2010–present: The District of North Dorset (the wards of Abbey, Blackmore, Blandford Damory Down, Blandford Hilltop, Blandford Langton St Leonards, Blandford Old Town, Blandford Station, Bourton and District, Bulbarrow, Cranborne Chase, Gillingham Town, Hill Forts, Lodbourne, Lydden Vale, Marnhull, Milton, Motcombe and Ham, Portman, Riversdale, Shaftesbury Central, Shaftesbury Christy’s, Shaftesbury Grosvenor, Shaftesbury Underhill, Stour Valley, The Beacon, The Lower Tarrants, The Stours, and Wyke), and the District of East Dorset wards of Alderholt, Crane, Handley Vale, Holt, Stour, Three Cross and Potterne, Verwood Dewlands, Verwood Newtown, and Verwood Stephen’s Castle.

Members of Parliament

Year		Member[2]	Party
	1885	Edwin Berkeley Portman	Liberal
	1892	John Wingfield-Digby	Conservative
	1905	Arthur Walters Wills	Liberal
	Jan 1910	Sir Randolf Baker	Conservative
	1918	Philip Colfox	Unionist
	1922	John Emlyn-Jones	Liberal
	1924	Sir Cecil Hanbury	Unionist
	1937	Angus Valdemar Hambro	Conservative
	1945	Frank Byers	Liberal
	1950	Robert Crouch	Conservative
	1957	Richard Glyn	Conservative
	1970	David James	Conservative
	1979	Nicholas Baker	Conservative
	1997	Robert Walter	Conservative
	2015	Simon Hoare	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: North Dorset[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Simon Hoare[4]	30,227	56.6	+5.6
	UKIP	Steve Unwin[5]	9,109	17.1	+11.9
	Liberal Democrat	Hugo Miéville[6]	6,226	11.7	-25.3
	Labour	Kim Fendley[7]	4,785	9.0	+3.6
	Green	Richard Barrington [8]	3,038	5.7	+4.7
Majority			21,118	39.6	+25.5
Turnout			53,385	71.6	-1.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 2010: North Dorset[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Walter	27,640	51.1	+4.6
	Liberal Democrat	Emily Gasson	20,015	37.0	-0.9
	Labour	Mike Bunney	2,910	5.4	-4.2
	UKIP	Jeremy Nieboer	2,812	5.2	+1.3
	Green	Anna Hayball	546	1.0	-1.3
	Monster Raving Loony	Roger Monksummers	218	0.4	+0.4
Majority			7,625	14.1	+9.9
Turnout			54,141	73.5	+4.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.8

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: North Dorset[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Walter	23,714	44.9	-1.8
	Liberal Democrat	Emily Gasson	21,470	40.7	+2.0
	Labour	John Yarwood	4,596	8.7	-2.5
	UKIP	Richard Frampton Hobbs	1,918	3.6	+1.5
	Green	Ralph Arliss	1,117	2.1	+2.1
Majority			2,244	4.2	-3.8
Turnout			52,815	71.1	+4.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.9
Source BBC News, 2005

General Election 2001: North Dorset[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Walter	22,314	46.7	+2.4
	Liberal Democrat	Emily Gasson	18,517	38.7	-0.4
	Labour	Mark Wareham	5,334	11.2	+0.9
	UKIP	Peter Jenkins	1,019	2.1	+0.6
	Lower Excise Duty Party	Joseph Duthie	391	0.8	N/A
	Independent	Cora Bone	246	0.5	N/A
Majority			3,797	8.0
Turnout			47,821	66.3	-10.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.4

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: North Dorset[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Walter	23,294	44.30
	Liberal Democrat	P Yates	20,548	39.07
	Labour	J Fitzmaurice	5,380	10.23
	Referendum	M Evans	2,564	4.88
	UKIP	D Wheeler	801	1.52
Majority			2,746	5.22
Turnout				76.30
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1992: North Dorset[13][14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nicholas Baker	34,234	54.6	−2.5
	Liberal Democrat	Mrs LE Siegle	24,154	38.5	+2.1
	Labour	JF Fitzmaurice	4,360	6.9	+0.3
Majority			10,080	16.1	−4.6
Turnout			62,748	81.8	+2.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.3

