Romsey was a

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

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 ...

of 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 ...

1983–2010 which accordingly (as with all seats since 1950) elected one Member of Parliament (MP) 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 of election. It was similar in extent to its replacement

Romsey and Southampton North Romsey and Southampton North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation by Caroline Nokes for the Conservative Party. For the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer i ...

which includes the Bassett and

Swaythling Swaythling is a suburb and electoral ward of the city of Southampton in Hampshire, England. The ward has a population of 13,664. Swaythling is predominantly residential in character, and noted for its large student population due to its proxi ...

wards of the City of

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

Boundaries

1983–1997: The Borough of Test Valley wards of Abbey, Blackwater, Chilworth and Nursling, Cuppernham, Field, North Baddesley, Romsey Extra, and Tadburn, and the District of New Forest wards of Blackfield and Langley, Colbury, Dibden and Hythe North, Dibden Purlieu, Fawley Holbury, Hythe South, Marchwood, Netley Marsh, Totton Central, Totton North, and Totton South. 1997–2010: The Borough of Test Valley wards of Abbey, Blackwater, Chilworth and Nursling, Cuppernham, Dun Valley, Field, Harewood, Kings Somborne and Michelmersh, Nether Wallop and Broughton, North Baddesley, Over Wallop, Romsey Extra, Stockbridge, and Tadburn, the Borough of Eastleigh wards of Chandler's Ford, Hiltingbury East, and Hiltingbury West, and the City of Southampton ward of Bassett. The constituency was approximate to the

Test Valley Test Valley is a local government district with borough status in Hampshire, England, named after the valley of the River Test. The council is based in the borough's largest town of Andover. The borough also contains the town of Romsey and nume ...

district of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

and covered a smaller area as parts of the north of Test Valley fell into part of the

North West Hampshire North West Hampshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Conservative Kit Malthouse, who served as Education Secretary in 2022. History This constituency's results suggest a Conservative ...

seat to roughly ensure equal size electorates (low

malapportionment Apportionment is the process by which seats in a legislative body are distributed among administrative divisions, such as states or parties, entitled to representation. This page presents the general principles and issues related to apportionmen ...

). The main town within the constituency was

Romsey Romsey ( ) is a town in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. The town is situated northwest of Southampton, southwest of Winchester and southeast of Salisbury. It sits on the outskirts of the New Forest, just over northeast of ...

History

The constituency was created in 1983 from parts of the seats of

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

and

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

. It was originally named Romsey and Waterside and included areas such as Hythe and Fawley on the west side of

Southampton Water Southampton Water is a tidal estuary north of the Solent and the Isle of Wight in England. The city of Southampton lies at its most northerly point, where the estuaries of the River Test and River Itchen meet. Along its salt marsh-fringed we ...

. In 1997 it lost the Waterside area and gained the Bassett Ward of the City of Southampton, and new territory in the Test Valley district, to the north of Romsey, and was consequently renamed to just Romsey. The first MP,

Michael Colvin Michael Keith Beale Colvin (27 September 1932 – 24 February 2000) was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician. He was first elected as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol Nor ...

, held the constituency from its creation until his death in 2000. This led to 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 ...

, which was won by

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

Sandra Gidley, who held the seat in the two subsequent

General Election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

s. Following their review of parliamentary representation in

, 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 ...

created a modified Romsey constituency called

, to reflect the fact that two wards of

form part of the constituency (though one ward had in fact formed part of the constituency since 1997). Sandra Gidley lost to the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

in the 2010 general election when she contested the new seat. She was succeeded by

Caroline Nokes Caroline Fiona Ellen Nokes (''née'' Perry; born 26 June 1972) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Romsey and Southampton North since 2010. From 2014 to 2015 she was a Parliamentary Priv ...

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Notes and references

External links

Romsey UK Parliament constituency
(boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at ''MapIt UK'' {{Constituencies in South East England Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1983 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 2010 Parliamentary constituencies in Hampshire (historic) Test Valley