St Albans 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, ...

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 2019 by

Daisy Cooper Daisy Cooper (born 29 October 1981) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for St Albans since 2019. She has served as the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat parliamentary party since 2020 ...

, 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 ...

. This article also describes the parliamentary borough (1554-1852) of the same name, consisting only of the city of

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

, which elected two MPs by the bloc vote system.

History

The Parliamentary Borough of St Albans was represented by two MPs for over 300 years, until it was disenfranchised as a result of electoral corruption in 1852. The constituency was re-established in an enlarged form 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 ...

(which followed on from the

Third Reform Act In the United Kingdom under the premiership of William Gladstone, the Representation of the People Act 1884 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 3, also known informally as the Third Reform Act) and the Redistribution Act of the following year were laws which ...

) as one of four Divisions of the abolished three-member Parliamentary County of

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 was formally named as the Mid or St Albans Division of Hertfordshire.

1885 to date

; Political history before 1997 Until 1997 the seat was held by one

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 ...

or another save for the very early 20th century Official Opposition leadership of

Henry Campbell-Bannerman Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (né Campbell; 7 September 183622 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. He served as the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 1 ...

and the follow-on first part of his premiership, governing in minority, and later – from

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

– five of the six years seeing Labour's landslide Attlee ministry. ; Political history since 1997 The seat swung towards the left wing on boundary changes effective in 1997, and the founding of the

New Labour New Labour was a period in the history of the British Labour Party from the mid to late 1990s until 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The name dates from a conference slogan first used by the party in 1994, later seen ...

movement which sought public sector reform and investment with expansion based on international investor-friendly economic growth. The seat followed its projections in line with the large swing led by

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

, to sees its return to a

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

politician. Results, except for a strong Tory surge in 2015 are closer than the 1979–1992 Tory victories forming a complex three-party contest – only once another candidate in this time has reached the

deposit (politics) In an electoral system, a deposit is the sum of money that a candidate for an elected office, such as a seat in a legislature, is required to pay to an electoral authority before they are permitted to stand for election. In the typical case, the de ...

-retaining threshold of 5% of the vote,

UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest p ...

at its 2015 peak. Despite the former Labour MP for the seat, Kerry Pollard, standing there in 2005,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

and 2017, he fell varyingly short. The 2019 vote share fell to below that seen in the 1980s, locally, for the party's candidate – the party leader was to the left of the party,

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...

. The seat has had great fluctuation in

vote share: 2001 and 2015 were ebbs at below 20% of the vote; in 2010 and 2017 the Liberal Democrat candidate, promisingly, took 4.4% and 10.7% less than the winning Conservative. Liberal Democrat Daisy Cooper went on to win, in 2019. She became first member of a liberal party to represent the constituency since John Bamford Slack in early 1900s.

Prominent members

The noble and local landowning

Grimston family Grimston may refer to: Places *Grimston, East Riding of Yorkshire, England *Grimston, Leicestershire, England *Grimston, Norfolk, England *Grimston, Nottinghamshire, England * Grimston, Selby, England, the location of Grimston Park, North Yorkshire ...

have produced nine members throughout the seat's history. The three first heirs to the Earldom of Verulam have won election in the seat - the latest MP from the family was John Grimston who later became the 6th Earl (died 1973). Sir Hildred Carlile (died 1942) was a textiles entrepreneur and generous benefactor of Bedford College, University of London. Francis Fremantle was chairman of the Parliamentary Medical Committee from 1923 to 1943.

Peter Lilley Peter Bruce Lilley, Baron Lilley, PC (born 23 August 1943) is a British politician and life peer who served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Member of Parl ...

was a

frontbench In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then know ...

minister in government from 1992 until 1997, the Secretary of State for Social Security, after two years as

Secretary of State for Trade and Industry The secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The incumbent is a memb ...

Constituency profile

Workless claimants (registered jobseekers) were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 1.9% of the population based on a statistical compilation by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. The seat voted decisively to remain in the European Union in the 2016 Referendum, estimated at 62.2%.

