Ryedale (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 54°08′20″N 0°47′24″W / 54.139°N 0.79°W

Ryedale
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Ryedale in North Yorkshire for the 2005 general election.
Location of North Yorkshire within England.
County	North Yorkshire
Major settlements	Malton, Helmsley, Pickering
1983–2010
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Thirsk and Malton, York Outer
Created from	Thirsk & Malton, Howden, Scarborough and Bridlington[1]

Ryedale was a constituency in North Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It was created in 1983 and abolished in 2010.

History

This was traditionally a safe Conservative seat, although it was briefly taken by Elizabeth Shields for the Liberal Party, following a by-election in 1986 held following the death of MP John Spence.

Boundaries

1983-1997: The District of Ryedale wards of Amotherby, Ampleforth, Birdsall, Clifton Without, Dales, Ebberston, Haxby North East, Haxby West, Helmsley, Hovingham, Huntington North, Huntington South, Kirby Misperton, Kirkbymoorside, Malton, New Earswick, Norton, Pickering, Rawcliffe, Rillington, Sherburn, Sheriff Hutton, Skelton, Stockton and Bossall, Strensall, Thornton Dale, and Wigginton, the District of Hambleton wards of Crayke, Easingwold, Helperby, Huby-Sutton, Shipton, Stillington, and Tollerton, and the Borough of Scarborough wards of Filey and Hertford.

1997-2010: The District of Ryedale wards of Amotherby, Ampleforth, Birdsall, Dales, Ebberston, Helmsley, Hovingham, Huntington North, Huntington South, Kirby Misperton, Kirkbymoorside, Malton, Norton, Osbaldwick and Heworth, Pickering, Rillington, Sherburn, Sheriff Hutton, Stockton and Bosall, Strensall, and Thornton Dale, and the Borough of Scarborough wards of Filey and Hertford.

The constituency was created in 1983 and at the time of its abolition in 2010, covered Ryedale (including Malton, Norton-on-Derwent, Helmsley and Pickering), Filey and the north eastern suburbs of York (including Huntington, Strensall, Osbaldwick and Heworth Without).

Boundary review

Following the Boundary Commission for England's review of parliamentary representation in North Yorkshire, Ryedale constituency was abolished, with its electoral wards being used to form a new Thirsk and Malton seat. These changes were implemented in 2010.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[2]	Party	Notes
	1983	John Spence	Conservative	Previously MP for Thirsk and Malton from 1974. Died 1986
	1986 by-election	Elizabeth Shields	Liberal	Defeated at 1987 general election
	1987	John Greenway	Conservative	Retired 2010, following deselection by constituency party due to boundary changes
	2010	constituency abolished: see Thirsk and Malton

Elections

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Ryedale
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Greenway	21,251	48.2	+1.0
	Liberal Democrat	Gordon Beever	10,782	24.4	-11.7
	Labour	Paul Blanchard	9,148	20.7	+6.0
	UKIP	Stephen Feaster	1,522	3.4	+1.4
	Liberal	John Clark	1,417	3.2	N/A
Majority			10,469	23.7
Turnout			44,120	65.1	-0.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+6.3

General Election 2001: Ryedale
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Greenway	20,711	47.2	+3.4
	Liberal Democrat	Keith Orrell	15,836	36.1	+2.7
	Labour	David B. Ellis	6,470	14.7	-3.2
	UKIP	Stephen Feaster	882	2.0	+0.1
Majority			4,875	11.1
Turnout			43,899	65.7	-9.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Ryedale[3][4][5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Greenway	21,351	43.8	−11.6
	Liberal Democrat	Keith Orrell	16,293	33.4	+3.4
	Labour	Mrs. Alison M. Hiles	8,762	18.0	+3.3
	Referendum	John E. Mackfall	1,460	3.0	N/A
	UKIP	Stephen Feaster	917	1.9	N/A
Majority			5,038	10.4	−15.0
Turnout			48,783	74.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	−7.5

General Election 1992: Ryedale[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Greenway	39,888	56.1	+2.7
	Liberal Democrat	Elizabeth Shields	21,449	30.1	−8.4
	Labour	John Healey	9,812	13.8	+5.7
Majority			18,439	25.9	+11.1
Turnout			71,149	81.7	+2.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.6

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Ryedale
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Greenway	35,149	53.3
	SDP–Liberal Alliance (Liberal)	Elizabeth Shields	25,409	38.6
	Labour	J. Beighton	5,340	8.1
Majority			9,740	14.8
Turnout			65,988	79.2
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Ryedale by-election, 1986
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SDP–Liberal Alliance (Liberal)	Elizabeth Shields	27,612	50.3	+19.8
	Conservative	Neil Balfour	22,672	41.3	−17.9
	Labour	Mrs. Shirley Haines	4,633	8.4	−1.9
Majority			4,940	9.0
Turnout			54,917	67.3
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	19.0[7]

General Election 1983: Ryedale
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Spence	33,312	59.2	N/A
	SDP–Liberal Alliance (Liberal)	Elizabeth Shields	17,170	30.5	N/A
	Labour	P.R. Bloom	5,816	10.3	N/A
Majority			16,142	28.7	N/A
Turnout			56,298	71.8	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in North Yorkshire

Notes and references

1. "'Ryedale', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
2. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 2)
3. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/constit/507.htm General Election 1997, Ryedale
4. C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.142 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
5. The 1997 election result is calculated relative to the notional, not the actual, 1992 result.
6. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 Dec 2010.
7. Chris Cook and John Ramsden (eds.), By-elections in British Politics (Routledge, 1997), p. 11.