Wantage (UK Parliament constituency)
Wantage | |
---|---|
Former county constituency for the House of Commons | |
County | Oxfordshire |
Electorate | 90,876 (December 2019) |
Major settlements | Wantage, Didcot, Wallingford, Faringdon |
1983–2024 | |
Seats | One |
Created from | Abingdon (majority of) (note: abolished) |
Replaced by | Didcot and Wantage |
Wantage was a constituency[n 1] in Oxfordshire represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.[n 2]
Its final MP was the Conservative David Johnston, who was first elected at the 2019 general election replacing Ed Vaizey who served as MP for Wantage for 14 years after first being elected at the 2005 general election.[1]
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished. Subject to a reduction in size, with northern and western areas, including the town of Faringdon, being transferred to Witney, it was reformed as Didcot and Wantage, to be first contested at the 2024 general election.[2]
Constituency profile
[edit]The Wantage constituency covered the south-western part of Oxfordshire. There were three market towns in the constituency: Faringdon, Wallingford and Wantage. All have tourist attractions, Wantage having monuments to being the birthplace of King Alfred the Great, Wallingford, ancient enclosure walls of a castle and a medieval bridge.[n 3] Faringdon bears a scar of the English Civil War as its church lost its steeple. The largest town in the constituency was Didcot, which grew up around the Great Western Railway when Isambard Kingdom Brunel built a branch line from its main line between London and Bristol to Oxford, siting the junction at the then-sparsely-populated parish and it has a power station and many major national construction and aggregate industries.
The constituency was mostly rural in character, with more than 400 farms in operation. Included were the Uffington White Horse and The Ridgeway, a prehistoric road, runs along its southern border. The River Thames runs along the northern and western border. The area is affluent and Conservative in nature containing many commuters with fast transport links to London, with Didcot the only area with a strong Labour vote locally. The seat includes international race horse breeders and trainers with racing stables across a broad area that reaches into the Lambourn Downs, crossing over the southern border into the Newbury constituency in Berkshire.
Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 1.6% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.
History
[edit]The constituency was created for the 1983 general election further to the Third Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. This followed on from the reorganisation of local government under the Local Government Act 1972 which came into force in April 1974, and saw the bulk of the area represented by the constituency of Abingdon in Berkshire being transferred to Oxfordshire. Under the Review, the majority of the Abingdon constituency formed the new constituency of Wantage, with the town of Abingdon-on-Thames and areas to the west of Oxford being included in the new constituency of Oxford West and Abingdon.
The first MP for Wantage was Robert Jackson, who served as a junior minister under both Margaret Thatcher and John Major. Jackson defected to the Labour Party in 2005 shortly before standing down as an MP for the 2005 general election. At that election, Ed Vaizey was elected as MP for Wantage and 2010-2016 held the post of Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries.
Ed Vaizey served as MP for Wantage until the 2019 general election whereby Vaizey announced that he would be standing down. Shortly prior to this, Vaizey had the Conservative whip removed after voting against Prime Minister Boris Johnson on 3 September 2019.[3] Vaizey had the Conservative whip restored on 29 October 2019.[4] This meant that, for a brief time, Wantage was represented by an independent MP. David Johnston was selected as the Conservative candidate to represent Wantage and was duly elected as the new MP for Wantage at the 2019 general election.[5]
The seat, including its forerunner, was won by Conservative Party candidates since 1924. The 2015 result made the seat the 76th-safest of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority.[6]
All five parties' candidates achieved more than the deposit-retaining threshold of 5% of the vote in 2015. Social Democrat candidate Winifred Tumin won the largest third-party share of the vote to date, in the 1983 election — 32.3% of the vote.
Boundaries and boundary changes
[edit]1983–2010
[edit]- The District of Vale of White Horse wards of Appleton, Craven, Drayton, Faringdon and Littleworth, Greendown, Grove, Harwell and Chilton, Hendred, Icknield, Island Villages, Kingston Bagpuize and Southmoor, Longworth, Marcham, Segsbury, Shrivenham, Stanford, Steventon, Sutton Courtenay, The Coxwells, and Upton and Blewbury; and
- The District of South Oxfordshire wards of Brightwell, Cholsey, Didcot North, Didcot Northbourne, Didcot South, Hagbourne, and Wallingford.[7][8]
The new constituency included Wantage, Wallingford, Faringdon and Didcot which had previously all been part of the abolished constituency of Abingdon.
