The Wrekin

[WJ]

The Wrekin, named after the prominent hill that looms over the Shropshire plain, takes in a large chunk of eastern Shropshire and it is one of two seats to cover the Telford and Wrekin unitary authority. The seat also takes in the three wards covering Shifnal and Albrighton from Shropshire proper. There has been a constituency with this name since 1918 and the boundaries were rather consistent, until 1997, when the new town of Telford was split away.


These days, the Wrekin takes in the more rural wards to the north and west of Telford as well as the large town of Wellington and the smaller town of Newport. Like much of eastern Shropshire, farming is the most important industry for the rural areas, while places such as Newport and Shifnal act as dormitory towns for Wolverhampton and the Black Country. Wellington is an historic market town and it is the third largest town in Shropshire, with a population of some 25,000. Although for statistical purposes it is often subsumed into the greater Telford area, much to the consternation of some residents, who feel that the new town has overwhelmed Wellington’s identity and economy. Indeed, it is a familiar economic tale, repeated across the country, where the smaller of two close towns is slowly suffocated out of existence. To the other side of Telford is Shifnal, a smaller town, but of equal historical lineage. Shifnal, with its ideal location on the M54 between Telford and Wolverhampton is one of the fastest growing towns in Shropshire, with new housing projects springing up like mushrooms. Indeed, the population is projected to double in the 20 years between the 2001 and 2021 censuses. Nearby is RAF Cosford, a large Air Force hub, home to the Royal Air Force Museum and a major local employer.


Politically, The Wrekin was a classic swing seat, switching between Labour and the Conservatives 13 times since the 1922 election with majorities rarely exceeding 15%. With the growth of Telford, these majorities got smaller and smaller. When Telford was finally cut out the seat passed from the Labour MP Bruce Grocott, who stood in the new Telford seat to Peter Bradley, who won the seat for Labour with a small, but comfortable majority of 6.7% and 46.7% of the vote. He defeated the prospective Tory candidate, Peter Bruinvels, who was previously MP for Leicester East between 1983-1987. Bradley went on to increase his majority on a 1% at the 2001 election, standing against a young Jacob Rees-Mogg who eventually found another route into parliament. Bradley founded and chaired the Rural Group of Labour MPs, whose main role was to help promote rural causes to a more metropolitan-minded party. He was also a prominent campaigner against countryside sports. Campaigning by the Countryside Alliance and their political wing, which targetted anti-hunting MPs probably helped Mark Pritchard of the Conservatives scrape over the line with a thin 942 vote (2%) majority. Along with the national trend towards the Conservatives, 2010 saw minor boundary changes that moved the mostly urban Ketley ward to Telford which likely helped Pritchard boost his majority to 20.5%. Since then, Pritchard has built up his majority and has turned this marginal into a safe Conservative seat, with a hitherto unprecedented 38.8% majority. Of course, this is not all of Pritchard’s doing, but merely following the rightward shift of new towns and their rural hinterlands. Pritchard himself has a rather unorthodox upbringing for a Tory MP, having spent the first 5 years of his life living in an orphanage in Herefordshire, before moving onto foster care for the rest of his adolescence. He has held numerous governmental roles and has been joint chair of the 1922 committee. Although a Eurosceptic, he became one of the more unlikely Conservatives to come out for the remain side during the campaign. That being said, he accepted the result and did not rebel during the May era.


On a local level, the Telford and Wrekin council has usually had a plurality, if not a majority of Labour councillors, barring an outright Conservative majority between 2008-2011. However, the majority of the Conservative votes come from the Wrekin half of the seat. Although, Labour does have strength in some of the Wellington wards such as Arleston, College and Haygate. The town of Newport is strongly Conservative, although the Liberal Democrats made a rare appearance to win one of the two seats in Newport South & East in 2019. The three wards belonging to Shropshire County Council are more Conservative territory, although Shifnal North has elected an Independent since 2013, a rather unusual occurrence for Shropshire, which tends towards conventional party politics. Other than a couple of Liberal Democrats who hold wards such as Dothill and Shawbirch in Wellington, and the short-lived Telford and Wrekin People’s Association, other parties rarely come close, let alone win seats on the council.


