Forest of Dean is a constituency in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

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. T ...

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 suprema ...

since 2005 by

Mark Harper Mark James Harper (born 26 February 1970) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Transport since 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Forest of Dean since 2005. Harper w ...

, a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

who has served as Secretary of State for Transport since 2022.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The Sessional Divisions of Coleford, Lydney, Newent, and Newnham. 1918–1950: The Urban Districts of Awre, Coleford, Newnham, and Westbury-on-Severn, the Rural Districts of East Dean and United Parishes, Lydney, Newent, and West Dean, and part of the Rural District of Gloucester. 1997–2010: The District of Forest of Dean, and the Borough of Tewkesbury wards of Haw Bridge and Highnam. 2010–present: The District of Forest of Dean, and the Borough of Tewkesbury ward of Highnam with Haw Bridge. The constituency boundaries remained unchanged.

History

This seat was created for the 1885 general election (replacing the two-seat constituency of West Gloucestershire under the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...

), was redrawn for the 1918 general election, and abolished for the 1950 general election. It was re-created, with different boundaries, for the 1997 general election, and has thus far not undergone any boundary changes.

Constituency profile

The Forest of Dean constituency covers Gloucestershire west of the river Severn, and lies in the south west of England, near the Welsh border. The core of the constituency consists of the Royal

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to ...

itself, which was established by

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

nearly a thousand years ago and is one of the last surviving Royal Forests in England. The seat has a rich industrial and mining history, evidenced by the market towns of Coleford and

Cinderford Cinderford is a town and civil parish on the eastern fringe of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. The population was 8,777 at the 2021 Census. The town came into existence in the 19th century, following the rapid expansion of Cinde ...

, and the old port of

Lydney Lydney is a town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is on the west bank of the River Severn in the Forest of Dean District, and is 16 miles (25 km) southwest of Gloucester. The town has been bypassed by the A48 road since 199 ...

from where coal mined in the

Forest of Dean Coalfield The Forest of Dean Coalfield, underlying the Forest of Dean, in west Gloucestershire, is one of the smaller coalfields in the British Isles, although intensive mining during the 19th and 20th centuries has had enormous influence on the landscape, ...

would start its journey to all parts of the world.A Glance Back at Lydney Docks, Neil Parkhouse The Wye Valley forms the western border of the Forest and is an area of outstanding natural beauty, whilst the Leadon Valley forms the northern portion of the constituency. The Vale consists of countryside and farmland centred on the Tudor town of

Newent Newent (; originally called "Noent") is a market town and civil parish about 10½ miles (17 km) north-west of Gloucester, England. Its population was 5,073 at the 2001 census, rising to 5,207 in 2011, The population was 6,777 at the 2021 Census. ...

, and also produces English wine. The constituency also includes parishes from

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town has significant history in the Wars of the Roses and grew since the building of Tewkesbury Abbey. It stands at the confluence of the Ri ...

district, including Forthampton, Chaceley Hole, Hasfield, Ashleworth and Highnam.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1885–1950

MPs since 1997

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Election in the 1990s

Election in the 1940s

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1920s

Election results 1885-1918

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1914–15 A general election was due to take place by the end of 1915. By the autumn of 1914, the following candidates had been selected to contest that election. Due to the outbreak of war, the election never took place; *Liberal Party: Henry Webb *Labour Party:

James Wignall James Wignall (21 July 1856 – 10 June 1925) was a British Labour Party politician. He sat in the House of Commons for seven years from 1918 to 1925. In 1893 Wignall was appointed Secretary of the Swansea branches of the Dockers' Union and be ...