Rushcliffe (UK Parliament constituency)

Rushcliffe
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire.
Location of Nottinghamshire within England.
County	Nottinghamshire
Electorate	73,430 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements	West Bridgford
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of parliament	Kenneth Clarke (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	South Nottinghamshire
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	East Midlands

Rushcliffe is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1970 by Ken Clarke, a Conservative.^{[n 2]}

History

The constituency was formed by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (for first use during the election that year).

Since 1950 it has been a safe seat for the Conservative Party whose members have held it without marginal majorities except for a four-year period when it was held by Labour from 1966 coinciding with the First Wilson Ministry. Unlike other constituencies nearby, such as Broxtowe and Gedling, which were previously held by the Conservatives, they retained Rushcliffe in the 1997 New Labour landslide. This was at the time attributed in part to its more rural nature, but also to the personal popularity of the incumbent MP, Conservative Kenneth Clarke.

Boundaries

1885-1918: Part of the Sessional Division of Nottingham.

1918-1950: The Urban Districts of Beeston, Carlton, and West Bridgford, the Rural Districts of Leake (the civil parishes of Costock, East Leake, Normanton-on-Soar, Rempstone, Stanford-on-Soar, Sutton Bonington, Thorpe-in-the-Glebe, West Leake, Willoughby-on-the-Wolds, and Wysall) and Stapleford (the civil parishes of Bramcote, Chilwell, Stapleford, and Toton), the Rural District which consisted of the civil parishes of Kingston-on-Soar and Ratcliffe-on-Soar, and in the Rural District of Basford the civil parishes of Awsworth, Barton-in-Fabis, Bilborough, Bradmore, Bunny, Burton Joyce, Clifton-with-Glapton, Colwick, Cossall, Gamston, Gedling, Gotham, Nuthall, Ruddington, South Wilford, Stoke Bardolph, Strelley, Thrumpton, Trowell, and Wollaton.

1950-1955: The Urban Districts of Beeston and Stapleford, and West Bridgford, and in the Rural District of Basford the civil parishes of Barton-in-Fabis, Bilborough, Bradmore, Bunny, Clifton with Glapton, Colwick, Costock, East Leake, Gedling, Gotham, Kingston-on-Soar, Normanton-on-Soar, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, Rempstone, Ruddington, Stanford-on-Soar, Sutton Bonington, Thorpe-in-the-Glebe, Thrumpton, West Leake, Willoughby-on-the-Wolds, and Wysall.

1955-1974: The Urban District of Beeston and Stapleford, and in the Rural District of Basford the civil parishes of Barton-in-Fabis, Bilborough, Bradmore, Bunny, Colwick, Costock, East Leake, Gedling, Gotham, Kingston-on-Soar, Normanton-on-Soar, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, Rempstone, Ruddington, Stanford-on-Soar, Sutton Bonington, Thorpe-in-the-Glebe, Thrumpton, West Leake, Willoughby-on-the-Wolds, and Wysall.

1974-1983: The Urban District of West Bridgford, the Rural District of Bingham (the civil parishes of Aslockton, Bingham, Car Colston, Clipston-on-the-Wolds, Colston Bassett, Cotgrave, Cropwell Bishop, Cropwell Butler, East Bridgford, Edwalton, Elton, Flawborough, Flintham, Gamston, Granby, Hawksworth, Hickling, Holme Pierrepont, Keyworth, Kinoulton, Kneeton, Langar-cum-Barnstone, Normanton-on-the-Wolds, Orston, Owthorpe, Plumtree, Radcliffe-on-Trent, Saxondale, Scarrington, Screveton, Shelford, Shelton, Sibthorpe, Stanton-on-the-Wolds, Thoroton, Tithby, Tollerton, Upper Broughton, Whatton, Widmerpool, and Wiverton Hall), and in the Rural District of Basford the civil parishes of Barton-in-Fabis, Bradmore, Bunny, Costock, East Leake, Gotham, Kingston on Soar, Normanton on Soar, Ratcliffe on Soar, Rempstone, Ruddington, Stanford on Soar, Sutton Bonington, Thorpe in the Glebe, Thrumpton, West Leake, Willoughby-on-the-Wolds, and Wysall.

1983-2010: The Borough of Rushcliffe.

2010-present: The Borough of Rushcliffe wards of Abbey, Compton Acres, Cotgrave, Edwalton Village, Gamston, Gotham, Keyworth North, Keyworth South, Lady Bay, Leake, Lutterell, Manvers, Melton, Musters, Nevile, Ruddington, Soar Valley, Stanford, Tollerton, Trent, Trent Bridge, Wiverton, and Wolds.

The constituency covers the south of Nottinghamshire.