Looking to the future, The Wrekin is at the lower end of the quota for the new boundary review. However, due to the now oversized constituencies of Shrewsbury & Atcham and Shropshire North, The Wrekin may well see significant changes to its size and character. Should it see enlargement, then this seat will likely see an increase in the Conservative majority to the monolithically Tory wards to the west. However, if changes include some of the more urban wards of Telford, then Labour might see this seat in play again.

[WJ]

As ever, notes and revisions gratefully received.

[froome]

Aug 16, 2020 16:19:11 GMT WJ said:

The Wrekin, named after the prominent hill that looms over the Shropshire plain, takes in a large chunk of eastern Shropshire and it is one of two seats to cover the Telford and Wrekin unitary authority. The seat also takes in the three wards covering Shifnal and Albrighton from Shropshire proper. There has been a constituency with this name since 1918 and the boundaries were rather consistent, until 1997, when the new town of Telford was split away.

Are there any other constituencies that don't contain either any place or their county within their name, which have survived as a constituency name for so long?

[yellowperil]

Aug 17, 2020 3:01:53 GMT froome said:

Aug 16, 2020 16:19:11 GMT WJ said:

The Wrekin, named after the prominent hill that looms over the Shropshire plain, takes in a large chunk of eastern Shropshire and it is one of two seats to cover the Telford and Wrekin unitary authority. The seat also takes in the three wards covering Shifnal and Albrighton from Shropshire proper. There has been a constituency with this name since 1918 and the boundaries were rather consistent, until 1997, when the new town of Telford was split away.

Are there any other constituencies that don't contain either any place or their county within their name, which have survived as a constituency name for so long?

Don Valley is the first that comes to mind. I'm sure there will be lots of others. DV is another 1918 creation, I think.

[Davıd Boothroyd]

Bassetlaw has been so called since 1804 and is neither a town nor a county.

[yellowperil]

Aug 17, 2020 8:03:09 GMT Davıd Boothroyd said:

Bassetlaw has been so called since 1804 and is neither a town nor a county.

Yup, that's going to take a bit of beating. Unless someone knows different....

[John Chanin]

Aug 17, 2020 8:03:09 GMT Davıd Boothroyd said:

Bassetlaw has been so called since 1804 and is neither a town nor a county.

Definitely long overdue to be renamed Worksop (we can but hope).  Incidentally the Wrekin (the hill that is) is only just inside the constituency named after it, and may well cease to be so following the next review.  Even the BCE is likely to baulk at that (Davenport and Sutton anybody....)

[WJ]

Aug 17, 2020 9:02:10 GMT John Chanin said:

Aug 17, 2020 8:03:09 GMT Davıd Boothroyd said:

Bassetlaw has been so called since 1804 and is neither a town nor a county.

Definitely long overdue to be renamed Worksop (we can but hope).  Incidentally the Wrekin (the hill that is) is only just inside the constituency named after it, and may well cease to be so following the next review.  Even the BCE is likely to baulk at that (Davenport and Sutton anybody....)

It's hard to think of another suitable name for the area. Wellington and/or Newport (Shrops) I guess could be an option, but it is hardly aesthetically pleasing. Shropshire East could be a bland cover I guess. 

[matureleft]

Aug 16, 2020 16:19:11 GMT WJ said:

The Wrekin, named after the prominent hill that looms over the Shropshire plain, takes in a large chunk of eastern Shropshire and it is one of two seats to cover the Telford and Wrekin unitary authority. The seat also takes in the three wards covering Shifnal and Albrighton from Shropshire proper. There has been a constituency with this name since 1918 and the boundaries were rather consistent, until 1997, when the new town of Telford was split away.


