New Forest was a
county constituency
In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons.
Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called "constituenc ...
in south-west
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
which elected one
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 of ...
(MP) to 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
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 ...
.
It was first created under the
Redistribution of Seats Act for the
1885 general election, and was abolished for the
1918 general election, when it was partially replaced by the
New Forest and Christchurch
New Forest and Christchurch was a county constituency in Hampshire which elected one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United ...
constituency.
The seat was re-established for the
1950 general election and those thereafter, was significantly cut in size on the creation of the seat of
Romsey
Romsey ( ) is a historic market town in the county of Hampshire, England. Romsey was home to the 17th-century philosopher and economist William Petty and the 19th-century British prime minister, Lord Palmerston, whose statue has stood in the t ...
in 1983 and was abolished for the
1997 general election, when the
New Forest East and
New Forest West seats were created using its remaining components.
In the British TV series
''House of Cards'', this was the constituency represented by the main character,
Francis Urquhart
Francis Ewan Urquhart is a fictional character created by British politician and author Michael Dobbs. Urquhart is the main character in Dobbs's ''House of Cards'' trilogy of novels and television series: ''House of Cards'' (1990), ''To Play t ...
.
Boundaries
1885–1918: The Municipal Borough of Romsey, the Sessional Divisions of Lymington and Ringwood, part of the Sessional Division of Romsey, and the civil parishes of Chilworth and North Shoreham.
1950–1955: The Municipal Borough of Lymington, and the Rural Districts of New Forest, and Ringwood and Fordingbridge.
1955–1974: The Municipal Borough of Lymington, the Rural District of Ringwood and Fordingbridge, and part of the Rural District of New Forest.
1974–1983: The Rural Districts of New Forest, and Ringwood and Fordingbridge.
1983–1997: The District of New Forest wards of Barton, Bashley, Becton, Boldre, Bransgore and Sopley, Brockenhurst, Copythorne South, Downlands, Fordingbridge, Forest North, Forest North West, Forest South, Forest West, Hordle, Lymington Town, Lyndhurst, Milford, Milton, Pennington, Ringwood North, Ringwood South, and Sway.
Members of Parliament
MPs 1885–1918
MPs 1950–1997
Elections
Elections in the 1880s
Elections in the 1890s
Elections in the 1900s
Elections in the 1910s
Elections in the 1950s
Elections in the 1960s
Elections in the 1970s
Elections in the 1980s
Elections in the 1990s
See also
*
List of parliamentary constituencies in Hampshire
Notes and references
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Forest (Uk Parliament Constituency)
Parliamentary constituencies in Hampshire (historic)
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1885
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1918
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1950
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1997
New Forest District