This is a list of former parliamentary constituencies in the United Kingdom, organised by date of abolition. It includes UK parliamentary constituencies that have been abolished, including those that were later recreated, but does not include constituencies that were merely renamed. The date of creation of a constituency, in some cases, goes back to English and Welsh seats in the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...

and the Scottish constituencies in the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

. In some cases, constituencies in the unreformed House of Commons first received a summons to send representatives to Parliament at a date considerably earlier than the date after which they consistently received a summons. These cases are indicated in a note. No account is taken, in this article, of the temporary redistribution of constituencies used for the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and Second Protectorate Parliaments in the 1650s. ''See First Protectorate Parliament for a list of those constituencies.''

Constituencies to be abolished in the 2020s

Projected

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

Constituencies abolished in 2010

Constituencies abolished in 2005

The Scottish UK Parliamentary constituencies were reorganised following the creation of the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

, in order to remove the traditional over-representation put in place to compensate for the lack of national representation.

Constituencies abolished in 1997

The

Boundary Commission A boundary commission is a legal entity that determines borders of nations, states, constituencies. Notable boundary commissions have included: * Afghan Boundary Commission, an Anglo-Russian Boundary Commission, of 1885 and 1893, delineated the no ...

s' Fourth Periodical Review was completed in 1995. It recommended various changes, although most of the abolitions resulting from these took place in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Constituencies abolished in 1992

Due to the rapid expansion, the town of

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

, the Boundary Commission for England exceptionally recommended in 1990, between reviews, that it should be divided between two new constituencies.

Constituencies abolished in 1983

The

s' Third Periodical Review was completed in 1983, fourteen years after the previous review. It proposed wider changes than the two earlier reviews and abolished a large number of constituencies, although many constituencies were simply renamed to conform to local government districts created in 1974.

Constituencies abolished in 1974

The

s' Second Periodical Review was completed in 1969, but not implemented until the February 1974 election. Many of the constituencies it abolished were in inner city areas, which were losing population.

Constituencies abolished in 1955

The

s completed their First Periodical Reviews in 1954, as required by the 1944 Act. These reviews controversially recommended further abolitions and creations, including the abolition of some constituencies created only in 1950.

Constituencies abolished in 1950

The

s completed their Initial Review of Parliamentary Constituencies in 1947. This recommended a number of changes in order that the populations of constituencies ordinarily varied no more than 25% from an electoral

quota Quota may refer to: Economics * Import quota, a trade restriction on the quantity of goods imported into a country * Market Sharing Quota, an economic system used in Canadian agriculture * Milk quota, a quota on milk production in Europe * Indi ...

Constituencies abolished in 1945

The House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1944 established four

s. Their first task was to review the largest constituencies in the country and recommend division as appropriate. Many of these constituencies were in the population growth areas around London.

Constituencies abolished in 1922

The Government of Ireland Act 1920 provided for a reduced representation from the whole of Ireland. As a result of the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

and subsequent legislation,

Southern Ireland Southern Ireland, South Ireland or South of Ireland may refer to: *The southern part of the island of Ireland *Southern Ireland (1921–1922), a former constituent part of the United Kingdom *Republic of Ireland, which is sometimes referred to as ...

became the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

and ceased to have representation in the House of Commons and only the reorganisation of constituencies in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

took effect.

Constituencies abolished in 1918

The

Representation of the People Act 1918 The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The Act extended the franchise in parliamentary elections, also ...

, in addition to finally enfranchising women, provided for a redistribution of seats with the aim of equalising electorates, particularly where these had changed significantly since 1885. Many smaller seats were abolished while some larger ones were divided.

Constituencies abolished in 1885

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 disenfranchised boroughs with populations of less than 15,000, while several large towns and counties were subdivided into single member constituencies.

