Spelthorne (UK Parliament constituency)
From Freepedia
| Borough constituency | |
|---|---|
| Image:SpelthorneConstituency.png Image:EnglandSurrey.png | |
| Spelthorne shown within Surrey, and Surrey shown within England | |
| Created: | 1918 |
| MP: | David Wilshire |
| Party: | Conservative |
| Type: | House of Commons |
| County: | Surrey |
| EP constituency: | South East England |
Spelthorne 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. David Wilshire has been the MP for this constituency since 1987.
Contents |
Boundaries
Spelthorne lies just south of Heathrow airport and north of the river Thames. It is a very built-up area and has far fewer open green spaces, private roads and woodlands than are commonly found further south in Surrey.
However, the area is still very affluent. Most residents can afford to buy their own homes, council housing accounting for only 10% of the total, and the proportion of professionals and managerial workers is high. The are several working class areas, most notably Stanwell, which was the only county council ward to give Labour a majority on the same day as the 1997 general election. Unemployment is low and there are very few manual workers.
Commercially, the area is one of the most active in Surrey. About 20% of all commercial or industrial property in the County is located here, including the headquarters of many national and international companies, such as BP Amoco, Courage, the Ian Allen Group, McVitie's, Del Monte, Samsung Electronics and Shepperton Film Studios.
It comprises the following electoral wards:
- Ashford Common
- Ashford East
- Ashford North and Stanwell South
- Ashford Town
- Halliford and Sunbury West
- Laleham and Shepperton Green
- Riverside and Laleham
- Shepperton Town
- Staines
- Staines South
- Stanwell North
- Sunbury Common
- Sunbury East
History
Spelthorne has been a Conservative stronghold for decades. The last time a non-Conservative Member of Parliament was elected was in the 1945 general election, when George Pargiter was elected for one term.
Members of Parliament
David Wilshire is the current Member of Parliament for Spelthorne, and was first elected in the 1987 general election. He is a member of the Conservative Party.
- Constituency created (1918)
- 1918 — 1931: Sir Philip Pilditch
- 1931 — 1945: Sir Reginald Blaker
- 1945 — 1950: George Pargiter, Labour
- 1950 — 1970: Sir George Craddock, Conservative
- 1970 — 1987: Sir Humphrey Atkins, Conservative
- 1987 — present: David Wilshire, Conservative
Elections
Elections in the 2000s
- General election of 2005
| General Election 2005: Spelthorne | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | David Wilshire | 21,620 | 50.5 | +5.4 | |
| Labour | Keith Dibble | 11,684 | 27.3 | −10.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Simon James | 7,318 | 17.1 | +2.4 | |
| UK Independence | Christopher Browne | 1,968 | 4.6 | +1.7 | |
| UK Community Issues Party | Caroline Schwark | 239 | 0.6 | N/A | |
| Majority | 9,936 | 23.2 | |||
| Turnout | 42,829 | 58.8 | −2.0 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | 7.7 | |||
- General election of 2001
| General Election 2001: Spelthorne | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | David Wilshire | 18,851 | 45.1 | +0.2 | |
| Labour | Andrew Shaw | 15,589 | 37.3 | −0.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Martin Rimmer | 6,156 | 14.7 | +1.6 | |
| UK Independence | Richard Squire | 1,198 | 2.9 | +2.0 | |
| Majority | 3,262 | 7.8 | |||
| Turnout | 41,794 | 60.8 | −12.4 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | 0.6 | |||
Elections in the 1990s
- General election of 1997
| General Election 1997: Spelthorne | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | David Wilshire | 23,306 | 44.9 | −13.7 | |
| Labour | Keith Dibble | 19,833 | 38.2 | +15.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Edward Glynn | 6,821 | 13.1 | −3.4 | |
| Referendum Party | Barry Coleman | 1,495 | 2.9 | N/A | |
| UK Independence | John Fowler | 462 | 0.9 | N/A | |
| Majority | 3,473 | 6.7 | |||
| Turnout | 52,107 | 73.2 | 7.2 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −14.5 | |||
- General election of 1992
| General Election 1992: Spelthorne | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | David Wilshire | 32,627 | 58.6 | −1.4 | |
| Labour | Ann Leedham | 12,784 | 22.9 | 5.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Roger Roberts | 9,702 | 16.5 | −6.4 | |
| Green | J Wassell | 580 | 1.0 | N/A | |
| Monster Raving Loony | D Rea | 338 | 0.6 | N/A | |
| Natural Law | D Ellis | 195 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Majority | 19,843 | 35.7 | −1.4 | ||
| Turnout | 69,344 | 80.4 | 6.3 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1980s
- General election of 1987
| General Election 1987: Spelthorne | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | David Wilshire | 32,440 | 60.0 | 7.6 | |
| Social Democrat | Mrs. M. Cunningham | 12,390 | 22.9 | −3.1 | |
| Labour | D.F.J. Welfare | 9,227 | 17.1 | 1.6 | |
| Majority | 20,050 | 37.1 | 10.8 | ||
| Turnout | 72,967 | 74.1 | 3.1 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
- General election of 1983
Richard Adams, standing as an Independent Conservative, opposed the hunting of foxes with hounds. He was famous as the author of the novel "Watership Down". Atkins on the other hand was a noted supporter of foxhunting.
| General Election 1983: Spelthorne | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Rt. Hon. Sir Humphrey Atkins | 26,863 | 52.4 | ||
| Social Democrat | A.W. Layton | 13,357 | 26.0 | ||
| Labour | M.C. Rowlands | 7,926 | 15.5 | ||
| Independent Conservative | Richard Adams | 2,816 | 5.5 | ||
| FTACMP | E.J. Butterfield | 325 | 0.6 | ||
| Majority | 13,506 | 26.3 | |||
| Turnout | 69,344 | 80.4 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Sources
- Historical list of MPs
- Election result, 2005 (BBC)
- Election results, 1997 - 2001 (BBC)
- Election results, 1997 - 2001 (Election Demon)
- Election results, 1983 - 1992 (Election Demon)
- Election results, 1992 - 2005 (Guardian)
- Election resutls, 1951 - 1979 (Keele University)
