Information about Isle Of Wight (uk Parliament Constituency)

Isle of Wight County constituency
Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight shown within England
Created:	1832
MP:	Andrew Turner
Party:	Conservative
Type:	House of Commons
County:	Isle of Wight
EP constituency:	South East England

The Isle of Wight is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Boundaries

The Isle of Wight forms a single constituency of the House of Commons, with an electorate of 108,253 (as of 2004). This is by far the largest electorate in the country, and more than 50% above the England average of 70,026; it is five times the size of the smallest electorate (Na h-Eileanan an Iar, formerly known as the Western Isles), despite the Isle of Wight having some of the same problems as an island constituency. Successive Boundary Commissions have considered the possibility of splitting the island into two constituencies (or possibly having a constituency crossing the Solent onto the mainland) but with a distinct lack of local enthusiasm for either option it was felt that the island would be better represented by a single MP. One repeated problem has been the difficulty of dividing the island in two in a way that would be acceptable to all interests. [1]

The next review of constituency boundaries is scheduled to take place between 2010 and 2012, at which it is likely that the question of multiple constituencies on the Island will be revisited.

The constituency covers exactly the same land area as the ceremonial county of the Isle of Wight, and the area administered by the unitary authority, Isle of Wight Council.

History

Before the Reform Act of 1832 the island had 3 Parliamentary boroughs: Newport, Newtown, and Yarmouth, each electing two MPs. Outside of the boroughs, people were represented by the two members for Hampshire. The Reform Act abolished Newtown and Yarmouth parliamentary boroughs, and created a constituency for the whole of the Isle of Wight. The separate Newport borough was abolished in 1885.

The constituency is traditionally a battleground between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. Between 1974 and 1987 the seat was a Liberal seat, then becoming Conservative until 1997 when the Liberal Democrats won on a reduced Conservative vote. The seat reverted to the Conservatives in 2001.

See also: Newtown constituency, Newport constituency and Yarmouth constituency

Members of Parliament

Year	Member	Party
1832	Sir Richard Simeon
1837	William Holmes à Court	Conservative
1847	John Simeon
1851	Edward Dawes
1852	Francis Vernon Harcourt
1857	Charles Cavendish Clifford
1865	Sir John Simeon
1870	Alexander Baillie-Cochrane	Conservative
1880	Evelyn Ashley	Liberal
1885	Sir Richard Webster	Conservative
1900	John Seely	Conservative until 1904, then Liberal
1906	Godfrey Baring	Liberal
1910	Sir Douglas Hall	Conservative
1922	Sir Edgar Chatfeild-Clarke	Liberal
1923	John Seely	Liberal
1924	Sir Peter Macdonald	Conservative
1959	Martin Woodnutt	Conservative
1974	Stephen Ross	Liberal
1987	Barry Field	Conservative
1997	Dr Peter Brand	Liberal Democrat
2001	Andrew Turner	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Isle of Wight
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	%
	Conservative Party	Andrew Turner	32,717	48.9	+9.2
	Liberal Democrats	Anthony Rowlands	19,739	29.5	+9.2
	Labour Party	Mark Chiverton	11,484	17.2	-5.8
		Michael Tarrant	2,352	3.5	+2.0
	Independent	Edward Corby	551	0.8	+0.2
Majority			12,978	19.4
Turnout			66,843	61.3
	Conservative Party hold		Swing	+7.5

General Election 2001: Isle of Wight
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	%
	Conservative Party	Andrew Turner	25,223	39.7	+5.7
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Brand	22,397	35.3	+5.7
	Labour Party	Deborah Gardiner	9,676	15.2	-7.5
		David Lott	2,106	3.3	+2.1
	Independent	David Holmes	1,423	2.2	+1.9
		Paul Scivier	1,279	2.0
	Isle of Wight Party	Philip Murray	1,164	1.8	+1.3
	Socialist Labour Party	James Spensley	214	0.3
Majority			2,826	4.4
Turnout			63,482	60.8
	Conservative Party gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	6.6

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Isle of Wight
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	%
	Liberal Democrats	Dr Peter Brand	31,274	42.7	-2.9
	Conservative Party	Andrew Turner	24,868	34.0	-2.9
	Labour Party	Deborah Gardiner	9,646	13.2	-13.9
		Tim Bristow	4,734	6.5	+7.2
		Malcom Turner	2,106	1.5
	Independent	Harry Rees	848	1.2
		Paul Kevin Scivier	544	0.7
		Clive Daly	87	0.1
	Rainbow Warriors	Jonathan Eveleigh	86	0.1	-0.3
Majority			6,406	8.6
Turnout			74,193	72.0
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Party		Swing	6.6

General Election 1992: Isle of Wight
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	%
	Conservative Party	Barry Field	38,163	47.9	-3.3
	Liberal Democrats	Dr Peter Brand	36,336	45.6	-3.3
	Labour Party	Ken Pearson	4,784	6.0	+2.7
		C Daly	350	0.4	+0.1
Majority			1,827	2.3
Turnout			79,633	79.8	-6.0
	Conservative Party hold		Swing

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Isle of Wight
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	%
	Conservative Party	Barry Field	40,175	51.2
	Liberal Democrats	M.A. Young	33,733	42.9
	Labour Party	K. Pearson	4,626	5.9
Majority			6,442	8.3
Turnout			78,560	79.6
	Conservative Party gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

