Saffron Walden 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, ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

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

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Kemi Badenoch Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch ( ; née Adegoke, 2 January 1980) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for International Trade, President of the Board of Trade and Minister for Women and Equalities since 2022. She previously served in ...

, 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

Saffron Walden was one of eight single-member divisions of Essex (later classified as county constituencies) 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 ...

, replacing the three two member divisions of East, South and West Essex. The boundaries were redrawn under the

Representation of the People Act 1918 The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The Act extended the franchise in parliamentary elections, also ...

, then remaining virtually unchanged until changes brought in for the 2010 general election by the

Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies The Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies was undertaken between 2000 and 2007 by the four boundary commissions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the UK Parliament. The changes for England, Wales and Northern I ...

. This has 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 ...

based on election results since 1922, in which period the majorities have occasionally been

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 ...

. However, the constituency now has a Conservative majority of over 27,000.

Boundaries and boundary changes

1885–1918: The Borough of Saffron Walden, the Sessional Divisions of Freshwell, Hinckford North, and Walden, part of the Sessional Division of Hinckford South (Halstead Bench), the part of the Borough of Sudbury in the county of Essex, and the parish of Thaxted. Formed from northern parts of the abolished West Division of Essex including the Municipal Borough of Saffron Walden, and northern parts of the abolished East Division. 1918–1950: The Borough of Saffron Walden, the Urban District of Halstead, and the Rural Districts of Belchamp, Bumpstead, Dunmow, Halstead, Saffron Walden, and

Stansted London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London. London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acro ...

. Gained northern parts of

Epping Epping may refer to: Places Australia * Epping, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Epping railway station, Sydney * Electoral district of Epping, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Epping Forest, Kearns, a he ...

, including

Great Dunmow Great Dunmow is a historic market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It is situated on the north of the A120 road, approximately midway between Bishop's Stortford and Braintree, five miles east of London Stanst ...

and

Hatfield Broad Oak Hatfield Broad Oak (also known as Hatfield Regis) is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The village is approximately south-east of Bishop's Stortford. Near the church of St Mary the Virgin is former Benedic ...

, and northern parts of

Maldon Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the River Blackwater, Essex, Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea ...

, including

Halstead Halstead is a town and civil parish in the Braintree District of Essex, England. Its population of 11,906 in 2011Braintree. 1983–1997: The District of Uttlesford, and the District of Braintree wards of Bumpstead, Castle Hedingham, Colne Engaine and Greenstead Green, Earls Colne, Gosfield, Halstead St Andrews, Halstead Trinity, Sible Hedingham, Stour Valley Central, Stour Valley North, Stour Valley South, Upper Colne, and Yeldham. Local authorities re-organised – no changes to boundaries of constituency. 1997–2010: The District of Uttlesford, and the District of Braintree wards of Bumpstead, Castle Hedingham, Colne Engaine and Greenstead Green, Halstead St Andrews, Halstead Trinity, Sible Hedingham, Stour Valley Central, Stour Valley North, Stour Valley South, Upper Colne, and Yeldham. Two small wards (Earls Colne and Gosfield) transferred to Braintree. 2010–present: The District of Uttlesford, and the Borough of Chelmsford wards of Boreham and The Leighs, Broomfield and The Walthams, Chelmsford Rural West, and Writtle. The 2010 redistribution resulted in a major change, with eastern areas in the District of Braintree, including

Halstead Halstead is a town and civil parish in the Braintree District of Essex, England. Its population of 11,906 in 2011Braintree. Extended southwards to incorporate northern and western rural areas of the Borough of Chelmsford, including

Writtle The village and civil parish of Writtle lies west of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It has a traditional village green complete with duck pond and a Norman church, and was once described as "one of the loveliest villages in England, with a ravishi ...

, which were transferred from the abolished County Constituency of West Chelmsford.

Constituency profile

The constituency is by far the largest and most rural in Essex, and covers the entire north-west corner of the county: an area of almost . It borders

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

and

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

, and also extends deep into the middle of Essex near

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

. Two medium-sized market towns,

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. The population was 15, ...

and Dunmow are in the constituency. Both of these have historic links, and are busy and regionally visitor-drawing towns in the South East. The largest single source of employment in the constituency is

Stansted Airport London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London. London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acros ...

, while there are also a host of small businesses, many of them high-tech, along and at the ends of the London-Cambridge corridor. ;In statistics The constituency consists of Census Output Areas of two local government districts with similar characteristics. Uttlesford district forms the bulk, and has a working population whose income is close to the national average and much lower than average reliance upon

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 ...

. At the end of 2012 the unemployment rate in the constituency stood at 1.6% of the population claiming jobseekers allowance, compared to the regional average of 2.4%. The borough contributing to the bulk of the seat has a very low 10.1% of its population without a car, 17.7% of the population without qualifications and a high 31.9% had level 4 qualifications or above. In terms of tenure 71.6% of homes are owned outright or on a mortgage as at the 2011 census across the Uttlesford district.

Members of Parliament

Since the snap election in 2017, this safe

seat has been represented by

. It was held for many years by former

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...

Rab Butler Richard Austen Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden, (9 December 1902 – 8 March 1982), also known as R. A. Butler and familiarly known from his initials as Rab, was a prominent British Conservative Party politician. ''The Times'' obituary c ...

and by former

Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons The speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the lower house and primary chamber of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The current speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, was elected Speaker on 4 November 201 ...

Sir Alan Haselhurst.

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

Election in the 1940s

Elections in the 1930s

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:

*Labour:

Clara Rackham Clara Dorothea Tabor Rackham (3 December 1875 – 11 March 1966) was an English feminist and politician active in the women's suffrage movement, the Women's Co-operative Guild, the peace movement, adult education, the family planning movement, an ...

Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939 *The Liberal candidate, Arthur Musgrove Mathews withdrew at the last minute

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1890s

* Caused by Gardner's appointment as President of the Board of Agriculture

Elections in the 1880s

Notes

References

, {{DEFAULTSORT:Saffron Walden (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in Essex Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1885 Saffron Walden