North West Cambridgeshire | |
---|---|
County constituency for the House of Commons | |
County | Cambridgeshire |
Electorate | 91,982 (2018) [1] |
Major settlements | Peterborough (part), Ramsey |
Current constituency | |
Created | 1997 |
Member of Parliament | Shailesh Vara (Conservative) |
Created from | Huntingdon, Peterborough |
North West Cambridgeshire is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2005 by Shailesh Vara of the Conservative Party. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
This safe Conservative Party seat includes a substantial part of the cathedral city of Peterborough, specifically the suburban areas to the south of the river Nene and west of the Soke Parkway, as well as several rural wards from the historic county of Huntingdonshire. While both Labour and the Liberal Democrats are competitive in some wards at local elections, the opposition is evenly divided, and there is a strong Conservative presence in all parts of the seat, ensuring a large majority for the Conservatives.
The London Road home of Peterborough United F.C. is located within the seat.
The seat was won upon its creation in 1997 by Sir Brian Mawhinney, former Conservative MP for Peterborough (which was gained at the same election by the Labour Party). He retired from the House of Commons in 2005 and was created Baron Mawhinney, of Peterborough in the county of Cambridgeshire. The Conservative Shailesh Vara has represented the constituency since the 2005 general election.
Liam Round was selected to be the Brexit Party candidate, but he withdrew on 10 November. [2] Peterborough City Councillor Ed Murphy was chosen as the Labour Party candidate, but was deselected by the party on 14 November after it was alleged, but not proven, that he had published tweets vilifying Israel. [3]
The constituency was formed primarily from northern, rural parts of the Huntingdon constituency, including Ramsey, together with parts of Peterborough, comprising residential areas to the south of the River Nene (wards of Fletton, Orton Longueville, Orton Waterville and Stanground).
Following their review of parliamentary representation in Cambridgeshire in 2005, the Boundary Commission for England made minor alterations to the existing constituencies to deal with population changes, including a small further gain from Huntingdon. There were also marginal changes to take account of the redistribution of City of Peterborough wards. These changes increased the electorate from 69,082 to 73,648. [6] On the enumeration date of 17 February 2000, the electoral quota for England was 69,934 voters per constituency. [6]
Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the constituency, previously the highest populated in the United Kingdom, is to be downsized. This is also due to population growth in the middle and south of Cambridgeshire, necessitating the creation of the new St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire seat, with the Huntingdon constituency absorbing many of Huntingdonshire District Council wards. [7]
From the next general election, due by January 2025, the constituency will be composed of the following wards (as they existed on 1st December 2020):
There are 33 council seats across the new constituency, 25 Unitary Authority Councillors (Peterborough), 8 Huntingdonshire Councillors.
Conservative 17 (9 in Peterborough, 8 in Huntingdonshire); Labour 2 (both in Peterborough); Liberal Democrat 3 (all in Peterborough); Green 3 (all in Peterborough); Independent 9 (8 in Peterborough, 1 in Huntingdonshire).
Election | Member [10] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
part of Huntingdon and Peterborough prior to 1997 | |||
1997 | Sir Brian Mawhinney | Conservative | |
2005 | Shailesh Vara | Conservative |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Shailesh Vara [11] | ||||
Green | Elliot Tong [12] | ||||
Majority | |||||
Turnout |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Shailesh Vara | 40,307 | 62.5 | +3.9 | |
Labour | Cathy Cordiner-Achenbach | 14,324 | 22.2 | -8.3 | |
Liberal Democrats | Bridget Smith | 6,881 | 10.7 | +5.7 | |
Green | Nicola Day | 3,021 | 4.7 | +2.7 | |
Majority | 25,983 | 40.3 | +12.2 | ||
Turnout | 64,533 | 68.0 | -0.8 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +6.1 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Shailesh Vara | 37,529 | 58.6 | +6.1 | |
Labour | Iain Ramsbottom | 19,521 | 30.5 | +12.6 | |
Liberal Democrats | Bridget Smith | 3,168 | 5.0 | -0.7 | |
UKIP | John Whitby | 2,518 | 3.9 | -16.2 | |
Green | Greg Guthrie | 1,255 | 2.0 | -1.5 | |
Majority | 18,008 | 28.1 | -4.3 | ||
Turnout | 63,991 | 68.8 | +2.2 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +3.2 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Shailesh Vara | 32,070 | 52.5 | +2.0 | |
UKIP | Peter Reeve [17] | 12,275 | 20.1 | +11.8 | |
Labour | Nick Thulbourn [17] | 10,927 | 17.9 | +1.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | Nicholas Sandford [18] | 3,479 | 5.7 | −16.2 | |
Green | Nicola Day [19] | 2,159 | 3.5 | New | |
CPA | Fay Belham | 190 | 0.3 | New | |
Majority | 19,795 | 32.4 | +3.8 | ||
Turnout | 61,100 | 66.6 | +1.0 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Shailesh Vara | 29,425 | 50.5 | +4.3 [22] | |
Liberal Democrats | Kevin Wilkins [23] | 12,748 | 21.9 | −1.0 | |
Labour | Chris York | 9,877 | 16.9 | −8.7 | |
UKIP | Robert Brown | 4,826 | 8.3 | +3.0 | |
English Democrat | Stephen Goldspink | 1,407 | 2.4 | New | |
Majority | 16,677 | 28.6 | |||
Turnout | 58,283 | 65.6 | +2.3 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Shailesh Vara | 22,504 | 45.8 | −4.0 | |