General Election 1983: Isle of Wight
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	%
	Liberal Party	Stephen Ross	38,407	51.0
	Conservative Party	Virginia Bottomley	34,904	46.3
	Labour Party	C. Wilson	1,828	2.4
	Isle of Wight Residents Party	T.B.J. McDermott	208	0.3
Majority			3,503	4.7
Turnout				80.0
	Liberal Party hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Isle of Wight
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	%
	Liberal Party	Stephen Ross	35,889	48.2
	Conservative Party	J.D. Fishburn	35,537	47.7
	Labour Party	C Wilson	3,014	4.0
Majority			352
Turnout				81.8%
	Liberal Party hold		Swing

General Election 1974 (October): Isle of Wight
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	%
	Liberal Party	Stephen Ross	29,697	45.1
	Conservative Party	J.D. Fishburn	27,657	42.0
	Labour Party	L.D. Brooke	8,562	13.0
Majority			2,040
Turnout				76.7
	Liberal Party hold		Swing

General Election 1974 (February): Isle of Wight
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	%
	Liberal Party	Stephen Ross	34,808	50.2
	Conservative Party	Martin Woodnutt	27,042	39.0
	Labour Party	TC Bisson	7,495	10.8
Majority			7,766
Turnout				81.4
	Liberal Party gain from Conservative Party		Swing

General Election 1970: Isle of Wight
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	%
	Conservative Party	Martin Woodnutt	30,437	52.4
	Liberal Party	Stephen Ross	13,111	22.6
	Labour Party	K.W. Boulton	12,883	22.2
		R.W.J Cowdell	1,607	2.8
Majority			17,326
Turnout				72.0
	Conservative Party hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Isle of Wight
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	%
	Conservative Party	Martin Woodnutt	25,862	48.6
	Labour Party	P Stephenson	15,411	29.0
	Liberal Party	Stephen Ross	11,915	22.4
Majority				75.0
Turnout			10,451
	Conservative Party hold		Swing

General Election 1966: Isle of Wight
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	%
	Conservative Party	Martin Woodnutt	27,497	53.5
	Labour Party	W Mann	16,244	31.6
	Liberal Party	B Bliss	7,666	14.9
Majority			11,253	21.9
Turnout				74.3
	Conservative Party hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Isle of Wight
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	%
	Conservative Party	Martin Woodnutt	31,228	62.9
	Labour Party	E.C. Amey	18,396	37.1
Majority			12,832	25.9
Turnout				74.1
	Conservative Party hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Isle of Wight
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	%
	Conservative Party	Sir Peter Macdonald	31,335	62.6
	Labour Party	S.G. Conbeer	18,698	37.4
Majority			12,637	25.3
Turnout				74.4
	Conservative Party hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Isle of Wight
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	%
	Conservative Party	Sir Peter Macdonald	33,501	61.8
	Labour Party	S.G. Conbeer	20,712	38.2
Majority			12,789	23.6
Turnout				80.3
	Conservative Party hold		Swing

General Election 1950: Isle of Wight
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	%
	Conservative Party	Sir Peter Macdonald	32,984	60.5
	Labour Party	S.G. Conbeer	21,496	39.5
Majority			11,488	21.1
Turnout				80.61
	Conservative Party hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Isle of Wight
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	%
	Conservative Party	Sir Peter Macdonald	22,036	46.6
	Labour Party	W.J. Miller	19,252	40.7
	Liberal Party	M. O'Connor	5,967	12.6
Majority			2,784	5.9
Turnout			47,255	76.0
	Conservative Party hold		Swing

See also

• Politics of the Isle of Wight

References

Constituencies in South East England
Conservative	Aldershot | Arundel and South Downs | Ashford | Aylesbury | Banbury | Basingstoke | Beaconsfield | Bexhill and Battle | Bognor Regis and Littlehampton | Bracknell | Buckingham | Canterbury | Chesham and Amersham | Chichester | East Hampshire | East Surrey | East Worthing and Shoreham | Eastbourne | Epsom and Ewell | Esher and Walton | Fareham | Faversham and Mid Kent | Folkestone and Hythe | Gosport | Gravesham | Guildford | Havant | Henley | Horsham | Isle of Wight | Maidenhead | Maidstone and The Weald | Mid Sussex | Mole Valley | New Forest East | New Forest West | Newbury | North East Hampshire | North East Milton Keynes | North Thanet | North West Hampshire | Reading East | Reigate | Runnymede and Weybridge | Sevenoaks | South West Surrey | Spelthorne | Surrey Heath | Tonbridge and Malling | Tunbridge Wells | Wantage | Wealden | Windsor | Witney | Woking | Wokingham | Worthing West | Wycombe
Labour	Brighton Kemptown | Brighton Pavilion | Chatham and Aylesford | Crawley | Dartford | Dover | Gillingham | Hastings and Rye | Hove | Medway | Milton Keynes South West | Oxford East | Portsmouth North | Reading West | Sittingbourne and Sheppey | Slough | Southampton Itchen | Southampton Test | South Thanet
Liberal Democrat	Eastleigh | Lewes | Oxford West and Abingdon | Portsmouth South | Romsey | Winchester
South East European constituency: Conservative (4) | UKIP (2) | Liberal Democrats (2) | Labour (1) | Green (1)

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