These days, the Wrekin takes in the more rural wards to the north and west of Telford as well as the large town of Wellington and the smaller town of Newport. Like much of eastern Shropshire, farming is the most important industry for the rural areas, while places such as Newport and Shifnal act as dormitory towns for Wolverhampton and the Black Country. Wellington is an historic market town and it is the third largest town in Shropshire, with a population of some 25,000. Although for statistical purposes it is often subsumed into the greater Telford area, much to the consternation of some residents, who feel that the new town has overwhelmed Wellington’s identity and economy. Indeed, it is a familiar economic tale, repeated across the country, where the smaller of two close towns is slowly suffocated out of existence. To the other side of Telford is Shifnal, a smaller town, but of equal historical lineage. Shifnal, with its ideal location on the M54 between Telford and Wolverhampton is one of the fastest growing towns in Shropshire, with new housing projects springing up like mushrooms. Indeed, the population is projected to double in the 20 years between the 2001 and 2021 censuses. Nearby is RAF Cosford, a large Air Force hub, home to the Royal Air Force Museum and a major local employer.


Politically, The Wrekin was a classic swing seat, switching between Labour and the Conservatives 13 times since the 1922 election with majorities rarely exceeding 15%. With the growth of Telford, these majorities got smaller and smaller. When Telford was finally cut out the seat passed from the Labour MP Bruce Grocott, who stood in the new Telford seat to Peter Bradley, who won the seat for Labour with a small, but comfortable majority of 6.7% and 46.7% of the vote. He defeated the prospective Tory candidate, Peter Bruinvels, who was previously MP for Leicester East between 1983-1987. Bradley went on to increase his majority on a 1% at the 2001 election, standing against a young Jacob Rees-Mogg who eventually found another route into parliament. Bradley founded and chaired the Rural Group of Labour MPs, whose main role was to help promote rural causes to a more metropolitan-minded party. He was also a prominent campaigner against countryside sports. Minor boundary changes for the 2010 election saw the removal of the Ketley ward to Telford which probably helped Mark Pritchard of the Conservatives scrape over the line with a thin 942 vote (2%) majority. He was also helped with funding and campaigning on behalf of the political wing of the Countryside Alliance, who made it their mission to unseat as many anti-hunting MPs as they could. Since then, Pritchard has built up his majority and has turned this marginal into a safe Conservative seat, with a hitherto unprecedented 38.8% majority. Of course, this is not all of Pritchard’s doing, but merely following the rightward shift of new towns and their rural hinterlands. Pritchard himself has a rather unorthodox upbringing for a Tory MP, having spent the first 5 years of his life living in an orphanage in Herefordshire, before moving onto foster care for the rest of his adolescence. He has held numerous governmental roles and has been joint chair of the 1922 committee. Although a Eurosceptic, he became one of the more unlikely Conservatives to come out for the remain side during the campaign. That being said, he accepted the result and did not rebel during the May era.


On a local level, the Telford and Wrekin council has usually had a plurality, if not a majority of Labour councillors, barring an outright Conservative majority between 2008-2011. However, the majority of the Conservative votes come from the Wrekin half of the seat. Although, Labour does have strength in some of the Wellington wards such as Arleston, College and Haygate. The town of Newport is strongly Conservative, although the Liberal Democrats made a rare appearance to win one of the two seats in Newport South & East in 2019. The three wards belonging to Shropshire County Council are more Conservative territory, although Shifnal North has elected an Independent since 2013, a rather unusual occurrence for Shropshire, which tends towards conventional party politics. Other than a couple of Liberal Democrats who hold wards such as Dothill and Shawbirch in Wellington, and the short-lived Telford and Wrekin People’s Association, other parties rarely come close, let alone win seats on the council.


Looking to the future, The Wrekin is at the lower end of the quota for the new boundary review. However, due to the now oversized constituencies of Shrewsbury & Atcham and Shropshire North, The Wrekin may well see significant changes to its size and character. Should it see enlargement, then this seat will likely see an increase in the Conservative majority to the monolithically Tory wards to the west. However, if changes include some of the more urban wards of Telford, then Labour might see this seat in play again.

