Penrith and The Border 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
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
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
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
by
Neil Hudson, 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
Penrith and The Border was first contested in
1950
Events January
* January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
* January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...
since which it has to date been generally a
safe
A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body and ...
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 ...
seat and on rare occasions a
marginal
Marginal may refer to:
* ''Marginal'' (album), the third album of the Belgian rock band Dead Man Ray, released in 2001
* ''Marginal'' (manga)
* '' El Marginal'', Argentine TV series
* Marginal seat or marginal constituency or marginal, in polit ...
. The Conservatives came close to losing the seat in a
1983 by-election, when the former cabinet minister
'Willie' Whitelaw became the leader of the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
: the by-election took place a mere seven weeks after his success in the
1983 general election. Since that year the
Liberal Democrats have come second behind the Conservatives until the
2015 general election when they came fourth. At the two subsequent general elections they have come third.
History of boundaries
1950–1983: The Urban District of Penrith, and the Rural Districts of Alston with Garrigill, Border, Penrith, and Wigton.
1983–1997: The
District of Eden wards of Alston Moor, Appleby, Appleby Bongate, Askham, Brough, Crosby Ravensworth, Dacre, Eamont, Greystoke, Hartside, Hesket, Kirkby Thore, Kirkoswald, Langwathby, Lazonby, Long Marton, Lowther, Penrith East, Penrith North, Penrith South, Penrith West, Skelton, Ullswater, and Warcop, the
City of Carlisle
The City of Carlisle ( , ) is a local government district of Cumbria, England, with the status of a city and non-metropolitan district. It is named after its largest settlement, Carlisle, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns ...
wards of Arthuret, Brampton, Burgh, Dalston, Great Corby and Geltsdale, Hayton, Irthing, Lyne, St Cuthbert Without, Stanwix Rural, and Wetheral, and the
District of Allerdale wards of Aspatria, Boltons, Marsh, Silloth, Tarns, Wampool, Warnell, Waver, and Wigton.
1997–2010: The District of Eden, the City of Carlisle wards of Arthuret, Brampton, Great Corby and Geltsdale, Hayton, Irthing, Lyne, Stanwix Rural, and Wetheral, and the District of Allerdale wards of Marsh, Wampool, Warnell, and Wigton.
2010–present: The District of Eden, the City of Carlisle wards of Brampton, Great Corby and Geltsdale, Hayton, Irthing, Longtown and Rockcliffe, Lyne, and Stanwix Rural, and the District of Allerdale wards of Warnell and Wigton.
The constituency was created in 1950 by merging part of
Penrith and Cockermouth with
North Cumberland. It was redrawn in 1983 by taking in most of the northern part of the old
Westmorland
Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...
constituency and in 1997 by taking in the Kirkby Stephen and Tebay areas of the pre-1997
Westmorland and Lonsdale
Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...
constituency by doing so the constituency covered the entire district of Eden. The constituency also includes parts of Allerdale and Carlisle districts but has been losing parts of these areas to other seats at each boundary review.
Penrith and The Border is the largest constituency by area 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 ...
. Despite the name, it only includes part of the English border with Scotland. The neighbouring constituency of
Hexham
Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...
(together with
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...
) also takes in the border area. The name stems from the fact that when the constituency was first created it consisted of the
Penrith Rural and Urban Districts, the
Border Rural District
{{coord, 54.895, -2.934, display=title, region:GB_scale:10000
Border was a rural district of Cumberland, England from 1934 to 1974.
It was formed by a County Review Order in 1934, by a merger of Longtown Rural District, most of Brampton Rural Di ...
and also the
Alston with Garrigill Rural District.
Constituency profile
A heavily undulating, mostly farmed terrain dotted by market towns and historic villages, with wooded mountainsides and heath-covered tops, the constituency is focused on the
Eden Valley between the
Pennines
The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...
and the
Lake District
The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
, with the vale of the
River Irthing
The River Irthing is a river in Cumbria, England and a major tributary of the River Eden. The name is recorded as Ard or Arden in early references. For the first 15 miles of its course it defines the border between Northumberland and Cumbria.
...
above Carlisle. In the north towards
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 ...
are 8 of its 42
wards
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...
all beside or in the market town of
Brampton
Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipalit ...
which sits beside
Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall ( la, Vallum Aelium), also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Hadriani'' in Latin, is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. R ...
.
The constituency tends to have modest incomes, low unemployment and a rate of dependency on
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 ...
lower than urban centres.
Members of Parliament
The seat was represented for nearly three decades by William Whitelaw, who served as a cabinet minister in various capacities during Conservative governments of the 1970s and 1980s and later joined the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
.
His successor, the former Conservative Chief Whip and junior minister, David Maclean, sat as MP from 1983 to 2010, when he stood down due to the state of his health; he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1996.
Maclean was succeeded by Rory Stewart in May 2010. In September 2019 Rory Stewart had the Conservative whip withdrawn and therefore sat as an Independent MP.
At the December 2019 General Election, Neil Hudson of the Conservative Party became the new MP.
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
See also
*
1983 Penrith and The Border by-election
*
List of parliamentary constituencies in Cumbria
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Penrith And The Border (Uk Parliament Constituency)
Parliamentary constituencies in North West England
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1950
Politics of Cumbria
Politics of Allerdale