Basingstoke (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 51°15′43″N1°05′02″W / 51.262°N 1.084°W / 51.262; -1.084

Basingstoke
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Basingstoke in Hampshirefor the 2010 general election
Location of Hampshire within England
County	Hampshire
Population	107,996 (2011 census) [1]
Electorate	75,470 (December 2010) [2]
Major settlements	Basingstoke
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of Parliament	Maria Miller (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	North Hampshire

Basingstoke ( /ˈbeɪzɪŋˌstoʊk/ ) is a constituency in Hampshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Maria Miller, a member of the Conservative Party who served as Culture Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities from 2012 to 2014 under Prime Minister David Cameron. ^{[n 1]}

Constituency profile

The constituency is based around the town of Basingstoke, and the surrounding countryside, in Hampshire. Basingstoke is both a commuter town with frequent trains to London and a regional economic centre, making this a prosperous area. ^[3]

History

Political history

With the exception of a 1923-1924 Liberal MP, since broadening in 1885 it has elected Conservative MPs, and thus meets the longevity indicator, if not majority indicator, as a Conservative safe seat. The closest it came to a non-Conservative victory was in 2001, when its incumbent since 1983, Hunter, in his final election, was returned by 880 votes.

In June 2016, an estimated 53.6% of local adults voting in the EU membership referendum chose to leave the European Union instead of to remain. This was matched in two January 2018 votes in Parliament by its MP. ^[4]

Content and regional context

The town was represented in the Model Parliament convened in 1295 but not again until the modern seat was created in 1885 which was done on a broad contents basis. From 1295 inclusive ^{[n 2]} to the one year parliament of 1831-32 its area was part of the Hampshire constituency or election of knights of the shire as the event was more often called and from 1832 to 1885 its area lay in the North Hampshire constituency.

Boundaries

Map of present boundaries

1885–1918: The Borough of Basingstoke, and the Sessional Divisions of Basingstoke and Odiham.

1918–1950: The Boroughs of Basingstoke and Andover, and the Rural Districts of Andover, Basingstoke, Kingsclere, Stockbridge, and Whitchurch.

1950–1955: The Boroughs of Basingstoke and Andover, the Rural Districts of Andover, Basingstoke, and Kingsclere and Whitchurch, and in the Rural District of Romsey and Stockbridge the parishes of Ashley, Bossington, Broughton, Buckholt, East Tytherley, Frenchmoor, Houghton, King's Somborne, Leckford, Little Somborne, Longstock, Nether Wallop, Over Wallop, Stockbridge, and West Tytherley.

1955–1974: The Boroughs of Basingstoke and Andover, and the Rural Districts of Andover, Basingstoke, and Kingsclere and Whitchurch.

1974–1983: The Borough of Basingstoke, the Rural Districts of Basingstoke, and Kingsclere and Whitchurch, and in the Rural District of Hartley Wintney the parishes of Bramshill, Dogmersfield, Eversley, Greywell, Hartley Wintney, Heckfield, Hook, Long Sutton, Mattingley, Odiham, Rotherwick, South Warnborough, and Winchfield. Note: among these Hook was by 1983 commonly considered a town.

1983–1997: The Borough of Basingstoke and Deane wards of Basing, Black Dam, Bramley, Brighton Hill, Buckskin, Chapel, Daneshill, Eastrop, Farleigh Wallop, Kempshott, King's Furlong, Norden, North Waltham, Oakley, Pamber, Popley, Sherborne St John, Sherfield on Loddon, Silchester, South Ham, Upton Grey, Viables, Westside, and Winklebury.

1997–2010: The Borough of Basingstoke and Deane wards of Basing, Brighton Hill, Brookvale, Buckskin, Calleva, Chineham, Eastrop, Grove, Hatch Warren, Kempshott, Norden, Popley, South Ham, Upton Grey, and Winklebury.

