Hereford (UK Parliament constituency)
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Hereford was, until 2010, a constituency of 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. T ...
of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom 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 suprema ...
. Since 1918, it had elected one Member of Parliament (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 thei ...
voting system. Previously, Hereford had been a parliamentary borough which from 1295 to 1885 had elected two MPs, using the bloc vote system in contested elections. Under 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 ...
the borough's representation had been reduced to one seat at the 1885 general election, and for the 1918 general election the borough was abolished and replaced with a county division which carried the same name but covered a wider geographical area.


History

Hereford sent two representatives to Parliament from the beginning of the reign of Edward I. Although a county town, the early elections were always held at a different location from those of the shire, the former taking place at the Guildhall, the latter in the castle. In 1885, representation was reduced to one Member. Journalist
Robin Day Sir Robin Day (24 October 1923 – 6 August 2000) was an English political journalist and television and radio broadcaster. Day's obituary in ''The Guardian'' by Dick Taverne stated that he was "the most outstanding television journalist of ...
stood as the
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 ...
candidate in the 1959 general election. From 1931 until 1997, Hereford was held by the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
, before being taken by
Paul Keetch Paul Stuart Keetch (21 May 1961 – 24 May 2017) was a Liberal Democrat politician and lobbyist who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Hereford from 1997 to 2010. Early life He went to Hereford High School for Boys (now Aylestone Busines ...
of the Liberal Democrats at the 1997 general election. Keetch served as the Liberal Democrats' spokesman for defence from October 1999 until May 2005, and announced on 17 November 2006 that he would not be standing at the next election. Following the review by the
Boundary Commission for England The boundary commissions in the United Kingdom are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of constituencies for elections to the House of Commons. There are four boundary commissions: * Boundary Commission for ...
of parliamentary representation in
Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...
, taking effect at the 2010 general election, two parliamentary constituencies were allocated to the county. The Hereford seat was abolished and replaced by the Hereford and South Herefordshire seat, while the remainder of the county is covered by the
North Herefordshire North Herefordshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation by Bill Wiggin, a Conservative. Members of Parliament Constituency profile The seat has a substantially self-sufficient p ...
seat.


Boundaries

1918–1950: The Borough of Hereford, the Urban Districts of Ledbury and Ross-on-Wye, the Rural Districts of Dore, Ross, and Whitchurch, and parts of the Rural Districts of Hereford and Ledbury. 1950–1983: The Borough of Hereford, the Urban District of Ross-on-Wye, the Rural Districts of Dore and Bredwardine, and Ross and Whitchurch, and part of the Rural District of Hereford. 1983–1997: The City of Hereford, and the District of South Herefordshire wards of Backbury, Broad Oak, Dinedor Hill, Doward, Fownhope, Garron, Golden Valley, Gorsley, Gorsty, Harewood End, Hollington, Kingsthorne, Merbach, Olchon, Old Gore, Penyard, Pontrilas, Ross-on-Wye East, Ross-on-Wye West, Stoney Street, Tram Inn, Walford, Whitfield, and Wilton. 1997–2010: The City of Hereford, and the District of South Herefordshire wards of Broad Oak, Clehonger East, Clehonger West, Dinedor Hill, Doward, Fownhope, Garron, Golden Valley, Gorsley, Harewood End, Hollington, Kingsthorne, Merbach, Olchon, Old Gore, Penyard, Pontrilas, Ross-on-Wye East, Ross-on-Wye West, Stoney Street, Tram Inn, Walford, Whitfield, and Wilton. In its final form, the Hereford constituency contained the city of Hereford and most of South Herefordshire, including
Ross-on-Wye Ross-on-Wye ( Welsh: ''Rhosan ar Wy'') is a market town in England, near the border with Wales. It had a population of 10,582 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 11,309 in 2019. It lies in south-eastern Herefordshire, on the River Wye ...
, but excluding Ledbury and Much Marcle, both of which were in the Leominster constituency.


Members of Parliament


MPs 1295–1640


MPs 1640–1885


MPs 1885–2010


Elections


Elections in the 1830s


Elections in the 1840s

Hobhouse resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, causing a by-election. Clive's death caused a by-election.


Elections in the 1850s

Price resigned, causing a by-election.


Elections in the 1860s

The election was declared void on petition, after the Liberal agent was found to have "given breakfast to Liberal electors", and therefore was guilty of treating.


Elections in the 1870s

Clive resigned, causing a by-election. Pateshall resigned, causing a by-election.


Elections in the 1880s


Elections in the 1890s

Grenfell resigned, causing a by-election.


Elections in the 1900s


Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1914–15: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected; *Unionist:
William Hewins William Albert Samuel Hewins (11 May 1865 – 17 November 1931) was a British economist and Conservative politician. In 1895, he was appointed by Sidney Webb as the first Director of the London School of Economics, a post he held until 1903. Fa ...
*Liberal:


Elections in the 1920s


Elections in the 1930s


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:
James Thomas James Thomas may refer to: Politicians * James Thomas (Australian politician) (1826–1884), civil engineer who was Director of Public Works in Western Australia, 1876–1884 * James Thomas (Governor of Maryland) (1785–1845), served as the 23rd ...
*Liberal: Archie Marshall


Elections in the 1950s


Elections in the 1960s


Elections in the 1970s


Elections in the 1980s


Elections in the 1990s


Elections in the 2000s


See also

*
List of parliamentary constituencies in Herefordshire and Worcestershire There are 8 Parliamentary constituencies in the ceremonial counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire. From 1974 to 1998 the two counties were administratively and ceremonially one, called Hereford and Worcester, and the constituencies crossed ...


External links


UK Constituency Maps

Hereford Liberal Democrats

Hereford Conservatives

Labour in Herefordshire

UKIP West Midlands

Herefordshire Green Party


Notes


References and notes


Sources

* Robert Beatson,
A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament
' (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) * D Brunton & D H Pennington, ''Members of the Long Parliament'' (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954) *
Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803
' (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808) * ''The Constitutional Year Book for 1913'' (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913) * F W S Craig, ''British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885'' (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989) * F W S Craig, ''British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949'' (Glasgow: Political Reference Publications, 1969) * Maija Jansson (ed.),
Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons)
' (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988) * J E Neale, ''The Elizabethan House of Commons'' (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hereford (Uk Parliament Constituency) Politics of Hereford Parliamentary constituencies in Herefordshire (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1295 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 2010 Herefordshire-related lists