Labour | Ayfer Orhan | 12,671 | 25.8 | −5.6 | |
Liberal Democrats | John Souter | 11,232 | 22.9 | +7.1 | |
UKIP | Robert Brown | 2,685 | 5.5 | +3.5 | |
Majority | 9,833 | 20.0 | +1.6 | ||
Turnout | 49,092 | 61.6 | −0.1 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +0.8 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Brian Mawhinney | 21,895 | 49.8 | +1.7 | |
Labour | Anthea Cox | 13,794 | 31.4 | −0.8 | |
Liberal Democrats | Alastair Taylor | 6,957 | 15.8 | +0.7 | |
UKIP | Barry Hudson | 881 | 2.0 | +1.4 | |
Independent | David Hall | 429 | 1.0 | New | |
Majority | 8,101 | 18.4 | +2.5 | ||
Turnout | 43,956 | 61.7 | −12.5 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Brian Mawhinney | 23,488 | 48.1 | ||
Labour | Lee Steptoe | 15,734 | 32.2 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Barbara McCoy | 7,388 | 15.1 | ||
Referendum | Sandy Watts | 1,939 | 4.0 | ||
UKIP | William Wyatt | 269 | 0.6 | ||
Majority | 7,754 | 15.9 | |||
Turnout | 48,818 | 74.2 | |||
Conservative win (new seat) |
The City of Peterborough, commonly known as Peterborough, is a unitary authority district with city status in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The area is named after its largest settlement, Peterborough but also covers a wider area of outlying villages and hamlets.
Orton is a suburb of the City of Peterborough, in Cambridgeshire, England, about 3 miles (4.8 km) south west of Peterborough city centre to the south of the River Nene. It is located on the route of the A1.
Yaxley is a village and civil parish in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. Yaxley lies approximately 4 miles (6 km) south of Peterborough, just off the A15 road. The village is located near the Hampton township, and is approximately three miles northeast of junction 16 of the A1(M) at Norman Cross.
Stilton is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England, about 12 miles (19 km) north of Huntingdon in Huntingdonshire, which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as a historic county of England.
Huntingdon is a constituency west of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire and including its namesake town of Huntingdon. It has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2001 by Jonathan Djanogly of the Conservative Party.
Peterborough is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2019 by Paul Bristow of the Conservative Party.
Sawtry is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Sawtry lies approximately 8 miles (13 km) north of Huntingdon. Sawtry is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England. The village is home to over 6,000 people.
Haddon is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Haddon lies approximately 5 miles (8 km) south-west of Peterborough city centre, near to Chesterton and Yaxley. Haddon is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England.
Farcet is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Farcet lies approximately 2 miles (3 km) south of Peterborough city centre, between Yaxley and the Peterborough suburb of Old Fletton. Farcet is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England.
Hamerton is a village in and former civil parish, now in the parish of Hamerton and Steeple Gidding, in Cambridgeshire, England. Hamerton lies approximately 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Huntingdon. Hamerton is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England. Hamerton Zoo is on the north side of the village. The village has a church dedicated to All Saints. In 2001 the parish had a population of 87.
Fletton is an area of the city of Peterborough, in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England, south of the River Nene.
Huntingdonshire was a Parliamentary constituency covering the county of Huntingdonshire in England. It was represented by two Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of England until 1707, then in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and then in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885.
Woodston is a largely residential and industrial area of the city of Peterborough, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. For electoral purposes, it forms part of Fletton ward in North West Cambridgeshire constituency. Oundle Road runs through most of Woodston into the Ortons.
Peterborough City Council is the local authority for Peterborough in the East of England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. The City was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1874; from 1888, it fell within the jurisdiction of the Soke of Peterborough county council and from 1965, Huntingdon and Peterborough county council. In 1974, it was replaced by a wholly new non-metropolitan district, broadly corresponding to the Soke, in the new enlarged Cambridgeshire. In 1998, Peterborough became independent of Cambridgeshire as a unitary authority, but the city continues to form part of that county for ceremonial purposes as defined by the Lieutenancies Act 1997.
Nene Park Academy is a secondary academy school in Peterborough. The school was renamed in September 2011 when it converted to an academy upon joining Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust (CMAT). A new £15 million academy building was opened by Professor Robert Winston in February 2014. The academy's sponsorship by CMAT means it is partnered with the highly rated Swavesey Village College. Nene Park Academy is also home to Peterborough United Football Club's Youth Training Academy, and a partnership has been developed with the club.