Huntingdon 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 ...

west of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to t ...

and including its namesake town of

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cr ...

. It has been 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 ...

since 2001 by Jonathan Djanogly 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 ...

. Huntingdon is a safe Conservative seat and was the seat of former Conservative Prime Minister,

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Hunting ...

. First established around the time of the Model Parliament in 1295, Huntingdon was the seat of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three ...

in 1628–29 and 1640–1642.

History

The constituency of Huntingdon has existed in three separate forms: as a

parliamentary borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

from 1295 to 1885; as a division of a parliamentary county from 1885 to 1918; and as a

county constituency In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called " constitue ...

from 1983 until the present day. Representatives for the seat, the standard two burgesses per parliamentary borough, were summoned to form the first fully assembled parliament, the Model Parliament in 1295 and at all parliaments assembled from then until 1868, in which year the constituency was reduced to a single-member borough in accordance with the Reform Act 1867. In the mid-17th century, this was

's constituency. Under the

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 ...

, the parliamentary borough was abolished altogether and the two-member parliamentary county of Huntingdonshire was replaced by the two-single member seats formally known as the Northern or Ramsey Division and the Southern or Huntingdon Division. It was abolished under the

Representation of the People Act 1918 The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The Act extended the franchise in parliamentary elections, al ...

when it was re-combined with Ramsey and Huntingdonshire was re-established as a single member constituency. As a result of the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, the two counties of

Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely was, from 1965 to 1974, an administrative and geographical county in East Anglia in the United Kingdom. In 1974 it became part of an enlarged Cambridgeshire. Formation The Local Government Act 1888 created four ...

, and

Huntingdon and Peterborough Huntingdon and Peterborough was a short-lived administrative and geographical county in East Anglia in the United Kingdom. It existed from 1965 to 1974, when it became part of Cambridgeshire. Formation The Local Government Act 1888 created ...

were merged to form the

non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a county-level entity in England that is not a metropolitan county. The counties typically have populations of 300,000 to 1.8 million. The term ''shire county'' is, however, an unoffi ...

of Cambridgeshire, with effect from 1 April 1974. However, the next redistribution did not come into effect until the 1983 general election, when the majority of the Huntingdonshire constituency, including

, Godmanchester, Ramsey and St Ives, was formed into the new County Constituency of Huntingdon. Areas to the south of Peterborough, which were now part of the expanded

City of Peterborough The City of Peterborough is a unitary authority district with city status in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The area is named after its largest settlement, Peterborough but also covers a wider area of outlying villages and ...

, were included the Borough Constituency of

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire unti ...

and southernmost areas, including

St Neots St NeotsPronunciation of the town name: Most commonly, but variations that ''saint'' is said as in most English non-georeferencing speech, the ''t'' is by a small minority of the British pronounced and higher traces of in the final syllable ...

, were included in the new County Constituency of South West Cambridgeshire. The re-established constituency also included rural areas to the west of Peterborough, including

Barnack Barnack is a village and civil parish, now in the Peterborough unitary authority of the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England and the historic county of Northamptonshire. Barnack is in the north-west of the unitary authority, south-east ...

and Werrington. There were significant boundary changes at the 1997 general election, when the neighbouring seat of

North West Cambridgeshire North West Cambridgeshire is a county 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. Constituency profile Th ...

was created from areas previously in the seats of Huntingdon and

. The former Conservative

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

(1990–1997)

represented the seat from its re-creation in 1983 until his retirement in 2001. His majority in 1992 (36,230) was the largest majority for any member of parliament post-1832 until

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, in which George Howarth won a 42,214 vote majority in Knowsley.

Boundaries and boundary changes

1832–1885: The townships of Huntingdon and Godmanchester. 1885–1918: The Sessional Divisions of Leightonstone and Toseland, incorporating the towns of Huntingdon, Godmanchester, and

. 1983–1997: The District of Huntingdon wards of Brampton, Bury, Earith, Ellington, Elton, Farcet, Fenstanton, Godmanchester, Hemingford Abbots and Hilton, Hemingford Grey, Houghton and Wyton, Huntingdon North, Huntingdon West, Kimbolton, Needingworth, Ramsey, Sawtry, Somersham, Stilton, St Ives North, St Ives South, The Stukeleys, Upwood and The Raveleys, Warboys, and Yaxley, and the City of Peterborough wards of Barnack, Glinton, Northborough, Werrington, and Wittering. 1997–2010: The District of Huntingdonshire wards of Brampton, Buckden, Eaton Ford, Eaton Socon, Ellington, Eynesbury, Fenstanton, Godmanchester, Gransden, Hemingford Abbots and Hilton, Hemingford Grey, Houghton and Wyton, Huntingdon North, Huntingdon West, Kimbolton, Needingworth, Paxton, Priory Park, St Ives North, St Ives South, Staughton, The Offords, and The Stukeleys. Gained the parts of the District of Huntingdon, including St Neots, which had previously been part of the abolished South West Cambridgeshire constituency. The City of Peterborough ward of Werrington was transferred to the

constituency. Remaining Peterborough wards and northern parts of the District of Huntingdon, including Ramsey, were included in the new County Constituency of

. 2010–present: The District of Huntingdonshire wards of Alconbury and The Stukeleys, Brampton, Buckden, Fenstanton, Godmanchester, Gransden and The Offords, Huntingdon East, Huntingdon North, Huntingdon West, Kimbolton and Staughton, Little Paxton, St Ives East, St Ives South, St Ives West, St Neots Eaton Ford, St Neots Eaton Socon, St Neots Eynesbury, St Neots Priory Park, and The Hemingfords. Local authority wards revised. Further minor loss to North West Cambridgeshire. The constituency consists of the towns of

, St Ives, Godmanchester and a number of smaller settlements in Western

Members of Parliament

MPs c1290–1660

MPs 1660–1868

MPs 1868–1918

MPs since 1983

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

The constituency underwent boundary changes prior to the 1997 election and the changes are not based on the 1992 result.

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1880s

* Caused by Montagu's succession to the peerage, becoming Earl of Sandwich.

Elections in the 1870s

* Caused by Karslake's resignation. * Caused by Karslake's appointment as

Attorney General for England and Wales His Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales is one of the law officers of the Crown and the principal legal adviser to sovereign and Government in affairs pertaining to England and Wales. The attorney general maintains the Attorney G ...

. * Caused by Baring's death.

Elections in the 1860s

''Seat reduced to one member'' * Caused by Peel's appointment as

Secretary of State for War The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...

Elections in the 1850s

* Caused by Peel's appointment as

Elections in the 1840s

* Caused by Pollock's resignation upon his appointment as Chief Justice of the Court of the Exchequer * Caused by Peel's appointment as Surveyor-General of the Ordnance and Pollock's appointment as

Elections in the 1830s

Wells and Sweeting were put forward as candidates, and received "a show of hands of ten to one" against Calvert and Stuart, who had received seven and five respectively. However, the mayor declared Stuart and Calvert as having the majority of legal votes and the seat was not put to a poll.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huntingdon (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in Cambridgeshire Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1918 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1983 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom represented by a sitting Prime Minister Politics of Huntingdonshire John Major