This article is part of a series on |
Politics of the United Kingdom |
---|
![]() |
![]() |
The first periodic review of Westminster constituencies was a review of constituency boundaries for the Westminster Parliament in the United Kingdom carried out by the boundary commissions created by the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949. The commissions reported in 1954 and their recommendations took effect for the 1955 general election. Legal action over the procedure for such reviews resulted in the passage of the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1958. [1]
Although the review was carried out only 5 years after the major overhaul of constituency boundaries enacted by the Representation of the People Act 1948 (taking effect for the 1950 general election), there were a number of significant changes, with the total number of seats increasing from 625 to 630. There were 36 new constituencies created and 31 abolished, resulting in a net increase of 5 constituencies which were all in England (506 to 511), with the number of constituencies in Wales (36), Scotland (71) and Northern Ireland (12) remaining the same.
There were changes to a further 137 constituencies involving the transfer of local authorities or wards/parishes therein. There were also minor changes to 42 constituencies which involved bringing the constituency boundaries in line with local authority boundaries which had been altered. The bulk of the changes affected the large cities outside London (Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield). There were only a few marginal changes in Wales and no changes in Northern Ireland.
During the period 1951 to 1953, 29 Statutory Instruments, affecting 66 constituencies, had been passed under the provisions of the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949 to bring boundaries in line with those of local authorities. [2]
There was a considerable delay before the second periodic review was completed and approved by Parliament and this did not come into effect until the February 1974 general election. The boundaries and constituencies introduced by the First Review were therefore in use for the general elections of 1955, 1959, 1964, 1966 and 1970.
Source: Craig, F. W. S. (1972). Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972 . Chichester: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0-900178-09-4. Pages 49 to 116.
BC denotes a Borough Constituency; CC denotes a County Constituency.
County | Seats 1950-55 | Created | Abolished | Major changes | Minor changes | Seats 1955-74 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bedfordshire | 4 | Bedford CC | 4 | |||
Berkshire | 6 | Reading BC | Reading North BC | Newbury CC | 5 | |
Buckinghamshire | 5 | 5 | ||||
Cambridgeshire | 2 | 2 | ||||
Cheshire | 15 | Nantwich CC | Crewe CC | 16 | ||
Cornwall | 5 | 5 | ||||
Cumberland | 4 | 4 | ||||
Derbyshire | 10 | South East Derbyshire CC | 10 | |||
Devon | 10 | Plymouth, Devonport BC | 10 | |||
Dorset | 4 | 4 | ||||
Durham | 18 | Jarrow CC (redesignated as a BC) | 18 | |||
Essex | 24 | Chigwell CC | Billericay CC | 26 | ||
Gloucestershire | 12 | Stroud CC | Stroud and Thornbury CC | Cirencester and Tewksbury CC | Gloucester BC | 12 |
Hampshire | 13 | Eastleigh CC | Basingstoke CC | Portsmouth, Langstone BC | 14 | |
Herefordshire | 2 | 2 | ||||
Hertfordshire | 7 | East Hertfordshire CC | Barnet CC | 8 | ||
Huntingdonshire | 1 | 1 | ||||
Isle of Ely | 1 | 1 | ||||
Isle of Wight | 1 | 1 | ||||
Kent | 18 | Erith and Crayford BC | Chislehurst CC (redesignated as a CC) | Rochester and Chatham BC | 19 | |
Lancashire | 64 | Blackburn BC | Blackburn East BC | Chorley CC | Huyton CC | 62 |
Leicestershire | 8 | Harborough CC | Bosworth CC | 8 | ||
