North Shropshire 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, ...

in the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

, 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 ...

Helen Morgan Helen Morgan may refer to: *Helen Morgan (singer) Helen Morgan (née Riggins; August 2, 1900 – October 9, 1941) was an American singer and actress who worked in films and on the stage. A quintessential torch singer, she made a big splash in ...

of the Liberal Democrats after a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

on 16 December 2021. The former MP,

Owen Paterson Owen William Paterson (born 24 June 1956) is a British former politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2010 to 2012 and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2012 to 2014 under Prime Minist ...

of the

Conservatives 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 in ...

, resigned his seat on 5 November 2021 when faced with suspension from the Commons for a breach of advocacy rules and the consequent possibility of a recall petition. The seat had previously been a

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinat ...

for the Conservatives.

Constituency profile

The area is rural and north of

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

, west of

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme ( RP: , ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 1 ...

in the Stoke conurbation, south of

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

and

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

, having five small towns (in size order):

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

Market Drayton Market Drayton is a market town and electoral ward in the north of Shropshire, England, close to the Cheshire and Staffordshire borders. It is on the River Tern, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" (c. 1868) and earlier simply as "D ...

, Whitchurch, Wem and Ellesmere. Residents' health and wealth are similar to UK averages.

History

From its first creation in 1832 to the abolition of the first creation in 1885 the constituency covered approximately half of the county and elected two members, formally

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 ...

. In 1885 the county was (together with

South Shropshire South Shropshire was, between 1974 and 2009, a local government district in south west Shropshire, England. South Shropshire was the most rural district of one of the UK's most rural counties, the population of the district was 40,410 in 2001 s ...

) divided between four constituencies:

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The t ...

, Newport,

and

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. In 1983 the constituency was revived in a smaller form and elects 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) by the

first past the post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

system of election.

was appointed to be the

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

in May 2010 and from the September 2012 Cabinet reshuffle,

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, also referred to as the environment secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = H ...

, until another reshuffle in June 2014. Paterson resigned in November 2021 for breaching Commons lobbying rules while working for two firms as a consultant. A

was held on 16 December 2021, triggered by the resignation and was won by

for the Liberal Democrats with a 34% swing. The swing was seventh largest in United Kingdom by-election history.

Boundaries

1832–1885: The Hundreds of Oswestry, Pimhill, North Bradford and South Bradford, as well as the Liberty of Shrewsbury. 1983–1997: The District of North Shropshire, the Borough of Oswestry and the District of the Wrekin, wards of Church Aston, Edgmond, Ercall Magna, Newport East, Newport North, Newport West. 1997–present: The District of North Shropshire and the Borough of Oswestry. The district councils of

North Shropshire North Shropshire was a local government district in Shropshire, England from 1974 to 2009. The district council was based at Edinburgh House in Wem. Other settlements included the towns of Ellesmere, Market Drayton, Wem and Whitchurch, as w ...

and

were abolished in 2009.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1832–1885

*''Constituency created in'' 1832

MPs since 1983

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s

Class War Class War is an anarchist group and newspaper established by Ian Bone and others in 1983 in the United Kingdom. An incarnation of Class War was briefly registered as a political party for the purposes of fighting the 2015 United Kingdom gener ...

originally selected Al Derby as a candidate here, but he changed to

Wolverhampton North East Wolverhampton North East is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It is currently represented b ...

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1870s

* Caused by Gore's elevation to the peerage, becoming Lord Harlech.

Elections in the 1860s

* Caused by Brownlow-Cust's elevation to the peerage, becoming 3rd Earl Brownlow. * Caused by Cust's resignation.

Elections in the 1850s

Elections in the 1840s

* Caused by Herbert's succession to the peerage, becoming 3rd

Earl of Powis Earl of Powis (Powys) is a title that has been created three times. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1674 in favour of William Herbert, 3rd Baron Powis, a descendant of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (c. 1501–15 ...

* Caused by Hill's succession to the peerage, becoming 2nd

Viscount Hill Viscount Hill, of Hawkstone and of Hardwicke in the County of Salop, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1842 for General Rowland Hill. He had already been created Baron Hill, of Almaraz and of Hawkstone in the C ...

Elections in the 1830s

References

Sources

UK Polling Report
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shropshire North Parliamentary constituencies in Shropshire Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1832 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1885 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1983