Ribble Valley 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 (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

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. T ...

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

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

Nigel Evans Nigel Martin Evans (born 10 November 1957) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ribble Valley (UK Parliament constituency), Ribble Valley constituency in Lancashire si ...

, 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 in ...

. Evans has served as a

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 2019 ...

and

Second Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior member of the House of Commons who acts as one of the Speaker's three deputies. The incumbent is Dame Eleanor Laing, MP for Epping Forest, who was first elected to the office on ...

since January 2020; he previously served as

First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior member of the House of Commons who acts as one of the Speaker's three deputies. The incumbent is Dame Eleanor Laing, MP for Epping Forest, who was first elected to the office o ...

from 2010 to 2013.

History

The Ribble Valley constituency was created in 1983 almost wholly from the former seat of

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Cl ...

. Much of the eastern part of the constituency lies within the historic county boundaries of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

Constituency profile

The constituency enjoys scenic villages for both commuters and the retired, has slightly higher than national average income 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, d ...

. As of December 2012, unemployment was significantly lower than the national average. With the exception of one year when, following a by-election, it was represented by a

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

, the MP has been a

; the lowest majority was 11.6% in 1997. Boundary changes in 2010 brought in more urban areas from the neighbouring South Ribble district, and with it a large number of Labour voters, particularly in

Bamber Bridge Bamber Bridge is an urban village in Lancashire, England, south-east of Preston, in the borough of South Ribble. The name derives from the Old English "bēam" and "brycg", which probably means "tree-trunk bridge". The population was 13,945 a ...

where all four local councillors are Labour, alongside Farington and Lostock Hall. Six of the divisions on

Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It consists of 84 councillors. Since the 2017 election, the council has been under Conservative control. Prior to the 2009 L ...

within the Ribble Valley constituency after the 2013 United Kingdom local elections were Conservative-held, with Labour having one. The Conservatives gained one division each from the Liberal Democrats and the Idle Toad parties, while Labour took one from the Conservatives. Labour also gained another Conservative seat, which crosses the boundaries of the Ribble Valley and South Ribble constituencies. The constituency comprises the whole of the Borough of

Ribble Valley Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status within the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. The total population of the non-metropolitan district at the 2011 Census was 57,132. Its council is based in Clith ...

and a part of the Borough of South Ribble. In March 2015, two councillors, a Liberal Democrat and an Independent, defected to the Conservatives. Since the May 2015 local elections the council has been composed of 35 Conservative, 4 Liberal Democrat and 1 Labour councillors. 14 of the 19 South Ribble Borough councillors within the Ribble Valley constituency are Conservative, and 5 are Labour.

Boundaries

1983 to 1997: The Borough of

, and the Borough of Preston wards of Cadley, Greyfriars, Preston Rural East, and Sharoe Green. 1997 to 2010: The Borough of Ribble Valley, the City of Preston wards of Cadley, Greyfriars, Preston Rural East, Sharoe Green, and Sherwood, and the Borough of South Ribble wards of All Saints, and Samlesbury and Cuerdale. 2010 to 2015: The Borough of Ribble Valley, and the ten Borough of South Ribble wards of Bamber Bridge East, Bamber Bridge North, Bamber Bridge West, Coupe Green and Gregson Lane, Farington East, Farington West, Lostock Hall, Samlesbury and Walton, Tardy Gate, and Walton-le-Dale. 2015–present: The Borough of Ribble Valley, and the nine Borough of South Ribble wards of Bamber Bridge East, Bamber Bridge West, Coupe Green and Gregson Lane, Farington East, Farington West, Lostock Hall, Samlesbury and Walton, Walton-le-Dale East and Walton-le-Dale West. In the run up to the 2010 general election, the Boundary Commission's

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 Ir ...

led Parliament to approve the creation of a new seat of

Wyre and Preston North Wyre and Preston North is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Created in the most recent fifth periodic review of constituencies by the Boundary Commission for England, it elects one ...

. This creation caused major changes to seats including Ribble Valley, bringing a more urban element to the largely farming and rural mix of the existing seat.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Notes

References

External links

Ribble Valley Borough Council official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ribble Valley (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in North West England Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1983 Politics of Ribble Valley Politics of South Ribble