Bradley atually lost in 2005 not 2010. You are correct that he was targeted then by pro-hunting groups, but the swing was quite large, nearly double the national swing, suggesting other factors were in play  (boundaries didn't change until 2010). The Lib Dems put in a decent performance in a seat where one might expect they'd be squeezed and UKIP also managed an increased vote. It would be interesting to hear more about what happened on the ground.

[WJ]

Aug 17, 2020 12:49:20 GMT matureleft said:

Aug 16, 2020 16:19:11 GMT WJ said:

The Wrekin, named after the prominent hill that looms over the Shropshire plain, takes in a large chunk of eastern Shropshire and it is one of two seats to cover the Telford and Wrekin unitary authority. The seat also takes in the three wards covering Shifnal and Albrighton from Shropshire proper. There has been a constituency with this name since 1918 and the boundaries were rather consistent, until 1997, when the new town of Telford was split away.


These days, the Wrekin takes in the more rural wards to the north and west of Telford as well as the large town of Wellington and the smaller town of Newport. Like much of eastern Shropshire, farming is the most important industry for the rural areas, while places such as Newport and Shifnal act as dormitory towns for Wolverhampton and the Black Country. Wellington is an historic market town and it is the third largest town in Shropshire, with a population of some 25,000. Although for statistical purposes it is often subsumed into the greater Telford area, much to the consternation of some residents, who feel that the new town has overwhelmed Wellington’s identity and economy. Indeed, it is a familiar economic tale, repeated across the country, where the smaller of two close towns is slowly suffocated out of existence. To the other side of Telford is Shifnal, a smaller town, but of equal historical lineage. Shifnal, with its ideal location on the M54 between Telford and Wolverhampton is one of the fastest growing towns in Shropshire, with new housing projects springing up like mushrooms. Indeed, the population is projected to double in the 20 years between the 2001 and 2021 censuses. Nearby is RAF Cosford, a large Air Force hub, home to the Royal Air Force Museum and a major local employer.


Politically, The Wrekin was a classic swing seat, switching between Labour and the Conservatives 13 times since the 1922 election with majorities rarely exceeding 15%. With the growth of Telford, these majorities got smaller and smaller. When Telford was finally cut out the seat passed from the Labour MP Bruce Grocott, who stood in the new Telford seat to Peter Bradley, who won the seat for Labour with a small, but comfortable majority of 6.7% and 46.7% of the vote. He defeated the prospective Tory candidate, Peter Bruinvels, who was previously MP for Leicester East between 1983-1987. Bradley went on to increase his majority on a 1% at the 2001 election, standing against a young Jacob Rees-Mogg who eventually found another route into parliament. Bradley founded and chaired the Rural Group of Labour MPs, whose main role was to help promote rural causes to a more metropolitan-minded party. He was also a prominent campaigner against countryside sports. Minor boundary changes for the 2010 election saw the removal of the Ketley ward to Telford which probably helped Mark Pritchard of the Conservatives scrape over the line with a thin 942 vote (2%) majority. He was also helped with funding and campaigning on behalf of the political wing of the Countryside Alliance, who made it their mission to unseat as many anti-hunting MPs as they could. Since then, Pritchard has built up his majority and has turned this marginal into a safe Conservative seat, with a hitherto unprecedented 38.8% majority. Of course, this is not all of Pritchard’s doing, but merely following the rightward shift of new towns and their rural hinterlands. Pritchard himself has a rather unorthodox upbringing for a Tory MP, having spent the first 5 years of his life living in an orphanage in Herefordshire, before moving onto foster care for the rest of his adolescence. He has held numerous governmental roles and has been joint chair of the 1922 committee. Although a Eurosceptic, he became one of the more unlikely Conservatives to come out for the remain side during the campaign. That being said, he accepted the result and did not rebel during the May era.


On a local level, the Telford and Wrekin council has usually had a plurality, if not a majority of Labour councillors, barring an outright Conservative majority between 2008-2011. However, the majority of the Conservative votes come from the Wrekin half of the seat. Although, Labour does have strength in some of the Wellington wards such as Arleston, College and Haygate. The town of Newport is strongly Conservative, although the Liberal Democrats made a rare appearance to win one of the two seats in Newport South & East in 2019. The three wards belonging to Shropshire County Council are more Conservative territory, although Shifnal North has elected an Independent since 2013, a rather unusual occurrence for Shropshire, which tends towards conventional party politics. Other than a couple of Liberal Democrats who hold wards such as Dothill and Shawbirch in Wellington, and the short-lived Telford and Wrekin People’s Association, other parties rarely come close, let alone win seats on the council.


Looking to the future, The Wrekin is at the lower end of the quota for the new boundary review. However, due to the now oversized constituencies of Shrewsbury & Atcham and Shropshire North, The Wrekin may well see significant changes to its size and character. Should it see enlargement, then this seat will likely see an increase in the Conservative majority to the monolithically Tory wards to the west. However, if changes include some of the more urban wards of Telford, then Labour might see this seat in play again.

Bradley atually lost in 2005 not 2010. You are correct that he was targeted then by pro-hunting groups, but the swing was quite large, nearly double the national swing, suggesting other factors were in play  (boundaries didn't change until 2010). The Lib Dems put in a decent performance in a seat where one might expect they'd be squeezed and UKIP also managed an increased vote. It would be interesting to hear more about what happened on the ground.

Yes, thank you for catching that. I'd conflated 2005 and 2010. Now edited. The swing could easily have been triggered by the more rural parts of the seat. It's hard to underestimate how loathed Blair was by many people in the countryside. 2005 was also a year of resurgence for the Conservatives in Shropshire, going from 1/5 seats to 4/5. Ludlow saw a 5.7% swing to them and although they didn't take Telford, they also saw a 5.1% swing towards them there too. I'm not quite sure when the trend away from Labour started to happen in the new towns, but I could imagine that this trend in the more urbans parts, coupled with the hatred of Labour in the rural parts helped push the swing up. I agree, it would be interesting to hear from people on the ground if they picked up any anecdotal trends.

I'm not sure the Lib Dems or UKIP did anything particularly out of the national trends during those years?

[Sibboleth]

The 1997 and 2001 results in Shropshire are a good example of 'bizarre things happen in landslides' rather than a norm the end of which needs to be explained. Additional factor in this particular constituency in both 1997 and 2001 would be rather ill-fitting Conservative candidates.

As an aside, this is the constituency that Jeremy Corbyn grew up in.

[Deleted]

Former MPs include Edith Picton-Turbevill who is something of a minor local celebrity in Stroud

[finsobruce]

Aug 18, 2020 15:18:08 GMT @europeanlefty said:

Former MPs include Edith Picton-Turbevill who is something of a minor local celebrity in Stroud

I have a copy of her  memoirs "Life is Good" which were published in 1939. Her other books include "Christ and the International Life".

[Sibboleth]

Aug 18, 2020 15:18:08 GMT @europeanlefty said:

Former MPs include Edith Picton-Turbevill who is something of a minor local celebrity in Stroud

Former MP for much of the area and for a constituency of the same name, but I think it is better to think of the old Wrekin seat (which, in practice, was always a constituency based around the combination of Dawley, Wellington and Oakengates; everything else altered over the years, but that was constant) as having been abolished in 1997 and replaced with two new seats.

[greenhert]

Aug 17, 2020 14:27:30 GMT Sibboleth said:

The 1997 and 2001 results in Shropshire are a good example of 'bizarre things happen in landslides' rather than a norm the end of which needs to be explained. Additional factor in this particular constituency in both 1997 and 2001 would be rather ill-fitting Conservative candidates.

