Worcester (UK Parliament constituency)

Worcester
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Worcester in Worcestershire.
Location of Worcestershire within England.
County	Worcestershire
Electorate	73,960 (December 2010)[1]
Current constituency
Created	1295
Member of parliament	Robin Walker (Conservative)
Number of members	1885–present: One 1295–1885: Two
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	West Midlands

Worcester is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since 1885 it has elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election; from 1295 to 1885 it elected two MPs.

Boundaries

1918-1950: The County Borough of Worcester.

1950-1983: The County Borough of Worcester, the Municipal Borough of Droitwich, and the Rural District of Droitwich (the civil parishes of Crowle, Dodderhill, Doverdale, Elmbridge, Elmley Lovett, Hadzor, Hampton Lovett, Hanbury, Hartlebury, Himbleton, Hindlip, Huddington, Martin Hussingtree, North Claines, Oddingley, Ombersley, Salwarpe, Stock and Bradley, Tibberton, Upton Warren, Warndon, Westwood, and Worcester St Martin).

1983-1997: The City of Worcester (the wards of All Saints, Bedwardine, Claines, Holy Trinity, Nunnery, St Barnabas, St Clement, St John, St Martin, St Nicholas, St Peter, and St Stephen), and the District of Wychavon wards of Drakes Broughton, Inkberrow, Lenches, Pinvin, Spetchley, and Upton Snodsbury.

1997-2010: The City of Worcester (the wards of All Saints, Bedwardine, Claines, Holy Trinity, Nunnery, St Barnabas, St Clement, St John, St Martin, St Nicholas, St Peter, and St Stephen).

'2010-present: The City of Worcester (the wards of Arboretum, Battenhall, Bedwardine, Cathedral, Claines, Gorse Hill, Nunnery, Rainbow Hill, St Clement, St John, St Peter's Parish, St Stephen, Warndon, Warndon Parish North, and Warndon Parish South).

The constituency covers the city of Worcester, with exactly the same boundaries as the city. It borders the Mid Worcestershire constituency to the east, and West Worcestershire to the west.

History

A Conservative seat for many years, Worcester was represented by the high-profile Conservative cabinet minister Peter Walker for three decades, from a by-election in 1961 until he stood down in 1992. Peter Luff (also Conservative) held the seat until 1997, when he moved to the redrawn Mid Worcestershire constituency.

Michael Foster of the Labour Party took the seat in the 1997 general election. This can be put down to a combination of Labour's landslide victory nationally, but also to the fact that boundary changes meant the constituency was now solely an urban area, rather than also containing much of the surrounding countryside.

Peter Walker's son, Robin Walker, was elected as the Conservative MP in 2010.

The constituency is marginal and was selected as a "target" by the Labour Party in 1997 and by the Conservative Party in 2010.

Many political commentators and journalists look on Worcester as having the demographic statistics which most closely mirror those in the United Kingdom as a whole. As such the term "Worcester woman" has come into use as a description for a typical swing voter.

