Weston-super-Mare (UK Parliament constituency)

Weston-super-Mare
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Weston-super-Mare in Avon.
Location of Avon within England.
County	Somerset
Electorate	78,778 (December 2010)^[1]
Major settlements	Weston-super-Mare
Current constituency
Created	1918
Member of parliament	John Penrose (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	North Somerset
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South West England

Weston-super-Mare is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by John Penrose, a Conservative.^{[n 2]}

History

The seat was created under the Representation of the People Act 1918. Its forerunner was the North Somerset division created in 1885.

The by-election of 1934 was triggered by the acceptance of the appointment of Lord Erskine to the position of Governor of Madras Presidency, that of 1958 by the death of Ian Orr-Ewing and that of 1969 by the death of David Webster following an accident.

Political history

The seat has alternated in representation between 1992 and 2005: in the election of 1997 the fresh Conservative candidate, Margaret Daly failed to hold the seat which led to Weston Super Mare's first marginal majority since 1923, obtained by Brian Cotter, a Liberal Democrat. Since this date all of the majorities have been lower than 3,000 votes, remaining strongly marginal and seeing in 2005 Cotter lose the seat to John Penrose.

In terms of other parties, the last occasion on which the Labour candidate achieved second place was at the 1970 general election.

Frontbenchers

Jerry Wiggin was a Minister for the Armed Services from 1981–1983.
Brian Cotter was the Liberal Democrat Small Business Spokesman (1997–2005),
John Penrose was appointed the Minister for Tourism and Heritage (2010–2012).

Boundaries

1918-1950: The Urban Districts of Clevedon, Portishead, and Weston-super-Mare, and the Rural Districts of Axbridge (with Steep Holme Island) and Long Ashton.

1950-1983: The Municipal Borough of Weston-super-Mare, the Urban District of Clevedon, the Rural District of Axbridge, and in the Rural District of Long Ashton the civil parishes of Kenn, Kingston Seymour, and Yatton.

1983-1997: The District of Woodspring wards of Banwell, Blagdon, Churchill, Congresbury, Hutton, Locking, Weston-super-Mare Ashcombe, Weston-super-Mare East, Weston-super-Mare Ellenborough, Weston-super-Mare North, Weston-super-Mare South, Weston-super-Mare Uphill, Weston-super-Mare West, Winscombe, Wrington, and Yatton.

1997-2010: The District of Woodspring wards of Banwell, Blagdon, Churchill, Congresbury, Hutton, Locking, Weston-super-Mare Ashcombe, Weston-super-Mare East, Weston-super-Mare Ellenborough, Weston-super-Mare North, Weston-super-Mare South, Weston-super-Mare Uphill, Weston-super-Mare West, and Winscombe.

2010-present: The District of North Somerset wards of Banwell and Winscombe, Blagdon and Churchill, Congresbury, Hutton and Locking, Kewstoke, Weston-super-Mare Central, Weston-super-Mare Clarence and Uphill, Weston-super-Mare East, Weston-super-Mare Milton and Old Worle, Weston-super-Mare North Worle, Weston-super-Mare South, Weston-super-Mare South Worle, and Weston-super-Mare West.

The constituency covers the southern half of North Somerset Unitary Authority, including its only town, Weston-super-Mare on the Bristol Channel.

History of boundaries

Changes for 1950

Under the first periodic review the Weston constituency lost Portishead, Gordano, Nailsea, Backwell and Long Ashton wards/areas to North Somerset constituency.

Changes for 1983

Under the third periodic review the Weston constituency lost Berrow, Brent Knoll, Axbridge, Cheddar, and Mark and Wedmore wards to Wells, and Clevedon to Woodspring which temporarily took the place of North Somerset until 2010.

Changes for 1997

Under the fourth periodic review the Weston constituency lost Yatton and Wrington to Woodspring.

Changes for 2010

Parliament accepted the Boundary Commission's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies by making slight changes to this constituency for the 2010 general election, namely the loss of only 181 electors in Butcombe (in the ward of Wrington, no longer in the seat at all) to North Somerset.

