Rushcliffe

Rushcliffe County constituency
Rushcliffe shown within Nottinghamshire, and Nottinghamshire shown within England
Created:	1885
MP:	Kenneth Clarke
Party:	Conservative
Type:	House of Commons
County:	Nottinghamshire
EP constituency:	East Midlands

Rushcliffe is a UK Parliament constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Boundaries

The constituency covers the south of Nottinghamshire. Its boundaries match those of the borough of Rushcliffe, typically to the north by the River Trent and to the south by the county border. The main town in the constituency is West Bridgford, which is part of the Greater Nottingham urban area, and includes the Trent Bridge cricket ground and Nottingham Forest F.C. The remainder of the constituency is predominantly rural, although includes the town of Bingham and villages of Cotgrave, East Bridgford, East Leake, Keyworth, Radcliffe on Trent and Ruddington.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Nottinghamshire, the Boundary Commission for England, have made minor modifications to the existing constituency to be fought at the 2010 general election. The area around Bingham will become part of the Newark constituency.

The electoral wards used in the formation of the modified seat are;

• From the borough of Rushcliffe - Abbey, Compton Acres, Cotgrave, Edwalton Village, Gamston, Gotham, Keyworth North, Keyworth South, Lady Bay, Leake, Lutterell, Manvers, Melton, Musters, Nevile, Ruddington, Soar Valley, Stanford, Tollerton, Trent, Trent Bridge, Wiverton, and Wolds.

History

The constituency was formed in 1885. It is regarded as a safe seat for the Conservative Party, as they have held it continually since 1950, except for a four-year period when it was held by Labour. Unlike other constituencies nearby, such as Broxtowe and Gedling, which were previously held by the Conservatives, they retained Rushcliffe in the Labour landslide at the 1997 general election. This has been attributed in part to its more rural nature, but also to the personal popularity of the incumbent MP.

Members of Parliament

Since 1970, Rushcliffe's Member of Parliament has been one of the UK's best-known political figures, Kenneth Clarke of the Conservative Party. Clarke was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997, and has been Shadow Secretary of State for Business since 2009.

Election results

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Nottinghamshire
• List of historic MPs

Coordinates: 52°52′N 1°05′W / 52.87°N 1.09°W / 52.87; -1.09