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Nottinghamshire, the Boundary Commission's report approved by Parliament led to minor modifications to the existing constituency^{[n 3]} for the 2010 general election onwards.

Constituency profile

The main town in the constituency is West Bridgford, which is part of the Greater Nottingham urban area, and includes the Trent Bridge cricket ground and Nottingham Forest F.C.. The remainder of the constituency is predominantly rural, although includes the villages of Cotgrave, East Leake, Sutton Bonington, Keyworth, Radcliffe on Trent and Ruddington.

The constituency consists of Census Output Areas of one local government district with a working population whose income is close to the national average and has lower than average reliance upon social housing.^[2] At the end of 2012 the unemployment rate in the constituency stood as 1.9% of the population claiming jobseekers allowance, compared to the regional average of 3.5%.^[3] The borough contributing to the bulk of the seat has a low 15.1% of its population without a car, 16.4% of the population without qualifications and a very high 39.0% with level 4 qualifications or above. In terms of tenure a high 76.7% of homes are owned outright or on a mortgage as at the 2011 census across the district.^[4]

Members of Parliament

Kenneth Clarke

Since 1970, Rushcliffe's Member of Parliament has been one of Britain's prominent political figures, Kenneth Clarke of the Conservative Party.

Clarke was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997, ran to be party leader during opposition under the Blair Ministry, then became Shadow Secretary of State for Business from 2009 to 2010 and then took de facto joint role of Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor from 2010 as the Lord Chancellor lost in the previous administration the requirement to be a leading judge and sit in the judiciary's highest court as well as a conventionally apolitical role in the House of Lords, in which the holder no longer sits.^{[n 4]}

Election		Member[5]	Party	Notes
	1885	John Ellis	Liberal
	Dec 1910	Leif Jones	Liberal
	1918	Rt. Hon. Henry Betterton	Coalition Conservative	Minister of Labour 25 August 1931 – 29 June 1934
	1922		Conservative
	1934 by-election	Rt. Hon. Ralph Assheton	Conservative
	1945	Florence Paton	Labour
	1950	Rt. Hon. Martin Redmayne	Conservative
	1966	Antony Gardner	Labour
	1970	Rt. Hon. Kenneth Clarke	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Rushcliffe[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	28,354	51.4	+0.2
	Labour	David Mellen	14,525	26.3	+5.6
	UKIP	Matthew Faithfull[7]	5,943	10.8	+6.7
	Green	Richard Mallender	3,559	6.5	+4.2
	Liberal Democrat	Robert Johnston	2,783	5.0	-16.7
Majority			13,829	25.1	-4.4
Turnout			55,164	75.3	+1.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.7

General Election 2010: Rushcliffe[8][9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	27,470	51.2	+3.1
	Liberal Democrat	Karrar Khan	11,659	21.7	+4.4
	Labour	Andrew Clayworth	11,128	20.7	−6.7
	UKIP	Matthew Faithfull	2,179	4.1	+1.6
	Green	Richard Mallender	1,251	2.3	−1.2
Majority			15,811	29.5
Turnout			53,687	73.6	+3.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.6

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Rushcliffe[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	27,899	49.5	+2.0
	Labour	Edward Gamble	14,925	26.5	−7.5
	Liberal Democrat	Karrar Khan	9,813	17.4	+3.8
	Green	Simon Anthony	1,692	3.0	+0.7
	UKIP	Matthew Faithfull	1,358	2.4	−0.2
	Veritas	Daniel Moss	624	1.1	N/A
Majority			12,974	23.0
Turnout			56,311	70.5	+4.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.8

General Election 2001: Rushcliffe[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	25,869	47.5	+3.1
	Labour	Paul John Fallon	18,512	34.0	−2.2
	Liberal Democrat	Jeremy Arthur Hargreaves	7,395	13.6	−0.7
	UKIP	John Kenneth Brown	1,434	2.6	+2.0
	Green	Ashley John Baxter	1,236	2.3	N/A
Majority			7,357	13.5
Turnout			54,446	66.5	−12.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.6

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Rushcliffe[12][13][14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	27,558	44.4	−10.0
	Labour	Jocelyn Pettitt	22,503	36.2	+13.0
	Liberal Democrat	Sam Boote	8,851	14.3	−5.7
	Referendum	Catherine Chadd	2,682	4.3	N/A
	UKIP	Joseph Moore	403	0.7	N/A
	Natural Law	Anna Miszewska	115	0.2	+0.0
Majority			5,055	8.1	−23.1
Turnout			62,112	78.8	−4.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	−11.5

