Sherwood 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 ...

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 2010 by Mark Spencer, 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 ...

. The constituency takes its name from the

Sherwood Forest Sherwood Forest is a royal forest in Nottinghamshire, England, famous because of its historic association with the legend of Robin Hood. The area has been wooded since the end of the Last Glacial Period (as attested by pollen sampling cor ...

which is in the area.

Boundaries

1983–1997: The District of Newark wards of Bilsthorpe, Blidworth, Boughton, Clipstone, Dover Beck, Edwinstowe, Farnsfield, Fishpool, Lowdham, Ollerton North, Ollerton South, Rainworth, and Rufford, the District of Ashfield wards of Hucknall Central, Hucknall East, Hucknall North, and Hucknall West, and the Borough of Gedling wards of Bestwood St Albans (Bestwood Village only), Calverton, Lambley, Newstead, and Woodborough. 1997–2010: The District of Newark and Sherwood wards of Bilsthorpe, Blidworth, Boughton, Clipstone, Dover Beck, Edwinstowe, Farnsfield, Lowdham, Ollerton North, Ollerton South, Rainworth, and Rufford, the District of Ashfield wards of Hucknall Central, Hucknall East, Hucknall North, and Hucknall West, and the Borough of Gedling wards of Bestwood Park, Calverton, Lambley, Newstead, Ravenshead, and Woodborough. 2010–present: The District of Newark and Sherwood wards of Bilsthorpe, Blidworth, Boughton, Clipstone, Edwinstowe, Farnsfield, Ollerton, and Rainworth, the District of Ashfield wards of Hucknall Central, Hucknall East, Hucknall North, and Hucknall West, and the Borough of Gedling wards of Bestwood Village, Calverton, Lambley, Newstead, Ravenshead, and Woodborough. The constituency is in central

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

, covering parts of three local government authorities: the Ashfield district, parts of the Gedling borough, and the western part of the

Newark and Sherwood Newark and Sherwood is a local government district and is the largest district in Nottinghamshire, England. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, by a merger of the municipal borough of Newark with Newark Rural District and Southwell R ...

district, the largest geographical area of the seat.

Constituency profile

The seat name refers to the

, world famous for its association with the legend of

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...

. The seat is an area of contrasts such as Ravenshead, home to some of Nottinghamshire's most affluent residents, numerous smaller rural villages, one mining village and many ex-mining villages, and the town of Hucknall, the largest in the constituency, now a commuter town, but one which remains involved with mining. Thoresby, Edwinstowe once contained a large operational coal mine underground. It does not contain the Nottingham City ward of

Sherwood Sherwood may refer to: Places Australia *Sherwood, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane * Sherwood, South Australia, a locality *Shire of Sherwood, a former local government area of Queensland * Electoral district of Sherwood, an electoral district fr ...

, which is further south, within the

Nottingham East Nottingham East is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Nadia Whittome of the Labour Party. Members of Parliament Constituency profile On average earners' incomes are slightly lower than the ...

constituency. ;In statistics The constituency consists of Census Output Areas of three local government districts with similar characteristics: a working population whose income is close to the national average, and 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 ...

. At the end of 2012, the unemployment rate in the constituency stood as 3.5% of the population claiming jobseekers allowance, compared to an identical regional average which was below the national average. Taking the part of Newark and Sherwood that contributes to the seat: a slightly below average 18.6% of its population are without a car, a medium 25.1% of the population are without qualifications and a high 24.2% have level 4 qualifications or above (2011). In terms of tenure, 70.2% of homes are owned outright or on a mortgage by occupants as at the 2011 census across that district.

History

On the constituency's creation in 1983, Andy Stewart gained the seat for the Conservatives in their landslide victory that year with a small majority of 658. The Nottinghamshire miners drifted further from Labour during the 1984 strike and Stewart was re-elected with an increased majority in 1987. However, in

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 ...

the seat was gained for Labour by Paddy Tipping, who held it until he retired in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, when the seat was regained for the Conservatives by Mark Spencer, by a majority of 214. In 2015, Spencer's lead over the second placed candidate increased to 4,647 votes. This further increased in 2017 and another big swing to the Conservatives in 2019 saw Spencer's majority increase to 16,186, the first time a Conservative had a five-figure majority in the seat.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherwood (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in Nottinghamshire Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1983 Sherwood Forest