Swindon North (UK Parliament constituency)

Last updated

Swindon North
County constituency
for the House of Commons
South West England - Swindon North constituency.svg
Boundary of Swindon North in South West England
County Wiltshire
Electorate 72,163 (2023) [1]
Major settlements Swindon (part), Highworth
Current constituency
Created 1997
Member of Parliament Will Stone (Labour)
SeatsOne
Created from Swindon

Swindon North is a constituency [n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Will Stone, a Labour politician. [n 2]

Contents

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was formally renamed from North Swindon to Swindon North, and first contested at the 2024 general election. [2]

History

North Swindon was created in 1997 and has been a bellwether since then. However, during the 2010s, the Conservatives won the constituency by much higher numbers than their national popular vote margin.

Boundaries

Swindon North (UK Parliament constituency)
Map of boundaries 2010-2024
Swindon North (UK Parliament constituency)
Map of boundaries from 2024

1997–2010: The Borough of Thamesdown wards of Blunsdon, Covingham, Gorse Hill, Haydon Wick, Highworth, Moredon, St Margaret, St Philip, Western, and Whitworth, and the District of North Wiltshire ward of Cricklade.

The seat's boundaries encompassed an area that before its creation made up parts of the former Swindon constituency and pre-1997 versions of North Wiltshire and Devizes.

2010–2024: The Borough of Swindon wards of Abbey Meads, Blunsdon and Highworth, Covingham and Nythe, Gorse Hill and Pinehurst, Haydon Wick, Moredon, Penhill, St Margaret, St Philip, and Western.

In the 2010 boundary changes, the town of Cricklade became part of the North Wiltshire constituency while this seat acquired parts of the South Swindon constituency.

2024–present: Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency is composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

In order to bring the electorate within the permitted range and align with revised ward boundaries, the districts of Covingham and Nythe were transferred to Swindon South.

Constituency profile

The constituency covers a northern part of central Swindon and its northern suburbs (the civil parish of Central Swindon North), and extends northward to take in Blunsdon, the market town of Highworth and the rural parishes surrounding that town.

North Swindon has an electorate of 79,488 (as of 2010), the majority of whom live in the suburbs or close to Swindon's town centre. In 2001, 52.9% of homes were into the categories of semi-detached or detached in the Swindon Local Authority area; after a 5.0% increase in flats/apartments in 2011, this figure had fallen slightly to 50.3%. In the same period, those registered unemployed rose from 2.5% to 4.2% and those self-employed rose from 6.2% to 7.8%. [4] In 2010, the unemployment rate for Swindon South was 2.6%, compared to 3.5% in Swindon North. This is one indicator of social deprivation and compares to a rate of 11.0% in 2010 in Birmingham Ladywood, the constituency with the highest rate nationally. [5]

Members of Parliament

ElectionMember [6] Party
1997 Michael Wills Labour
2010 Justin Tomlinson Conservative
2024 Will Stone Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Swindon North [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Will Stone [8] 17,930 40.6 +10.1
Conservative Justin Tomlinson 13,82731.3–27.2
Reform UK Les Willis [9] 7,55717.1N/A
Green Andy Bentley [10] 2,3665.4+2.3
Liberal Democrats Flo Clucas2,0864.7–3.2
Independent Debbie Hicks [11] 2600.6N/A
TUSC Scott Hunter1390.3N/A
Majority4,1039.3N/A
Turnout 44,16560.3–5.4
Registered electors 73,238
Labour gain from Conservative Swing Increase2.svg19.3

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result [12]
PartyVote %
Conservative 27,71958.5
Labour 14,46930.5
Liberal Democrats 3,7447.9
Green 1,4493.1
Turnout47,38165.7
Electorate72,163
General election 2019: North Swindon [13]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Justin Tomlinson 32,584 59.1 +5.5
Labour Kate Linnegar16,41329.8–8.6
Liberal Democrats Katie Critchlow4,4088.0+4.4
Green Andy Bentley1,7103.1+1.5
Majority16,17129.3+14.1
Turnout 55,11566.9–1.6
Conservative hold Swing +7.1
General election 2017: North Swindon [14]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Justin Tomlinson 29,431 53.6 +3.3
Labour Mark Dempsey21,09638.4+10.6
Liberal Democrats Liz Webster1,9623.6+0.3
UKIP Steve Halden1,5642.8–12.5
Green Andy Bentley8581.6–1.7
Majority8,33515.2–7.3
Turnout 54,91168.5+4.0
Conservative hold Swing –3.65
General election 2015: North Swindon [15] [16]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Justin Tomlinson 26,295 50.3 +5.7
Labour Mark Dempsey [17] 14,50927.8–2.7
UKIP James Faulkner [18] 8,01115.3+11.6
Green Poppy Hebden-Leeder1,7233.3+2.3
Liberal Democrats Janet Ellard [19] 1,7043.3–13.9
Majority11,78622.5+8.4
Turnout 52,24264.5+0.3
Conservative hold Swing +4.3
General election 2010: North Swindon [20] [21]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Justin Tomlinson 22,408 44.6 +5.7
Labour Victor Agarwal15,34830.5–14.6
Liberal Democrats Jane Lock8,66817.2+4.4
UKIP Stephen Halden1,8423.7+1.4
BNP Reg Bates1,5423.1N/A
Green Bill Hughes4871.0N/A
Majority7,06014.1N/A
Turnout 50,29564.2+3.4
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +10.1

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: North Swindon
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Michael Wills 19,612 43.7 –9.2
Conservative Justin Tomlinson 17,04138.0+4.3
Liberal Democrats Mike Evemy6,83115.2+3.6
UKIP Robert Tingey9982.2+0.3
Socialist Unity Andy Newman2080.5N/A
Independent Ernest Reynolds1950.4N/A
Majority2,5715.7–13.5
Turnout 44,88561.0Steady2.svg0.0
Labour hold Swing –6.7
General election 2001: North Swindon
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Michael Wills 22,371 52.9 +3.1
Conservative Nick Martin14,26633.7–0.1
Liberal Democrats David Nation4,89111.6–1.3
UKIP Brian Lloyd8001.9N/A
Majority8,10519.2+3.2
Turnout 42,32861.0–12.7
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: North Swindon
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Michael Wills 24,029 49.8
Conservative Guy Opperman 16,34133.8
Liberal Democrats Mike Evemy6,23712.9
Referendum Gillian Goldsmith1,5333.2
Natural Law Alexander Fisken1300.3
Majority7,68816.0
Turnout 48,27073.66
Labour win (new seat)

Neighbouring constituencies

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
  2. ↑ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

References

  1. ↑ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – South West". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  2. ↑ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – South West". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  3. ↑ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 7 South West region.
  4. ↑ "2011 census interactive maps". Archived from the original on 29 January 2016.
  5. ↑ "Unemployment claimants by constituency", The Guardian , 17 November 2010
  6. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 6)
  7. ↑ Swindon North
  8. ↑ "Labour selections: parliamentary candidates selected so far for the general election". LabourList . Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  9. ↑ . Reform UK Swindon North. 25 May 2023 https://www.facebook.com/groups/reformuk.swindonnorth/permalink/433934202686952/ . Retrieved 29 May 2024.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ↑ "Stand at the next general election". South West Green Party. 17 September 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  11. ↑ "Lockdown protester who filmed inside hospital to stand for election in Swindon". Swindon Advertiser. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  12. ↑ "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament . Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  13. ↑ Council, Swindon Borough. "Statement of Persons Nominated, Notice of Poll and Situation of Polling Stations North Swindon | Swindon Borough Council". www.swindon.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  14. ↑ "ELECTION 2017: Labour choose North Swindon candidate". Swindon Advertiser.
  15. ↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  16. ↑ "Swindon North parliamentary constituency - Election 2017". BBC News.
  17. ↑ "CLLR Mark Dempsey – PPC for North Swindon | North Swindon Labour". Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  18. ↑ "Swindon UKIP Branch".
  19. ↑ "General Election 2015 Candidates - Liberal Democrats". Archived from the original on 13 April 2014.
  20. ↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  21. ↑ "Election 2010 - Constituency - Swindon North". BBC News.
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