Boundary changes

1885–1918: The Municipal Borough of St Albans, the Sessional Divisions of Barnet and St Albans and parts of the Sessional Divisions of Watford, Hertford and Dacorum. As well from the Borough of

, the seat included the towns of

Harpenden Harpenden () is a town and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The population of the built-up area was 30,240 in the 2011 census, whilst the population of the civil parish was 29,448. Har ...

, Hatfield and

Chipping Barnet Chipping Barnet or High Barnet is a suburban market town in north London, forming part of the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is a suburban development built around a 12th-century settlement, and is located north-northwest of Chari ...

. 1918–1945: The Municipal Borough of St Albans, the Urban Districts of Barnet and East Barnet Valley, the Rural Districts of Barnet and Hatfield, and the Rural District of St Albans civil parishes of Sandridge Rural, St Michael Rural, St Peter Rural, and St Stephen. North-western parts, including Harpenden, transferred to the new

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a ne ...

Division. South-western corner (

Aldenham Aldenham is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, north-east of Watford and southwest of Radlett. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book and is one of Hertsmere's 14 conservation areas. The village has eight pre-19th-century listed buil ...

) transferred to

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

. 1945–1950: The Municipal Borough of St Albans, the Urban District of Welwyn Garden City, the Rural District of Hatfield, and the Rural District of St Albans civil parishes of Sandridge Rural, St Michael Rural, St Peter Rural, and St Stephen. The Urban Districts of Barnet and East Barnet (formerly East Barnet Valley) and the Rural District of Elstree (formerly Barnet) formed the new

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

Division. The Urban District of Welwyn Garden City had been formed as a separate local authority which had previously been partly in the Hitchin Division. Other marginal changes as a result of changes to local authority boundaries. 1950–1955: The Municipal Borough of St Albans, the Urban District of Welwyn Garden City, the Rural District of Welwyn, and the Rural District of St Albans civil parishes of Sandridge Rural, St Michael Rural, St Peter Rural, St Stephen, and Wheathampstead. The Rural District of Welwyn was transferred from Hitchin and the parish of

Wheathampstead Wheathampstead is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, north of St Albans. The population of the ward at the 2001 census was 6,058. Included within the parish is the small hamlet of Amwell. History Settlements in this area were ...

from Hemel Hempstead. The Rural District of Hatfield was transferred to Barnet. 1955–1974: The Municipal Borough of St Albans, and in the Rural District of St Albans the civil parishes of Colney Heath, London Colney, Sandridge Rural, St Michael Rural, St Stephen, and Wheathampstead. The Urban District of Welwyn Garden City and the Rural District of Welwyn transferred to Hertford. (The parish of St Peter Rural had been divided into the parishes of Colney Heath and London Colney). 1974–1983: The Municipal Borough of St Albans, the Urban District of Harpenden, and in the Rural District of St Albans the civil parishes of Harpenden Rural, Redbourn, St Michael Rural, Sandridge, and Wheathampstead. The limits moved northwards: to take in Harpenden U.D. and parishes

Harpenden Rural Harpenden Rural is a civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in Hertfordshire, England, to the west of Harpenden parish. The local council is Harpenden Rural Parish Council. It was created on 15 April 1898 when the former Harpenden ...

and

Redbourn Redbourn is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, lying on Watling Street, from Harpenden, from St Albans and from Hemel Hempstead. The civil parish had a population of 5,113 according to the 2011 Census. The three tiers of ...

, from Hemel Hempstead. The parishes of

Colney Heath Colney Heath is a large village in Hertfordshire, England. The village became a civil parish in 1947 when the St. Peter Rural parish was split to form Colney Heath and London Colney. There is a converted windmill in the village. The civil paris ...

