Harrogate and Knaresborough is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

. It elects one Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Boundaries

As its name suggests, the constituency includes the towns of Harrogate

Harrogate

Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...

 and Knaresborough

Knaresborough

Knaresborough is an old and historic market town, spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located on the River Nidd, four miles east of the centre of Harrogate.-History:...

. An affluent seat which was once considered a safe Conservative area, Harrogate moved the way of other famous spa towns in England (Bath, Cheltenham

Cheltenham

Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...

) by returning the Liberal Democrat

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...

 MP Phil Willis

Phil Willis

George Philip Willis, Baron Willis of Knaresborough is a politician in the United Kingdom. He is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords, and was Member of Parliament for Harrogate and Knaresborough from 1997 until retiring at the 2010 general election...

 until Andrew Jones regained the seat for the Conservatives

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 on Willis's retirement in the 2010 General Election with a swing of 9.1% and a margin of just over 1,000 votes.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in York

York

York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

 and North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

 in the 2000s, the Boundary Commission for England recommended alterations to the existing Harrogate and Knaresborough seat.

The newly drawn constituency is formed from the following electoral wards:

• Bilton, Boroughbridge, Claro, Granby, Harlow Moor, High Harrogate
  Harrogate
  Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...
  
  , Hookstone, Killinghall, Knaresborough
  Knaresborough
  Knaresborough is an old and historic market town, spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located on the River Nidd, four miles east of the centre of Harrogate.-History:...
  
   East, Knaresborough King James, Knaresborough Scriven Park, Low Harrogate, New Park, Pannal, Rosett, Saltergate, Starbeck, Stray and Woodfield.

History

The constituency was created in 1950 as 'Harrogate'. Following boundary changes in 1997 the name was changed to 'Harrogate and Knaresborough'. Prior to 1950, the two eponymous towns had been part of the Ripon constituency

Ripon (UK Parliament constituency)

Ripon was a constituency sending members to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1983, centred on the city of Ripon in North Yorkshire.-History:...

.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1950 United Kingdom general election, 1950 The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...	Christopher York Christopher York Major Christopher York was a British Conservative politician.York was the eldest son of Captain Edward York and his wife, Violet Helen née Milner, daughter of Sir Frederick Milner, 7th Baronet...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
	1954 by-election	James Ramsden	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
	Feb 1974 United Kingdom general election, February 1974 The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...	Robert Banks Robert Banks (UK politician) Robert George Banks is a British Conservative politician. He was Member of Parliament for Harrogate from February 1974 until he retired in May 1997.-References:...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
	1997 United Kingdom general election, 1997 The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...	Phil Willis Phil Willis George Philip Willis, Baron Willis of Knaresborough is a politician in the United Kingdom. He is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords, and was Member of Parliament for Harrogate and Knaresborough from 1997 until retiring at the 2010 general election...	Liberal Democrat
	2010	Andrew Jones Andrew Jones (politician) Andrew Hanson Jones is a British Conservative Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for the Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency since 7 May 2010. He has been a member of Harrogate Borough Council for the High Harrogate ward since 2003. In 2007, he gained more than half of the...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

As per the Electoral Commission the candidate John Allmann was coded as an "Independent" candidate because his chosen party label - Alliance For Change Human Rights First - did not match a registered political party name.

Elections in the 1990s