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: North Dorset[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nicholas Baker	32,854	57.02
	Liberal	Dr. Geoffrey W Tapper	20,947	36.35
	Labour	J Hanley	3,819	6.63
Majority			11,907	20.66
Turnout				79.10
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1983: North Dorset[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nicholas Baker	30,058	58.09
	Liberal	Dr. Geoffrey W Tapper	18,678	36.10
	Labour	J Fox	2,710	5.24
	Wessex Regionalist	David Fox	294	0.57
Majority			11,380	21.99
Turnout				76.62
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Dorset North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nicholas Brian Baker	40,046	62.2
	Liberal	G Court	16,750	26.0
	Labour	MC Rowlands	7,543	11.7
Majority			23,296	36.2
Turnout				79.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: North Dorset
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Pelham James	28,891	51.15
	Liberal	Philip George Watkins	20,350	36.03
	Labour	TG Jones	7,245	12.8
Majority			8,541	15.1
Turnout				79.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election February 1974: Dorset North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Pelham James	30,288	50.7
	Liberal	Philip George Watkins	23,405	39.2
	Labour	TG Smith	6,032	10.1
Majority			6,883	11.5
Turnout				84.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1970: Dorset North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Pelham James	28,471	57.9
	Liberal	Philip George Watkins	12,095	24.6
	Labour	Haydn R White	8,626	17.5
Majority			16,376	33.3
Turnout				78.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Dorset North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Hamilton Glyn	20,520	48.2
	Liberal	Richard A Lamb	15,005	35.2
	Labour	Jack R Rutland	7,090	16.6
Majority			5,515	12.9
Turnout			42,615	81.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1964: Dorset North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Hamilton Glyn	19,898	48.6
	Liberal	Richard A Lamb	14,768	36.1
	Labour	JF Armstrong	6,253	15.3
Majority			5,130	12.5
Turnout			40,919	81.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Dorset North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Hamilton Glyn	20,255	52.8
	Liberal	John Alun Emlyn-Jones	11,604	30.2
	Labour	H J Dutfield	6,548	17.0
Majority			8,651	22.5
Turnout			38,407	82.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

North Dorset by-election, 1957
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Hamilton Glyn	15,513	45.1	-7.0
	Liberal	John Alun Emlyn-Jones	12,411	36.1	+3.7
	Labour	H J Dutfield	6,278	18.3	+2.8
	Independent	H C Wright	170	0.5	n/a
Majority			3,102	9.0	-10.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	-5.4

1955 General Election: Dorset North [17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Fisher Crouch	18,906	52.1
	Liberal	Hon. Michael Berkeley Portman	11,747	32.4
	Labour	H J Dutfield	5,633	15.5	+7.5
Majority			7,159
Turnout				82.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Dorset North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Fisher Crouch	17,392	47.0
	Liberal	Charles Frank Byers	16,645	45.0
	Labour	J. R. Tudor Griffith	2,946	8.0
Majority			747	2.0
Turnout				86.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1950: Dorset North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Fisher Crouch	15,324	43.3
	Liberal	Charles Frank Byers	15,227	43.1
	Labour	J. R. Tudor Griffith	4,807	13.6
Majority			97	0.3
Turnout				85.0
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Dorset Northern
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Frank Byers	14,444	53.7
	Conservative	Richard Hamilton Glyn	12,479	46.3
Majority			1,965	7.30
Turnout				75.04
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

General Election 1939/40

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

• Conservative: Angus Hambro
• Liberal: Frank Byers^[18]
• Labour: CL Lander^[19]

Elections in the 1930s

North Dorset by-election, 1937 [20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Angus Valdemar Hambro	12,247	51.1	+1.0
	Liberal	Hon. William Borthwick	11,704	48.9	+11.0
Majority			543	2.2	-10.0
Turnout			23,951	73.4	-6.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	-5.0