London Colney London Colney () is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. It is located to the north of London, close to Junction 22 of the M25 motorway. It is near St Albans and part of the City and District of St Al ...

and St Stephen were removed to help constitute South Hertfordshire. 1983–1997: The District of St Albans wards of Ashley, Batchwood, Clarence, Colney Heath, Cunningham, Harpenden East, Harpenden North, Harpenden South, Harpenden West, Marshalswick North, Marshalswick South, Redbourn, St Peter's, Sandridge, Sopwell, and Verulam. Minor changes. Colney Heath transferred from abolished South Hertfordshire. Wheathampstead transferred to

Welwyn Hatfield The Borough of Welwyn Hatfield is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in southern Hertfordshire, England, governed by Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council. It covers the two towns of Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield, Hertfordshire, ...

. 1997–2010: The District of St Albans wards of Ashley, Batchwood, Clarence, Colney Heath, Cunningham, London Colney, Marshalswick North, Marshalswick South, Park Street, St Peter's, St Stephen's, Sopwell, and Verulam, and the District of Three Rivers ward of Bedmond. Moved southwards again, gaining London Colney from Hertsmere, Park Street and St Stephen's from

and the

Three Rivers District Three Rivers is a local government district in southwest Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Rickmansworth. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by the merger of Rickmansworth Urban District ...

ward of

Bedmond Bedmond is a village in the Three Rivers district of the English ceremonial county of Hertfordshire. It is located around north of the larger village of Abbots Langley. Bedmond belongs to the civil parish of Abbots Langley and at the time of ...

from South West Hertfordshire. Northern parts, including Harpenden, formed part of the new County Constituency of

Hitchin and Harpenden Hitchin and Harpenden is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Bim Afolami, a Conservative. History The constituency was created for the 1997 general election from parts of several former Her ...

. 2010–present: The

City of St Albans The City and District of St Albans () is a local authority district in Hertfordshire in the East of England region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical ...

wards of Ashley, Batchwood, Clarence,

, Cunningham,

, Marshalswick North, Marshalswick South, Park Street, St Peter's, St Stephen, Sopwell, and Verulam, and the

ward of

Bedmond and Primrose Hill Bedmond and Primrose Hill is a ward in Three Rivers, in England, the United Kingdom. It is located in south-west Hertfordshire, in the East of England region. The ward includes Bedmond and a sparsely populated area to the north. It lies north ...

. Marginal adjustments to bring the parliamentary boundaries in line with those of local government wards, which had changed since the 1995 review. The seat is in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Specifically, it comprises the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and some of the surrounding countryside, mainly to the south of the city. Neighbouring seats, clockwise from north, are:

Hertsmere Hertsmere is a local government district and borough in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Borehamwood. Other settlements in the borough include Bushey, Elstree, Radlett and Potters Bar. The borough borders the three north London ...

, and

Members of Parliament

MPs 1553–1640

MPs 1640–1852

MPs since 1885

Election results

Elections in the 2010s

*This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 2005 and 2010 general elections and thus calculation of change in vote share is not meaningful

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

*This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1992 and 1997 general elections and thus calculation of change in vote share is not meaningful

Elections in the 1980s

*This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1979 and 1983 general elections and thus calculation of change in vote share is not meaningful

Elections in the 1970s

*This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1970 and February 1974 general elections and thus calculation of change in vote share is not meaningful.

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

*This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1951 and 1955 general elections and thus calculation of change in vote share is not meaningful *This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1945 and 1950 general elections and thus calculation of change in vote share is not meaningful

Elections in the 1940s

*This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1935 and 1945 general elections and thus calculation of change in vote share is not meaningful

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1850s

On 3 May 1852, the borough was disenfranchised after a Royal Commission found proof of extensive bribery. The electorate was incorporated into

. * Caused by Raphael's death

Elections in the 1840s

* Caused by Hare's appointment as a Lord-in-Waiting to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

* Caused by Grimston's resignation by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds

Elections in the 1830s

Notes

References

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

*F W S Craig, ''British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885'' (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989) *Henry Stooks Smith, ''The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847'' (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig - Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973) *

External links

2005 voting statistics
from the

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