Leominster was a

parliamentary constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

represented until 1707 in the

House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was re ...

, then until 1801 in that of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, and finally until 2010, when it disappeared in boundary changes, in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

. From 1295 to 1885, Leominster was a

parliamentary borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...

which until 1868 elected two Members of Parliament by the bloc vote system of election. Under 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, is an act of the British Parliament that enfranchised part of the urban male working class in England and Wales for the ...

its representation was reduced to one Member, elected by the

first past the post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...

system. The parliamentary borough was abolished under the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 23) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (sometimes called the "Reform Act of 1885"). It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that r ...

, and the name was transferred to a new

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 " constituen ...

History

Aside from two brief periods of Liberal representation, Leominster was a mostly safe Conservative seat from 1910, although sometimes by narrow majorities over the Liberal Party. The Labour Party did not put up a candidate in the constituency until 1950, and it was traditionally one of their weakest seats in the country, though the party were represented for the only time in the seat for three years in the government of

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

when Conservative MP

Peter Temple-Morris Peter Temple-Morris, Baron Temple-Morris (12 February 1938 – 1 May 2018) was a British politician. He was elected as the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Leominster in 1974; he stood down in 2001 after changing parties. He sat in th ...

defected to the party in 1998.

Abolition

Following the review by the

Boundary Commission for England In the United Kingdom, the boundary commissions are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of parliamentary constituencies for elections to the House of Commons. There are four boundary commissions: one each f ...

of parliamentary representation in

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

, no longer connected for such reasons with

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, two parliamentary constituencies have been allocated to the county. Most of the Leominster seat has been replaced by the

North Herefordshire North Herefordshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Ellie Chowns of the Green Party of England and Wales. It is the first Green seat in the West Midlands region. Constituency profile Th ...

seat, while the remainder of the county is covered by the Hereford and South Herefordshire seat.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The Municipal Borough of Leominster, and the Sessional Divisions of Bredwardine, Bromyard, Kingston, Leominster, Weobley, and Wigmore. 1918–1950: The Municipal Borough of Leominster, the Urban Districts of Bromyard and Kington, the Rural Districts of Bredwardine, Bromyard, Kington, Leominster, Weobley, and Wigmore, and parts of the Rural Districts of Hereford and Ledbury. 1950–1974: The Municipal Borough of Leominster, the Urban Districts of Bromyard, Kington, and Ledbury, the Rural Districts of Bromyard, Kington, Ledbury, Leominster, and Weobley and Wigmore, and part of the Rural District of Hereford. 1974–1983: The Municipal Borough of Leominster, the Urban District of Kington, the Rural Districts of Bromyard, Kington, Ledbury, Leominster, and Weobley and Wigmore, and part of the Rural District of Hereford. 1983–1997: The District of Leominster, the District of Malvern Hills wards of Baldwin, Bringsty, Broadheath, Bromyard, Butterley, Cradley, Frome, Frome Vale, Hallow, Hegdon, Hope End, Laugherne Hill, Leadon Vale, Ledbury, Leigh and Bransford, Marcle Ridge, Martley, Temeside, and Woodbury, and the District of South Herefordshire wards of Burghill, Burmarsh, Dinmore Hill, Hagley, Magna, Munstone, Swainshill, and Thinghill. 1997–2010: The District of Leominster, the District of Malvern Hills wards of Bringsty, Bromyard, Butterley, Cradley, Frome, Frome Vale, Hegdon, Hope End, Leadon Vale, Ledbury, and Marcle Ridge, the District of South Herefordshire wards of Backbury, Burghill, Burmarsh, Credenhill, Dinmore Hill, Hagley, Munstone, Swainshill, and Thinghill, and the District of Wyre Forest ward of Rock and Ribbesford. In its final form, the constituency consisted of northern

and a small part of north-west

, the boundaries having been specified when the two were joined as the single county of

Hereford and Worcester Hereford and Worcester ( ) was an English non-metropolitan county created on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 from the areas of the former administrative county of Herefordshire, most of Worcestershire (except Halesowen, Stourbridg ...

. In Herefordshire it included the towns of

Bromyard Bromyard is a town in the parish of Bromyard and Winslow, in Herefordshire, England, in the valley of the River Frome, Herefordshire, River Frome. It is near the county border with Worcestershire on the A44 road, A44 between Leominster and Worc ...

, Kington and

Ledbury Ledbury is a market town and civil parish in the county of Herefordshire, England, lying east of Hereford, and west of the Malvern Hills. It has a significant number of Tudor style timber-framed structures, in particular along Church Lane a ...

as well as

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England; it is located at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of almos ...

, while the largest settlement of Worcestershire it included was

Tenbury Wells Tenbury Wells (locally Tenbury) is a small market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the north-western extremity of the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. Situated 6 miles southeast of Ludlow, its northern border ...

Members of Parliament

Leominster parliamentary borough

To 1660

Members 1660-1868 (two)

Members 1868–1885 (one)

Leominster county constituency

Members 1885–2010

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

Stephenson was declared bankrupt and unseated, causing a by-election. Brayen resigned, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1840s

Wigram resigned after being appointed as a Vice-Chancellor, causing a by-election. Greenaway resigned by accepting the office of

Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds Appointment to the position of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds (or the Three Hundreds of Chiltern) is a procedural device to allow members of Parliament (MPs) to resign from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Since ...

, causing a by-election. Barkly resigned after being appointed Governor of British Guiana, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1850s

Arkwright's death caused a by-election. Willoughby resigned after being appointed as a Member of the

Council of India The Council of India (1858 – 1935) was an advisory body to the Secretary of State for India, established in 1858 by the Government of India Act 1858. It was based in London and initially consisted of 15 members. The Council of India was dissolve ...

, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1860s

Hardy was also elected MP for

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

and opted to sit there, causing a by-election. Walsh resigned in order to contest a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

Radnorshire Radnorshire () was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974, later becoming a Districts of Wales, district of Powys from 1974 to 1996. It covered a sparsely populat ...

, causing a by-election. ''Seat reduced to one member''

Elections in the 1870s

Arkwright resigned, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1910s

* Some records describe Lamb as an Independent Radical. * Langford was also a Liberal.

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1940s

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 from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected; *Conservative:

Ernest Shepperson Sir Ernest Whittome Shepperson, 1st Baronet (4 October 1874 – 22 August 1949) was a Conservative Party politician who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Leominster from 1922 to 1945. Political career Shepperson was elected Member of Parliame ...

*Liberal: Albert Edward Farr

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 2000s

References

Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. .

External links

Leominster UK Parliament constituency
(boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at ''MapIt UK'' {{Use British English, date=September 2024 Leominster Parliamentary constituencies in Herefordshire (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1295 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 2010 William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne