Henley (UK Parliament constituency)

Henley
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Henley in Oxfordshire.
Location of Oxfordshire within England.
County	Oxfordshire
Electorate	73,851 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements	Henley, Thame and Chinnor
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of parliament	John Howell (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South East England

Henley is a constituency^{[n 1]} in Oxfordshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2008 by John Howell, a Conservative.^{[n 2]}

Constituency profile

The area has since 1910 been a Conservative safe seat, making it one of the longest held seats by the party's candidates in the country.

Boundaries

1885-1918: The Municipal Borough of Henley-on-Thames, the Sessional Divisions of Henley and Wallington, part of the Sessional Division of Bullingdon, and the part of the Municipal Borough of Abingdon in the county of Oxfordshire.

1918-1950: The Municipal Borough of Henley-on-Thames, the Urban Districts of Bicester, Thame, and Wheatley, and the Rural Districts of Bicester, Crowmarsh, Culhain, Goring, Headington, Henley, and Thame.

1950-1974: The Municipal Borough of Henley-on-Thames, the Urban Districts of Bicester and Thame, the Rural Districts of Bullingdon and Henley, and part of the Rural District of Ploughley.

1974-1983: The Municipal Borough of Henley-on-Thames, the Urban District of Thame, the Rural District of Henley, and part of the Rural District of Bullingdon.

1983-1997: The District of South Oxfordshire wards of Aston Rowant, Benson, Berinsfield, Chalgrove, Chinnor, Clifton Hampden, Crowmarsh, Dorchester, Forest Hill, Garsington, Goring, Goring Heath, Great Milton, Henley, Kidmore End, Nettlebed, Rotherfield Peppard, Shiplake, Sonning Common, Thame North, Thame South, Watlington, Wheatley, and Woodcote.

1997-2010: The District of South Oxfordshire wards of Aston Rowant, Benson, Berinsfield, Chalgrove, Chinnor, Clifton Hampden, Crowmarsh, Dorchester, Forest Hill, Garsington, Goring, Goring Heath, Great Milton, Henley, Horspath, Kidmore End, Nettlebed, Rotherfield Peppard, Shiplake, Sonning Common, Thame North, Thame South, Watlington, Wheatley, and Woodcote.

2010-present: The District of South Oxfordshire wards of Aston Rowant, Benson, Berinsfield, Chalgrove, Chiltern Woods, Chinnor, Crowmarsh, Forest Hill and Holton, Garsington, Goring, Great Milton, Henley North, Henley South, Sandford, Shiplake, Sonning Common, Thame North, Thame South, Watlington, Wheatley, and Woodcote, and the District of Cherwell wards of Kirtlington and Otmoor.

The constituency covers most of the local government district of South Oxfordshire, excluding the Wallingford and Didcot areas in the west of the district. Main settlements in the South Oxfordshire part of the constituency include Henley-on-Thames itself, Thame, Chinnor and Sonning Common. The two wards of Cherwell that are included in the seat are located to the north of South Oxfordshire and are predominantly rural.

History

The best-known past Members of Parliament were Michael Heseltine and Boris Johnson.

Henley has been a safe Conservative seat for several decades. The high profile former cabinet minister Michael Heseltine served as its MP for over 25 years. Heseltine was succeeded by the equally high profile Boris Johnson in 2001. In May 2008, Johnson was elected as Mayor of London, and he subsequently resigned from the Commons on 4 June 2008,^[2] resulting in a by-election in the constituency, which was won by John Howell. Howell was re-elected at the General Election in 2010 and again in 2015 with a massively increased majority.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[3]	Party	Notes
	1885	Edward William Harcourt	Conservative
	1886	Francis Parker	Conservative
	1895	Robert Hodge	Conservative	Became Sir Robert Hodge, Baronet in 1902, assumed surname Hermon-Hodge in 1903
	1906	Philip Morrell	Liberal
	1910	Valentine Fleming	Conservative	Killed in World War I, father of James Bond novelist Ian Fleming.
	1917 by-election	Sir Robert Hermon-Hodge, Bt.	Conservative
	1918	Reginald Terrell	Coalition Conservative
	1922		Conservative
	1924	Robert Henderson	Conservative
	1932 by-election	Gifford Fox	Conservative
	1950	John Hay	Conservative
	Feb 1974	Michael Heseltine	Conservative	Later Baron Heseltine; Cabinet minister 1979-86 and 1990–97
	2001	Boris Johnson	Conservative	Elected Mayor of London May 2008
	2008 by-election	John Howell	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Henley[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Howell[5]	32,292	58.5	+2.3
	Labour	Sam Juthani[6]	6,917	12.5	+1.6
	Liberal Democrat	Sue Cooper[7]	6,205	11.2	-13.9
	UKIP	Christopher Jones[8]	6,007	10.9	+7.5
	Green	Mark Stevenson[9]	3,815	6.9	+4.4
Majority			25,375	45.9
Turnout			55,236	70.9	-0.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+14.9