Constituency profile

The town grew as a relatively late-Victorian affluent resort with many green spaces and gardens south of the headland, Sand Point which denotes the sandier beach of the town and of Burnham on Sea relative to northerly shores such as at Clevedon.

Work in tourism and visitor attractions is seasonal but other areas of the economy locally, such as customer services operations, freight, haulage and distribution, social, care, elderly and health services as well as retail, manufacturing and materials/foods processing provide employment. Workless claimants who were registered jobseekers were in November 2012 lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 3.5% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.^[2]

Members of Parliament

	Member^[3]	Party
1918	Sir Gilbert Wills, Bt.	Conservative
1922	Lord Erskine^{[n 3]}	Conservative
1923	Frank Murrell	Liberal
1924	Lord Erskine	Conservative
1934 by-election	Ian Orr-Ewing	Conservative
1958 by-election	David Webster	Conservative
1969 by-election	Jerry Wiggin	Conservative
1997	Brian Cotter	Liberal Democrat
2005	John Penrose	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Weston-super-Mare^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Penrose	25,203	48.0	+3.7
	Labour	Tim Taylor	9,594	18.3	+7.4
	UKIP	Ernie Warrender	9,366	17.8	+15.1
	Liberal Democrat	John Munro	5,486	10.4	-28.8
	Green	Richard Lawson	2,592	4.9	+4.9
	English Democrats	Ronald Lavelle	311	0.6	+0.1
Majority			15,609	29.7	+24.6
Turnout			52,552	66.0	-1.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 2010: Weston-super-Mare^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Penrose	23,356	44.3	+4.0
	Liberal Democrat	Mike Bell	20,665	39.2	+3.1
	Labour	David Bradley	5,772	10.9	-7.8
	UKIP	Paul Spencer	1,406	2.7	+0.2
	BNP	Peryn Parsons	1,098	2.1	+0.5
	English Democrats	John Peverelle	275	0.5	+0.5
	Independent	Steve Satch	144	0.3	+0.3
Majority			2,691	5.1
Turnout			52,716	67.2	+1.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.4

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Weston-super-Mare^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Penrose	19,804	40.3	+1.6
	Liberal Democrat	Brian Cotter	17,725	36.1	−3.4
	Labour	Damien Egan	9,169	18.7	−1.1
	UKIP	Paul Spencer	1,207	2.5	+1.1
	BNP	Clive Courtney	778	1.6
	Independent	William Human	225	0.5
	Demanding Honesty in Politics and Whitehall	Paul Hemingway-Arnold	187	0.4
Majority			2,079	4.2
Turnout			49,095	65.5	+2.7
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrat		Swing	+2.5

General Election 2001: Weston-super-Mare^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Brian Cotter	18,424	39.5	-0.6
	Conservative	John Penrose	18,086	38.7	+1.0
	Labour	Derek Kraft	9,235	19.8	+1.9
	UKIP	Bill Lukins	650	1.4
	Independent	John Peverelle	206	0.4
	Independent	Richard Sibley	79	0.2
Majority			338	0.8
Turnout			46,680	62.8	-10.8
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing	-0.8

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Weston-super-Mare^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Brian Cotter	21,407	40.1
	Conservative	Mrs. Margaret Daly	20,133	37.7
	Labour	Derek Kraft	9,557	17.9
	Referendum	Tom Sewell	2,280	4.3
Majority			1,274	2.4
Turnout			53,377	73.7
	Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative		Swing

General Election 1992: Weston-super-Mare^[6]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jerry Wiggin	30,022	47.7	−1.7
	Liberal Democrat	Brian Cotter	24,680	39.3	+3.7
	Labour	David E. Murray	6,913	11.0	−0.4
	Green	Richard Hugh Lawson	1,262	2.0	−1.6
Majority			5,342	8.5	−5.4
Turnout			62,877	79.7	+4.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.7

