Horsham () is a

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

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 suprem ...

, centred on the eponymous town in

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

, its former rural district and part of another rural district. Its

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) was

Francis Maude Francis Anthony Aylmer Maude, Baron Maude of Horsham, (born 4 July 1953) is a British Conservative Party politician and life peer who served as Minister of State for Trade and Investment from 2015 to 2016, having previously served as Minis ...

between

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

; since then it has been Jeremy Quin, both of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

Boundaries and profile

1885–1918: The Sessional Divisions of Horsham, Midhurst, Petworth, the civil parish of Crawley. 1945–1950: The Urban Districts of Horsham, Shoreham-by-Sea, Southwick, the Rural Districts of Chanctonbury and Horsham. 1950–1974: The Urban District of Horsham, the Rural Districts of Horsham, Midhurst, Petworth. 1983–1997: The District of Horsham. 1997–2010: The District of Horsham wards of Billingshurst, Broadbridge Heath, Cowfold, Denne, Forest, Holbrook, Itchingfield and Shipley, Nuthurst, Riverside, Roffey North, Rudgwick, Rusper, Slinfold, Southwater, Trafalgar, Warnham, the District of Mid Sussex wards of Balcombe, Copthorne and Worth, Crawley Down, Slaugham, Turners Hill, the District of Chichester wards of Plaistow and Wisborough Green. 2010–present: The District of Horsham wards of Billingshurst and Shipley, Broadbridge Heath, Denne, Forest, Holbrook East, Holbrook West, Horsham Park, Itchingfield, Slinfold and Warnham, Nuthurst, Roffey North, Roffey South, Rudgwick, Rusper and Colgate, Southwater, and Trafalgar, and the District of Mid Sussex wards of Ardingly and Balcombe, Copthorne and Worth, and Crawley Down and Turners Hill. The constituency is located in a northern part of

, bordering the constituencies of Arundel and South Downs, Mid Sussex. It is centred slightly east of the town of

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

and is rectangular with the exception of a noticeable gap formed by the smaller constituency of

Crawley Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of ...

. The constituency (including its brief larger versions under other names) has been represented by members of the

since 1880, making it the longest held Conservative seat and not normally with marginal majorities making it a

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combina ...

, though just outside the top twenty Conservative seats sorted by majority.

History

Horsham has existed as a constituency for three distinct periods. It first sent members to Parliament in 1295. However, the constituency was abolished in 1918 to make way for Horsham and Worthing. In 1945 the constituency was recreated, until 1974 when Horsham and Crawley was created. In 1983 the constituency of Horsham was again created and has existed since.

Members of Parliament

MPs before 1660

MPs 1660–1832

* ''Representation reduced to one'' (1832)

MPs 1832–1918

MPs 1945–1974

MPs since 1983

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1992 and 1997 general elections and thus change in share of vote is based on a notional calculation.

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1940s

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1900s

= ''N/A''

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1880s

* Caused by Aubrey-Fletcher's appointment as a Groom in Waiting.

Elections in the 1870s

* Caused by the by-election being declared void on petition. * Caused by Vesey-FitzGerald's appointment as

Chief Charity Commissioner for England and Wales , type = Non-ministerial government department , seal = , seal_caption = , logo = Charity Commission for England and Wales logo.svg , logo_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , ...

Elections in the 1860s

* Both candidates received the same number of votes, and both were declared elected, with petitions lodged against both. However, on 3 May 1869, Aldridge withdrew his claim to the seat allowing Hurst to be the sole MP.

Elections in the 1850s

Elections in the 1840s

* Held due to the 1847 general election result being declared void on petition, due to treating, on 23 March 1848. After a further petition arising from the by-election, Vesey-Fitzgerald was declared unduly elected, due to bribery and treating by both him and his agents, and Fitzalan-Howard was declared elected on 8 September 1848. * Caused by Scarlett's succession to the peerage, becoming 2nd

Baron Abinger Baron Abinger, of Abinger in the County of Surrey and of the City of Norwich, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 12 January 1835 for the prominent lawyer and politician Sir James Scarlett, the Lord Chief Baron of t ...

Elections in the 1830s

Notes

References

Sources

Election result, 2010
(BBC)
Election result, 2005
(BBC)
Election results, 1997 - 2001
(BBC)

(Election Demon)

(Election Demon)
Election results, 1992 - 2010
(Guardian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Horsham (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in South East England Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1295 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1918 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1945 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1974 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1983