Belper (UK Parliament constituency)

Last updated

Belper
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
Belper1974Constituency.svg
Belper in Derbyshire, showing boundaries used from 1974 to 1983.
19181983
Replaced by Derbyshire South, Derbyshire West and Amber Valley [1]
Created from Derbyshire South, Mid Derbyshire and Ilkeston

Belper is a former constituency in the UK Parliament. It was created at the 1918 general election as a county division of Derbyshire, comprising the area in the centre of the county and surrounding Derby, and named after the market town of Belper although this was in the north of the constituency. In 1950 it was expanded to include the far south of the county. It was a marginal constituency for most of its existence.

Contents

The area had an ever-expanding population after 1945 as prosperous suburbs of Derby were built outside the city boundaries. Lord George-Brown, who represented the seat at the time, wrote in 1971 after his defeat in the 1970 general election that "The electorate had increased by over 10,000 since 1966, mainly from the growth of middle-class housing estates, so that most of the new electors could be expected to vote Tory. Since my majority in 1966 was 4,274, an influx of 10,000 new voters, mainly Tory, obviously imperilled the seat." A Boundary Commission report issued in 1969 had recommended changes which would have removed the extra voters, but the Labour government of the time had delayed implementation of the report.

Boundaries

When created in 1918, the constituency consisted of the Urban Districts of Alfreton, Belper and Heage, together with the Rural District of Belper and part of the Rural District of Repton (the civil parishes of Ash, Bearwardcote, Bretby, Burnaston, Dalbury Lees, Egginton, Etwall, Findern, Foremark, Ingleby, Mickleover, Newton Solney, Radbourne, Repton, Trusley, Twyford and Stenson, and Willington).

In 1950, boundary changes removed the Urban Districts of Alfreton and Heage to the Ilkeston constituency, together with the civil parish of Shipley from Belper Rural District. To compensate for this loss of electors, the changes transferred in the rest of the Repton Rural District from the West Derbyshire and South East Derbyshire constituencies. In addition from South East Derbyshire came the Urban District of Swadlincote.

In 1974 the boundaries were realigned with those for local government which had changed to transfer some electors to Derby; the constituency consisted of the urban districts of Belper and Swadlincote, and the rural districts of Repton and Belper except the civil parish of Shipley.

In 1983 the constituency was abolished; the largest part (40,000 voters around Swadlincote) formed the basis of South Derbyshire, 22,000 voters around Belper itself went to West Derbyshire, and 10,000 voters to Amber Valley.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberParty
1918 John Hancock Liberal
1923 Herbert Wragg Conservative
1929 Jack Lees Labour
1931 Sir Herbert Wragg Conservative
1945 George Brown Labour
1970 Geoffrey Stewart-Smith Conservative
Feb 1974 Roderick MacFarquhar Labour
1979 Sheila Faith Conservative
1983 constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Belper
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal John Hancock Unopposed N/AN/A
Liberal win (new seat)

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Belper
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal John Hancock 12,494 61.1 N/A
Labour Oliver Wright 7,94238.9New
Majority4,55222.2N/A
Turnout 20,43663.6N/A
Liberal hold Swing N/A
General election 1923: Belper
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Unionist Herbert Wragg 9,662 41.8 New
Labour Oliver Wright 7,28431.5−7.4
Liberal John Hancock 6,17826.7−34.5
Majority2,37810.3N/A
Turnout 23,12470.0+6.4
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing
General election 1924: Belper
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Unionist Herbert Wragg 14,766 58.2 +16.4
Labour Jack Lees 10,61841.8+10.3
Majority4,14816.4+6.1
Turnout 25,38474.5+4.5
Unionist hold Swing +3.1
General election 1929: Belper
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Jack Lees 15,958 43.0 +1.2
Unionist Herbert Wragg 13,00335.0−23.2
Liberal Thomas Scott Anderson8,14922.0New
Majority2,9558.0N/A
Turnout 37,11082.7+8.2
Labour gain from Unionist Swing −12.2

