Westbury_(UK_Parliament_constituency)

Westbury (UK Parliament constituency)

Westbury (UK Parliament constituency)

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51.260°N 2.186°W / 51.260; -2.186

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Westbury was a parliamentary constituency in Wiltshire from 1449 to 2010. It was represented in the House of Commons of England until 1707, and then in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and finally in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 2010.

Until 1885, it was a parliamentary borough, returning two Members of Parliament (MPs) until 1832 and only one from 1832 to 1885. The parliamentary borough was abolished in 1885, when the name was transferred to a county constituency returning one MP. Elections used the bloc vote system when two MPs were returned, and the first-past-the-post system of election when one seat was contested.

Westbury returned a Conservative Member at every election after 1924.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The Sessional Divisions of Bradford-on-Avon, Melksham, Trowbridge, Westbury, and Whorwellsdon, and part of the Sessional Division of Warminster.

1918–1950: The Urban Districts of Bradford-on-Avon, Melksham, Trowbridge, Warminster, and Westbury, and the Rural Districts of Bradford-on-Avon, Melksham, Mere, Warminster, and Westbury and Whorwellsdown.

1950–1974: The Urban Districts of Bradford-on-Avon, Melksham, Trowbridge, Warminster, and Westbury, and the Rural Districts of Bradford-on-Avon and Melksham, Mere and Tisbury, and Warminster and Westbury.

1974–1983: As prior but with redrawn boundaries.

1983–1997: The District of West Wiltshire, and the District of Salisbury wards of Knoyle, Mere, and Western.

1997–2010: The District of West Wiltshire wards of Adcroft, Bradford-on-Avon North, Bradford-on-Avon South, college, Corsley, Dilton Marsh, Drynham, Ethandune, Holt, John O'Gaunt, Manor Vale, Mid Wylye Valley, Park, Paxcroft, Shearwater, Summerham, Warminster East, Warminster West, Weavers, Westbrook, Westbury with Storridge, and Wylye Valley, and the District of Salisbury wards of Knoyle, Mere, and Western.

Originally a small pocket borough, covering only a small part of the parish of Westbury, in 1885 the parliamentary borough became a county constituency in Wiltshire. At the time of the constituency's abolition in 2010 it included the towns of Westbury, Warminster, Trowbridge, and Bradford-on-Avon, and the surrounding rural areas as far south as Mere. Until boundary changes in 1997, it also included Melksham.

Boundary review, 2005

Following a review of parliamentary representation in Wiltshire, the Boundary Commission for England created two new constituencies in the county. Chippenham was created mostly from the adjoining North Wiltshire constituency, plus the town of Bradford-on-Avon at the northern end of the Westbury constituency, while the rest of Westbury saw minor changes to its composition and was renamed South West Wiltshire. These changes were approved in 2005, to take effect at the following general election, which ultimately took place in 2010.

Members of Parliament

Westbury borough (before 1885)

MPs 1449–1640

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MPs 1640–1832

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MPs 1832–1885

Westbury County constituency (1885–2010)

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

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Hanmer resigned, causing a by-election.

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Elections in the 1840s

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Elections in the 1850s

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Elections in the 1860s

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The 1868 election was declared void on petition, due to intimidation of the electorate, causing a by-election.[28]

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Elections in the 1870s

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Elections in the 1880s

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Elections in the 1890s

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Elections in the 1900s

John Fuller
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Elections in the 1910s

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Geoffrey Howard
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General Election 1914–15

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

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Elections in the 1920s

C. Darbishire
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Elections in the 1930s

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General Election 1939–40

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

Elections in the 1940s

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Elections in the 1950s

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Elections in the 1960s

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Elections in the 1970s

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Elections in the 1980s

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Elections in the 1990s

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Elections in the 2000s

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Notes and references

Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.

  1. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  2. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  3. Wilfrid Prest, ‘Ley, James, first earl of Marlborough (1550–1629)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004|| online edn, Jan 2008 , accessed 22 Jan 2009.
  4. Expelled from the House of Commons for corrupt misuse of Parliamentary Privilege
  5. In December 1702,William Trenchard and Thomas Phipps were returned. A petition was lodged, and the result was overturned on 1 December 1702 in favour of Robert Bertie and Henry Bertie
  6. At the general election in January 1715, Willoughby Bertie and Francis Annesley were returned. A petition was lodged, and the result was overturned on 1 June 1715 in favour of the runners-up Lord Carbery and Charles Allanson
  7. At the 1722 general election, James Bertie was also elected for Middlesex, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Westbury. A by-election for his seat was held in March 1723
  8. At the 1747 general election, John Bance and Paul Methuen were returned. A petition was lodged, and the result was overturned on 16 March 1748 in favour of the runners-up Chauncy Townsend and Paul Methuen
  9. The by-election in 1753 was caused by the death of Matthew Michell
  10. The by-election in 1770 was caused by the appointment of William Blackstone as a judge of the King's Bench
  11. Created a baronet, December 1782
  12. Ellis was also elected for Seaford, which he chose to represent, and never sat for Westbury
  13. Stooks Smith, Henry (1845). The Parliaments of England, from 1st George I., to the Present Time. Vol II: Oxfordshire to Wales Inclusive. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. pp. 121–123. Retrieved 22 December 2018 via Google Books.
  14. "John Ivatt Briscoe". Legacies of British Slave-ownership. University College London. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  15. A Member of the Middle Temple (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: With An Abstract of the Law of Election, and the Usages of Parliament. London: Scott, Webster, and Geary. pp. 38, 70 via Google Books.
  16. "The General Election". Morning Post. 24 July 1847. p. 3. Retrieved 6 May 2018 via British Newspaper Archive.
  17. Rosser, Alexander S. (2009). "Businessmen in the House of Commons: A Comparative Study of the 1852–1857 and the 1895–1900 Parliaments". KU Scholar Works. University of Kansas. p. 65. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  18. Roberts, F. David (2002). The Social Conscience of the Early Victorians. Stanford: Stanford University Press. p. 123. ISBN 9780804780933. Retrieved 22 July 2018 via Google Books.
  19. The election of 1868 was held void on petition, and a by-election held
  20. Created a baronet, 1952
  21. Farrell, Stephen. "Westbury". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  22. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. p. 326. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
  23. "Local Intelligence". Salisbury and Winchester Journal. 31 July 1847. p. 3. Retrieved 22 December 2018 via British Newspaper Archive.
  24. "Election Petitions". Bolton Evening News. 6 February 1869. p. 4. Retrieved 22 March 2018 via British Newspaper Archive.
  25. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. p. 417. ISBN 9781349022984.
  26. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, Craig, F. W. S. (1974)
  27. The Liberal Magazine, 1939
  28. Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
  29. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1973
  30. The Times, House of Commons
  31. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  32. "UK General Election results June 1987". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  33. "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  34. "Westbury: General Election result, May 1997". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  35. "Westbury: General Election result, May 1997". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  36. "UK General Election results May 2005". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 1 February 2011.

Sources

  • Guardian Unlimited (2004). Ask Aristotle - Westbury. Retrieved 16 November 2004.
  • D Brunton & D H Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
  • "Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803" (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808)

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