- Harrogate and Knaresborough (UK Parliament constituency)
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Coordinates: 53°59′20″N 1°28′26″W / 53.989°N 1.474°W
Harrogate and Knaresborough Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Harrogate and Knaresborough in North Yorkshire for the 2010 general election.
Location of North Yorkshire within England.County North Yorkshire Electorate 75,044 (December 2010) Major settlements Harrogate and Knaresborough Current constituency Created 1950 Member of Parliament Andrew Jones (Conservative) Number of members One Overlaps European Parliament constituency Yorkshire and the Humber Harrogate and Knaresborough is a 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
As its name suggests, the constituency includes the towns of Harrogate and Knaresborough. An affluent seat which was once considered a safe Conservative area, Harrogate moved the way of other famous spa towns in England (Bath, Cheltenham) by returning the Liberal Democrat MP Phil Willis until Andrew Jones regained the seat for the Conservatives on Willis's retirement in the 2010 General Election with a swing of 9.1% and a margin of just over 1,000 votes.[1]
Boundary review
Following their review of parliamentary representation in York and North Yorkshire in the 2000s, the Boundary Commission for England recommended alterations to the existing Harrogate and Knaresborough seat.
The newly drawn constituency is formed from the following electoral wards:
- Bilton, Boroughbridge, Claro, Granby, Harlow Moor, High Harrogate, Hookstone, Killinghall, Knaresborough East, Knaresborough King James, Knaresborough Scriven Park, Low Harrogate, New Park, Pannal, Rosett, Saltergate, Starbeck, Stray and Woodfield.
History
The constituency was created in 1950 as 'Harrogate'. Following boundary changes in 1997 the name was changed to 'Harrogate and Knaresborough'. Prior to 1950, the two eponymous towns had been part of the Ripon constituency.
Members of Parliament
Election Member [2] Party 1950 Christopher York Conservative 1954 by-election James Ramsden Conservative Feb 1974 Robert Banks Conservative 1997 Phil Willis Liberal Democrat 2010 Andrew Jones Conservative Elections
Elections in the 2010s
General Election 2010: Harrogate and Knaresborough[3] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Conservative Andrew Jones 24,305 45.7 +9.8 Liberal Democrat Claire Kelley 23,266 43.8 -8.4 Labour Kevin McNerney 3,413 6.4 -2.7 BNP Steve Gill 1,094 2.1 +1.1 UKIP John Upex 1,056 2.0 +0.3 Majority 1,039 2.0 Turnout 53,134 70.6 +3.9 Conservative gain from Liberal Democrat Swing 9.1 Elections in the 2000s
General Election 2005: Harrogate and Knaresborough Party Candidate Votes % ±% Liberal Democrat Phil Willis 24,113 56.3 +0.7 Conservative Maggie Punyer 13,684 31.9 -2.7 Labour Lorraine Ferris 3,627 8.5 +1.1 UKIP Chris Royston 845 2.0 +0.2 BNP Colin Banner 466 1.1 N/A Alliance for Change John Allman 123 0.3 N/A Majority 10,429 24.3 Turnout 42,858 65.3 +0.7 Liberal Democrat hold Swing As per the Electoral Commission [4] the candidate John Allmann was coded as an "Independent" candidate because his chosen party label - Alliance For Change Human Rights First - did not match a registered political party name.
General Election 2001: Harrogate and Knaresborough Party Candidate Votes % ±% Liberal Democrat Phil Willis 23,445 55.6 +4.0 Conservative Andrew Jones 14,600 34.6 -3.8 Labour Alastair MacDonald 3,101 7.4 -1.4 UKIP Bill Brown 761 1.8 N/A ProLife Alliance John Cornforth 272 0.6 N/A Majority 8,845 21.0 Turnout 42,179 64.6 -8.2 Liberal Democrat hold Swing Elections in the 1990s
General Election 1997: Harrogate and Knaresborough Party Candidate Votes % ±% Liberal Democrat Phil Willis 24,558 51.5 N/A Conservative Norman Lamont 18,322 38.5 N/A Labour Barbara Boyce 4,151 8.7 N/A Loyal Conservative J. Blackburn 614 1.3 N/A Majority 6,236 13.0 N/A Turnout 47,645 73.1 N/A Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative Swing See also
References
- ^ "Harrogate and Knaresborough: Blow to Lib Dems as close-run race ends in loss". Yorkshire Post. Johnston Press Digital Publishing. 10 May 2010. http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/election/HARROGATE-AND-KNARESBOROUGH-Blow-to.6284574.jp. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 1)
- ^ "UK > England > Yorkshire & the Humber > Harrogate & Knaresborough". Election 2010 (BBC). 7 May 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/c03.stm. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
- ^ [1][dead link]
Categories:- Parliamentary constituencies in Yorkshire and the Humber
- United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies established in 1950
- Politics of Harrogate
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