2010–present: The Borough of Basingstoke and Deane wards of Basing, Brighton Hill North, Brighton Hill South, Brookvale and King's Furlong, Buckskin, Chineham, Eastrop, Grove, Hatch Warren and Beggarwood, Kempshott, Norden, Popley East, Popley West, Rooksdown, South Ham, and Winklebury.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member [5]	Party
	1885	George Sclater-Booth	Conservative
	1887 by-election	Arthur Frederick Jeffreys	Conservative
	1906	Arthur Salter	Conservative
	1917 by-election	Auckland Geddes	Unionist
	1920 by-election	Arthur Holbrook	Coalition Conservative
	1923	Reginald Fletcher	Liberal
	1924	Arthur Richard Holbrook	Conservative
	1929	Gerard Wallop	Conservative
	1934 by-election	Henry Drummond Wolff	Conservative
	1935	Patrick Donner	Conservative
	1955	Denzil Freeth	Conservative
	1964	David Mitchell	Conservative
	1983	Andrew Hunter	Conservative
	2002		Independent Conservative
	2004		Democratic Unionist
	2005	Maria Miller	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Basingstoke ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Maria Miller	29,593	54.1	+1.4
	Labour	Kerena Marchant	15,395	28.1	−7.7
	Liberal Democrats	Sashi Mylvaganam	6,841	12.5	+6.4
	Green	Jonnie Jenkin	2,138	3.9	+1.9
	Independent	Alan Stone	746	1.4	New
Majority			14,198	26.0	+9.1
Turnout			54,713	66.0	−2.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.5

General election 2017: Basingstoke ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Maria Miller	29,510	52.7	+4.1
	Labour	Terry Bridgeman	20,044	35.8	+8.1
	Liberal Democrats	John Shaw	3,406	6.1	−1.3
	UKIP	Alan Stone	1,681	3.0	−12.6
	Green	Richard Winter	1,106	2.0	New
	Libertarian	Scott Neville	213	0.4	New
Majority			9,466	16.9	−4.0
Turnout			55,960	68.3	+1.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.0

General election 2015: Basingstoke ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Maria Miller	25,769	48.6	-1.9
	Labour	Paul Harvey	14,706	27.7	+7.3
	UKIP	Alan Stone	8,290	15.6	+11.5
	Liberal Democrats	Janice Spalding	3,919	7.4	−17.1
	Independent	Omar Selim	392	0.7	New
Majority			11,063	20.9	−5.1
Turnout			53,076	66.6	−0.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.6

For the 2015 election, the Green Party attempted to field two candidates who would job share. ^[9] Sarah Cope has young children and Clare Lorraine Phipps who is disabled, ^[9] so neither could work as a full-time MP. Their application was rejected. ^[10]

General election 2010: Basingstoke ^{[11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Maria Miller	25,590	50.5	+11.7
	Liberal Democrats	John Shaw	12,414	24.5	+2.6
	Labour	Funda Pepperell	10,327	20.4	−12.2
	UKIP	Stella Howell	2,076	4.1	+1.9
	Basingstoke Common Man	Steve Saul	247	0.5	New
Majority			13,176	26.0
Turnout			50,654	67.1	+6.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.6

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Basingstoke ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Maria Miller	19,955	41.5	−1.2
	Labour	Paul Harvey	15,275	31.7	−9.2
	Liberal Democrats	Jen Smith	9,952	20.7	+6.8
	UKIP	Peter Effer	1,044	2.2	−0.3
	Green	Darren Shirley	928	1.9	New
	BNP	Roger Robertson	821	1.7	New
	Millennium Council	Roger MacNair	148	0.3	New
Majority			4,680	9.8	+8.0
Turnout			48,123	63.0	+2.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.9

General election 2001: Basingstoke ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew Hunter	20,490	42.7	−0.6
	Labour	Jon Hartley	19,610	40.9	+1.8
	Liberal Democrats	Steve Sollitt	6,693	13.9	−3.1
	UKIP	Kim Graham	1,202	2.5	New
Majority			880	1.8	−2.4
Turnout			47,995	60.7	−13.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.2

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Basingstoke ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew Hunter	24,751	43.3	−10.2
	Labour	Nigel Lickley	22,354	39.1	+14.0
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Rimmer	9,714	17.0	−3.4
	Independent	Elsayed Selim	310	0.6	New
Majority			2,397	4.2	-24.2
Turnout			57,129	74.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1992: Basingstoke ^{[16] [17]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew Hunter	37,521	54.6	−1.4
	Labour	David Bull	16,323	23.8	+6.1
	Liberal Democrats	Chris I. Curtis	14,119	20.6	−5.7
	Green	Valerie J. Oldaker	714	1.0	New
Majority			21,198	30.8	+1.1
Turnout			68,677	82.8	+5.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	−3.7

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Basingstoke ^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew Hunter	33,657	56.0	+4.7
	SDP	David Bennett	15,764	26.3	-2.5
	Labour	Peter Daden	10,632	17.7	-1.5
Majority			17,893	29.7	+7.2
Turnout			60,053	77.0	+0.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1983: Basingstoke ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew Hunter	28,381	51.3
	SDP	Ednyfed Davies	15,931	28.8
	Labour	J. McAllister	10,646	19.3
	BNP	I. Wilson	344	0.6	New
Majority			12,450	22.5
Turnout			55,302	76.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Basingstoke

