Penrith and Solway is a
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 ...
of the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...
in the
UK Parliament
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 of ...
Further to the completion of the
2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies
The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency b ...
, it was contested for the first time at the
2024 general election
This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world.
* 2024 United Nations Security Council election
* 2024 national electoral calendar
* 2024 local electo ...
, since when it has been represented by
Markus Campbell-Savours
Markus Dale Campbell-Savours (born January 1981) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Penrith and Solway since 2024.
He is the son of Lord Campbell-Savours. Campbell-Savours is an alumnus of Birkbeck, ...
of the
Labour Party.
The constituency is named for the Cumbrian market town of
Penrith and the
Solway Coast
The Solway Coast is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in northern Cumbria, England. It incorporates two areas of coastline along the Solway Firth, the first running from just north of the city of Carlisle, at the estuary of the riv ...
.
Boundaries
The 2023 boundary review was carried out using the local authority structure as it existed in
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...
on 1 December 2020 and is officially defined as:
* The Borough of Allerdale wards of: All Saints; Allhallow & Waverton; Aspatria; Boltons; Broughton St. Bridgets; Christchurch; Crummock & Derwent Valley; Ellen & Gilcrux; Keswick; Marsh & Warmpool; Maryport North; Maryport South; Silloth & Solway Coast; Warnell; Wigton & Woodside.
* The City of Carlisle ward of Dalston & Burgh.
* The District of Eden wards of: Alston Moor; Hartside; Hesket; Kirkoswald; Langwathby; Lazonby; Penrith Carleton; Penrith East; Penrith North; Penrith Pategill; Penrith South; Penrith West; Skelton.
With effect from 1 April 2023, the second tier councils in Cumbria were abolished and replaced by the new unitary authorities of Cumberland, and Westmorland and Furness.
Consequently, the constituency now comprises the following from the 2024 general election:
* The Cumberland wards of: Aspatria; Bothel and Wharrels; Cockermouth North; Cockermouth South (majority); Dalston and Burgh (most); Dearham and Broughton; Keswick; Maryport North; Maryport South (majority); Solway Coast; Thursby; Wetheral (part); Wigton.
* The Westmorland and Furness wards of: Alston and Fellside; Hesket and Lazonby; Penrith North; Penrith South.
The seat is centred around
Penrith, stretching from
Alston in the
North Pennines
The North Pennines are the northernmost section of the Pennines, a range of hills which run north–south through northern England. They run along the border between County Durham and Northumberland in the east and Cumbria in the west, and are ...
to
Maryport
Maryport is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is on the coast of the Solway Firth and lies at the northern end of the former Cumberland Co ...
on the
Solway Firth
The Solway Firth is an inlet on the west coast of Great Britain, forming part of the border between England and Scotland. The firth (a Scottish term for an inlet of the sea) divides Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) from Dumfries and Gallow ...
, and includes the following communities:
* Penrith, Alston and
Wigton
Wigton is a market town in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It lies just outside the Lake District. Wigton is at the centre of the Solway Plain, between the Caldbeck Fells and the Solway coast. It is served by Wigton railway st ...
, formerly in the abolished constituency of
Penrith and The Border
Penrith and The Border was a constituency in Cumbria represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Throughout its existence it elected only members of the Conservative Party.
The seat was abolished prior to the 2024 general electio ...
* Maryport,
Cockermouth
Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria, England. The name refers to the town's position by the confluence of the River Cocker into the River Derwent. At the 2021 census, the built u ...
and
Aspatria
Aspatria is a town and civil parish in Cumberland, Cumbria, England. The town rests on the north side of the Ellen Valley, overlooking a panoramic view of the countryside, with Skiddaw to the South and the Solway Firth to the North. Its dev ...
, formerly in the abolished constituency of
Workington
Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...
*
Keswick, transferred from
Copeland (renamed
Whitehaven and Workington
Whitehaven and Workington is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was contested for the first time at the 2024 general election, since w ...
)
*
Dalston
Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas i ...
, transferred from
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England.
Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...
Members of Parliament
Election results
Elections in the 2020s
References
External links
Penrith and Solway UK Parliament constituency(boundaries from June 2024) at ''MapIt UK''
{{Constituencies in North West England
Parliamentary constituencies in Cumbria
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 2024