Christchurch

(UK Parliament constituency)

Christchurch County constituency

Christchurch shown within Dorset, and Dorset shown within England
Created:	1561, 1983
MP:	Christopher Chope
Party:	Conservative
Type:	House of Commons
County:	Dorset
EP constituency:	South West England

Christchurch is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Centred on the town of Christchurch in Dorset, it elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

It has generally been a strongly Conservative seat, with the exception of a 1993 by-election when it was won by the Liberal Democrats.

Boundaries

The current (2007) boundary includes Verwood and Three Legged Cross, West Moors, St Leonards and St Ives, Ferndown and West Parley, as well as the Borough of Christchurch.

The Boundary Commission for England's Fifth Report, laid before Parliament on 26 February,2007, proposes that Verwood and Three Legged Cross be transferred to the North Dorset constituency, and that Longham and Stapehill be transferred from North Dorset into the Christchurch constituency.

Members of Parliament

List of MPs: parliamentary borough, 1561 — 1832 (2 seats)

List of MPs: parliamentary borough, 1832 — 1918 (1 seat)

Year		Member	Party
	1832	Sir George William Tapps-Gervis, Bt	Conservative
	1837	Rt Hon. Sir George Henry Rose	Conservative
	1844	Hon. Edward Alfred John Harris	Conservative
	1837	John Edward Walcott	Conservative
	1868	Edmund Haviland Burke	Liberal
	1874	Sir Henry Drummond Wolff	Conservative
	1880	Horace Davey, later The Baron Davey	Liberal
	1885	Charles Edward Baring Young	Conservative
	1892	Abel Henry Smith	Conservative
	1900	Kenneth Robert Balfour	Conservative
	1906	Arthur Acland Allen	Liberal
	1910	Henry Page Croft, later The 1st Baron Croft	Conservative
	1917	Henry Page Croft, later The 1st Baron Croft	National
1918		constituency abolished - see the Bournemouth, and New Forest and Christchurch constituencies

List of MPs: county division, 1983 — present

	Member	Party
1983	Robert James Adley	Conservative
1993	Diana Margaret Maddock, later The Baroness Maddock	Liberal Democrat
1997	Christopher Robert Chope	Conservative

Election results

General Election 2005: Christchurch
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Christopher Chope	28,208	54.7	−0.4
	Liberal Democrat	Leslie Coman	12,649	24.5	−3.3
	Labour	Jim King	8,051	15.6	+0.5
	UK Independence	David Hughes	2,657	5.2	+3.2
Majority			15,559	30.2
Turnout			51,565	69.6	+2.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.4

General Election 2001: Christchurch
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Christopher Chope	27,306	55.1	+8.7
	Liberal Democrat	Dorothy Webb	13,762	27.8	-14.8
	Labour	Judith Begg	7,506	15.1	+8.2
	UK Independence	Margaret Strange	993	2.0	+0.9
Majority			13,544	27.3
Turnout			49,567	67.5	-11.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1977)
British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1974)
Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume I 1832-1885, edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976)
Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume II 1886-1918, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1978)
Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume III 1919-1945, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1979)

Constituencies in South West England
Conservative	Bournemouth East • Bournemouth West • Bridgwater • Christchurch • Cotswold • Devizes • East Devon • Forest of Dean • North Dorset • North Wiltshire • Poole • Salisbury • South West Devon • Tewkesbury • Tiverton and Honiton • Torridge and West Devon • Totnes • Wells • West Dorset • Westbury • Weston-super-Mare • Woodspring
Liberal Democrat	Bath • Bristol West • Cheltenham • Falmouth and Camborne • Mid Dorset and North Poole • North Cornwall • North Devon • Northavon • Somerton and Frome • South East Cornwall • St Ives • Taunton • Teignbridge • Torbay • Truro and St Austell • Yeovil
Labour	Bristol East • Bristol North West • Bristol South • Exeter • Gloucester • Kingswood • North Swindon • Plymouth Devonport • Plymouth Sutton • South Dorset • South Swindon • Stroud • Wansdyke
South West England European constituency	Conservative (3) • UKIP (2) • Liberal Democrats (1) • Labour (1)

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