Worcester (UK Parliament constituency)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Worcester Borough constituency | |
|---|---|
 
| |
| Worcester shown within Worcestershire, and Worcestershire shown within England | |
| Created: | 1295 |
| MP: | Michael Foster |
| Party: | Labour |
| Type: | House of Commons |
| County: | Worcestershire |
| EP constituency: | West Midlands |
Worcester 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.
Contents |
[edit] Boundaries
The constituency covers the city of Worcester, with exactly the same boundaries as the city. It borders the Mid Worcestershire constituency to the east, and West Worcestershire to the west.
[edit] History
Many political commentators and journalists look on Worcester as having the demographic statistics which most closely mirror those as in the United Kingdom as a whole. As such the term "Worcester Woman" has come into use as a description for a typical voter.
A Conservative seat for many years, Worcester was represented by the high-profile Conservative cabinet minister Peter Walker for three decades, from a by-election in 1961 until he stood down in 1992. Peter Luff (also Conservative) held the seat until 1997, when he moved to the new Mid Worcestershire constituency.
Michael Foster of the Labour Party took the seat in the 1997 general election. This can be put down to a combination of Labour's landslide victory nationally, but also to the fact that boundary changes meant the constituncy was now solely an urban area, rather than also containing much of the surrounding countryside.
Peter Walker's son, Robin Walker was selected as the Conservative candidate for the seat in August 2006.
[edit] Members of Parliament
- Constituency created in 1295
[edit] Election results
| General Election 2005: Worcester | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Michael Foster | 19,421 | 41.9 | −6.7 | |
| Conservative | Margaret Harper | 16,277 | 35.1 | −0.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Mary Dhonau | 7,557 | 16.3 | +3.7 | |
| UK Independence | Richard Chamings | 1,113 | 2.4 | −0.9 | |
| British National | Martin Roberts | 980 | 2.1 | N/A | |
| Green | Chris Lennard | 921 | 2.0 | N/A | |
| Independent (politician) | Prudence Dowson | 119 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Majority | 3,144 | 6.8 | |||
| Turnout | 46,388 | 64.1 | +2.1 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | −3.2 | |||
| General Election 2001: Worcester | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Michael Foster | 21,478 | 48.6 | -1.5 | |
| Conservative | Richard Adams | 15,712 | 35.5 | -0.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Paul Chandler | 5,578 | 12.6 | +0.1 | |
| UK Independence | Richard Chamings | 1,442 | 3.3 | +1.5 | |
| Majority | 5,766 | 13.1 | |||
| Turnout | 44,210 | 62.0 | -12.5 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