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Weston-super-Mare
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jerry Wiggin	28,547	49.4
	Social Democratic	John Richard Crockford-Hawley	20,549	35.6
	Labour	Paul James Loach	6,584	11.4
	Green	Richard Hugh Lawson	2,067	3.6
Majority			7,998	13.8
Turnout			57,747	75.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1983: Weston-super-Mare
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jerry Wiggin	27,948	53.6
	Social Democratic	Jonathan Marks	18,457	35.4
	Labour	Roger Berry	5,781	11.1
Majority			9,491	18.2
Turnout			52,186	73.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Weston-super-Mare
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jerry Wiggin	40,618	56.9
	Liberal	Rowland Morgan	16,305	22.9
	Labour	Alan Taylor	14,420	20.2
Majority			24,313	34.0
Turnout			71,343	77.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: Weston-super-Mare
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jerry Wiggin	31,028	48.8
	Liberal	Roger Miller	18,169	28.6
	Labour	Peter Owen	14,057	22.1
	United Democratic	Eric Iszatt	296	0.5
Majority			12,859	20.2
Turnout			63,550	74.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election February 1974: Weston-super-Mare
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jerry Wiggin	33,838	50.0
	Liberal	Philip Golding	20,237	29.9
	Labour	Roy Morris	13,542	20.0
Majority			13,601	20.1
Turnout			67,617	80.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1970: Weston-super-Mare
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jerry Wiggin	33,816	57.9
	Labour	Sarah Palmer	14,473	24.8
	Liberal	Edward Richard F. Deal	10,120	17.3
Majority			19,343	33.1
Turnout			58,409	73.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

Weston-super-Mare by-election 27th March 1969
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jerry Wiggin	29,211	65.7
	Liberal	Edward Richard F. Deal	8,739	19.7
	Labour	Nicholas Bosanquet	6,504	14.6
Majority			20,472	46.0
Turnout			44,454	60.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1966: Weston-super-Mare
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Webster	27,733	52.1
	Labour	Melvyn Butcher	15,340	28.8
	Liberal	Ian McDonald	10,173	19.1
Majority			12,393	23.3
Turnout			53,246	78.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1964: Weston-super-Mare^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Webster	27,143	53.1
	Labour	Jessie Stephen	12,248	23.9
	Liberal	Ian McDonald	11,771	23.0
Majority			14,895	29.2
Turnout			51,162	79.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Weston-super-Mare
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Webster	27,881	57.5
	Labour	Edward Hampton	10,977	22.7
	Liberal	Edward Taylor	9,609	19.8
Majority			16,904	34.8
Turnout			48,467	79.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Weston-super-Mare by-election 12th June 1958
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Webster	21,271	49.3
	Labour	Edward Hampton	11,295	26.2
	Liberal	Edward Taylor	10,588	24.5
Majority			9,976	23.1
Turnout			43,154	72.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Weston-super-Mare
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Ian Orr-Ewing	27,357	62.7
	Labour	Robert Andrews	16,275	37.3
Majority			11,082	25.4
Turnout			43,632	73.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Weston-super-Mare
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Orr-Ewing	30,485	65.7
	Labour	Robert Andrews	15,942	34.3
Majority			14,543	31.4
Turnout			46,427	79.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1950: Weston-super-Mare
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Orr-Ewing	26,767	56.4
	Labour	Michael Hill	13,294	28.0
	Liberal	Frederick Archie Kew	7,394	15.6
Majority			13,473	53.6
Turnout			47,455	83.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Weston-super-Mare
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Orr-Ewing	30,720	49.5
	Labour	Bruce Cardew	20,542	33.1
	Liberal	Stanley Sanger	10,804	17.4
Majority			10,178	16.4
Turnout			62,066	73.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1935: Weston-super-Mare
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Orr-Ewing	27,735	65.7
	Liberal	Henry Folliott Scott-Stokes	7,883	18.7
	Labour	George Elvin	6,625	15.7
Majority			19,852	47.0
Turnout			42,243	66.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Weston-super-Mare by-election, 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Orr-Ewing	21,203	61.5
	Liberal	Henry Folliott Scott-Stokes	7,551	21.9
	Labour	Albert Edward Millett	5,715	16.6
Majority			13,652	39.6
Turnout			34,469
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1931: Weston-super-Mare
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lord John Erskine	35,255	85.7
	Labour	Bernard Craig	5,905	14.3
Majority			29,350	71.4
Turnout			41,160	71.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1929: Weston-super-Mare
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	John Francis Ashley Erskine, Lord Erskine	22,898	52.2	-3.6
	Liberal	William Ewart Morse	16,219	37.0	-3.0
	Labour	Constance Elizabeth Borrett	4,766	10.9	+6.7
Majority			6,670	15.2	-0.6
Turnout			43,883	79.6	-2.1
	Unionist hold		Swing	-0.3

