The Wrekin (UK Parliament constituency)

The Wrekin is a county 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...

since 1918. 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. Before the renaming of Cotswold to The Cotswolds in 2010, it was the only constituency in the United Kingdom beginning with the word The.

The constituency is located in the east of Shropshire

Shropshire

Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...

around The Wrekin

The Wrekin

The Wrekin is a hill in east Shropshire, England. It is located some west of Telford, on the border between the unitary authorities of Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin. Rising to a height of above the Shropshire Plain, it is a prominent and well-known landmark, marking the entrance to Shropshire...

hill. It was affected by major boundary changes which took effect at the 1997 general election

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...

, which created a new constituency containing and named after the town

Telford

Telford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...

of Telford

Telford (UK Parliament constituency)

Telford is a parliamentary 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:...

; prior to this point, Telford had been one of the largest elements of The Wrekin and the new Telford constituency took 62.9% of the electorate of The Wrekin leaving the remaining 37.1% to constitute a revised constituency of The Wrekin that incorporated areas previously within Shropshire North and Ludlow

Ludlow (UK Parliament constituency)

Ludlow 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....

constituencies.

Boundaries

When originally constituted, the constituency was made up of the Municipal Borough of Wenlock

Much Wenlock

Much Wenlock, earlier known as Wenlock, is a small town in central Shropshire, England. It is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford...

, the Urban Districts of Dawley

Dawley

Dawley is a small town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. Today it forms part of the new town of Telford...

, Newport

Newport, Shropshire

Newport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies some north of Telford and some west of Stafford sitting on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border...

, Oakengates

Oakengates

Oakengates is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, and now forms part of the new town of Telford...

and Wellington

Wellington, Shropshire

Wellington is a town in the unitary authority of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England and now forms part of the new town of Telford. The population of the parish of Wellington was recorded as 20,430 in the 2001 census, making it the third largest town in Shropshire if...

, and the Rural Districts of Newport, and Shifnal

Shifnal

Shifnal is a small market town in Shropshire, England. It forms part of The Wrekin constituency, and is about east of Telford. It has a railway station on the Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton Line and is near to the M54 motorway.-Early medieval time:...

and Wellington. With a population of 71,352, it was the largest division of Shropshire created in the 1918 boundary changes.

Boundary changes in 1950 restricted the constituency to the Urban Districts of Dawley

Dawley

Dawley is a small town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. Today it forms part of the new town of Telford...

, Newport

Newport, Shropshire

, Oakengates

Oakengates

Oakengates is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, and now forms part of the new town of Telford...

and Wellington

Wellington, Shropshire

, and the Rural Districts of Shifnal

Shifnal

and Wellington. No changes were made in the First Periodical Report of the Parliamentary Boundary Commission in 1954. In the Second Periodical Report in 1969 the definition of the constituency did not change, but changes in local government boundaries made the constituency only 88% identical with the previous one.

At the Third Periodical Review of the Boundary Commission, the constituency was redefined after major local government changes. It then consisted of the following wards of the District of The Wrekin: Arleston, Brookside, College, Cuckoo Oak, Dawley Magna, Donnington, Donnington Wood, Dothill, Ercall, Hadley, Haygate, Hollinswood and Randlay, Ironbridge (The Gorge), Ketley, Ketley Bank, Langley, Lawley, Leegomery, Lilleshall, Madeley, Malinslee, Park, Priorslee, Stirchley, Wombridge, Woodside, Wrockwardine, and Wrockwardine Wood. This redefinition resulted in a quarter of the electorate being removed to Shropshire North and Ludlow.

In the boundaries adopted in 1997 The Wrekin is a mixed constituency that wraps around the New Town of Telford

Telford

Telford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...

, encompassing much of the rural parts of the Telford and Wrekin

Telford and Wrekin

Telford and Wrekin is a unitary district with borough status in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. The district was created in 1974 as The...

borough, of which most of the constituency lies in. Within the constituency are the towns of Wellington

Wellington, Shropshire

, Newport

Newport, Shropshire

and Shifnal

Shifnal

, as well as the suburban northern reaches of Telford (including Donnington

Donnington, Telford

Donnington was not part of the new town of Telford but part of the already oudated Wellington Rural District which had built many council houses from the 1920s onwards. It is located in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England...

