North Dorset is a

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 (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

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. ...

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 supremac ...

since 2015 by

Simon Hoare Simon James Hoare (born 28 June 1969) is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Dorset since May 2015. Education Hoare was educated at the Bishop Hannon High School, Cardiff, a Roman Catho ...

, 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 i ...

History

This seat was created by 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 ...

, since which it has been won at elections by candidates from only two parties. For nineteen of the years between 1885 and 1950, North Dorset was represented by

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

s, and at all other times since 1885 it has been represented by

s. It is historically one of Labour's weakest seats in the country - for example, it gave the party its lowest vote share out of all the seats it contested in 1950 and 1951.

Constituency profile

The constituency covers

North Dorset North Dorset was a local government district in Dorset, England. It was largely rural, but included the towns of Blandford Forum, Gillingham, Shaftesbury, Stalbridge and Sturminster Newton. Much of North Dorset was in the River Stour vall ...

local government district and most (geographically) of

East Dorset East Dorset was a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Dorset, England. Its council met in Wimborne Minster between 2016 and 2019. The district (as Wimborne) was formed on 1 April 1974 by merging Wimborne Minster Urban Dist ...

. It is largely rural, with a lower than average proportion of

social housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

and five small

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

s shown in the infobox. The largest town is

Verwood Verwood is a town and civil parish in eastern Dorset, England. The town lies north of Bournemouth and north east of Poole as the crow flies. The civil parish comprises the town of Verwood together with the extended village of Three Legged Cro ...

, and the most central is the market town of

Blandford Forum Blandford Forum ( ), commonly Blandford, is a market town in Dorset, England, sited by the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour about northwest of Poole. It was the administrative headquarters of North Dorset District until April 2019, when this ...

, north of the port of

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

Boundaries

1885–1918: The Borough of Shaftesbury, the Sessional Divisions of Blandford, Shaftesbury, and Sturminster, and part of the Sessional Division of Sherborne. 1918–1950: The Boroughs of Blandford Forum and Shaftesbury, the Urban District of Sherborne, the Rural Districts of Blandford, Shaftesbury, Sherborne, and Sturminster, and part of the Rural District of Wimborne and Cranborne. 1950–1974: The Boroughs of Blandford Forum and Shaftesbury, the Urban District of Wimborne Minster, and the Rural Districts of Blandford, Shaftesbury, Sturminster, and Wimborne and Cranborne. 1974–1983: As 1950 but with redrawn boundaries. 1983–1997: The District of North Dorset, the District of Wimborne wards of Colehill, Corfe Mullen Central, Corfe Mullen North, Corfe Mullen South, Crane, Holt, Sixpenny Handley, Sturminster Marshall, Vale of Allen, and Wimborne Minster, and the District of Purbeck wards of Lytchett Matravers and Lytchett Minster. 1997–2010: The District of North Dorset, and the District of East Dorset wards of Colehill, Crane, Holt, Longham, Sixpenny Handley, Stapehill, Sturminster Marshall, Vale of Allen, and Wimborne Minster. 2010–present: The District of North Dorset, and the District of East Dorset wards of Alderholt, Crane, Handley Vale, Holt, Stour, Three Cross and Potterne, Verwood Dewlands, Verwood Newtown, and Verwood Stephen's Castle.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1940s

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; *Conservative:

Angus Hambro Angus Valdemar Hambro (8 July 1883 – 19 November 1957) was a British Conservative Party politician. Early life Angus Valdemar Hambro was born on 8 July 1883. His father, Sir Everard Hambro, was a banker. His paternal grandfather, Carl Jo ...

*Liberal:

Frank Byers Charles Frank Byers, Baron Byers, (24 July 1915 – 6 February 1984) was a British Liberal Party politician who later became a life peer and Privy Councillor. Background Byers was born in Wallasey, Cheshire. He was the son of Charles Cecil By ...

*Labour: CL LanderReport of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1880s

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorset North Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1885 Parliamentary constituencies in Dorset