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Post by johnloony on Sept 23, 2023 19:27:03 GMT
Cleethorpes becoming Brigg and Immingham after the town of Cleethorpes itself is removed reminds me of Workington becoming Penrith and Solway after Workington itself was removed. Are there any other examples like this, in either the current review or previous ones, where a constituency has had to change name because its namesake town was moved out of it in the review? Bodmin became Cornwall South East |
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Post by Robert Waller on Sept 23, 2023 19:36:40 GMT
[/quote]Brigg was paired with Cleethorpes from 1983 to 1997, not 1974 to 1997. Before 1983 Cleethorpes was part of the now defunct Louth constituency. The change is notable because it resulted from the (quite frankly idiotic) creation of Humberside and because it resulted in the deselection of Louth's Conservative MP, Michael Brotherton, although he brought most of it on himself.[/quote] - greenhertThat is correct and what I entered above is indeed wrong. Thanks you for drawing it to my attention, and I have now improved the original entry. However I might explain that the reason that I made this mistake was that I tried to shorten the piece below from my entry in the 'current' Almanac seats board. I elided the section quoted here clumsily as I was trying not to drone on quite so much about the seat history, and I was paying more attention to the new material I was writing - which I think was the right thing to do. As will be seen the 9 year period of Brigg and Scunthorpe between 1974 and 1983 which I managed to edit out above actually strengthens my theme of Brigg's various partners in constituency names! The electoral history of constituencies with Brigg in their title is long, varied and interesting. There was a time when this small market town, which in the far north of Lincolnshire, as its inhabitants will be quick to tell you, had a seat name to itself – one of the shortest, at five letters. Indeed it was rather a long time, from 1885 to February 1974. However for the second half of that period the electoral outcome was in fact decided by what became a much larger town, unrecognized in the title. The gritty, unglamorous steel metropolis with a notably unlovely name, Scunthorpe, steadily grew at the rate of around 10,000 extra population per decade from 11,000 in 1901 to 45,000 in 1941 and 67,000 in 1961. As a direct consequence, the Brigg division’s first Labour MP Albert Quibell was elected in 1929, and then that party held the representation from 1935 right through to 1974.
At that point Scunthorpe was finally recognised in the name of a parliamentary seat, the logical Brigg and Scunthorpe (the authority based on Brigg created in the 1970s reforms, Glanford, entirely surrounded Scunthorpe like a doughnut). John Ellis retained the renamed seat in the two 1974 elections, but then lost to a colourful young Conservative, Michael Brown, in the Thatcher gain of 1979. However that seat only existed for nine years. In 1983, Brigg and Scunthorpe were finally separated. The new Glanford & Scunthorpe was rather oddly named, as it only included nine of Glanford borough’s 22 wards and Scunthorpe was far more populous. Meanwhile Brigg itself was paired for the first time with the seaside town of Cleethorpes.
Brigg and Cleethorpes also lasted for only three elections, all won by Michael Brown. Then in 1997 Cleethorpes got a seat of its won and, as in a rustic dance ritual, Brigg yet again had a new partner – for the first time venturing into north Humberside (otherwise known as Yorkshire) to pair with the port of Goole on the river Ouse |
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Post by greenhert on Sept 24, 2023 14:21:54 GMT
Cleethorpes becoming Brigg and Immingham after the town of Cleethorpes itself is removed reminds me of Workington becoming Penrith and Solway after Workington itself was removed. Are there any other examples like this, in either the current review or previous ones, where a constituency has had to change name because its namesake town was moved out of it in the review? Bodmin became Cornwall South East This has happened with quite a few other successor seats: Hertford's closest successor in 1974 was Welwyn Hatfield, not Hertford & Stevenage (a new seat) East Grinstead's closest successor in 1983 was Wealden; East Grinstead itself was moved to Mid Sussex. |
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Post by Pete Whitehead on Sept 24, 2023 14:42:16 GMT
Bodmin became Cornwall South East This has happened with quite a few other successor seats: Hertford's closest successor in 1974 was Welwyn Hatfield, not Hertford & Stevenage (a new seat) East Grinstead's closest successor in 1983 was Wealden; East Grinstead itself was moved to Mid Sussex. Also the neighbouring seat of Bexhill & Battle, which was more of less the former Rye seat minus Rye |
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Post by batman on Sept 24, 2023 16:37:37 GMT
Cleethorpes becoming Brigg and Immingham after the town of Cleethorpes itself is removed reminds me of Workington becoming Penrith and Solway after Workington itself was removed. Are there any other examples like this, in either the current review or previous ones, where a constituency has had to change name because its namesake town was moved out of it in the review? The former Nantwich constituency didn't make a lot of sense after Nantwich became part of the Crewe & Nantwich constituency (mid-1970s?). Crewe & Nantwich was created for the 1983 election. Before that as you say the two towns each had eponymous constituencies. |
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Post by gwynthegriff on Sept 24, 2023 16:43:37 GMT
The former Nantwich constituency didn't make a lot of sense after Nantwich became part of the Crewe & Nantwich constituency (mid-1970s?). Crewe & Nantwich was created for the 1983 election. Before that as you say the two towns each had eponymous constituencies. You're right; I was misremembering 1979 as having been fought on the new boundaries. It wasn't. |
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