). A small but significant area is in the former Bridgnorth

Bridgnorth (district)

Bridgnorth District was, between 1974 and 2009, a local government district in Shropshire, England. Its main town was Bridgnorth and other towns in its area were Much Wenlock, Shifnal and Broseley. The villages of Albrighton and Sheriffhales as well as RAF Cosford were also in the district.The...

local government district (now part of the new unitary authority, Shropshire Council

Shropshire Council

Shropshire Council is a unitary authority in Shropshire, United Kingdom.It replaced the former two-tier local government structure in the non-metropolitan county of Shropshire on 1 April 2009, which involved its immediate predecessor, Shropshire County Council, and five non-metropolitan districts -...

) and contains DCAE Cosford and a number of commuter villages along the M54 motorway

M54 motorway

The M54 is a 23 mile east-west motorway in the English counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire. It is also referred to as the Telford Motorway, after the road's primary westbound destination, the new town of Telford...

.

The civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

es of Sheriffhales, Shifnal, Tong

Tong, Shropshire

Tong is a village in Shropshire in England. It is near junction 3 of the M54 motorway near Albrighton.The village is remarkable mainly for its church, St Bartholomews, outside of which is the supposed grave of Little Nell, a fictional character in Charles Dickens book, The Old Curiosity Shop...

, Boscobel

Boscobel

Boscobel is a very small civil parish in the east of Shropshire, England, on the border with Staffordshire. To the north is the Staffordshire village of Bishops Wood....

, Albrighton

Albrighton, Bridgnorth

Albrighton is a large village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is located to the northwest of Wolverhampton and is best described as a dormitory village for the city...

, Donington

Donington, Shropshire

Donington is a hamlet and civil parish in Shropshire, England.The hamlet is situated on the northern outskirts of the large village of Albrighton....

and Boningale

Boningale

Boningale is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 266.It was formerly also spelt Boningall or Bonninghall....

make up the Shropshire Council part of the constituency.

Boundary changes to realign the constituency boundaries to fit with the borough's most recent ward revisions resulted in the removal of Ketley

Ketley

Ketley is a suburb of the new town of Telford in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It is a civil parish. East Ketley is currently being re-developed as part of the Telford Millennium Community, part of the Millennium Communities Programme...

(to the constituency of Telford

Telford (UK Parliament constituency)

) for the 2010 general election.

Proposed changes

As part of the Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies

Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies

The Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, also known as the 2013 Review, is an ongoing process by which parliamentary constituencies to the British House of Commons will be reformed, to comply with the revised rules for the number and size of constituencies introduced by the...

which commenced in September 2011, the Boundary Commission for England propose creating a newly expanded seat called "Telford North and The Wrekin" that would incorporate fourteen electoral wards covering Telford in addition to wards covering Newport and the surrounding area

