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 advise ...

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 "Unreformed House of Commons" is a name given to the House of Commons of Great Britain and (after 1800 the House of Commons of the United Kingdom) before it was reformed by the Reform Act 1832, the Irish Reform Act 1832, and the Scottish Reform ...

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 and

Second Protectorate Parliament The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons. In its first session, the House of Commons was its only chamber; in ...

s in the 1650s. ''See

First Protectorate Parliament The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the Ho ...

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 Is ...

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 Holyr ...

, 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 Commissions' 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 ...

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 The boundary commissions in the United Kingdom are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of constituencies for elections to the House of Commons. There are four boundary commissions: * Boundary Commission for ...

exceptionally recommended in 1990, between reviews, that it should be divided between two new constituencies.

Constituencies abolished in 1983

The Boundary Commissions' 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 Boundary Commissions' 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 The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

areas, which were losing population.

Constituencies abolished in 1955

The Boundary Commissions 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 Boundary Commissions 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.

Constituencies abolished in 1945

The

House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1944 The House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1944 (7 & 8 Geo.6. c.41) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that established permanent boundary commissions for each of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom, and provide ...

established four Boundary Commissions. 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 The Government of Ireland Act 1920 (10 & 11 Geo. 5 c. 67) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act's long title was "An Act to provide for the better government of Ireland"; it is also known as the Fourth Home Rule Bill ...

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 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 ...

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 dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

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, al ...

, 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 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 ...

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 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 saw the abolition of a wide range of

rotten borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorate ...

s 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 ...

. 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

. Apart from a few special cases in the 16th century and the temporary redistribution of constituencies for the First and

s 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 1832 Reform Act.

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 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, ''British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987'' * F. W. S. Craig, ''

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 pla ...

'' (), 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 ...

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 Englis ...

, 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