Chesterfield is a

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremac ...

since

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Toby Perkins Matthew Toby Perkins (born 12 August 1970) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Chesterfield since 2010. He has been Shadow Minister for Apprentices and Lifelong Learning since April 2020. Prev ...

of the Labour Party.

Constituency profile

The seat covers Chesterfield itself and the villages to the east. 59% of residents voted to leave the EU in 2016. Residents are slightly less healthy and wealthy than the UK average.

Boundaries

The current boundaries include the town of

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

, together with areas to the north towards

Dronfield Dronfield is a town in North East Derbyshire, England, which includes Dronfield Woodhouse and Coal Aston. It lies in the valley of the River Drone between Chesterfield and Sheffield. The Peak District National Park is to the west. The nam ...

and to the east towards

Bolsover Bolsover is a market town and the administrative centre of the Bolsover (borough), Bolsover District, Derbyshire, England. It is from London, from Sheffield, from Nottingham and from Derby, Derbyshire, Derby. It is the main town in the Bols ...

, comprising the Borough of Chesterfield wards: Brimington North, Brimington South, Brockwell, Dunston, Hasland, Hollingwood and Inkersall, Holmebrook, Linacre, Loundsley Green, Middlecroft and Poolsbrook, Moor, Old Whittington, Rother, St Helen's, St Leonard's, Walton, and West. The other two Borough of Chesterfield wards (Barrow Hill and New Whittington; Lowgates and Woodthorpe) fall within the neighbouring

North East Derbyshire North East Derbyshire is a local government district in Derbyshire, England. It borders the districts of Chesterfield, Bolsover, Amber Valley and Derbyshire Dales in Derbyshire, and Sheffield and Rotherham in South Yorkshire. The population ...

seat. Boundary changes before the 2010 general election, when the Mid Derbyshire constituency was created, meant that Chesterfield lost New Whittington to North East Derbyshire but otherwise retained its shape.

History

Chesterfield has mainly been a Labour seat, with periods when it has been held by other parties; it was gained by the Liberal Democrats in 2001 and held by them until 2010. Chesterfield was

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinat ...

for Labour from 1935 until 2001. Andrew Cavendish, later the Duke of Devonshire, was the

National Liberal National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal policies and issues with elements of nationalism. Historically, national liberalism has also been used in the same meaning as conservative liberalism (right-liberalism). A seri ...

candidate at the 1945 and 1950 elections. The seat was held in succession by two prominent Labour politicians for over 35 years. The former Labour cabinet minister

Eric Varley Eric Graham Varley, Baron Varley, (11 August 1932 – 29 July 2008) was a British Labour Party politician and cabinet minister on the right-wing of the party. Early life Varley was born at 15 Poolsbrook Square, Poolsbrook, Staveley, near C ...

held the seat from October 1964 to January 1984, and was succeeded by his ex-government colleague

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British politician, writer and diarist who served as a Cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s. A member of the Labour Party, ...

, who held the seat following a by-election in March 1984. He remained the town's MP until his retirement from the House of Commons in 2001, when he famously remarked that his decision was taken to "spend more time on politics". Benn had been a Labour Cabinet Minister between 1966–70 and 1974–1979, while Varley was in the Wilson and Callaghan cabinets in the latter period. Paul Holmes gained the seat for the Liberal Democrats at the 2001 general election, the party's first Commons seat in the East Midlands, but were narrowly defeated at the

by the Labour candidate

, one of only three seats the Labour Party gained at the 2010 general election. In 2015, a collapse in the Liberal Democrat vote nationwide had them fall behind to fourth place, the Conservatives move into second place, and Labour having their largest majority in the seat since 1979.

Members of Parliament

Election results

Elections in the 2010s

At the 2015 general election, this seat was the 25th most marginal constituency in Great Britain, the Liberal Democrats requiring a swing from Labour of 0.6% to take the seat (based on the result of the 2010 general election).

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1939–40: Another general election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected; *Labour:

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, pla ...

, *Conservative:

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1880s

Notes

References

;Specific ;General *Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. .
Guardian Unlimited Politics
(Election results from 1992 to the present) *http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/ (Election results from 1951 to the present)

External links

nomis Constituency Profile for Chesterfield
— presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chesterfield (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in Derbyshire Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1885 Chesterfield, Derbyshire