The constituency covers a substantial rural area of north-east Staffordshire, northeast of Stoke-on-Trent, and borders Derbyshire and Cheshire. The largest towns are Leek, with its cobbled square and a high street lined with independent boutiques, the Churnet valley and Biddulph, in which the famous Biddulph Grange Gardens is located. The area also includes the wooded, hillside village of Rudyard with its long man-made lake and miniature railway, and about 30% is in a sparsely populated part of the Peak District of small villages, including Wetton, site of Old Hannah's Cave. Other rural villages such as Longnor and Alton, home to the theme park Alton Towers make up the constituency. The southern part of Dove Dale on the border features rock climbing as well as Jacob's Ladder and Bertram's cave and well.
Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.1% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.[3]
History
The forerunner seat, Leek, existed for nearly a century until 1983, and in its more recent history alternated between the Labour and Conservative parties three times after a Liberal had held the seat from 1910 until 1918. Despite this alternation, it was far from a bellwether (that is, a reflection of the national result), as Leek leaned more towards one party more than the other in two phases:
In the second part of this period David Knox (Con), a pro-European, toward the left of his party, and a supporter of Ted Heath when he faced Margaret Thatcher's leadership challenge, helped to establish the Tory Reform Group. During his long tenure as MP until 1997 he held the seat even during the Wilson-Callaghan government.
Since Charlotte Atkins' win in 1997 the seat has indeed been a bellwether for the national result.
There has been a swing to the Conservatives in the past four consecutive elections (2010, 2015 and 2017, 2019) and now the Conservatives have a majority of over 37% in this seat.
The current MP, Karen Bradley, served in the cabinet of both of Theresa May's governments, but returned to the backbenches after Boris Johnson became Prime Minister.
Boundaries
Map of current boundaries
1983–1997: The District of Staffordshire Moorlands.
1997–2010: The District of Staffordshire Moorlands wards of Alton, Biddulph East, Biddulph Moor, Biddulph North, Biddulph South, Biddulph West, Caverswall, Cheddleton, Horton, Ipstones, Leek North East, Leek North West, Leek South East, Leek South West, Leekfrith, Longnor, Warslow, Waterhouses, Werrington, and Wetley Rocks, and the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme wards of Butt Lane, Kidsgrove, Newchapel, and Talke.
2010–present: The District of Staffordshire Moorlands wards of Alton, Bagnall and Stanley, Biddulph East, Biddulph Moor, Biddulph North, Biddulph South, Biddulph West, Brown Edge and Endon, Caverswall, Cellarhead, Cheddleton, Churnet, Dane, Hamps Valley, Horton, Ipstones, Leek East, Leek North, Leek South, Leek West, Manifold, and Werrington, and the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme ward of Newchapel.
The District of Staffordshire Moorlands wards of: Alton; Bagnall and Stanley; Biddulph East; Biddulph Moor; Biddulph North; Biddulph South; Biddulph West; Brown Edge and Endon; Caverswall; Cellarhead; Cheadle North East; Cheadle South East; Cheadle West; Cheddleton; Churnet; Dane; Hamps Valley; Horton; Ipstones; Leek East; Leek North; Leek South; Leek West; Manifold; Werrington.[4]
In order to bring the electorate within the permitted range, the town of Cheadle will be added from the current constituency of Stone (to be abolished). The Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme ward of Newchapel will be transferred to Stoke-on-Trent North.
History of boundaries
The constituency succeeded the former constituency of Leek at the 1983 general election. The boundary changes which took effect at the 1997 general election proved to be among the most controversial of all those proposed by the Boundary Commission.[5] Initially only minor changes were to be made: two rural wards to transfer to Stone (newly created).[5] However, in the same proposed boundary changes, the neighbouring community of Kidsgrove had been split between two constituencies, with two wards remaining in the constituency of Stoke-on-Trent North and two wards transferring to Newcastle-under-Lyme. At the local enquiry into the changes, it was argued that this division of Kidsgrove was unacceptable and the assistant commissioner consequently recommended that all four Kidsgrove wards be transferred instead to Staffordshire Moorlands.[5] To make way for the 19,000 voters in Kidsgrove (to that date shown to be heavily Labour-supporting,[5] two wards, Endon & Stanley and Brown Edge, were transferred to Stoke-on-Trent North, while two more rural wards were transferred to the Stone constituency. It was estimated that if the constituency had been fought on the pre-1997 Charlotte Atkins would have gained the seat by a majority of about 1,500 votes.[6]
The boundary changes, which took effect at the 2010 general election, effectively reversed these changes: four of the five Kidsgrove wards transferred to Stoke-on-Trent North, with only one mainly rural ward, Newchapel, remaining in Staffordshire Moorlands. Brown Edge and Endon & Stanley returned to Staffordshire Moorlands. It was estimated that if the constituency had been fought at the 2005 election under the current boundaries, Labour would have lost the seat by 1,035 votes as opposed to the 2,438 votes that Charlotte Atkins won on that occasion.[7][8]
The vote share change and hold status in 2010 comes from the notional, not actual, 2005 results because of boundary changes. Calculations of notional results (an estimate of how the seat would have voted in 2005 if it had existed then on the 2010 boundaries) suggested that the Conservatives would have won the seat, so the result in 2010 was classed as a Conservative "hold" by most sources.[16][17]
↑ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
Related Research Articles
Endon is a village within the Staffordshire Moorlands district of Staffordshire, England. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) southwest of Leek and 6 miles (9.7 km) north-northeast of Stoke-on-Trent. Endon was formerly a township in civil parish of Leek.
Staffordshire Moorlands is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. Its council is based in Leek, the district's largest town. The district also contains the towns of Biddulph and Cheadle, along with a large rural area containing many villages. North-eastern parts of the district lie within the Peak District National Park.
Cheadle is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The Churnet Valley Railway is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway in the Staffordshire Moorlands of Staffordshire, England. It operates on part of the former Churnet Valley Line which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway. The railway is roughly 10.5 miles (16.9 km) long from Kingsley and Froghall to Ipstones. The land from Leek Brook Junction to Ipstones was opened by Moorland & City Railways (MCR) in 2010 after they took a lease out from Network Rail. This has subsequently been purchased by the Churnet Valley Railway. The main stations along the line are Kingsley and Froghall, Consall, Cheddleton and Leek Brook. Work has begun to extend the line to the town of Leek which will act as the northern terminus of the line. The line between Leek and Waterhouses has also been reopened as part of the heritage railway as far as Ipstones.
Hazel Grove is a constituency in Greater Manchester represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by William Wragg, a Conservative.
Stoke-on-Trent North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Jonathan Gullis, a member of the Conservative Party.
Stoke-on-Trent South is a constituency created in 1950, and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Jack Brereton, a Conservative. The local electorate returned a Labour MP in every election until 2017, when Brereton became its first Conservative MP. The seat is non-rural and in the upper valley of the Trent covering half of the main city of the Potteries, a major ceramics centre since the 17th century.
Stone is a constituency in Staffordshire, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 1997 recreation by Sir Bill Cash, a Conservative. On 9 June 2023, he announced his intention to stand down at the next general election.
Staffordshire Moorlands District Council elections are held every four years. Staffordshire Moorlands District Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan district of Staffordshire Moorlands in Staffordshire, England. Since the last boundary changes in 2003, 56 councillors have been elected from 27 wards.
Ipstones railway station was a railway station that served the village of Ipstones, Staffordshire. It was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) in 1905 and closed to passenger use in 1935, but remained open to freight traffic until 1964.
The Waterhouses branch line was a railway built by the North Staffordshire Railway to link the small villages east of Leek, Staffordshire with Leek, the biggest market town in the area. The railway opened in 1905 but closed to passengers in 1935. Freight continued on the line though until 1988, when the line was mothballed as the traffic from the quarries at Caldon Low ceased.
The Stoke-on-Trent Green Belt is a green belt environmental and planning policy that regulates the rural space throughout mainly the West Midlands region of England. It is contained within the counties of Cheshire and Staffordshire. Essentially, the function of the designated area is to prevent surrounding towns and villages within the Stoke-on-Trent conurbation from further convergence. It is managed by local planning authorities on guidance from central government.
Leek railway station is the proposed and future terminus of the Churnet Valley Railway and is currently awaiting construction. It will be the second railway station in Leek.
There are a number of listed buildings in Staffordshire. The term "listed building", in the United Kingdom, refers to a building or structure designated as being of special architectural, historical, or cultural significance. Details of all the listed buildings are contained in the National Heritage List for England. They are categorised in three grades: Grade I consists of buildings of outstanding architectural or historical interest, Grade II* includes significant buildings of more than local interest and Grade II consists of buildings of special architectural or historical interest. Buildings in England are listed by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on recommendations provided by English Heritage, which also determines the grading.
Longsdon is a village and civil parish in the Staffordshire Moorlands district of Staffordshire, England, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southwest of Leek, on the A53 road.
Cheadle Rural District was a rural district in the administrative county of Staffordshire, England from 1894 to 1974, covering an area in the north of the county centred on the small town of Cheadle.
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