Constituencies abolished in 1870

Constituencies abolished in 1868

The

1867 Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1867, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102 (known as the Reform Act 1867 or the Second Reform Act) was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised part of the urban male working class in England and Wales for the first ...

disenfranchised the remaining boroughs with populations under 10,000 and subdivided some county constituencies.

Constituencies abolished between 1832 and 1867

St Albans and Sudbury were both disenfranchised for corruption. After some delay, their seats were redistributed by a special Act of Parliament. Two were given to create new Parliamentary boroughs, while the other two were given to the West Riding of Yorkshire, which was thereafter divided into two constituencies.

Constituencies abolished by the 1832 Reform Act

The

1832 Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...

saw the abolition of a wide range of rotten boroughs in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. There were also a few changes to Scottish constituencies.

Constituencies abolished 1529-1821

The disenfranchisement of

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

s was almost unknown in the unreformed House of Commons. Apart from a few special cases in the 16th century and the temporary redistribution of constituencies for the

and Second Protectorate Parliaments in the 1650s, no borough was disenfranchised until Grampound. The Cornish borough was abolished in 1821 in an effort to avoid the more sweeping reforms that later came with the

Constituency abolished 1472

A number of boroughs were represented in the Parliaments before 1467, but were not enfranchised in that year.

Constituencies abolished 1467

A number of boroughs were represented in the Parliaments before 1467 but were not enfranchised in that year.

Constituencies abolished between 1378 and 1441

A number of boroughs were represented in the Parliaments before 1378, but were not enfranchised by 1442. They were seldom, if at all, represented afterwards, until restored to the list of those regularly in receipt of writs of summons in later years.

Constituencies abolished between 1328 and 1376

A number of boroughs were represented in the Parliaments before 1328 but were not enfranchised by 1377. They were seldom, if at allm represented afterwards, until restored to the list of those regularly in receipt of writs of summons in later years.

Constituencies abolished between 1308 and 1327

A number of boroughs were represented in the Parliaments before 1308 but were not enfranchised by 1327. They were seldom, if at all, represented afterwards, until restored to the list of those regularly in receipt of writs of summons in later years.

Constituencies abolished between 1302 and 1307

A number of boroughs were represented in the Parliaments before 1302 but were not enfranchised by 1307. They were seldom, if at all, represented afterwards, until restored to the list of those regularly in receipt of writs of summons in later years.

Constituencies abolished 1298

A number of boroughs were represented in the Parliaments of 1298, but seldom, if at all, represented afterwards, until restored to the list of those regularly in receipt of writs of summons in later centuries.

Constituencies abolished 1295

A number of boroughs were represented in the

Model Parliament The Model Parliament is the term, attributed to Frederic William Maitland, used for the 1295 Parliament of England of King Edward I. History This assembly included members of the clergy and the aristocracy, as well as representatives from the v ...

of 1295, but were seldom, if at all, represented afterwards. Some boroughs originally included in the 1295 Parliament were restored to the list of those always summoned in later centuries or the same name was used for a constituency after 1832.

References

*''The House of Commons 1509-1558'', by S.T. Bindoff (Secker & Warburg 1982) *

F. W. S. Craig Frederick Walter Scott Craig (10 December 1929 – 23 March 1989) was a Scottish psephologist and compiler of the standard reference books covering United Kingdom Parliamentary election results. He originally worked in public relations, compilin ...

, ''British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987'' *

, ''

Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972 Boundary or Boundaries may refer to: * Border, in political geography Entertainment * ''Boundaries'' (2016 film), a 2016 Canadian film * ''Boundaries'' (2018 film), a 2018 American-Canadian road trip film * Boundary (cricket), the edge of the pl ...

'' (), Political Reference Publications,

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, 1972 * Frederic A Youngs, jr, ''Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England (London:

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

- Volume I 1979, Volume II 1991). *
Administration and Cost of Elections Project - The United Kingdom Redistribution Process
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Former United Kingdom Parliamentary Constituencies Former Parliamentary constituencies in the United Kingdom United Kingdom, Constituencies, United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies