Romsey was a parliamentary constituency

United Kingdom constituencies

In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...

 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 elected one Member of Parliament (MP)

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,...

 by the first past the post system of election.

Boundaries

The constituency is located in the Test Valley

Test Valley

Test Valley is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England, named after the valley of the River Test. Its council is based in Andover....

 district of Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

, although it covers a smaller area with parts of the Test Valley to the north being part of the North West Hampshire

North West Hampshire

North West Hampshire is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election.- Boundaries :...

 constituency. The main town within the constituency is Romsey

Romsey

Romsey is a small market town in the county of Hampshire, England.It is 8 miles northwest of Southampton and 11 miles southwest of Winchester, neighbouring the village of North Baddesley...

.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

, the Boundary Commission for England has created a modified Romsey constituency to be called Romsey and Southampton North, to reflect the fact that Southampton

Southampton

Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

 forms part of the constituency.

History

The constituency was created in 1983 from parts of the seats of Eastleigh and New Forest

New Forest (UK Parliament constituency)

New Forest was a county constituency in Hampshire which elected one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

. It was originally named Romsey and Waterside, but in 1997 it was renamed to just Romsey. The first MP

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,...

, Michael Colvin

Michael Colvin

Michael Keith Beale Colvin was a politician in the United Kingdom. He was first elected as a Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Bristol North West in 1979...

, held the constituency from its creation until his death in 2000. This led to a by-election

Romsey by-election, 2000

Conservative Member of Parliament Michael Colvin and his wife died in a fire at their home on 24 February 2000. This created a by-election in his constituency of Romsey in Hampshire, England....

, which was won by Liberal Democrat Sandra Gidley

Sandra Gidley

Sandra Julia Gidley is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. She was the Member of Parliament for Romsey in Hampshire from 2000 to 2010, when she lost her seat to Conservative MP Caroline Nokes.-Biography:...

, who held the seat in the two subsequent General Election

General election

In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...

s but lost to the Conservatives in the 2010 General Election where she contested the new Romsey and Southampton North constituency.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
1983 United Kingdom general election, 1983 The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...		constituency created as Romsey and Waterside
	1983 United Kingdom general election, 1983 The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...	Michael Colvin Michael Colvin Michael Keith Beale Colvin was a politician in the United Kingdom. He was first elected as a Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Bristol North West in 1979...	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...		constituency renamed Romsey
	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...	Michael Colvin Michael Colvin Michael Keith Beale Colvin was a politician in the United Kingdom. He was first elected as a Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Bristol North West in 1979...	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...
	2000 by-election Romsey by-election, 2000 Conservative Member of Parliament Michael Colvin and his wife died in a fire at their home on 24 February 2000. This created a by-election in his constituency of Romsey in Hampshire, England....	Sandra Gidley Sandra Gidley Sandra Julia Gidley is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. She was the Member of Parliament for Romsey in Hampshire from 2000 to 2010, when she lost her seat to Conservative MP Caroline Nokes.-Biography:...	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...
2010		constituency abolished: see Romsey and Southampton North

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s