As an aside, this is the constituency that Jeremy Corbyn grew up in.

This happened in its next door neighbour, Ludlow, in 2001, leading to a fluke Liberal Democrat gain. 

North East Somerset has the traditionally industrial town of Keynsham but it is nothing like the towns in The Wrekin!

[iang]

Aug 18, 2020 15:46:43 GMT finsobruce said:

Aug 18, 2020 15:18:08 GMT @europeanlefty said:

Former MPs include Edith Picton-Turbevill who is something of a minor local celebrity in Stroud

I have a copy of her  memoirs "Life is Good" which were published in 1939. Her other books include "Christ and the International Life".

She sounds an interesting person (genuinely - I don't mean "interesting"!)

[finsobruce]

Aug 23, 2020 11:22:28 GMT iang said:

Aug 18, 2020 15:46:43 GMT finsobruce said:

I have a copy of her  memoirs "Life is Good" which were published in 1939. Her other books include "Christ and the International Life".

She sounds an interesting person (genuinely - I don't mean "interesting"!)

There is much of interest in the book. She describes being at the Tower of London when in was bombed in June 1917 : "We then looked up to the skies and saw what appeared to me to be five beautiful silver dragonflies, but these lovely dragonfiles dropped deadly bombs".

When the declaration of her victory was made at Wellington  made she reminisced that "someone in the vast crowd sang the Doxology ' Praise God from whom all blessings flow' - this was caught up by a large number and swelled into a large chorus". Wouldn't happen at a by-election these days! A photo of the crowd shows near enough everyone wearing a cap or hat. They are standing in front of a shop with it's name "LLOYD" in huge free standing letters above the canopy and next door one which finishes "XTER". Maybe Sibboleth can enlighten us as to what they were.

[gwynthegriff]

Aug 23, 2020 12:09:26 GMT finsobruce said:

Aug 23, 2020 11:22:28 GMT iang said:

She sounds an interesting person (genuinely - I don't mean "interesting"!)

There is much of interest in the book. She describes being at the Tower of London when in was bombed in June 1917 : "We then looked up to the skies and saw what appeared to me to be five beautiful silver dragonflies, but these lovely dragonfiles dropped deadly bombs".

When the declaration of her victory was made at Wellington  made she reminisced that "someone in the vast crowd sang the Doxology ' Praise God from whom all blessings flow' - this was caught up by a large number and swelled into a large chorus". Wouldn't happen at a by-election these days! A photo of the crowd shows near enough everyone wearing a cap or hat. They are standing in front of a shop with it's name "LLOYD" in huge free standing letters above the canopy and next door one which finishes "XTER". Maybe Sibboleth can enlighten us as to what they were.

Except in Norn Iron.

[finsobruce]

Aug 23, 2020 12:18:35 GMT gwynthegriff said:

Aug 23, 2020 12:09:26 GMT finsobruce said:

There is much of interest in the book. She describes being at the Tower of London when in was bombed in June 1917 : "We then looked up to the skies and saw what appeared to me to be five beautiful silver dragonflies, but these lovely dragonfiles dropped deadly bombs".

When the declaration of her victory was made at Wellington  made she reminisced that "someone in the vast crowd sang the Doxology ' Praise God from whom all blessings flow' - this was caught up by a large number and swelled into a large chorus". Wouldn't happen at a by-election these days! A photo of the crowd shows near enough everyone wearing a cap or hat. They are standing in front of a shop with it's name "LLOYD" in huge free standing letters above the canopy and next door one which finishes "XTER". Maybe Sibboleth can enlighten us as to what they were.

Except in Norn Iron.

i think it would be a bit of a surprise even there these days.

[Davıd Boothroyd]

Edith Picton-Turbervill very nearly went along with Ramsay MacDonald and supported National Labour. She liked MacDonald personally, and when Parliament first met after the crisis, she abstained rather than voting for or against the government. There were four others who abstained for policy reasons of whom one went on to become a National Labour MP.