From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bridgwater County constituency
Bridgwater shown within Somerset, and Somerset shown within England
Created:	1295, 1885
MP:	Ian Liddell-Grainger
Party:	Conservative
Type:	House of Commons
County:	Somerset
EP constituency:	South West England

Bridgwater 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.

Boundaries

The seat is based on the market town of Bridgwater in Somerset and currently incorporates significant portions of the surrounding north Somerset coast.

Boundary review

Following its review of parliamentary representation in Somerset, the Boundary Commission for England has finalised the proposals which expands the existing Bridgwater seat into a new Bridgwater and West Somerset division.

History

Bridgwater is one of the oldest Parliamentary Constituencies in the House of Commons, having elected Members of Parliament since 1295.

The original borough constituency was disenfranchised for corruption in 1870. From 4 July 1870 the town was incorporated within the county constituency of West Somerset.

When there was a redistribution of Parliamentary seats to take effect at the 1885 general election, a new county division of Bridgwater was created.

Bridgwater has traditionally had a radical tradition, though in recent years this has become less noticeable in election results as the constituency has expanded considerably beyond Bridgwater town itself.

The seat received particular fame in late 1938 when a by-election took place in the aftermath of the signing of the Munich Agreement. Opponnents of the agreement persuaded the local Labour and Liberal parties to not field candidates of their own against the Conservative candidate, but to instead jointly back an independent standing on a platform of opposition to the Government's foreign policy, in the hope that this would be the precursor to the formation of a more general Popular Front of opposition to the government of Neville Chamberlain in anticipation of the General Election due in either 1939 or 1940. The noted journalist Vernon Bartlett stood as the independent Popular Front candidate and achieved a sensational victory in what was hitherto a Conservative seat. He represented the constituency for the next twelve years.

In 1970 another by-election in the constituency achieved fame as it was the first occasion when 18, 19 and 20 year olds were able to vote in the UK Parliamentary election. The first under-21 year old to cast a vote was Susan Wallace. The by-election was won by the future Conservative Cabinet Minister Tom King who held the seat for the next thirty-one years. The Conservatives have continued to hold the seat to this day.

Members of Parliament

• Constituency created (1295)

Bridgwater borough, 1295-1870

1295-1640

• In at least 14 Parliaments 1377-1406: William Thomere
• In at least 7 Parliaments 1397-1414: John Kedwelly
• In at least 15 Parliaments 1406-1429: William Gascoigne, William Gascoigne junior
• 1442: William Dodesham
• 1472: Sir Thomas Tremayle
• 1483: William Hody
• 1449, 1453: John Maunsel
• 1449: Thomas Driffield
• 1467: James FitzJames
• 1467 and at least 4 subsequent Parliaments: John Kendall
• 1483: John Hymerford
• 1529: Henry Thornton, Hugh Trotter
• In 5 Parliaments 1545-1559: Sir Thomas Dyer
• 1559: Robert Moleyns
• 1601: Sir Francis Hastings
• 1604-1611: Nicholas Halswell
• 1604-1611: John Povey
• 1614: Thomas Warre
• 1614: Robert Halswell
• 1621-1626: Edward Popham
• 1621-1622: Roger Warre
• 1624-1625: Robert Warre
• 1628-1629: Sir Thomas Wroth
• 1628-1629: Thomas Smith

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

1640-1868

Bridgwater county division, 1885-present

• County division created (1885)

Notes

1. ^ Expelled as a monopolist, January 1641
2. ^ Cobbett lists the second MP elected in 1645 as John Palmer, MD, and gives Blake as MP for Taunton. Brunton & Pennington agree with the Dictionary of National Biography in naming Blake as MP for Bridgwater and Palmer for Taunton.
3. ^ Perceval was initially declared re-elected in 1768, but on petition he was judged not to have been duly elected and his opponent, Poulett, was seated in his place.
4. ^ Allen was initially declared re-elected in 1780, but on petition he was judged not to have been duly elected and his opponent, Acland, was seated in his place.
5. ^ Vice-Admiral from 1787
6. ^ Lieutenant-Colonel from 1793, Colonel from 1796
7. ^ The election of Westropp was declared void and a by-election was held
8. ^ The election of Kinglake and Vanderbyl in 1868 declared void. The writ (of election) was suspended and a Royal Commission was appointed, which reported that it had found proof of extensive bribery.
9. ^ Croom-Johnson vacated his seat on appointment as a Justice of the High Court.
10. ^ Bartlett contested the 1938 by-election with the support of the local Labour and Liberal Associations, standing on a Popular Front and anti-appeasement programme. He was associated with the Common Wealth Movement in 1942, but resigned from its National Committee after two months. He contested the 1945 election as an Independent.

Elections

The Member of Parliament since the 2001 general election is Ian Liddell-Grainger of the Conservative Party. He succeeded the retiring Tom King who had represented the seat since a by-election in 1970.

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Somerset

References

• Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
• British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1977)
• British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1974)
• British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press, revised edition 1977)
• British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Research Services 1983)
• Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume I 1832-1885, edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976)
• Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume II 1886-1918, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1978)
• Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume III 1919-1945, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1979)
• Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume IV 1945-1979, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1981)
• Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) [1]
• 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) [2]
• Esther S Cope and Willson H Coates (eds), Camden Fourth Series, Volume 19: Proceedings of the Short Parliament of 1640 (London: Royal Historical Society, 1977)
• Maija Jansson (ed.), Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons) (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988) [3]
• J E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
• 'Bridgwater: Parliamentary representation' in Victoria County History of Somerset: Volume 6 (1992)