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Belper
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Herbert Wragg 23,361 60.2 +25.2
Labour Jack Lees 15,45039.8−3.2
Majority7,91120.4N/A
Turnout 38,81182.0−0.7
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +14.2
General election 1935: Belper
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Herbert Wragg 20,078 51.1 −9.1
Labour Jack Lees 19,25048.9+9.1
Majority8282.2−18.2
Turnout 39,32876.8−5.2
Conservative hold Swing −9.1

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Belper
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour George Brown 24,319 52.9 +4.0
Conservative George Hampson15,43833.5−17.6
Liberal Robert Archibald Burrows6,27613.6New
Majority8,88119.4+17.2
Turnout 46,03380.2+3.4
Labour gain from Conservative Swing −10.8

Elections in the 1950s

Boundary changes occurred at this point.

General election 1950: Belper
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour George Alfred Brown 30,904 53.2
Conservative Michael Argyle 21,58137.1
Liberal John Pickett Lawrie5,6509.7
Majority9,32316.1
Turnout 58,13588.8
Labour hold Swing
General election 1951: Belper
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour George Alfred Brown 32,875 57.1 +3.9
Conservative Samuel Middup24,67842.9+5.8
Majority8,19714.2−1.9
Turnout 57,55386.8−2.0
Labour hold Swing +1.0
General election 1955: Belper
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour George Alfred Brown 30,214 55.6 −1.5
Conservative John Twells24,11544.4+1.5
Majority6,09911.2−3.0
Turnout 54,32981.6−5.2
Labour hold Swing +1.5
General election 1959: Belper
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour George Alfred Brown 31,344 53.7 −1.9
Conservative Joyce Ratcliffe27,00746.3+1.9
Majority4,3377.4−3.8
Turnout 58,35184.2+2.6
Labour hold Swing +1.9

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Belper
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour George Alfred Brown 30,481 47.3 −6.4
Conservative John Lowther 24,16937.5−8.8
Liberal Norman Heathcote9,80715.2New
Majority6,3129.8+2.4
Turnout 64,45786.1+1.9
Labour hold Swing −1.2
General election 1966: Belper
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour George Alfred Brown 34,495 53.3 +6.0
Conservative John Lowther 30,22146.7+9.2
Majority4,2746.6−3.2
Turnout 64,71684.1−2.0
Labour hold Swing +1.6

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Belper
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Geoffrey Stewart-Smith 35,757 51.5 +4.8
Labour George Alfred Brown 33,63348.5−4.8
Majority2,1243.0N/A
Turnout 69,39080.1−4.0
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +4.8

Boundary changes occurred at this point.

General election February 1974: Belper
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Roderick MacFarquhar 30,611 51.7 −4.1
Conservative Geoffrey Stewart-Smith 28,57748.3+4.1
Majority2,0343.4+0.4
Turnout 59,18883.8+3.6
Labour hold Swing −4.1
General election October 1974: Belper
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Roderick MacFarquhar 27,365 47.1 −4.6
Conservative Simon Newall21,68137.4−10.9
Liberal Julian Wates9,01715.5New
Majority5,6849.7+6.3
Turnout 58,06381.6−1.2
Labour hold Swing −3.2
General election 1979: Belper
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Sheila Faith 27,193 44.4 +7.0
Labour Roderick MacFarquhar 26,31142.9−4.2
Liberal Malcolm Peel7,33112.0−3.5
National Front John Grand-Scrutton4600.7New
Majority8821.5N/A
Turnout 61,29583.6+2.0
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +5.6

Related Research Articles

Derbyshire Ceremonial county in East Midlands, England

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the north-west, West Yorkshire to the north, South Yorkshire to the north-east, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the west and south-west and Cheshire to the west. Kinder Scout, at 636 metres (2,087 ft), is the highest point and Trent Meadows, where the River Trent leaves Derbyshire, the lowest at 27 metres (89 ft). The north–south River Derwent is the longest river at 66 mi (106 km). In 2003, the Ordnance Survey named Church Flatts Farm at Coton in the Elms, near Swadlincote, as Britain's furthest point from the sea. Derby is a unitary authority area, but remains part of the ceremonial county. The non-metropolitan county has 30 towns of 10,000–100,000 inhabitants, but much sparsely populated farming upland.