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Mitchell	42,625	54.1	+10.9
	Labour	R.W. Harris	20,879	26.5	-7.4
	Liberal	P. Clatworthy	14,605	18.54	-3.2
	National Front	B. Packer	677	0.86	-0.2
Majority			21,746	27.6	+18.4
Turnout			78,786	79.48	+2.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Basingstoke

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Mitchell	29,038	43.17
	Labour	T.E. Hunt	22,826	33.94
	Liberal	N.A.L. Whitbread	14,636	21.76
	National Front	G. Goodall	763	1.13	New
Majority			6,212	9.23
Turnout			67,263	77.51
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Basingstoke

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Mitchell	30,886	43.15
	Labour	T.E. Hunt	23,089	32.26
	Liberal	N.A.L. Whitbread	17,598	24.59
Majority			7,797	10.89
Turnout			71,553	83.24
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1970: Basingstoke

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Mitchell	35,138	50.94
	Labour	Denis Carter	25,664	37.21
	Liberal	Ray A. Musselwhite	8,138	11.86
Majority			9,474	13.73
Turnout			68,940	75.02
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Basingstoke

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Mitchell	26,076	45.85
	Labour	Alec J. Kazantzis	22,417	39.42
	Liberal	John W. Matthew	8,379	14.73
Majority			3,659	6.43
Turnout			56,872	78.56
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1964: Basingstoke

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Mitchell	26,466	49.32
	Labour	Brian Tilley	18,490	34.46
	Liberal	Basil Goldstone	8,708	16.23
Majority			7,976	14.86
Turnout			53,664	78.12
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Basingstoke

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Denzil Freeth	25,314	52.18
	Labour	Sydney G. Conbeer	14,070	29.00
	Liberal	Leslie Gascoinge Housden	9,126	18.81	New
Majority			11,244	23.18
Turnout			48,510	79.55
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1955: Basingstoke

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Denzil Freeth	24,973	57.20
	Labour	William Royle	18,683	42.80
Majority			6,290	14.40
Turnout			43,656	76.55
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1951: Basingstoke

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Patrick Donner	26,045	55.86
	Labour	Arthur Carr	20,580	44.14
Majority			5,465	11.72
Turnout			46,625	79.86
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1950: Basingstoke

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Patrick Donner	25,151	55.39
	Labour	Marjorie Clark	20,257	44.61
Majority			4,894	10.78
Turnout			45,408	79.53
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Basingstoke

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Patrick Donner	18,700	46.0	-11.8
	Labour	Edith Alice Weston	13,763	33.8	+23.8
	Liberal	David Reginald Rhys	8,206	20.2	-12.0
Majority			4,937	12.2	-13.5
Turnout			40,669
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Basingstoke

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Patrick Donner	18,549	57.83
	Liberal	John Foot	10,317	32.17
	Labour	James Silas William Whybrew	3,207	10.00
Majority			8,232	25.66
Turnout			32,073	67.44
	Conservative hold		Swing

1934 Basingstoke by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Drummond Wolff	16,147	53.7	−16.0
	Liberal	John Foot	9,262	30.8	+12.7
	Labour	James William Barker	4,663	15.5	+3.3
Majority			6,885	22.9	-28.7
Turnout			30,072	64.4	-3.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1931: Basingstoke

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gerard Wallop	23,523	69.7	+19.3
	Liberal	Frances Josephy	6,106	18.1	-17.3
	Labour	C A Goatcher	4,124	12.2	-2.0
Majority			17,417	51.6	+36.6
Turnout			33,753	67.44	-6.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Election in the 1920s

General election 1929: Basingstoke

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Gerard Wallop	16,547	50.4	−6.9
	Liberal	Laurence Harry Duniam Jones	11,595	35.4	+0.7
	Labour	W. J. Beck	4,650	14.2	+6.2
Majority			4,952	15.0	−7.6
Turnout			32.792	74.2	−4.1
	Unionist hold		Swing	−3.9

General election 1924: Basingstoke

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Arthur Richard Holbrook	15,558	57.3	+8.0
	Liberal	Reginald Fletcher	9,429	34.7	−16.0
	Labour	Ben Greene	2,172	8.0	New
Majority			6,129	22.6	N/A
Turnout			27,159	78.3	+9.5
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing

General election 1923: Basingstoke ^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Reginald Fletcher	11,879	50.7	+20.3
	Unionist	Arthur Richard Holbrook	11,531	49.3	−6.7
Majority			348	1.4	N/A
Turnout			23,410	68.8	+1.9
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+13.5