Members of Parliament

• Constituency created in 1295

Parliament	First member	Second member
1372 (Nov)	John Atte Wode[2]
1373 (Nov)	John Atte Wode[2]
1376 (Apr)	John Atte Wode[2]
1380 (Jan)	John Atte Wode[2]
1380 (Nov)	John Atte Wode[2]
1386	Richard Maisemore	Robert Stevens[3]
1388 (Feb)	Roger Lichfield	John Bredon[3]
1388 (Sep)	John Cole	John Somery[3]
1390 (Jan)	Roger Lichfield	Thomas Belne[3]
1390 (Nov)	Richard Maisemore	John Bredon[3]
1391	Thomas Belne	Richard Maisemore[3]
1393	Thomas Belne	John Hereford[3]
1394	Thomas Belne	John Barrel[3]
1395	Thomas Belne	John Cooper[3]
1397 (Jan)	Thomas Belne	John Bredon[3]
1397 (Sep)
1399	Thomas Belne	John Bredon[3]
1401	John Barrel	Richard Halle[3]
1402	Thomas Belne	John Bredon[3]
1404 (Jan)	Richard Halle	John Malley[3]
1404 (Oct)
1406	Richard Halle	Richard Oseney[3]
1407	Thomas Belne	John Malley[3]
1410	John Weston	Thomas Belne[3]
1411
1413 (Feb)	Sir John Phelip[3]
1413 (May)	John Weston	John Wood[3]
1414 (Apr)
1414 (Nov)	John Weston	Richard Norton[3]
1415	John Wood	John Weston[3]
1416 (Mar)	John Wood	Ralph Merston[3]
1416 (Oct)
1417	John Boyle	Geoffrey Friar[3]
1419	John Weston	William Boughton[3]
1420	John Forthey	William Ward[3]
1421 (May)	John Forthey	Robert Nelme[3]
1421 (Dec)	John Forthey	Geoffrey Friar[3]
1510-1523	No names known[4]
1529	Hugh Dee, died and replaced after 1530 by ?Thomas Hill	John Braughing[4]
1536	Thomas Hill	?[4]
1539	?
1542	John Braughing	Thomas Sheldon[4]
1545	Richard Calowhill	Thomas Sheldon[4]
1547	John Braughing died and replaced by Jan 1552 by Thomas Wylde	Robert Youle[4]
1553 (Mar)	William Robinson	Edward Brogden[4]
1553 (Oct)	Sir John Bourne	John Emery[4]
1554 (Apr)	John Ainsworth	Thomas Hill[4]
1554 (Nov)	Robert Youle	Edward Brogden[4]
1555	Robert Youle	William Adyes[4]
1558	Robert Youle	Thomas Wylde[4]
1559	Richard Bullingham	Guthlac Edwards[5]
1562/3	William Gibbes	John More[5]
1571	Francis Streate	Richard Bullingham[5]
1572	Christopher Deighton	Thomas Walsgrove alias Fleet[5]
1584	Richard Nash	Walter Jones[5]
1586	Ralph Wyat	Walter Jones[5]
1588	Walter Jones	John Walsgrove alias Fleet[5]
1593	Walter Jones	Rowland Berkeley[5]
1597	Rowland Berkeley	William Bagnall[5]
1601	Rowland Berkeley	Christopher Deighton[5]
1604	John Coucher	Christopher Deighton, died and repl. 1605 by Rowland Berkeley
1614	John Coucher	Thomas Chettle
1621	John Coucher	Robert Berkeley
1624	John Coucher	Robert Berkeley
1625	Walter Devereux	Henry Spelman
1626	John Spelman	John Haselock
1628	John Coucher	John Haselock
1640 (Apr)	John Coucher	John Nash
1640 (Nov)	John Coucher	John Nash, secluded 1648
1654	William Collins	Edward Elvines (Alderman)
1656	William Collins	Edmund Giles
1659	William Collins	Thomas Street