General Election 2010: Henley[10][11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Howell	30,054	56.2	+3.0
	Liberal Democrat	Andy Crick	13,466	25.2	−0.9
	Labour	Richard McKenzie	5,835	10.9	−4.1
	UKIP	Laurence Hughes	1,817	3.4	+0.9
	Green	Mark Stevenson	1,328	2.5	−0.8
	BNP	John Bews	1,020	1.9	−1.7
Majority			16,588	31.0
Turnout			53,520	71.4	+3.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.9

Elections in the 2000s

Henley by-election, 2008 [12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Howell	19,796	56.9	+3.4
	Liberal Democrat	Stephen Kearney	9,680	27.8	+1.8
	Green	Mark Stevenson	1,321	3.8	+0.5
	BNP	Tim Rait	1,243	3.6	N/A
	Labour	Richard McKenzie	1,066	3.1	−11.6
	UKIP	Chris Adams	843	2.4	−0.1
	Monster Raving Loony	Bananaman Owen	242	0.7	N/A
	English Democrats	Derek Allpass	157	0.4	N/A
	Independent	Amanda Harrington	128	0.4	N/A
	Common Good	Dick Rodgers	121	0.3	N/A
	Independent	Louise Cole	91	0.3	N/A
	Fur Play Party	Harry Bear	73	0.2	N/A
Majority			10,116	29.1	+1.6
Turnout			34,761	50.5	−17.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.8

General Election 2005: Henley[13][14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Boris Johnson	24,894	53.5	+7.4
	Liberal Democrat	David Turner	12,101	26.0	−1.0
	Labour	Kaleem Saeed	6,862	14.7	−6.4
	Green	Mark Stevenson	1,518	3.3	+0.7
	UKIP	Delphine Gray-Fisk	1,162	2.5	−0.7
Majority			12,793	27.5
Turnout			46,537	67.9	+3.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.2

General Election 2001: Henley[15][14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Boris Johnson	20,466	46.1	−0.3
	Liberal Democrat	Catherine Bearder	12,008	27.0	+2.3
	Labour	Janet Matthews	9,367	21.1	–1.6
	UKIP	Philip Collings	1,413	3.2	N/A
	Green	Oliver Tickell	1,147	2.6	+1.6
Majority			8,458	19.1
Turnout			44,401	64.3	−13.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.3

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Henley[16][14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Heseltine	23,908	46.4	−13.3
	Liberal Democrat	Tim Horton	12,741	24.7	+0.6
	Labour	Duncan Enright	12,700	22.7	+7.8
	Referendum	Sebastian Sainsbury	2,299	4.5	N/A
	Green	Mrs Susan Miles	514	1.0	N/A
	Natural Law	Nigel Barlow	221	0.4	–0.1
	Whig Party	Thomas Hibbert	160	0.3	N/A
Majority			11,167	21.7	−13.9
Turnout			52,543	77.6	−2.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1992: Henley[17][18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Heseltine	30,835	59.7	−1.4
	Liberal Democrat	David G. Turner	12,443	24.1	−2.2
	Labour	Ivan J. Russell-Swinnerton	7,676	14.9	+2.3
	Independent	Alan S. Plane	431	0.8	+0.8
	Natural Law	Ms. Sara A. Banerji	274	0.5	+0.5
Majority			18,392	35.6	+0.8
Turnout			51,659	79.8	+4.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.4

