Wells is a
constituency represented in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
of the
UK Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
since 2015 by
James Heappey
James Stephen Heappey (born 30 January 1981) is a British politician serving as Minister of State for the Armed Forces since 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wells in Somerset since 2 ...
of the
Conservative Party.
History
The original two-member
borough constituency was created in 1295, and abolished by the
Reform Act 1867
The Representation of the People Act 1867, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102 (known as the Reform Act 1867 or the Second Reform Act) was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised part of the urban male working class in England and Wales for the first ...
with effect from the
1868 general election. Its revival saw a more comparable size of electorate across the country and across
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
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, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
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, preceded_by =
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, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, with a large swathe of the county covered by this new seat, under the plans of the
third Reform Act and the connected
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...
which was enacted the following year.
;Political history
The seat was largely
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
-held during the 20th century and has never elected a
Labour MP ever in its history. The only other political party to have been represented is the
Liberal Democrats or their predecessor, the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
, who achieved a marginal victory in 2010, see
marginal seat
A marginal seat or swing seat is a constituency held with a small majority in a legislative election, generally one conducted under a single-winner voting system. In Canada, they may be known as target ridings. The opposite is a safe seat. The ...
.
;Prominent frontbenchers
Sir William Hayter was chief government whip of the Commons under three Liberal Prime Ministers governing from the Lords, (Lord John) Russell, Aberdeen and Palmerston.
So too in this role was
Lord Hylton from 1916 to 1922 alongside the Lord Colebrooke in the Conservative-Liberal National coalition.
Robert Sanders was Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Commons, 1918–1919, and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, 1922–1924.
Robert Boscawen was a government whip (1988–1989).
David Heathcoat-Amory
David Philip Heathcoat-Amory (born 21 March 1949) is a British politician, accountant, and farmer. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Wells from 1983 until he lost the seat in the 2010 general election. He became a member of the ...
was
Minister for Europe (1993–1994) and later a Shadow Cabinet member (1997–2001).
Boundaries
1885-1918: The Borough of Wells, and the Sessional Divisions of Axbridge and Wells (except the parish of Binegar).
1918-1950: The Boroughs of Glastonbury and Wells, the Urban Districts of Shepton Mallet and Street, the Rural Districts of Shepton Mallet, Wells, and Wincanton, and in the Rural District of Frome the parishes of Cloford, Marston Bigot, Nunney, Wanstrow, Whatley, and Witharn Friary.
1950-1983: The Boroughs of Glastonbury and Wells, the Urban Districts of Frome, Shepton Mallet, and Street, and the Rural Districts of Frome, Shepton Mallet, Wells, and Wincanton.
1983-2010: The District of Mendip wards of Ashwick, Avalon, Chilcompton and Ston Easton, Ebbor, Glastonbury St Benedict's, Glastonbury St Edmund's, Glastonbury St John's, Glastonbury St Mary's, Moor, Nedge, Pylcombe, Rodney, Sheppey, Shepton Mallet, Street North, Street South, Wells Central, Wells St Cuthbert's, and Wells St Thomas, and the District of Sedgemoor wards of Axbridge, Axe Vale, Berrow, Brent, Burnham North, Burnham South, Cheddar, Highbridge, Mark, Shipham, and Wedmore.
2010–present: The District of Mendip wards of Ashwick and Ston Easton, Avalon, Chilcompton, Glastonbury St Benedict's, Glastonbury St Edmund's, Glastonbury St John's, Glastonbury St Mary's, Knowle, Moor, Nedge, Pylcombe, Rodney and Priddy, St Cuthbert Out North and West, Shepton East, Shepton West, Street North, Street South, Street West, Wells Central, Wells St Cuthbert's, and Wells St Thomas, and the District of Sedgemoor wards of Axbridge, Axe Vale, Berrow, Brent North, Burnham North, Burnham South, Cheddar and Shipham, Highbridge, Knoll, and Wedmore and Mark.
Constituency profile
Aside from energy, transportation, retail, and distribution which are major sectors, agriculture and tourism are still important areas to this central and quite quintessential part of Somerset which includes the coastal resort of
Burnham-on-Sea
Burnham-on-Sea is a seaside town in Somerset, England, at the mouth of the River Parrett, upon Bridgwater Bay. Burnham was a small fishing village until the late 18th century when it began to grow because of its popularity as a seaside resort. ...
, the city of
Wells with
its cathedral, and notable natural landmarks such as the
Cheddar Gorge and
Glastonbury Tor
Glastonbury Tor is a hill near Glastonbury in the English county of Somerset, topped by the roofless St Michael's Tower, a Grade I listed building. The entire site is managed by the National Trust and has been designated a scheduled monument. T ...
. The site of the
Glastonbury Festival also lies within this seat, causing a major influx of visitors in late June. The founder of the festival,
Michael Eavis
Athelstan Joseph Michael Eavis (born 17 October 1935) is an English dairy farmer and the co-creator of the Glastonbury Festival, which takes place at his farm in Pilton, Somerset.
Personal life
Eavis was born in Pilton, Somerset and grew u ...
, stood as the Labour candidate for the 1997 election, receiving 10,204 votes, the highest for Labour since 1974.
Workless claimants who were registered jobseekers were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.1% of the population based on a statistical compilation by ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''.
Members of Parliament
MPs 1295–1640
MPs 1640–1832
MPs 1832–1868
MPs 1885–present
Elections
Elections in the 2010s
Elections in the 2000s
Elections in the 1990s
Elections in the 1980s
Elections in the 1970s
Elections in the 1960s
Elections in the 1950s
Election in the 1940s
Elections in the 1930s
General Election 1939–40:
Another general election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;
*Conservative:
Anthony Muirhead
*Liberal: James A Brown
[The Liberal Magazine, 1939]
*Labour:
Elections in the 1920s
Election results 1885–1918
Elections in the 1880s
Elections in the 1890s
Joliffe's elevation to the peerage, becoming Lord Hylton, caused a by-election.
Elections in the 1900s
Elections in the 1910s
General Election 1914–15:
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
*Unionist:
George Sandys
George Sandys ( "sands"; 2 March 1578[''Sandys, George''](_blank)
in: ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' online ...
*Liberal:
Charles Conybeare
Election results 1832–1868
Elections in the 1830s
* Edwards-Vaughan resigned on the first day of polling
Lamont's death caused a by-election.
Elections in the 1840s
Hayter was appointed
Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces
In the United Kingdom, the Judge Advocate General and Judge Martial of all the Forces is a judge responsible for the court-martial process within the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force. As such the post has existed since 2008; prior to t ...
, requiring a by-election.
Elections in the 1850s
Tudway's death caused a by-election.
Elections in the 1860s
Elections before 1832
Elections in the 1830s
See also
*
List of parliamentary constituencies in Somerset
Notes
References
Sources
*
*D Brunton & D H Pennington, ''Members of the Long Parliament'' (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
*''Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803'' (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808
titles A-Z* Henry Stooks Smith, ''The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847'', Volume 2 (London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co, 1845)
The Parliaments of England: From 1st George I., to the Present Time
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells (Uk Parliament Constituency)
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1295
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1868
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1885
Parliamentary constituencies in Somerset
Constituency