Wansdyke (UK Parliament constituency)

Wansdyke was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Wansdyke
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Wansdyke in Avon for the 2005 general election
Location of Avon within England
County	Somerset
1983–2010
Number of members	One
Replaced by	North East Somerset
Created from	North Somerset and Kingswood[1]

The constituency was created for the 1983 general election, and abolished at the 2010 general election.

History

Until 1997, it was a safe seat for the Conservative Party. It then became a Labour-held marginal until its abolition.

Boundaries

1983–1997: The District of Wansdyke wards of Bathampton, Batheaston, Bathford, Camerton, Charlcombe, Freshford, Hinton Charterhouse, Keynsham East, Keynsham North, Keynsham South, Keynsham West, Midsomer Norton North, Midsomer Norton Redfield, Newton St Loe, Peasedown St John, Radstock, Saltford, and Westfield, and the District of Kingswood wards of Badminton, Bitton North Common, Bitton Oldland Common, Bitton South, Blackhorse, Bromley Heath, Hanham Abbots East, Hanham Abbots West, Oldland Cadbury Heath, Oldland Longwell Green, Siston, and Springfield.

1997–2010: The District of Wansdyke wards of Cameley, Camerton, Chew Magna, Chew Stoke, Clutton, Compton Dando, Farmborough, Harptrees, High Littleton, Hinton Charterhouse, Keynsham East, Keynsham North, Keynsham South, Keynsham West, Midsomer Norton North, Midsomer Norton Redfield, Newton St Loe, Paulton, Peasedown St John, Publow, Radstock, Saltford, Stowey Sutton, Timsbury, and Westfield, and the Borough of Kingswood wards of Bitton North Common, Bitton Oldland Common, Bitton South, Hanham Abbots East, and Hanham Abbots West.

From 1997, Wansdyke covered the part of Bath and North East Somerset not in the Bath constituency. It also contained six wards or parts of wards from South Gloucestershire Council. It was named after the former Wansdyke district, itself named after the Wansdyke, a historical earthwork.

The constituency was located between the cities of Bristol and Bath, including the towns of Keynsham, Midsomer Norton, Radstock and Saltford, as well as the Chew Valley to the south of Bristol. It also covered parts of South Gloucestershire to the east of Bristol, including Bitton, Longwell Green and Oldland Common.

At the 2010 general election the seat was replaced with a new North East Somerset constituency.[2] The parts in South Gloucestershire were transferred to the Kingswood constituency.

Members of Parliament

Election	Party		Member[3]
1983		Conservative	Jack Aspinwall
1997		Labour	Dan Norris
2010	Constituency abolished: see North East Somerset

Elections

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Wansdyke[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dan Norris	20,686	40.6	−6.2
	Conservative	Chris Watt	18,847	37.0	+1.5
	Liberal Democrats	Gail Coleshill	10,050	19.7	+5.3
	UKIP	Peter Sandell	1,129	2.2	+0.9
	Independent	Geoffrey Parkes	221	0.4	N/A
Majority			1,839	3.6
Turnout			50,933	72.4	+2.5
	Labour hold		Swing	−3.8

General election 2001: Wansdyke[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dan Norris	23,206	46.8	+2.8
	Conservative	Chris Watt	17,593	35.5	+0.2
	Liberal Democrats	Gail Coleshill	7,135	14.4	-2.4
	Green	Francis Hayden	958	1.9	N/A
	UKIP	Peter Sandell	655	1.3	+0.5
Majority			5,613	11.3
Turnout			49,547	69.9	-9.1
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Wansdyke[6][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dan Norris	24,117	44.1	+16.4
	Conservative	Mark Prisk	19,318	35.3	−12.9
	Liberal Democrats	Jeff Manning	9,205	16.8	−6.0
	Referendum	Kevin Clinton	1327	2.4	+2.4
	UKIP	T.S. Hunt	438	0.8	+0.8
	Monster Raving Loony	Peter House	225	0.4	+0.4
	Natural Law	Sue Lincoln	92	0.2	+0.2
Majority			4,799	8.7
Turnout			54,722	79.3	0
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	-14.65

General election 1992: Wansdyke[8][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jack Aspinwall	31,389	48.2	−3.3
	Labour	Dan Norris	18,048	27.7	+4.5
	Liberal Democrats	D Darby	14,834	22.8	−2.4
	Green	FE Hayden	800	1.2	+1.2
Majority			13,341	20.5	−5.9
Turnout			65,071	84.2	+3.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	−3.9

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Wansdyke[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jack Aspinwall	31,537	51.56
	Liberal	Roger Blackmore	15,393	25.17
	Labour	Ian White	14,231	23.27
Majority			16,144	26.40
Turnout				81.29
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1983: Wansdyke[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jack Aspinwall	28,434	50.61
	Liberal	Richard Denton-White	15,368	27.35
	Labour	L Williams	12,168	21.66
	Wessex Regionalist	A Stout	213	0.38
Majority			13,066	23.26
Turnout				79.03
	Conservative hold		Swing

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Avon

Notes and references

1. "'Wansdyke', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
2. "Somerset North East: New Boundaries Calculation". Electoral Calculus: General Election Prediction. Retrieved 19 September 2007.
3. "Wansdyke". Election Uk. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
4. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
5. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
6. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
7. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/vote2001/results_constituencies/constituencies/608.stm
8. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
9. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
10. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
11. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.