General Election 1992: Rushcliffe[15][16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	34,448	54.4	−4.4
	Labour	Alan D. Chewings	14,682	23.2	+6.6
	Liberal Democrat	Dr. Andrew M. Wood	12,660	20.0	−3.0
	Green	Simon R. Anthony	775	1.2	−0.5
	Independent Conservative	Morgan Maelor-Jones	611	1.0	N/A
	Natural Law	David Richards	150	0.2	N/A
Majority			19,766	31.2	−4.6
Turnout			63,326	83.0	+3.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−5.5

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Rushcliffe[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	34,214	58.78
	Social Democratic	L George	13,375	22.98
	Labour	Paddy Tipping	9,631	16.54
	Green	H Wright	991	1.70	+1.7
Majority			20,839	35.80
Turnout			72,797	79.96
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1983: Rushcliffe [18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	33,253	61.47
	Liberal	J Hamilton	13,033	24.09
	Labour	Vernon Coaker	7,290	13.48
	Ecology	M Pooks	518	0.96
Majority			20,220	37.38
Turnout				76.91
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Rushcliffe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	34,196	62.21
	Labour	CIE Atkins	11,712	21.31
	Liberal	JE Hamilton	9,060	16.48
Majority			22,484	40.90
Turnout				81.69
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: Rushcliffe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	27,074	54.69
	Labour	V Bell	12,131	24.50
	Liberal	JE Hamilton	10,300	20.81
Majority			14,943	30.18
Turnout				77.38
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election February 1974: Rushcliffe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	29,828	55.58
	Labour	M Gallagher	12,119	22.58
	Liberal	JE Hamilton	11,719	21.84
Majority			17,709	33.00
Turnout				84.57
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1970: Rushcliffe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	30,966	51.66
	Labour	Antony Gardner	24,798	41.37
	Liberal	PM Browne	4,180	6.97
Majority			6,168	10.29
Turnout				79.64
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Rushcliffe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Antony Gardner	25,623	45.80
	Conservative	Martin Redmayne	25,243	45.12
	Liberal	MJ Smith	5,085	9.09
Majority			380	0.68
Turnout				85.43
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General Election 1964: Rushcliffe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Martin Redmayne	27,936	52.64
	Labour	AC Latham	25,137	47.36
Majority			2,799	5.27
Turnout				83.44
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Rushcliffe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Martin Redmayne	27,392	54.41
	Labour	Neville Sandelson	22,952	44.59
Majority			4,440	8.82
Turnout				85.37
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Rushcliffe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Martin Redmayne	23,509	51.81
	Labour	DR Hardman	21,866	48.19
Majority			1,643	3.62
Turnout				82.86
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Rushcliffe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Martin Redmayne	30,972	57.92
	Labour	RJ Ledger	22,506	42.08
Majority			8,466	15.83
Turnout				85.95
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1950: Rushcliffe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Martin Redmayne	27,497	51.47
	Labour	H Lawson	20,860	39.05
	Liberal	Erica Margaret Stallabrass	5,064	9.48
Majority			6,637	12.42
Turnout				87.77
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Election in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Rushcliffe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Florence Paton	43,303	54.23
	Conservative	Ralph Assheton	36,544	45.77
Majority			6,759	8.46
Turnout				77.00
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1935: Rushcliffe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ralph Assheton	32,320	62.55
	Labour	HJ Cadogan	19,349	37.45
Majority			12,971	25.10
Turnout				67.92
	Conservative hold		Swing

By Election 1934: Rushcliffe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ralph Assheton
	Labour
	Liberal	A T Marwood
Majority
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1931: Rushcliffe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Betterton	36,670	72.12
	Labour	Florence Paton	14,176	27.88
Majority			22,494	44.24
Turnout				77.79
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1929: Rushcliffe [19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Henry Bucknall Betterton	19,145	41.7
	Labour	Florence Beatrice Widdowson	16,069	35.0
	Liberal	Arthur Thomas Marwood	10,724	23.3	n/a
Majority			3,076	6.7
Turnout
	Unionist hold		Swing

General Election 1923: Rushcliffe [20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Henry Bucknall Betterton	12,427	44.5	-12.3
	Liberal	John Lewin	8,581	30.8	n/a
	Labour	James Wilson	6,882	24.7	-18.5
Majority			3,846	13.7	+0.1
Turnout				73.3
	Unionist hold		Swing	n/a

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Nottinghamshire

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.
3. The area around Bingham became part of Newark.
4. Commentators questioned Lord Falconer its first revised holder whether the title should be abolished.

References

1. "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
2. 2001 Census
3. Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
4. 2011 census interactive maps
5. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 2)
6. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
7. http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/rushcliffe/
8. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
9. "BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Rushcliffe". BBC News.
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. "Politics Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 7 Jan 2011.
14. C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.142 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
15. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
16. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 Dec 2010.
17. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
18. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
19. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
20. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig

Coordinates: 52°52′N 1°05′W / 52.87°N 1.09°W