North Herefordshire (UK Parliament constituency)
| North Herefordshire | |
|---|---|
| County constituency for the House of Commons | |
 Boundaries since 2024 | |
 Boundary of North Herefordshire in West Midlands region | |
| County | Herefordshire |
| Electorate | 66,711 (December 2010)[1] |
| Major settlements | Bromyard, Kington, Ledbury and Leominster |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2010 |
| Member of Parliament | Ellie Chowns (Greens) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Leominster |
North Herefordshire is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Ellie Chowns of the Green Party of England and Wales.[n 2] It is the first Green seat in the West Midlands region.
Constituency profile[edit]
The seat has a substantially self-sufficient population, covered by civil parishes and with low rates of unemployment[2] and social housing in each ward, with income levels concentrated towards the average in Britain.[3]
Boundaries[edit]
2010-2024[edit]
This constituency contains a northern and central part of Herefordshire, including the towns of Bromyard, Kington, Ledbury and Leominster.
The constituency has the electoral wards:[4]
- Backbury, Bircher, Bringsty, Bromyard, Burghill, Holmer and Lyde, Castle, Credenhill, Frome, Golden Cross with Weobley, Hagley, Hampton Court, Hope End, Kington Town, Ledbury, Leominster North, Leominster South, Mortimer, Old Gore, Pembridge and Lyonshall with Titley, Sutton Walls, Upton, Wormsley Ridge.
The village of Weobley (listed above) was a former borough constituency that was abolished as a 'rotten borough' in 1832.
2024-present[edit]
Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, from the 2024 general election, due on 4 July 2024, the constituency composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
- The District of Herefordshire wards of: Arrow; Backbury; Bircher; Bishops Frome & Cradley; Bromyard Bringsty; Bromyard West; Castle; Credenhill; Hagley; Hampton; Holmer; Hope End; Kington; Ledbury North; Ledbury South; Ledbury West; Leominster East; Leominster North & Rural; Leominster South; Leominster West; Mortimer; Old Gore; Queenswood; Sutton Walls; Three Crosses; Weobley.[5]
The seat will be unchanged, except to align the boundaries with those of the revised local authority wards.
Members of Parliament[edit]
Leominster prior to 2010
| Election | Member[6] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Bill Wiggin | Conservative | |
| 2024 | Ellie Chowns | Green | |
History[edit]
Parliament accepted the Boundary Commission's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which slightly altered this constituency for the 2010 general election to exclude those areas of the former county of Hereford and Worcester which are now in Worcestershire. This meant North Herefordshire being at its core a successor to Leominster constituency. The remainder of the county is covered by the Hereford and South Herefordshire seat.[7]
In the 2024 United Kingdom general election, issues include the NHS, immigration and pollution in the River Wye.[8] The seat is a target for the Greens.[9]
Elections[edit]
Elections in the 2020s[edit]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | Ellie Chowns | 21,736 | 43.2 |  33.9
| |
| Conservative | Bill Wiggin | 15,842 | 31.5 |  31.5
| |
| Reform UK | Andrew Dye | 8,048 | 16.0 | N/A | |
| Labour | Jon Browning | 3,205 | 6.4 | 6.9
| |
| Liberal Democrats | Cat Hornsey | 1,436 | 2.9 | 11.4
| |
| SDP | Michael Guest | 95 | 0.2 | N/A | |
| Majority | 5,894 | 11.7 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 50,362 | 71.7 | 0.9
| ||
| Green gain from Conservative | Swing | 32.7
|
|||
This marked the first time that the Greens had gained a seat directly from the Conservatives.
Elections in the 2010s[edit]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Bill Wiggin | 32,158 | 63.0 | 1.0
| |
| Liberal Democrats | Phillip Howells | 7,302 | 14.3 | 2.6
| |
| Labour | Joe Wood | 6,804 | 13.3 | 5.6
| |
| Green | Ellie Chowns | 4,769 | 9.3 | 3.8
| |
| Majority | 24,856 | 48.7 | 5.6
| ||
| Turnout | 51,033 | 72.6 | 1.5
| ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | 0.8
|
|||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Bill Wiggin | 31,097 | 62.0 | 6.4
| |
| Labour | Roger Page | 9,495 | 18.9 | 7.5
| |
| Liberal Democrats | Jeanie Falconer | 5,874 | 11.7 | 0.3
| |
| Green | Ellie Chowns | 2,771 | 5.5 | 1.5
| |
| Independent | Sasha Norris | 577 | 1.1 | New | |
| Independent | Arthur Devine | 363 | 0.7 | New | |
| Majority | 21,602 | 43.1 | 1.5
| ||
| Turnout | 50,177 | 74.1 | 2.1
| ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | 0.6
|
|||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Bill Wiggin | 26,716 | 55.6 | 3.8
| |
| UKIP | Jonathan Oakton | 6,720 | 14.0 | 8.3
| |
| Liberal Democrats | Jeanie Falconer | 5,768 | 12.0 | 19.0
| |
| Labour | Sally Prentice | 5,478 | 11.4 | 4.3
| |
| Green | Daisy Blench | 3,341 | 7.0 | 3.8
| |
| Majority | 19,996 | 41.6 | 20.8
| ||
| Turnout | 42,545 | 72.0 | 0.5
| ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Bill Wiggin | 24,631 | 51.8 | 0.7
| |
| Liberal Democrats | Lucy Hurds | 14,744 | 31.0 | 6.9
| |
| Labour | Neil Sabharwal | 3,373 | 7.1 | 8.4
| |
| UKIP | Jonathan Oakton | 2,701 | 5.7 | 2.4
| |
| Green | Felicity Norman | 1,533 | 3.2 | 1.5
| |
| Independent | John King | 586 | 1.2 | New | |
| Majority | 9,887 | 20.8 | 7.6
| ||
| Turnout | 47,568 | 71.5 | 2.3
| ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | 3.8
|
|||
See also[edit]
- List of parliamentary constituencies in Herefordshire and Worcestershire
- List of parliamentary constituencies in West Midlands (region)
Notes[edit]
- ^ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
- ^ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
References[edit]
- ^ "Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- ^ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
- ^ "Local statistics - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk.
- ^ Fifth periodical report – Volume 4 Mapping for the Non-Metropolitan Counties and the Unitary Authorities, The Stationery Office, 26 February 2007, ISBN 978-0-10-170322-2
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 8 West Midlands region.
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 2)
- ^ "Final recommendations for Parliamentary constituencies in the county of Herefordshire". Boundary Commission for England. 7 January 2004. Archived from the original on 2 November 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
- ^ "North Herefordshire election debate: Four key takeaways". BBC News. 27 June 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ "Joint Green Party leader visits Ledbury as party targets constitunecy". BBC News. 20 June 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ "North Herefordshire". BBC. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ "Herefordshire North". Sky News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "Herefordshire North Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "2017 general election candidates for Herefordshire confirmed". Worcester News. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Herefordshire North parliamentary constituency - Election 2017" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Six candidates to stand in North Herefordshire parliamentary election". Herefordshire Council. 21 April 2010. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
