- The Cotswolds (UK Parliament constituency)
-
Coordinates: 51°45′22″N 1°46′08″W / 51.756°N 1.769°W
The Cotswolds County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of The Cotswolds in Gloucestershire for the 2010 general election.
Location of Gloucestershire within England.County Gloucestershire Electorate 78,439 (December 2010)[1] Current constituency Created 1997 Member of Parliament Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative) Number of members One Overlaps European Parliament constituency South West England The Cotswolds is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Contents
Boundaries
The constituency was created in 1997 as Cotswold, mostly from the former seat of Cirencester and Tewkesbury.
Boundary review
Following their review of parliamentary representation in Gloucestershire, the Boundary Commission for England have confirmed only minor alterations to the boundaries of this seat. It will gain Minchinhampton and part of Wotton-under-Edge. The name of the seat changed to The Cotswolds at the 2010 election to reflect the local district name, which is more commonly used. Before that, The Wrekin was the only constituency in the United Kingdom beginning with the word The.
Constituency Profile
The Cotswolds is a safe Conservative seat in an area of natural beauty and heritage, with its market towns constructed of beautiful Cotswold stone. The area is so popular with tourists that tourism has overtaken agriculture as the largest single employer in the area.
The largest town in the constituency is Cirencester which is not a big place by any means. Other settlements include Andoversford, Bourton-on-the-Water, Chipping Campden, Fairford, Lechlade, Moreton-in-Marsh, Northleach, Stow-on-the-Wold, Tetbury (and the neighbouring village of Doughton, location of Highgrove, the Prince of Wales's estate), and Wotton-under-Edge.
The seat has the highest number of listed buildings of any constituency in the UK. It also contains eight of the 20 most popular attractions in Gloucestershire, including Westonbirt Arboretum, Hidcote Manor, and Chedworth Roman Villa.
Members of Parliament
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown of the Conservative Party has represented the constituency since its creation; from 1992 he had represented Cirencester and Tewkesbury.
Election Member [2] Party 1997 Geoffrey Clifton-Brown Conservative Elections
Elections in the 2010s
General Election 2010: The Cotswolds[3] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative Geoffrey Clifton-Brown 29,075 53.0 +3.7 Liberal Democrat Mike Collins 16,211 29.6 +1.5 Labour Mark Dempsey 5,886 10.7 −7.9 UKIP Adrian Blake 2,292 4.2 +1.0 Green Kevin Lister 940 1.7 N/A Independent Alex Steel 428 0.8 N/A Majority 12,864 23.5 +2.2 Turnout 54,832 71.5 +4.2 Conservative hold Swing +1.1 Elections in the 2000s
General Election 2005: Cotswold Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative Geoffrey Clifton-Brown 23,326 49.3 minus1.0 Liberal Democrat Philip Beckerlegge 13,638 28.8 +4.6 Labour Mark Dempsey 8,457 17.9 −4.7 UKIP Richard Buckley 1,538 3.2 +0.3 Independent James Derieg 392 0.8 N/A Majority 9,688 20.5 Turnout 47,351 66.7 −0.8 Conservative hold Swing −2.8 General Election 2001: Cotswold Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative Geoffrey Clifton-Brown 23,133 50.3 +4.0 Liberal Democrat Angela Lawrence 11,150 24.2 +1.3 Labour Richard Wilkins 10,383 22.6 -0.1 UKIP Jill Stopps 1,315 2.9 N/A Majority 11,983 26.1 Turnout 45,981 67.5 -8.2 Conservative hold Swing Elections in the 1990s
General Election 1997: Cotswold Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative Geoffrey Clifton-Brown 23,698 46.4 N/A Liberal Democrat David Gayler 11,733 23.0 N/A Labour David Elwell 11,608 22.7 N/A Green V. Michael 560 1.1 N/A Natural Law H. Brighouse 129 0.3 N/A Majority 11,965 N/A Turnout 75.9 N/A Conservative hold Swing N/A See also
Notes and references
- ^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. http://www.boundarycommissionforengland.org.uk/electoral-figures/electoral-figures.htm. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 6)
- ^ BBC - Election 2010 - Cotswolds, The
Constituencies in South West England (55) Conservative (36) Bournemouth East · Bournemouth West · Bridgwater and West Somerset · Bristol North West · Camborne and Redruth · Central Devon · Christchurch · Devizes · East Devon · Filton and Bradley Stoke · Forest of Dean · Gloucester · Kingswood · Newton Abbot · North Dorset · North East Somerset · North Somerset · North Swindon · North Wiltshire · Plymouth Sutton and Devonport · Poole · Salisbury · South Dorset · South East Cornwall · South Swindon · South West Devon · South West Wiltshire · Stroud · Tewkesbury · The Cotswolds · Tiverton and Honiton · Torridge and West Devon · Totnes · Truro and Falmouth · West Dorset · Weston-super-Mare
Liberal Democrats (15) Labour (4) South West England European constituency: Conservative (3) · UKIP (2) · Liberal Democrats (1)
Categories:- Parliamentary constituencies in South West England
- United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies established in 1997
- Politics of Gloucestershire
- Cotswolds
- United Kingdom constituency stubs
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.