South Hams (UK Parliament Constituency)
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South Hams was 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 " constituen ...
based on the
South Hams South Hams is a non-metropolitan district, local government district on the south coast of Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Totnes, although the largest town is Ivybridge. The district also contains the towns of Dartmouth, ...
district of
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to 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
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 ...
. The constituency was created for the 1983 general election, and abolished for the 1997 general election. The constituency covered a vast part of the English Riviera on the south Devon coast.


History

This was a safe seat for the Conservative Party. During the fourteen years and three parliaments of its existence, it was held by a single member, Anthony Steen. In the 1987 general election the well-known Labour MP and staunch republican Willie Hamilton contested the seat, finishing third.


Boundaries

The District of South Hams wards of Avon and Harbourne, Avonleigh, Bickleigh and Shaugh, Brixton, Charterlands, Cornwood and Harford, Dart Valley, Dartington, Dartmouth Clifton, Dartmouth Hardness, Erme Valley, Garabrook, Ivybridge, Kingsbridge, Kingswear, Malborough, Marldon, Modbury, Newton and Noss, Salcombe, Saltstone, Skerries, South Brent, Sparkwell, Stoke Gabriel, Stokenham, Thurlestone, Totnes, Totnes Bridgetown, Ugborough, West Dart, Wembury, and Yealmpton, and the Borough of Torbay wards of Blatchcombe, Furzeham with Churston, and St Peter's with St Mary's. The main towns of this South Devon constituency were
Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and ab ...
and Ivybridge. It was divided in
1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...
to form parts of the new constituencies of
Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and ab ...
and Devon South West.


Members of Parliament


Elections


Elections in the 1980s


Elections in the 1990s


See also

*
List of parliamentary constituencies in Devon The ceremonial county of Devon, which includes the unitary authorities of Torbay and Plymouth, is divided into 13 Parliamentary constituencies: 4 Borough constituencies and 9 County constituencies, one of which crosses the county boundary with ...


Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:South Hams (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in Devon (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1983 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1997