Rugby is a
constituency represented in the
House of Commons 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 suprem ...
since its 2010 recreation by
Mark Pawsey, a
Conservative.
History
1885–1918: The Petty Sessional Divisions of Rugby, Southam, Burton Dassett and Kingston, and Kenilworth (except the parishes of Lillington and Milverton).
1918–1945: The Rural Districts of Farnborough, Monks Kirby, Rugby and Southam, the Rural District of Brailes (except the parishes of Ilmington and Stretton-on-Fosse), the parishes of Charlcote, Combrook, Compton Verney, Eatington, Kineton, Loxley, Moreton Morrell, Newbold Pacey, Wellesbourne Hastings and Wellesbourne Mountford in the Rural District of Stratford-on-Avon, and the Urban District of Rugby.
1945–1950:
1950–1974: The Municipal Borough of Rugby and the Rural District of Rugby.
1974–1983: The borough of Rugby and the rural district of Rugby as altered by The West Midlands Order 1965 and The Coventry Order 1965.
2010-: The Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth ward of Bulkington, and the Borough of Rugby wards of Admirals, Avon and Swift, Benn, Bilton, Brownsover North, Brownsover South, Caldecott, Earl Craven and Wolston, Eastlands, Fosse, Hillmorton, Lawford and King's Newnham, New Bilton, Newbold, Overslade, Paddox, and Wolvey.
Between 1950 and 1979, Rugby was a consistent Labour-Conservative marginal, often bucking the national swing (for example,
William Price held the seat for Labour with an increased majority in
1970 while the
Wilson government was defeated). Since its recreation in
2010, the seat has produced solid Conservative majorities.
Boundaries
;Historic boundaries
When first created in 1885, the Rugby division consisted of the Petty Sessional Divisions of Rugby,
Southam,
Burton Dassett and
Kington, and
Kenilworth except the parishes of
Lillington and
Milverton. The division as recommended by the Boundary Commissioners had a population of 49,291 in the 1881 Census.
Boundary changes in 1918 expanded the constituency to the south, while removing some areas near Leamington Spa. The constituency was defined as consisting of the
Urban District
Urban district may refer to:
* District
* Urban area
* Quarter (urban subdivision)
* Neighbourhood
Specific subdivisions in some countries:
* Urban districts of Denmark
* Urban districts of Germany
* Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (his ...
of
Rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
, the
Rural Districts
Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the a ...
of
Farnborough Farnborough may refer to:
Australia
* Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone
United Kingdom
* Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England
** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...
,
Monks Kirby
Monks Kirby is a village and civil parish in north-eastern Warwickshire, England. The population of the parish is 445. Monks Kirby is located around one mile east of the Fosse Way, around 8 miles north-west of Rugby, seven miles north-east o ...
,
Rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
and
Southam, together with the majority of
Brailes
Brailes is a civil parish about east of Shipston-on-Stour in Warwickshire, England. It includes the two villages of Lower and Upper Brailes but is often referred to as one village as the two adjoin each other. The parish includes the village o ...
Rural district (excepting only the two parishes of
Ilmington and
Stretton-on-Fosse which were in a detached part of Warwickshire). Finally, the division included several parishes which were in the east of Stratford-on-Avon Rural District: Charlcote,
Combrook,
Compton Verney,
Eatington
Ettington is a village and civil parish about south-east of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,171. The present village is on the A422 main road linking Stratford and Banbur ...
,
Kineton,
Loxley,
Moreton Morrell
Moreton Morrell is a village and civil parish in the county of Warwickshire, England. It is part of the historic hundred of Kington and is located about three and a half miles north west of the village of Kineton. The settlement was first ment ...
, Newbold Pacey,
Wellesbourne Hastings and Wellesbourne Mountford.
When changes were made to constituency boundaries in 1945 to split up some extremely large constituencies, Rugby was affected by the recommendations made as a result of the growth in electorate in the Coventry constituency. It gained some areas to the east of Coventry which had already been added to Rugby Rural District but were previously part of
Nuneaton division. This change added about 2,000 voters. The constituency was considerably reduced in area in boundary changes which came into effect in 1950, being reduced to simply the
Municipal Borough of Rugby and the
Rural District of Rugby. No alteration in boundaries was made as part of the First Periodical Review of Boundaries in 1954, and in the Second Periodical Review which came into effect in 1974, the definition remained the same although changes in local government boundaries meant that a minor change was made.
The Third Periodical Review of constituency boundaries expanded the Rugby constituency to the west. The constituency lost 6,545 of its 60,909 electors, in and around the villages of
Ansty and
Wolvey
Wolvey is a village and parish in Warwickshire, England. According to the 2011 census it had a population of 1,942, which increased to 2,121 at the 2021 census.
The village is located on the Warwickshire/Leicestershire border in an outlying p ...
, to Nuneaton. It then gained 16,600 electors from
Kenilworth, resulting in its renaming as
Rugby and Kenilworth.
;Current boundaries
Parliament accepted the
Boundary Commission's
Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which slightly altered this constituency for the
2010 general election since which it has
electoral wards:
*Admirals; Avon and Swift; Benn; Bilton; Brownsover North; Brownsover South; Caldecott; Earl Craven and Wolston; Eastlands; Fosse; Hillmorton; Lawford and King's Newnham; New Bilton; Newbold; Overslade; Paddox; Wolvey. ''in
Rugby Borough''
*Bulkington ''in the Borough of
Nuneaton and Bedworth''.
Constituency profile
The constituency consists of Census Output Areas of two local government districts with similar characteristics and that forming the bulk has a working population whose income is slightly above to the national average and lower than average reliance upon
social housing. At the end of 2012 the unemployment rate in the constituency stood as 2.3% of the population claiming jobseekers allowance, compared to the regional average of 4.4%.
The borough contributing to the bulk of the seat has a quite low 17.5% of its population without a car, 19.6% of the population without qualifications contrasted with a high 28.2% with level 4 qualifications or above by way of illustration. In terms of tenure 69.5% of homes are owned outright or on a mortgage as at the 2011 census across the district.
Members of Parliament
MPs 1885–1983
MPs since 2010
Elections
Elections in the 2010s
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 from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;
*Conservative:
David Margesson
*Liberal: M E Avery
*Labour: A E Millett
Elections in the 1930s
Elections in the 1920s
Elections in the 1910s
Elections in the 1900s
Elections in the 1890s
Elections in the 1880s
See also
*
List of parliamentary constituencies in Warwickshire
Notes
References
;Specific
;General
Craig, F. W. S. (1983). ''British parliamentary election results 1918-1949'' (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. .
External links
Catalogue of the Rugby Constituency Labour Party archives held at the
Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
{{Authority control
Borough of Rugby
Parliamentary constituencies in Warwickshire
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1885
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1983
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 2010