Romsey (UK Parliament constituency)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Romsey County constituency |
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| Romsey shown within Hampshire, and Hampshire shown within England | |
| Created: | 1983 |
| MP: | Sandra Gidley |
| Party: | Liberal Democrat |
| Type: | House of Commons |
| County: | Hampshire |
| EP constituency: | South East England |
Romsey is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It is a Liberal Democrat/ Conservative marginal.
Contents |
[edit] Boundaries
The constituency is located in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, although it covers a smaller area with parts of the Test Valley to the north being part of the North West Hampshire constituency. The main town within the constituency is Romsey.
[edit] Boundary review
Following their review of parliamentary representation in Hampshire, the Boundary Commission for England has created a modified Romsey constituency to be called Romsey and Southampton North, to reflect the fact that Southampton forms part of the constituency.
[edit] History
The constituency has existed since 1983, under the name of Romsey and Waterside. In 1997 it was renamed to just Romsey. The first MP, Michael Colvin, had held the constituency since its creation until his death, in 2000. This led to a by-election, which was won by the Liberal Democrat Sandra Gidley.
[edit] Members of Parliament
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | constituency created as Romsey and Waterside | ||
| 1983 | Michael Colvin | Conservative | |
| 1997 | constituency renamed as Romsey | ||
| 1997 | Michael Colvin | Conservative | |
| 2000 | Sandra Gidley | Liberal Democrat | |
[edit] Election results
| General Election 2005: Romsey | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal Democrat | Sandra Gidley | 22,465 | 44.7 | −2.3 | |
| Conservative | Caroline Nokes | 22,340 | 44.4 | +2.3 | |
| Labour | Matthew Stevens | 4,430 | 8.8 | +0.6 | |
| UK Independence | Michael Wigley | 1,076 | 2.1 | +0.6 | |
| Majority | 125 | 0.2 | |||
| Turnout | 50,311 | 69.7 | +2.5 | ||
| Liberal Democrat hold | Swing | −2.3 | |||
This majority of only 125 makes this the most marginal Lib Dem seat in the country.
| General Election 2001: Romsey | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal Democrat | Sandra Gidley | 22,756 | 47.0 | +17.5 | |
| Conservative | Paul Raynes | 20,386 | 42.1 | -3.9 | |
| Labour | Stephen Roberts | 3,986 | 8.2 | -10.3 | |
| UK Independence | Anthony McCabe | 730 | 1.5 | -2.0 | |
| Legalise Cannabis | Derrick Large | 601 | 1.2 | N/A | |
| Majority | 2,370 | 4.9 | |||
| Turnout | 48,459 | 67.2 | -9.2 | ||
| Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
| By-election 2000: Romsey | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal Democrat | Sandra Gidley | 19,571 | 50.6 | +21.2 | |
| Conservative | Tim Palmer | 16,260 | 42.0 | −4.0 | |
| Labour | Andy Howard | 1,451 | 3.7 | −14.9 | |
| UK Independence | Garry Rankin-Moore | 901 | 2.3 | −1.2 | |
| Legalise Cannabis | Derrick Large | 417 | 1.1 | +1.1 | |
| Independent (politician) | Thomas Lamont | 109 | 0.3 | +0.3 | |
| Majority | |||||
| Turnout | 55.4 | ||||
| Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
| General Election 1997: Romsey | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Michael Colvin | 23,834 | 46.0 | ||
| Liberal Democrat | Mark Cooper | 15,249 | 29.4 | ||
| Labour | Joanne Ford | 9,623 | 18.6 | ||
| UK Independence | Alan Sked | 1,824 | 3.5 | ||
| Referendum Party | Michael Wigley | 1,291 | 2.5 | ||
| Majority | |||||
| Turnout | |||||