General Election 1924: Weston-super-Mare
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	John Francis Ashley Erskine, Lord Erskine	17,987	55.8
	Liberal	Frank Edric Joseph Murrell	12,895	40.0
	Labour	Raphael Neft	1,343	4.2
Majority			5,092	15.8
Turnout			32,225	81.7
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

General Election 1923: Weston-super-Mare
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Frank Edric Joseph Murrell	15,223	51.5	+6.6
	Unionist	Lord John Erskine	14,318	48.5	-6.6
Majority			905	3.0	13.2
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+6.6

General Election 1922: Weston-super-Mare
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	John Francis Ashley Erskine, Lord Erskine	15,552	55.1
	Liberal	Frank Edric Joseph Murrell	12,674	44.9
Majority			2,878	10.2
	Unionist hold		Swing

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1918: Weston-super-Mare
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Coalition Conservative	Sir Gilbert Wills	13,494	65.5
	Liberal	Edmund Thruston	7,104	34.5
Majority			6,390	31.0
	Coalition Conservative hold		Swing

Constituency created 1918 from parts of Wells and North Somerset constituencies.

The constituency comprised the Urban Districts of Weston-super-Mare, Clevedon and Portishead, and the Rural Districts of Axbridge and Long Ashton.

Notes and references

Notes

↑ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
↑ 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.
↑ Heir to the Earl of Mar, however predeceased his father. This title has a subsidiary title gained by one of the clan's forebears, remaining as a courtesy title, Lord Erskine, which attaches to its current holder's eldest son.

References

↑ "Electorate Figures — Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
↑ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
↑ "Weston-super-Mare 1918–". Hansard. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
1 2 3 4 "Weston-Super-Mare". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
↑ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
↑ "Stephen, Miss Jessie 8SUF/B/157". The National Archives. 1 July 1977. Retrieved 7 December 2012.

Sources

The Constitutional Year Book for 1913 (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913)
F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
Michael Kinnear, The British Voter (London: BH Batsford, Ltd, 1968)
Henry Pelling, Social Geography of British Elections 1885–1910 (London: Macmillan, 1967)
Frederic A Youngs, jr, Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol I (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979)

Constituencies in South West England (55)

Conservative (51)	Bath Bournemouth East Bournemouth West Bridgwater and West Somerset Bristol North West Camborne and Redruth Central Devon Cheltenham Chippenham Christchurch Devizes East Devon Filton and Bradley Stoke Forest of Dean Gloucester Kingswood Mid Dorset and North Poole Newton Abbot North Cornwall North Devon North Dorset North East Somerset North Somerset North Swindon North Wiltshire Plymouth Moor View Plymouth Sutton and Devonport Poole Salisbury Somerton and Frome South Dorset South East Cornwall South Swindon South West Devon South West Wiltshire St Austell and Newquay St Ives Stroud Taunton Deane Tewkesbury The Cotswolds Thornbury and Yate Tiverton and Honiton Torbay Torridge and West Devon Totnes Truro and Falmouth Wells West Dorset Weston-super-Mare Yeovil

Labour (4)	Bristol East Bristol South Bristol West Exeter

South West England European constituency: Conservative (2) Green (1) Labour (1) UKIP (2)

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