Lincolnshire (Parts of Holland) | 1 | 1 | ||||
Lincolnshire (Parts of Kesteven) and Rutlandshire | 2 | 2 | ||||
Lincolnshire (Parts of Lindsey) | 6 | 6 | ||||
London | 43 | Barons Court BC | Fulham East BC | Bethnal Green BC | Woolwich East BC | 42 |
Middlesex | 28 | Feltham BC | Spelthorne CC Heston and Isleworth BC | 29 | ||
Norfolk | 8 | 8 | ||||
Northamptonshire | 5 | 5 | ||||
Northumberland | 10 | Newcastle upon Tyne Central BC | 10 | |||
Nottinghamshire | 10 | Ashfield CC | Broxtowe CC | Bassetlaw CC | 10 | |
Oxfordshire | 3 | 3 | ||||
Shropshire | 4 | 4 | ||||
Somerset | 7 | 7 | ||||
Staffordshire | 18 | Walsall North BC | Walsall BC | Cannock CC | Brierley Hill CC | 19 |
Suffolk | 5 | 5 | ||||
Surrey | 19 | Croydon North East BC | Croydon East BC | Kingston upon Thames BC | 20 | |
Sussex (East) | 7 | Rye CC | Eastbourne CC | Brighton, Kemptown BC | 8 | |
Sussex (West) | 4 | 4 | ||||
Warwickshire | 22 | Meriden CC | Birmingham, Erdington BC | Nuneaton CC Sutton Coldfield CC (redesignated as a BC) | 23 | |
Westmorland | 1 | 1 | ||||
Wiltshire | 5 | 5 | ||||
Worcestershire | 6 | Dudley BC | 6 | |||
Yorkshire (East Riding) | 6 | Haltemprice CC | Beverley CC | Bridlington BC | 6 | |
Yorkshire (North Riding) | 6 | 6 | ||||
Yorkshire (West Riding) | 46 | Bradford West BC | Bradford Central BC | Colne Valley CC | 44 |
County | Seats 1950-55 | Created | Abolished | Major changes | Minor changes | Seats 1955-74 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anglesey | 1 | 1 | ||||
Breconshire and Radnorshire | 1 | 1 | ||||
Caernarvonshire | 2 | 2 | ||||
Cardiganshire | 1 | 1 | ||||
Carmarthenshire | 2 | Carmarthen CC | 2 | |||
Denbighshire | 2 | 2 | ||||
Flintshire | 2 | 2 | ||||
Glamorganshire | 16 | Swansea East BC | 16 | |||
Merionethshire | 1 | 1 | ||||
Monmouthshire | 6 | Monmouth CC | 6 | |||
Montgomeryshire | 1 | 1 | ||||
Pembrokeshire | 1 | 1 |
County | Seats 1950-55 | Created | Abolished | Major changes | Minor changes | Seats 1955-74 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aberdeenshire | 4 | Aberdeenshire East CC | Aberdeen North BC | 4 | ||
Angus and Kincardineshire | 4 | 4 | ||||
Argyll | 1 | 1 | ||||
Ayrshire and Bute | 5 | Bute and North Ayrshire CC | 5 | |||
Banffshire | 1 | 1 | ||||
Berwickshire and East Lothian | 1 | 1 | ||||
Caithness and Sutherland | 1 | 1 | ||||
Dumfriesshire | 1 | 1 | ||||
Dunbartonshire | 2 | 2 | ||||
Fife | 4 | 4 | ||||
Inverness-shire and Ross and Cromarty | 3 | 3 | ||||
Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire | 1 | 1 | ||||
Lanarkshire | 22 | Glasgow, Craigton BC | Glasgow, Camlachie BC | Glasgow, Bridgeton BC | 22 | |
Midlothian | 7 | Midlothian CC | Edinburgh Central BC | Edinburgh East BC | 8 | |
Midlothian and Peeblesshire | 1 | Midlothian and Peebles CC | - | |||
Moray and Nairnshire | 1 | 1 | ||||
Orkney and Shetland | 1 | 1 | ||||
Perthshire and Kinross-shire | 2 | 2 | ||||
Renfrewshire | 4 | 4 | ||||
Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire | 1 | Roxburgh and Selkirk CC | - | |||
Roxburghshire, Selkirkshire and Peebleshire | - | Roxburgh, Selkirk and | 1 | |||
Stirlingshire and Clackmannanshire | 3 | West Stirlingshire CC | 3 | |||
West Lothian | 1 | 1 |
County | Seats 1950-55 | Created | Abolished | Major changes | Minor changes | Seats 1955-74 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Antrim | 6 | 6 | ||||
Armagh | 1 | 1 | ||||
Down | 2 | 2 | ||||
Fermanagh and Tyrone | 2 | 2 | ||||
Londonderry | 1 | 1 |
Abbreviations
BC denotes a Borough Constituency; CC denotes a County Constituency.
CB - County borough; MB - Metropolitan borough; UD - Urban district; RD - Rural district
The parishes of Chaddesden and Littleover in Shardlow RD were transferred from South-East Derbyshire CC to Derby North BC and Derby South BC respectively.