General Election 1935: North Dorset [20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Cecil Hanbury	13,055	50.1	-9.1
	Liberal	Hon. William Borthwick	9,871	37.9	-2.9
	Agriculture	George Henry Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers	1,771	6.8	n/a
	Labour	Miss M M Whitehead	1,360	5.2	n/a
Majority			3,184	12.2	-6.2
Turnout				79.7	-2.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.1

General Election 1931: North Dorset [20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Cecil Hanbury	15,499	59.2	+11.9
	Liberal	Hon. William Borthwick	10,682	40.8	-3.0
Majority			4,817	18.4	+14.9
Turnout				82.1	+0.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.5

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1929: North Dorset [20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Cecil Hanbury	12,203	47.3	-6.0
	Liberal	Hon. William Borthwick	11,281	43.8	-2.9
	Labour	Colin Grant Clark	2,298	8.9	n/a
Majority			922	3.5
Turnout			25,782	81.4
	Unionist hold		Swing	-1.5

J. Emlyn-Jones

General Election 1924: Dorset North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Cecil Hanbury	11,819	53.3	+5.1
	Liberal	John Emlyn Emlyn-Jones	10,341	46.7	-5.1
Majority			1,478	6.6	+10.2
Turnout				86.5	+2.2
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+5.1

General Election 1923:
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Emlyn Emlyn-Jones	10,992	51.8	-0.5
	Unionist	Cecil Hanbury	10,211	48.2	+0.5
Majority			781	3.6	-1.0
Turnout				84.3
	Liberal hold		Swing	-0.5

General Election 1922
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Emlyn Emlyn-Jones	10,805	52.3
	Unionist	Cecil Hanbury	9,869	47.7
Majority			936	4.6
Turnout
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1918: Dorset North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Maj. William Philip Colfox	7,532
	Liberal	John Emlyn Emlyn-Jones	7,320
Majority
Turnout
	Unionist hold		Swing

• endorsed by the Coalition Government

General Election December 1910: Dorset North [21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Randolf Littlehales Baker	3,919	50.2
	Liberal	Arthur Walters Wills	3,887	49.8
Turnout			7,806	91.6
Majority			32	0.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election January 1910: Dorset North [22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Randolf Littlehales Baker	4,093	50.9	+5.1
	Liberal	Arthur Walters Wills	3,944	49.1	-5.1
Majority			149	1.8
Turnout				93.3
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+5.1

Elections in the 1900s

General Election January 1906: Dorset North [23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Walters Wills	4,153	54.2	-1.8
	Conservative	Sir Randolf Littlehales Baker	3,508	45.8	+1.8
Majority				8.4	-3.6
Turnout				90.2	-0.6
	Liberal hold		Swing	-1.8

North Dorset by-election, 1905[23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Walters Wills	4,239	56.0	+9.9
	Conservative	Sir Randolf Littlehales Baker	3,330	44.0	-9.9
Majority				12.0	19.8
Turnout				90.8
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+9.9

General Election January 1900: Dorset North [23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Kenelm Digby Wingfield-Digby	3,705	53.9
	Liberal	Hon. George Arthur Maurice Hamilton-Gordon	3,165	46.1
Majority			540	7.8
Turnout				82.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Dorset

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. "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
2. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 2)
3. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
4. "Simon Hoare chosen as the Conservative candidate for Dorset North". Conservative Home. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
5. http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/dorsetnorth/
6. "Hugo Miéville". Lib Dems. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
7. "Kim Fendley". Labour.
8. http://www.westerngazette.co.uk/North-Dorset-Green-Party-announces-candidate/story-25997325-detail/story.html
9. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
10. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
11. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
12. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
13. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
14. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
15. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
16. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
17. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1973
18. The Liberal Magazine, 1939
19. Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
20. British parliamentary election results 1818-1949, Craig, F. W. S.
21. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918
22. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918
23. British parliamentary election results 1885-1918 by Craig