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Henley[19][20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Heseltine	29,978	61.1
	Liberal	John Madeley	12,896	26.3
	Labour	Michael Bayldon Barber	6,173	12.6
Majority			17,082	34.8
Turnout				75.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1983: Henley[21][22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Heseltine	27,039	59.7
	Liberal	I. Brook	13,258	29.3
	Labour	I. Roxburgh	4,282	9.5
	Women for Life On Earth	R. Johnson	517	1.1	N/A
	One Nation Conservative	T. Rogers	213	0.5	N/A
Majority			13,781	30.4
Turnout				72.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Henley[23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Heseltine	29,982	58.7
	Liberal	S. Atack	11,693	22.9
	Labour	D. J. Whiting	9,435	18.5
Majority			18,289	35.8
Turnout				77.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: Henley[24]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Heseltine	22,504	49.0
	Liberal	S. R. C. Evans	12,288	26.8
	Labour	I. M. Haig	11,141	24.3
Majority			10,216	22.2
Turnout				73.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election February 1974: Henley[25]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Heseltine	24,367	48.4
	Liberal	S. R. C. Evans	15,467	30.7
	Labour	A. Alexander	10,500	20.9
Majority			8,900	17.7
Turnout				81.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1970: Henley [26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Albert Hay	33,452	53.4
	Labour	Maeve Judith Denby	19,310	30.8
	Liberal	Arthur William Giles	8,907	14.2	N/A
	Anti-Common Market	Daniel Brunner	960	1.5	N/A
Majority			14,142	22.6
Turnout				74.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Henley [27]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Albert Hay	28,994	55.4
	Labour	George Cunningham	23,320	44.6
Majority			5,674	10.9
Turnout				75.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1964: Henley [28]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Albert Hay	24,898	49.2
	Labour	Arthur Ledger	16,614	32.8
	Liberal	Arthur William Giles	9,081	18.0
Majority			8,284	16.4
Turnout				78.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Henley [29]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Albert Hay	24,417	53.4
	Labour	Arthur Ledger	15,014	32.9
	Liberal	Charles Truman	6,261	13.7	N/A
Majority			9,403	20.6
Turnout				78.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Henley [30]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Albert Hay	24,061	58.6
	Labour	Miss Nora J T Wiles	16,980	41.4
Majority			7,081	17.3
Turnout				75.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Henley [31]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Albert Hay	23,621	58.0
	Labour	Constantine Gallop	17,090	42.0
Majority			6,531	16.0
Turnout				78.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1950: Henley [32]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Albert Hay	20,488	49.4
	Labour	Alan Ernest Gwynn Hawkins	14,709	35.5
	Liberal	Peter William Vincent Minoprio	6,255	15.1
Majority			5,779	13.9
Turnout				81.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Henley [33]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Gifford Wheaton Grey Fox	22,286	42.5
	Labour	James Stewart Cook	19,457	37.1
	Liberal	Lionel Gordon Baliol Brett	10,718	20.4
Majority			2,829	5.4
Turnout				66.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1935: Henley [34]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Gifford Wheaton Grey Fox	22,024	70.4
	Liberal	J H May	9,254	29.6
Majority			12,770	40.8
Turnout			31,278	56.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

Henley by-election, 1932[34]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Gifford Wheaton Grey Fox	16,553	69.9	-2.3
	Liberal	Richard Borlase Matthews	7,129	30.1	+13.8
Majority			9,424	39.8	-16.1
Turnout			23,682	48.9	-19.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1931: Henley [34]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Ronald Henderson	24,015	72.2
	Liberal	Richard Borlase Matthews	5,411	16.3
	Labour	Frederick J Hembury	3,809	11.5
Majority			18,604	55.9
Turnout			33,235	68.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1929: Henley [34]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Robert Ronald Henderson	16,943	51.9	-12.9
	Liberal	Sir Geoffrey Ernest Tritton	9,786	29.9	+5.3
	Labour	Bernard Benjamin Gillis	5,962	18.2	n/a
Majority			7,157	22.0	-18.2
Turnout			32,631	73.3	+3.1
	Unionist hold		Swing	-9.1

General Election 1924: Henley [34]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Ronald Henderson	14,830	64.8
	Liberal	Charles Alan Bennett	8,060	35.2
Majority			6,770	29.6
Turnout			22,890	70.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Sir Henry Rew

General Election 1923: Henley [34]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Thomas Antonio Reginald Terrell	12,092	51.8	-1.3
	Liberal	Sir Robert Henry Rew	11,266	48.2	+1.3
Majority			826	3.6	-2.6
Turnout			23,358	73.3	+3.7
	Unionist hold		Swing	-1.3

General Election 1922: Henley [34]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Thomas Antonio Reginald Terrell	11,545	53.1
	Liberal	Sir Robert Henry Rew	10,204	46.9
Majority			1,341	6.2
Turnout			21,749	69.6
	Unionist hold		Swing

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1918: Henley [34]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Thomas Antonio Reginald Terrell	10,757	67.7
	Liberal	Edmund Loftus MacNaghten	5,138	32.3
Majority			5,619	35.4
Turnout			15,895	52.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Neighbouring constituencies

See also

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

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. Treasury press release Manor of Northstead
3. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 2)
4. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
5. http://electionresults.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/henley-2015.html
6. http://www.samjuthaniforhenley.org.uk
7. "Sue Cooper PPC page". Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
8. "constituencies". UKIP South East. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
9. http://www.greenoxfordshire.com/mark_stevenson_for_henley
10. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
11. "BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Henley". BBC News.
12. ukpollingreport
13. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
14. Ask Aristotle: Henley, guardian.co.uk
15. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
16. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
17. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
18. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
19. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
20. UK General Election results June 1987
21. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
22. UK General Election results June 1983
23. UK General Election results May 1979
24. UK General Election results October 1974
25. UK General Election results February 1974
26. UK General Election results 1970
27. UK General Election results March 1966
28. UK General Election results October 1964
29. UK General Election results October 1959
30. UK General Election results May 1955
31. UK General Election results October 1951
32. UK General Election results February 1950
33. UK General Election results July 1945
34. F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918 - 1949

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.

Coordinates: 51°39′N 1°03′W / 51.65°N 1.05°W