Huntingdonshire was a

Parliamentary 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 (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

covering the county of

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popu ...

in England. It was represented in the House of Commons of England until 1707, then in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and then 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 ...

the

Parliament of the United Kingdom 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 ...

from 1801 to 1885. It returned two

Knights of the Shire Knight of the shire ( la, milites comitatus) was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistribution ...

(apart from 1654 to 1659, when it returned three); when elections were contested, the bloc vote system was used. 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 ...

, it was divided between the new single-seat county divisions of

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

and

Ramsey Ramsey may refer to: Geography British Isles * Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, a small market town in England * Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England ** Ramsey and Parkeston, a civil parish formerly called just "Ramsey" * Ramsey, Isle of Man, t ...

with effect from the 1885 general election. Under the Representation of the People Act 1918, Huntingdon and Ramsey were re-united and the constituency was reconstituted, returning a single

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP). Subject to boundary changes for the 1983 general election, the constituency was succeeded by the re-established constituency of

. Its MP at the time, John Major, continued to represent it.

Boundaries

1918–1974: The administrative county of Huntingdonshire. 1974–1983: In 1965 Huntingdonshire was merged into the new administrative county of Huntingdon and Peterborough and in the next redistribution of parliamentary seats, which took effect for the February 1974 general election, the constituency was defined as comprising the Municipal Boroughs of Huntingdon and Godmanchester, and St Ives, the Urban Districts of Old Fletton, Ramsey, and St Neots, and the Rural Districts of Huntingdon, Norman Cross, St Ives, and St Neots.

Eaton Socon Eaton Socon is a community in south-west Cambridgeshire. Eaton Socon is a component of the town of St Neots, located on its south-west margin. Eaton Socon lies on the west side of the River Great Ouse, and is bounded on the west by the A1 road ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

had been absorbed by the Urban District of St Neots and was transferred from the County Constituency of Mid Bedfordshire. There were other marginal adjustments due to changes in county borders. Meanwhile, as a result of the Local Government Act 1972, the two counties of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely, and Huntingdon and Peterborough were merged to form the

non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a county-level entity in England that is not a metropolitan county. The counties typically have populations of 300,000 to 1.8 million. The term ''shire county'' is, however, an unoffi ...

of Cambridgeshire, with effect from 1 April 1974. However, the next redistribution did not come into effect until the 1983 general election, when the majority of the constituency, including

Godmanchester Godmanchester ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. It is separated from Huntingdon, to the north, by the valley of the River Great Ouse. Being on the Roman road network, the town has a lo ...

and St Ives, formed the bulk of the new County Constituency of

. Areas to the south of the

River Nene The River Nene ( or : see below) is a river in the east of England that rises from three sources in Northamptonshire.OS Explorer Map sheet 223, Northampton & Market Harborough, Brixworth & Pitsford Water. The river is about long, about of w ...

, including

Fletton Fletton is an area of the city of Peterborough, in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England, south of the River Nene. Notable for its large brickworks, the area has given its name to "Fletton bricks", Admin ...

and the Ortons, which were now part of the expanded City of Peterborough, were transferred to the Borough Constituency of

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

. Southernmost areas, including St Neots, were transferred to the new County Constituency of South West Cambridgeshire.

Members of Parliament

* ''Constituency created'' (1290)

1290–1660

MPs 1660–1885

MPs 1918–1983

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

Elections in the 1840s

Elections in the 1850s

Thornhill's death caused a by-election. Montagu succeeded to the peerage, becoming 7th

Duke of Manchester Duke of Manchester is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the current senior title of the House of Montagu. It was created in 1719 for the politician Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester. Manchester Parish in Jamaica was named afte ...

and causing a by-election. Securing the same number of votes, both Fellowes and Heathcote were returned alongside Rust as Members of Parliament. However, after scrutiny, Rust and Fellowes lost one vote, while Heathcote lost two, causing Heathcote to be declared unduly elected on 31 July 1857.

Elections in the 1860s

Montagu's appointment as

Vice-President of the Committee of the Council on Education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. The incumbent is a member of the C ...

required a by-election.

Elections in the 1870s

Pelly's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1930s

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 and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected; *Liberal National: Sidney Peters *Labour: James LunnonReport of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939

Elections in the 1940s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1970s

Notes and references

Notes References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Huntingdonshire (Uk Parliament Constituency) Politics of Huntingdonshire Parliamentary constituencies in the East of England (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1290 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1885 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1918 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1983