MPs 1660–1885

Election	First member[6]		Party	Second member[6]		Party
1660		Thomas Street			Thomas Hall
1661					Sir Rowland Berkeley
1679					Sir Francis Winnington
1681		Henry Herbert, later Baron Herbert
1685		Sir William Bromley			Bridges Nanfan
1689					Sir John Somers
1693					Samuel Swift
1694					Charles Cocks
1695					Samuel Swift
1701		Thomas Wylde
1718 by-election					Samuel Sandys, later Baron Sandys
1727		Sir Richard Lane
1734		Richard Lockwood
1741		Thomas Winnington
1744 by-election					Sir Henry Harpur
1746 by-election		Thomas Vernon
1747					Thomas Geers Winford[7]
1748 [7]					Robert Tracy
1754					Henry Crabb-Boulton
1761		John Walsh
1773 by-election					Thomas Bates Rous	Tory
1774, Mar by-election					Nicholas Lechmere	Tory
1774, Oct					Thomas Bates Rous	Tory
1780		William Ward, later Viscount Dudley
1784					Samuel Smith
1789 by-election		Edmund Wigley
1790					Edmund Lechmere
1796					Abraham Robarts	Whig
1802		Joseph Scott	Whig
1806		Henry Bromley	Whig
1807 by-election		William Gordon	Tory
1816 by-election					Viscount Deerhurst	Tory
1818		Thomas Henry Hastings Davies	Whig
1826					George Richard Robinson	Whig
1835		Joseph Bailey	Conservative
1837					Thomas Henry Hastings Davies	Liberal
1841					Sir Thomas Wilde	Liberal
1846 by-election					Sir Denis Le Marchant, Bt	Liberal
1847		Osman Ricardo	Liberal		Francis Rufford	Conservative
1852					William Laslett	Liberal
1860 by-election					Richard Padmore	Liberal
1865		Alexander Clunes Sheriff	Liberal
1868					William Laslett	Conservative
1874					Thomas Rowley Hill	Liberal
1878 by-election		John Derby Allcroft	Conservative
1880		Aeneas John McIntyre	Liberal
1885	Representation reduced to one member

MPs since 1885

Election		Member[6]	Party	Notes
	1885	George Higginson Allsopp	Conservative	Brewer, of Samuel Allsopp & Sons
	1906	George Henry Williamson	Conservative	Election overturned on petition in 1906, writ suspended until 1908
	1908 by-election	Edward Alfred Goulding	Conservative	Made a baronet in 1915. Later ennobled as Baron Wargrave
	1922	Richard Robert Fairbairn	Liberal	contested the seat 8 times, but won only once
	1923	Crawford Greene	Conservative
	1945	George Ward	Conservative	ennobled in 1960 as Viscount Ward of Witley
	1961 by-election	Peter Walker	Conservative	Cabinet minister 1970–1974, 1979–1990
	1992	Peter Luff	Conservative	MP for Mid Worcestershire 1997-2015
	1997	Michael Foster	Labour	Under-Secretary of State for International Development 2008–2010
	2010	Robin Walker	Conservative	son of Peter Walker, MP for Worcester 1961–1992

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Worcester[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robin Walker	22,534	45.3	+5.8
	Labour	Joy Squires[9]	16,888	34.0	+0.5
	UKIP	James Goad[10]	6,378	12.8	+10.1
	Green	Louis Stephen	2,024	4.1	+2.6
	Liberal Democrat	Federica Smith[11]	1,677	3.4	-16.1
	TUSC	Pete McNally[12]	153	0.3	+0.3
	Independent	Mark Shuker[13]	69	0.1	+0.1
Majority			5,646	11.4
Turnout				70.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 2010: Worcester[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robin Walker	19,358	39.5	+4.4
	Labour	Michael Foster	16,376	33.4	-8.5
	Liberal Democrat	Jackie Alderson[15]	9,525	19.4	+3.1
	UKIP	Jack Bennett[16]	1,360	2.8	+0.4
	BNP	Spencer Kirby[17]	1,219	2.5	+0.4
	Green	Louis Stephen	735	1.5	-0.5
	Pirate	Andrew Robinson	173	0.3	N/A
	Independent	Peter Nielsen[18][19]	129	0.2	N/A
	Independent	Andrew Christian-Brookes	99	0.2	N/A
Majority			2,982	6.1
Turnout			48,974	67.2	+2.8
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+6.4

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Worcester[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Foster	19,421	41.9	−6.7
	Conservative	Margaret Harper	16,277	35.1	−0.4
	Liberal Democrat	Mary Dhonau	7,557	16.3	+3.7
	UKIP	Richard Chamings	1,113	2.4	−0.9
	BNP	Martin Roberts	980	2.1	N/A
	Green	Chris Lennard	921	2.0	N/A
	Independent	Prudence Dowson	119	0.3	N/A
Majority			3,144	6.8
Turnout			46,388	64.1	+2.1
	Labour hold		Swing	−3.2

General Election 2001: Worcester[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Foster	21,478	48.6	-1.5
	Conservative	Richard Adams	15,712	35.5	-0.2
	Liberal Democrat	Paul Chandler	5,578	12.6	+0.1
	UKIP	Richard Chamings	1,442	3.3	+1.5
Majority			5,766	13.1
Turnout			44,210	62.0	-12.5
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Worcester[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Foster	25,848	50.1
	Conservative	Nicholas Bourne	18,423	35.7
	Liberal Democrat	Paul Chandler	6,462	12.5
	UKIP	P. Wood	886	1.7
Majority			7,452
Turnout				74.6
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General Election 1992: Worcester[23][24]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Luff	27,883	46.4	−1.8
	Labour	Roger E. Berry	21,731	36.2	+7.7
	Liberal Democrat	John J. Caiger	9,561	15.9	−7.5
	Green	Mike J. Foster	592	1.0	N/A
	Independent	Martin C. Soden	343	0.6	N/A
Majority			6,152	10.2	−9.5
Turnout			60,110	81.0	+4.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.8

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Worcester[25]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Walker	25,504	48.17
	Labour	M.J. Webb	15,051	28.43
	Social Democratic	J.J. Craiger	12,386	23.40
Majority			10,453	19.74
Turnout				76.75
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1983: Worcester[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Walker	24,381	49.45
	Social Democratic	Colin Phipps	13,510	27.40
	Labour	J. Rudd	11,208	22.73
	BNP	K.A. Axon	208	0.42
Majority			10,871	22.05
Turnout				74.11
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Worcester
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Walker	30,194	51.31
	Labour	D. Sparks	18,605	31.62
	Liberal	D. Elliott	8,886	15.10
	Ecology	J. Davenport	707	1.20
	National Front	K. Stevens	450	0.76
Majority			11,589	19.70
Turnout				75.41
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: Worcester
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Walker	25,183	45.57
	Labour	W.B. Morgan	20,194	36.54
	Liberal	D. Elliott	9,888	17.89
Majority			4,989	9.03
Turnout				73.84
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election February 1974: Worcester
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Walker	27,377	45.62
	Labour	W.B. Morgan	19,910	33.18
	Liberal	D.S. Smith	12,724	21.20
Majority			7,467	12.44
Turnout				80.95
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1970: Worcester
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Walker	29,717	58.28
	Labour	P. Jones	21,275	41.72
Majority			8,442	16.56
Turnout				72.84
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Worcester
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Walker	25,398	53.52
	Labour	F. Barrington-Ward	22,057	46.48
Majority			3,341	7.04
Turnout				77.89
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1964: Worcester Electorate 60,287
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Walker	24,345	50.90
	Labour	J. Martin	17,038	35.62
	Liberal	John G. Parry	6,448	13.48
Majority			7,307	15.28
Turnout			47,831	79.34
	Conservative hold		Swing

Worcester by-election, 1961 Electorate
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Walker	15,087	39.7
	Labour	Bryan Stanley	11,490	30.2
	Liberal	Robert Glenton	11,435	30.1	n/a
Majority			3,597	9.5
Turnout			38,012	64.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Worcester
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Ward	27,024	57.67
	Labour	Bryan Stanley	19,832	42.33
Majority			7,192	15.35
Turnout				79.26
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Worcester
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Ward	25,610	56.76
	Labour	L.V. Pike	19,508	43.24
Majority			6,102	13.52
Turnout				77.77
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Worcester
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Ward	26,060	55.48
	Labour	L.V. Pike	20,909	44.52
Majority			5,151	10.97
Turnout				82.13
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1950: Worcester Electorate 56,622
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Ward	24,147	49.54
	Labour	J. Evans	19,807	40.64
	Liberal	Maj. W.H.P. Gardiner	4,786	9.82
Majority			4,340	8.90
Turnout				86.08
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Worcester Electorate 41,523
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Ward	13,523	42.93
	Labour	J. Evans	13,519	42.92
	Liberal	Ronald James Bowker	4,459	14.16
Majority			4	0.01
Turnout				75.86
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

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 from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;

• Conservative: Crawford Greene
• Liberal: Richard Fairbairn^[27]
• Labour: James Ferguson^[28]

General Election 1935: Worcester
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Pomeroy Crawford Greene	13,398	50.68
	Liberal	Richard Robert Fairbairn	6,885	26.05
	Labour	James Ferguson	6,152	23.27
Majority			6,513	24.64
Turnout				76.75
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1931: Worcester
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Pomeroy Crawford Greene	16,357	60.94
	Liberal	Richard Robert Fairbairn	6,611	24,63
	Labour	H Bolton	3,874	14.43
Majority			9,746	36.31
Turnout				79.71
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1929: Worcester[29]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	William Pomeroy Crawford Greene	13,181	47.2	-8.8
	Labour	Kenneth Martin Lindsay	8,208	29.3	+14.0
	Liberal	Richard Robert Fairbairn	6,588	23.5	-5.2
Majority			4,974	17.9	-9.4
Turnout				65.4	-18.0
	Unionist hold		Swing	-11.4

General Election 1924: Worcester[30]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	William Pomeroy Crawford Greene	11,956	56.0
	Liberal	Richard Robert Fairbairn	6,139	28.7
	Labour	Percy Williams	3,272	15.3
Majority			5,817	27.3
Turnout				83.4
	Unionist hold		Swing

General Election 1923: Worcester[31]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	William Pomeroy Crawford Greene	10,971	50.9	+2.9
	Liberal	Richard Robert Fairbairn	9,743	45.3	-6.7
	Labour	Percy Williams	815	3.8	n/a
Majority			1,228	5.6	9.6
Turnout				85.8
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+4.8

General Election 1922 : Worcester[32]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Richard Robert Fairbairn	10,143	52.0	+17.4
	Unionist	Hon. Henry Lygon	9,370	48.0	-17.4
Majority			773	4.0	34.8
Turnout				82.4	+20.1
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+17.4

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1918 Worcester[33] Electorate 22,667
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Rt Hon Sir Edward Goulding	9,243	65.4
	Liberal	Richard Robert Fairbairn	4,889	34.6
Majority			4,364	30.8
Turnout				62.3
	Unionist hold		Swing

• Denotes candidate who was endorsed by the Coalition Government.

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Herefordshire and Worcestershire
• Worcester woman

Notes and references

1. "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
2. Driver, J. T. Worcestershire Knights of the Shire 1377-1421 Transactions of the Worcestershire Archaelogical Society. Third Series Vol 4 1974 p20
3. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2011-11-24.
4. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2011-11-24.
5. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2011-11-24.
6. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 5)
7. The election of Winford in 1747 was overturned on petition, and Tracy was declared elected in his place
8. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
9. https://www.labour.org.uk/worcester-joy-squires
10. http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/11510349.UKIP_reveals_its_Worcester_General_Election_candidate/?ref=rss
11. http://worcesterlibdems.co.uk/2015/04/18/q-and-a-with-federica-smith-liberal-democrat-ppc-for-worcester/
12. "More TUSC candidates in place as election challenge grows". TUSC. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
13. https://www.mark-shuker.co.uk
14. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
15. http://www.libdems.org.uk/people_detail.aspx?name=Jackie_Alderson&pPK=9a78970e-ba56-451b-a8cb-b4172fcc9e09
16. http://candidates.ukip.org/index.php?pg=show&eid=625
17. http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/local/8099450.Who_put_BNP_logo_on_Tory_election_posters_/
18. http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/4726191.Ex_Tory_to_stand_as_an_independent_in_election/?ref=rss
19. http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/4739535.Former_councillor_to_stand_as_independent/
20. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
21. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
22. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
23. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
24. "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
25. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
26. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
27. The Liberal Magazine, 1939
28. Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
29. Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
30. Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
31. Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
32. Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
33. Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.

Coordinates: 52°12′N 2°12′W / 52.20°N 2.20°W