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
1918 United Kingdom general election, 1918 The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...		Constituency created
	1918 United Kingdom general election, 1918 The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...	Sir Charles Solomon Henry Sir Charles Solomon Henry, 1st Baronet Sir Charles Solomon Henry was an Australian merchant and businessman who lived mostly in Britain and sat as a Liberal Member of Parliament in the House of Commons from 1906-1918.-Family and education:...	Coalition Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
	Feb. 1920 by-election	Charles Frederick Palmer Charles Frederick Palmer Charles Frederick Palmer was a British journalist and newspaper editor, closely associated at the end of his career with the politician and business fraudster Horatio Bottomley. Palmer sat briefly in the House of Commons after winning a by-election as an Independent in February 1920.-Career:Palmer...	Independent
	Nov. 1920 by-election	Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend Major General Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend KCB, DSO was a British Indian Army officer who led the ultimately disastrous first British Expedition against Baghdad during World War I, and was later elected to Parliament....	Independent Conservative Independent Conservative Independent Conservative is a description allowed in British politics to denote party affiliation. It is used to designate a politician is conservative, yet independent of any political party, particularly of the Conservative Party....
	1922 United Kingdom general election, 1922 The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...	Howard Stransom Button	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...
	1923 United Kingdom general election, 1923 -Seats summary:-References:F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987-External links:***...	Henry Nixon Henry Nixon (politician) Henry Nixon was a British steelworker, trade unionist and politician. He was General President of the National Union of Blastfurnacemen, Cokeworkers, Ironstone Miners, and Kindred Trades and served briefly in Parliament representing the Labour Party.-Working life:Nixon was born in Middlesbrough,...	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
	1924 United Kingdom general election, 1924 - Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...	Thomas Oakley Thomas Oakley (UK politician) Thomas Oakley was a British electrician and politician. He became a prominent working-class Conservative in St Pancras, and later served a single term in Parliament representing The Wrekin constituency. An energetic man, he devoted much of his time to work with the Hearts of Oak Benefit Society, a...	Unionist 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...
	1929 United Kingdom general election, 1929 -Seats summary:-References:F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987-External links:***...	Edith Picton-Turbervill Edith Picton-Turbervill Edith Picton-Turbervill was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.She was elected Member of Parliament for the marginal The Wrekin at the 1929 general election. Picton-Turbervill held the seat until 1931 when it was gained by the Conservatives.- External links :...	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
	1931 United Kingdom general election, 1931 The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...	James Baldwin-Webb James Baldwin-Webb Colonel James Baldwin-Webb was a British Conservative Party politician who served in the House of Commons as a Member of Parliament from 1931 to 1941....	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...
	1941 by-election	William Arthur Colegate	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...
	1945 United Kingdom general election, 1945 The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...	Ivor Owen Thomas Ivor Owen Thomas Ivor Owen Thomas was a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician.Thomas was the son of Benjamin L. Thomas from Briton Ferry in South Wales.He was educated at Vernon Place School in Briton Ferry...	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
	1955 United Kingdom general election, 1955 The 1955 United Kingdom general election was held on 26 May 1955, four years after the previous general election. It resulted in a substantially increased majority of 60 for the Conservative government under new leader and prime minister Sir Anthony Eden against Labour Party, now in their 20th year...	William Yates	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...
	1966 United Kingdom general election, 1966 The 1966 United Kingdom general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected a mere 17 months previously in 1964 had an unworkably small majority of only 4 MPs...	Gerald Fowler Gerald Fowler Gerald Teasdale Fowler was a British Labour Party politician.Fowler was educated at Northampton Grammar School where he was a friend of Bernard later Lord Donoughue, Lincoln College, Oxford and Frankfurt University...	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
	1970 United Kingdom general election, 1970 The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...	Anthony Trafford Anthony Trafford, Baron Trafford Joseph Anthony Porteous Trafford, Baron Trafford was a British Conservative Party politician and consultant physician. He was educated at Charterhouse and Guy's Hospital Medical School where he won the Gold Medal before attending Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore as a Fellow in Medicine and a...	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,...	Gerald Fowler Gerald Fowler Gerald Teasdale Fowler was a British Labour Party politician.Fowler was educated at Northampton Grammar School where he was a friend of Bernard later Lord Donoughue, Lincoln College, Oxford and Frankfurt University...	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
	1979 United Kingdom general election, 1979 The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...	Warren Hawksley Warren Hawksley Philip Warren Hawksley , known as Warren Hawksley, is a British Conservative politician. He was educated at Denstone College. He contested Wolverhampton North East in February and October 1974. He was Member of Parliament for the The Wrekin from 1979 until he lost the seat to the Labour candidate...	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...
	1987 United Kingdom general election, 1987 The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...	Bruce Grocott Bruce Grocott, Baron Grocott Bruce Joseph Grocott, Baron Grocott PC is a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.Grocott was born in Kings Langley near Watford, and was educated at Leicester University. He obtained an MA from Manchester University after conducting research on Local Government...	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
	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...	Peter Bradley Peter Bradley Peter Charles Stephen Bradley is an English Labour Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for The Wrekin from the 1997 election until the 2005 election, when he lost his seat to Mark Pritchard of the Conservative Party....	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
	2005 United Kingdom general election, 2005 The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....	Mark Pritchard	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

Elections in the 1990s

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