2010–2024
[edit]- The District of Vale of White Horse wards of Blewbury and Upton, Craven, Drayton, Faringdon and The Coxwells, Greendown, Grove, Hanneys, Harwell, Hendreds, Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor, Longworth, Marcham and Shippon, Shrivenham, Stanford, Sutton Courtenay and Appleford, Wantage Charlton, and Wantage Segsbury; and
- The District of South Oxfordshire wards of Brightwell, Cholsey and Wallingford South, Didcot All Saints, Didcot Ladygrove, Didcot Northbourne, Didcot Park, Hagbourne, and Wallingford North.[9]
Marginal changes due to the realignment of the boundaries following changes to local authority wards.
Abolition
[edit]Under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the Boundary Commission for England proposed boundary changes to the Wantage constituency to reduce the number of electorate in the constituency.[10] At the time of the 2019 General Election, Wantage's total electorate was 90,845, making it the largest constituency in Oxfordshire and the 13th largest in the United Kingdom.[11] The proposals reduced the total electorate to 74,356 which is significantly closer to the average electorate of 72,200 for constituencies in England.[12][13]
The commission proposed the renaming of the Wantage constituency to Didcot and Wantage.[14] The boundary changes saw the wards of Faringdon, Kingston Bagpuize, Thames, and Watchfield and Shrivenham move into the Witney constituency, whilst the new Didcot and Wantage constituency absorbed the small villages of Clifton Hampden, Culham, Nuneham Courtenay and Sandford-on-Thames from the Henley constituency.[15][16]
Members of Parliament
[edit]Election | Member[17] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Robert Jackson | Conservative | |
Jan 2005 | Labour[18] | ||
2005 | Ed Vaizey | Conservative | |
Oct 2019 | Independent[19] | ||
Conservative | |||
2019 | David Johnston | Conservative |
Elections
[edit]Elections in the 2010s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | David Johnston | 34,085 | 50.7 | 3.5 | |
Liberal Democrats | Richard Benwell | 21,432 | 31.9 | 17.4 | |
Labour | Jonny Roberts | 10,181 | 15.2 | 11.7 | |
Independent | Mark Gray | 1,475 | 2.2 | New | |
Majority | 12,653 | 18.8 | 8.5 | ||
Turnout | 67,173 | 73.9 | 1.4 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | 10.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Ed Vaizey | 34,459 | 54.2 | +0.9 | |
Labour Co-op | Rachel Eden | 17,079 | 26.9 | +10.9 | |
Liberal Democrats | Christopher Carrigan | 9,234 | 14.5 | +1.4 | |
Green | Sue Ap-Roberts | 1,546 | 2.4 | −2.7 | |
UKIP | David McLeod | 1,284 | 2.0 | −10.5 | |
Majority | 17,380 | 27.3 | −10.0 | ||
Turnout | 63,602 | 72.5 | +2.2 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | -4.95 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Ed Vaizey | 31,092 | 53.3 | +1.3 | |
Labour | Stephen Webb | 9,343 | 16.0 | +2.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | Alex Meredith | 7,611 | 13.1 | −14.8 | |
UKIP | Lee Upcraft | 7,288 | 12.5 | +8.2 | |
Green | Kate Prendergast | 2,986 | 5.1 | +3.2 | |
Majority | 21,749 | 37.3 | +17.2 | ||
Turnout | 58,320 | 70.3 | +0.3 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | -0.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Ed Vaizey | 29,284 | 52.0 | +8.9 | |
Liberal Democrats | Alan Armitage | 15,737 | 27.9 | +0.3 | |
Labour | Steven Mitchell | 7,855 | 13.9 | −10.0 | |
UKIP | Jacqueline Jones | 2,421 | 4.3 | +2.8 | |
Green | Adam Twine | 1,044 | 1.9 | −0.7 | |
Majority | 13,547 | 24.1 | +8.7 | ||
Turnout | 56,341 | 70.0 | +1.9 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +4.3 |
Elections in the 2000s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Ed Vaizey | 22,354 | 43.0 | +3.4 | |
Liberal Democrats | Andrew Crawford | 14,337 | 27.6 | −0.4 | |
Labour | Mark McDonald | 12,464 | 24.0 | −4.2 | |
Green | Adam Twine | 1,332 | 2.6 | +0.4 | |
UKIP | Nikolai Tolstoy | 798 | 1.5 | −0.4 | |
English Democrat | Gerald Lambourne | 646 | 1.2 | New | |
Majority | 8,017 | 15.4 | +4.0 | ||
Turnout | 51,931 | 68.2 | +3.7 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +1.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Jackson | 19,475 | 39.6 | −0.2 | |
Labour | Stephen Beer | 13,875 | 28.2 | −0.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | Neil Fawcett | 13,776 | 28.0 | +1.5 | |
Green | David Brooks-Saxl | 1,062 | 2.2 | +1.1 | |
UKIP | Nikolai Tolstoy | 941 | 1.9 | +1.1 | |
Majority | 5,600 | 11.4 | +0.5 | ||
Turnout | 49,129 | 64.5 | −13.6 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +0.3 |
Elections in the 1990s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Jackson | 22,311 | 39.8 | −14.2 | |
Labour | Celia Wilson | 16,222 | 28.9 | +9.4 | |
Liberal Democrats | Jenny Riley | 14,862 | 26.5 | −2.4 | |
Referendum | Stuart Rising | 1,549 | 2.8 | New | |
Green | Miriam Kennet | 640 | 1.1 | −0.4 | |
UKIP | Nikolai Tolstoy | 465 | 0.8 | New | |
Majority | 6,089 | 10.9 | −18.2 | ||
Turnout | 56,049 | 78.1 | −4.6 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Jackson | 30,575 | 54.1 | +0.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | RMC Morgan | 14,102 | 25.0 | −5.5 | |
Labour Co-op | Vivian Woodell | 10,955 | 19.4 | +3.9 | |
Green | RJ Ely | 867 | 1.5 | New | |
Majority | 16,473 | 29.1 | +5.6 | ||
Turnout | 56,499 | 82.7 | +4.8 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +2.8 |
Elections in the 1980s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Jackson | 27,951 | 54.0 | +1.1 | |
SDP | Winifred Tumim | 15,795 | 30.5 | −1.8 | |
Labour | Stephen Ladyman | 8,055 | 15.5 | +1.0 | |
Majority | 12,156 | 23.5 | +2.9 | ||
Turnout | 51,801 | 77.9 | +1.0 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +1.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Jackson | 25,992 | 52.9 | ||
SDP | Winifred Tumim | 15,867 | 32.3 | ||
Labour | Andrew Popper | 7,115 | 14.5 | ||
Wessex Regionalist | AP Mockler | 183 | 0.4 | ||
Majority | 10,125 | 20.6 | |||
Turnout | 49,157 | 76.9 | |||
Conservative win (new seat) |
Neighbouring constituencies
[edit]See also
[edit]- List of parliamentary constituencies in Oxfordshire
- Banbury (UK Parliament constituency)
- Henley (UK Parliament constituency)
- Oxford East (UK Parliament constituency)
- Oxford West and Abingdon (UK Parliament constituency)
- Witney (UK Parliament constituency)
Notes
[edit]- ^ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
- ^ 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.
- ^ The town was granted a Royal Charter in 1155 and sent two MPs from 1295 until 1832, see Wallingford (UK Parliament constituency)
References
[edit]- ^ "Rt Hon Edward Vaizey". UK Parliament. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – South East | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
- ^ "Brexit showdown: Who were Tory rebels who defied Boris Johnson?". BBC News. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- ^ "Boris Johnson readmits 10 Brexit rebels to Tory party". BBC News. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- ^ a b "Wantage Parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- ^ "Conservative Members of Parliament 2015". UK Political.info. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983" (PDF).
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995".
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007".
- ^ Lynch, David (9 June 2021). "What the new election boundaries for Oxfordshire could look like". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
- ^ "Wantage Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
- ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – South East | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
- ^ "Parliamentary constituencies". UK Parliament. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
- ^ "South East". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
- ^ Courts, Robert (8 June 2021). "Robert Responds to Boundary Commission's Initial Proposals". Robert Courts MP. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
- ^ "Our proposals for South East". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 1)
- ^ See List of British politicians who have crossed the floor#2001–2005 Parliament
- ^ (Lost Conservative whip for voting to stop a no deal Brexit, reinstated on October 29)
- ^ "Wantage Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Parliamentary election - Vale of White Horse District Council". 17 June 2015. Archived from the original on 17 June 2015.
- ^ "Wantage". bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
External links
[edit]- Wantage UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
- Wantage UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK