Blackburn (UK Parliament constituency)

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Blackburn
Borough constituency

Blackburn shown within Lancashire, and Lancashire shown within England
Created: 1832, 1955
MP: Jack Straw
Party: Labour
Type: House of Commons
County: Lancashire
EP constituency: North West England

Blackburn is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The town currently elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It has elected Labour MPs since its re-creation in 1955.

Contents

[edit] Boundaries

The constituency encompasses the town of Blackburn in the North West of England. It borders four other constituencies: Ribble Valley to the north, Hyndburn to the east, Rossendale and Darwen to the south and Chorley to the west.

Following the review of parliamentary representation in Lancashire, including the unitary authority of Blackburn with Darwen, the Boundary Commission for England made minor boundary changes to the existing constituency. No name change was proposed or made.

The electoral wards in the Blackburn seat to be fought at the next UK general election in either 2009 or 2010 are entirely within the district of Blackburn with Darwen.

  • Audley, Bastwell, Beardwood and Lammack, Corporation Park, Ewood, Higher Croft, Little Harwood, Livesey with Pleasington, Meadowhead, Mill Hill, Queen's Park, Roe Lee, Shadsworth with Whitebirk, Shear Brow and Wensley Fold.

[edit] History

For more details, see the Politics section of the Blackburn article.

Blackburn was first enfranchised by the Reform Act 1832, as a two-member constituency, and was first used at the 1832 general election. It was abolished for the 1950 general election, when it was then replaced by two new single-member constituencies, Blackburn East and Blackburn West.

Blackburn was re-established as a single-member constituency for the 1955 general election, partially replacing the Blackburn East and Blackburn West constituencies which had been created only five years earlier. After its re-establishment in 1955, The constituency was initially a marginal, but Blackburn is now considered to be a Labour Party stronghold.

[edit] 2005 General election

Blackburn's MP, Jack Straw, was challenged in the 2005 general election by a former Foreign Office subordinate, the ex-British ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray. Murray stood for election in Blackburn on a platform of opposition to the war in Iraq and electoral corruption. Murray described the constituency as a "Labour rotten borough" and said of the build up to the election, "I've been approached by several people in the Asian community who are under huge pressure from Labour activists to apply for a postal vote rather than a ballot vote and then hand their postal vote over to the Labour party." Over 50% more people used postal votes in the 2005 general election in Blackburn than in 2001.[1] The anti-Straw vote was split, however, and the incumbent was returned with a comfortable majority of over 8,000. Although Murray's campaign piqued the interest of the national media, he was forced into fifth place by the British National Party, a result reflective of somewhat poor race relations in the town going back decades.

[edit] Members of Parliament

[edit] Two-member constituency (1832-1950)

Year 1st Member 1st Party 2nd Member 2nd Party
1832 constituency created with two seats by the Great Reform Act
1832 William Feilden Liberal William Turner Liberal
1841 Conservative John Hornby Conservative
1847 James Pilkington Liberal
1852 William Eccles Liberal
1853 Montague Joseph Feilden Liberal
1857 William Henry Hornby Conservative
1865 Joseph Feilden Conservative
1869 Henry Master Feilden Conservative Edward Kenworthy Hornby Conservative
1874 William Edward Briggs Liberal
1875 Daniel Thwaites Conservative
1880 Sir William Coddington Conservative
1885 Sir Robert Peel Conservative
1886 Sir William Henry Hornby Conservative
1906 Philip Snowden Labour
1910 Sir Thomas Barclay Liberal
1910 Sir Henry Norman Liberal
1918 Percy Thompson Dean Coalition Conservative Coalition Liberal
1922 Sir Sydney Herbert Holcroft Henn Conservative National Liberal
1923 John Duckworth Liberal
1929 Thomas Harry Gill Labour Mary Agnes Hamilton Labour
1931 Sir George Sampson Elliston Conservative Sir Walter Dorling Smiles Conservative
1945 Lewis John Edwards Labour Barbara Castle Labour
1950 constituency abolished

[edit] Blackburn East and West (1950-1955)

See main articles for Blackburn East and Blackburn West
Year Member for Blackburn East Party
1950 Barbara Castle Labour
1955 constituency abolished
Year Member for Blackburn West Party
1950 Ralph Assheton Conservative
1955 constituency abolished

[edit] Single member constituency (1955-present)

Election Member Party
1950 constituency re-established
1955 Barbara Castle Labour
1979 Jack Straw Labour

[edit] Election results

[edit] 1997

General Election 1997: Blackburn
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour J Straw 26,141 55.03
Conservative S Sidhu 11,696 24.62
Liberal Democrat S Fenn 4,990 10.51
Referendum Party D Bradshaw 1,892 3.98
National Democrats T Wingfield 671 1.41
Socialist Labour H Drummond 635 1.34
Green R Field 608 1.28
Independent M Carmichael-Grimshaw 506 1.07
Independent Democrat W Batchelor 362 0.76
Majority 14,445 30.41
Turnout 73,132 64.95
Labour hold Swing +9.70

[edit] 2001

General Election 2001: Blackburn
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jack Straw 21,808 54.1 -0.9
Conservative John Cotton 12,559 31.2 +6.6
Liberal Democrat Imtiaz Patel 3,264 8.1 -2.4
UK Independence Dorothy Baxter 1,185 2.9 N/A
Socialist Labour Terry Cullen 559 1.4 +0.1
Socialist Alliance Jim Nichol 532 1.3 N/A
Independent Paul Morris 377 0.9 -0.1
Majority 9,249 22.9
Turnout 40,284 55.5 -9.5
Labour hold Swing

[edit] 2005

General Election 2005: Blackburn
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jack Straw 17,562 42.0 -12.1
Conservative Imtiaz Ameen 9,553 22.9 -8.3
Liberal Democrat Tony Melia 8,608 20.6 +12.5
British National Party Nicholas Holt 2,263 5.4 N/A
Independent Craig Murray 2,082 5.0 N/A
UK Independence Dorothy Baxter 954 2.3 -0.6
Green Graham Carter 783 1.9 N/A
Majority 8,009 19.2
Turnout 41,805 56.9 +1.4
Labour hold Swing -1.9

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Constituencies in North West England
Labour

Ashton-under-Lyne | Barrow and Furness | Birkenhead | Blackburn | Blackpool North and Fleetwood | Blackpool South | Bolton North East | Bolton South East | Bolton West | Bootle | Burnley | Bury North | Bury South | Carlisle | Chorley | City of Chester | Copeland | Crosby | Denton and Reddish | Eccles | Ellesmere Port and Neston | Halton | Heywood and Middleton | Hyndburn | Knowsley North and Sefton East | Knowsley South | Leigh | Liverpool Garston | Liverpool Riverside | Liverpool Walton | Liverpool Wavertree | Liverpool West Derby | Makerfield | Manchester Blackley | Manchester Central | Manchester Gorton | Morecambe and Lunesdale | Oldham East and Saddleworth | Oldham West and Royton | Pendle | Preston | Rossendale and Darwen | Salford | South Ribble | St Helens North | St Helens South | Stalybridge and Hyde | Stockport | Stretford and Urmston | Wallasey | Warrington North | Warrington South | Weaver Vale | West Lancashire | Wigan | Wirral South | Wirral West | Workington | Worsley | Wythenshawe and Sale East
Conservative

Altrincham and Sale West | Crewe and Nantwich | Congleton | Eddisbury | Fylde | Lancaster and Wyre | Macclesfield | Penrith and The Border | Ribble Valley | Tatton
Liberal Democrat

Cheadle | Hazel Grove | Manchester Withington | Rochdale | Southport | Westmorland and Lonsdale
North West European constituency: Conservative (4) | Labour (3) | Liberal Democrats (1) | UKIP (1)