Bretby Human settlement in England

Bretby is a village and civil parish in the south of Derbyshire, England, north of Swadlincote and east of Burton upon Trent, on the border between Derbyshire and Staffordshire. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census was 893. The name means "dwelling place of Britons". On the A511 road, there is a secondary settlement, Stanhope Bretby, which was the site of Bretby Colliery.

Amber Valley Local government district and borough in England

Amber Valley is a local government district and borough in the east of Derbyshire, England, taking its name from the River Amber. It covers a semi-rural zone with four main towns whose economy was based on coal mining and remains to some extent influenced by engineering, distribution and manufacturing, holding for instance the headquarters and production site of Thorntons confectionery.

Heage Village with restored windmill in Derbyshire

Heage is a village in Derbyshire, England, situated midway between Belper and Ripley in the Amber Valley district. The village is in the Heage and Ambergate ward, which in the 2011 census had a population of 5,013.

South Derbyshire Non-metropolitan district in England

South Derbyshire is a local government district in Derbyshire, England. The population of the local authority at the 2011 Census was 94,611. It contains a third of the National Forest, and the council offices are in Swadlincote. The district also forms part of the wider Burton upon Trent and Swadlincote Green Belt, which covers the towns of Burton-upon-Trent in East Staffordshire and Swadlincote in South Derbyshire. The district is also landlocked between the districts of Derby, Derbyshire Dales, East Staffordshire, Erewash District, Lichfield District, North Warwickshire, North West Leicestershire and Tamworth.

Swadlincote Town in South Derbyshire district, Derbyshire, England

Swadlincote is a former mining town in the district of South Derbyshire, England, lying within The National Forest area. It borders the counties of Leicestershire and Staffordshire, 5 miles (8 km) south-east of Burton upon Trent and north-west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and 11.5 miles (19 km) south-west of Derby. It also covers Newhall, Oversetts, Midway and the villages of Church Gresley and Woodville, with the sub-district of Goseley. It has a population of some 36,000. Castle Gresley is 2 miles (3 km) to the south-west and Albert Village 1.5 miles (2 km) to the south.

Amber Valley (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983 onwards

Amber Valley is a constituency in Derbyshire, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Nigel Mills, a Conservative.

South Derbyshire (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983 onwards

South Derbyshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Heather Wheeler, a Conservative.

Rugby (UK Parliament constituency)

Rugby is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 recreation by Mark Pawsey, a Conservative.

Mid Derbyshire (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 2010 onwards

Mid Derbyshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation by Pauline Latham, a Conservative.

Maldon (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom from 1332 to 1983 and 2010 onwards

Maldon is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by John Whittingdale, a Conservative.

Abingdon (UK Parliament constituency)

Abingdon was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, electing one Member of Parliament (MP) from 1558 until 1983.

Ilkeston (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885–1983

Ilkeston is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was represented by one Member of Parliament. In 1983 it was abolished, together with South East Derbyshire, when the Derbyshire county constituencies were redrawn - the constituencies of Amber Valley and Erewash were created and the constituency of South Derbyshire was re-created.

The DE postcode area, also known as the Derby postcode area, is a group of 23 postcode districts in central England, within 11 post towns. These cover south and central Derbyshire, parts of east Staffordshire and north-west Leicestershire, and very small parts of Nottinghamshire.

Newhall, Derbyshire Human settlement in England

Newhall is a suburban settlement located in Swadlincote, South Derbyshire, England. As of the 2011 census it had a population of 776. The village of Stanton is nearby.

The Hundreds of Derbyshire were the geographic divisions of the historic county of Derbyshire for administrative, military and judicial purposes. They were established in Derbyshire some time before the Norman conquest. In the Domesday Survey of 1086 AD the hundreds were called wapentakes. By 1273 the county was divided into 8 hundreds with some later combined, becoming 6 hundreds over the following centuries. The Local Government Act 1894 replaced hundreds with districts. Derbyshire is now divided into 8 administrative boroughs within the Derbyshire County Council area.

References

  1. "'Belper', Feb 1974 - May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 16 March 2016.[ permanent dead link ]