General election 1922: Basingstoke

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Arthur Richard Holbrook	12,514	56.0	+21.8
	Liberal	Reginald Fletcher	6,780	30.4	+2.4
	Labour	Samuel Ledbury	3,035	13.6	−14.2
Majority			5,734	25.6	+10.4
Turnout			22,329	66.9	+6.9
	Unionist hold		Swing	+9.7

1920 Basingstoke by-election ^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	Arthur Richard Holbrook	8,515	44.2	−19.9
	Liberal	Harry Verney	5,393	28.0	New
	Labour	J H Round	5,352	27.8	New
Majority			3,122	16.2	−12.0
Turnout			19,260	60.0	+4.8
	Unionist hold		Swing	−6.0
Cindicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Election in the 1910s

General election 1918: Basingstoke

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	Auckland Geddes	11,218	64.1	N/A
	Independent Labour	A. Close	6,277	35.9	New
Majority			4,941	28.2	N/A
Turnout			17,495	55.2	N/A
	Unionist hold		Swing
Cindicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Election results, 1885–1918

Elections in the 1880s

Eve

General election 1885: Basingstoke ^{[21] [22] [23]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Sclater-Booth	3,892	62.7
	Liberal	Richard Eve	2,313	37.3
Majority			1,579	25.4
Turnout			6,205	80.4
Registered electors			7,720
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election 1886: Basingstoke ^{[21] [22]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Sclater-Booth	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Sclater-Booth was elevated to the peerage, becoming Lord Basing, requiring a by-election.

Jeffreys

1887 Basingstoke by-election ^{[21] [24]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Frederick Jeffreys	3,158	56.6	N/A
	Liberal	Richard Eve	2,426	43.4	New
Majority			732	13.2	N/A
Turnout			5,584	69.6	N/A
Registered electors			8,021
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Basingstoke ^{[21] [22]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Frederick Jeffreys	4,046	61.3	N/A
	Liberal	George Judd	2,555	38.7	N/A
Majority			1,491	22.6	N/A
Turnout			6,601	72.5	N/A
Registered electors			9,110
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1895: Basingstoke ^{[21] [22] [25]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Frederick Jeffreys	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Basingstoke ^{[21] [22] [25]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Frederick Jeffreys	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1906: Basingstoke ^{[21] [22]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Frederick Jeffreys	4,825	50.6	N/A
	Liberal	Harry Verney	4,705	49.4	New
Majority			120	1.2	N/A
Turnout			9,530	79.1	N/A
Registered electors			12,049
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Verney

1906 Basingstoke by-election ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Salter	4,852	49.0	−1.6
	Liberal	Harry Verney	4,593	46.3	−3.1
	Independent Liberal	J. Ernest Polden	467	4.7	New
Majority			259	2.7	+1.5
Turnout			9,912	82.3	+3.2
Registered electors			12,049
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.7

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Basingstoke ^{[21] [26]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Salter	7,506	66.3	+15,7
	Liberal	John Ernest Wallis	3,821	33.7	-15.7
Majority			3,685	32.6	+31.4
Turnout			11,327	86.2	+7.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+14.9

General election December 1910: Basingstoke ^{[21] [26]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arthur Salter	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

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;

• Unionist: Arthur Salter
• Liberal:

Geddes

1917 Basingstoke by-election ^{[21] [26]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Auckland Geddes	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Hampshire

Notes

1. As with all constituencies, the first past the post system of election is used with elections at least every five years.
2. Burgesses (ie freeholders in boroughs could elect their borough member and county members.

References

1. "Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
2. "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
3. UK Polling Report http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/basingstoke/ Archived 17 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine
4. TheyWorkForYou (17 January 2018). "European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — Reject Third Reading — Membership of the European Union: Recent Votes". TheyWorkForYou. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
5. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 1)
6. https://www.basingstoke.gov.uk/content/page/61699/Statement%20of%20Persons%20Nominated%20Notice%20of%20Poll%20and%20Situation%20of%20Polling%20Stations%20-%20Basingstoke.pdf ^{[ dead link ]}
7. "Basingstoke parliamentary constituency - Election 2017". Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018– via www.bbc.co.uk.
8. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
9. "Green Basingstoke MP job share nomination rejected". BBC News. 10 April 2015. Archived from the original on 14 February 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
10. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
11. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
12. Parliamentary election - Statement of Persons Nominated (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2011
13. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
14. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
15. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
16. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
17. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
18. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
19. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
20. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
21. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
22. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
23. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
24. The Constitutional Year Book, 1904, published by Conservative Central Office, page 144 (168 in web page), Hampshire
25. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
26. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916