Eddisbury (UK Parliament constituency)

Eddisbury is a constituency[n 1] in Cheshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Edward Timpson, a Conservative.[n 2]

Eddisbury
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Eddisbury in Cheshire
Location of Cheshire within England
County	Cheshire
Electorate	71,468 (2018)[1]
Major settlements	Winsford, Tarvin, Audlem, Kelsall, Malpas and Tarporley
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of Parliament	Edward Timpson (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Northwich, Nantwich and Runcorn[2]
1885–1950
Number of members	One
Type of constituency	County constituency
Replaced by	Crewe, Northwich, Knutsford and Runcorn
Created from	South Cheshire

From 2015 to 2019 it was represented by Antoinette Sandbach, a former Conservative member who had the whip removed on 3 September 2019 and joined the Liberal Democrats on 31 October 2019.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The Municipal Borough of the City of Chester, the Sessional Division of Broxton, and parts of the Sessional Divisions of Chester Castle, Eddisbury, Nantwich, and Northwich.

1918–1950: The Urban District of Tarporley, the Rural Districts of Malpas and Tarvin, in the Rural District of Northwich the civil parishes of Crowton, Cuddington, Darnhall, Delamere, Eddisbury, Little Budworth, Marton, Oakmere, and Wimboldsley, in the Rural District of Runcorn the civil parishes of Alvanley, Frodsham, Frodsham Lordship, Helsby, Kingsley, Kingswood, Mauley, Newton-by-Frodsham, and Norley, and part of the Rural District of Nantwich.

1983–1997: The District of Vale Royal wards of Church, Cuddington and Marton, Davenham and Moulton, Forest, Frodsham East, Frodsham North West, Frodsham South, Gorst Wood, Gravel, Hartford, Helsby Central, Helsby North, Helsby South and Alvanley Ward, Kingsley, Mara, Milton, Oulton, Over One, Over Two, Swanlow, Tarporley, Vale Royal, Weaver, and Wharton, and the City of Chester wards of Barrow, Farndon, Malpas, Tarvin, Tattenhall, Tilston, and Waverton.

1997–2010: The District of Vale Royal wards of Cuddington and Marton, Davenham and Moulton, Gravel, Mara, Oulton, Over One, Over Two, Swanlow, Tarporley, Vale Royal, and Wharton, the Borough of Crewe and Nantwich wards of Acton, Audlem, Bunbury, Combermere, Minshull, Peckforton, and Wrenbury, and the City of Chester wards of Barrow, Farndon, Malpas, Tarvin, Tattenhall, Tilston, and Waverton.

2010–present: The Borough of Vale Royal wards of Cuddington and Oakmere, Davenham and Moulton, Mara, Tarporley and Oulton, Winsford Dene, Winsford Gravel, Winsford Over, Winsford Swanlow, Winsford Verdin, and Winsford Wharton, the Borough of Crewe and Nantwich wards of Acton, Audlem, Bunbury, Minshull, Peckforton, and Wrenbury, and the City of Chester wards of Barrow, Farndon, Kelsall, Malpas, Tarvin, Tattenhall, Tilston, and Waverton.

The constituency is mostly rural, covering the south-west of Cheshire, noted in minerals for salt mining and within easy access to the cities of Liverpool, Manchester and the industrial and manufacturing centres of the Wirral Peninsula and Deeside. To the east of the seat lies part of Delamere Forest. The main town in the constituency is Winsford; other main settlements include Tarvin, Audlem, Kelsall, Malpas and Tarporley.

History

The constituency was re-established in 1983, largely replacing the former Nantwich constituency and is named for the former hundred of Eddisbury. Since then, it had always been held by a Conservative, until September 2019.

Between 1983 and 1999, it was represented by Alastair Goodlad, who resigned upon being appointed the United Kingdom's High Commissioner to Australia. The ensuing by-election was won by Stephen O'Brien, who held the seat until 2015. Antoinette Sandbach was elected in 2015, and re-elected in 2017.

The closest the Labour Party has come to winning the seat was in the 1997 general election, when the Conservative majority was reduced to just 1,185. Eddisbury consists of mainly rural villages and small towns which are favourable to the Conservative party; Labour's only strength is in the constituency's largest town, Winsford, which currently has the seat's only local councillors. Labour fell from second to third place in the 2010 general election—the Conservative candidate held the seat with a majority of over 13,000 and a Liberal Democrat moved into second place. The 2015 election saw Labour move back into second place, and the Conservative majority fell by 1.8%.

In 2019, the sitting MP, Antoinette Sandbach had the whip withdrawn following a mass Conservative rebellion intended to prevent a no-deal Brexit, resulting in the seat becoming Independent before defecting to the Liberal Democrats on 31st October 2018=9.[3]

Members of Parliament

Election	Member[4]	Party
1885	Henry James Tollemache		Conservative
1906	Arthur Stanley		Liberal
1910	Harry Barnston		Conservative
1929	RJ Russell		Liberal
1931			Liberal National
1943 by-election	John Loverseed		Common Wealth
1944			Independent
1945			Labour
1945	Sir John Barlow		Liberal National
1950	constituency abolished
1983	Sir Alastair Goodlad		Conservative
1999 by-election	Stephen O'Brien		Conservative
2015	Antoinette Sandbach		Conservative
September 2019			Independent
			Liberal Democrats
2019	Edward Timpson		Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Eddisbury[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Edward Timpson	30,095	56.8	0.1
	Labour	Terry Savage	11,652	22.0	11.6
	Liberal Democrats	Antoinette Sandbach	9,582	18.1	12.6
	Green	Louise Jewkes	1,191	2.2	0.7
	UKIP	Andrea Allen	451	0.9	1.3
Majority			18,443	34.8	11.6
Turnout			53,114	71.9	1.25
	Conservative hold		Swing	5.8

General election 2017: Eddisbury[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Antoinette Sandbach	29,192	56.9	5.8
	Labour	Cathy Reynolds	17,250	33.6	10.0
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Priestner	2,804	5.5	3.6
	UKIP	John Bickley	1,109	2.2	10.0
	Green	Mark Green	785	1.5	1.9
	Pirate	Morgan Hill	179	0.3	0.3
Majority			11,942	23.3	4.1
Turnout			51,319	73.15	4.15
	Conservative hold		Swing	2.1

General election 2015: Eddisbury[7][8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Antoinette Sandbach	24,167	51.0	0.6
	Labour	James Laing	11,193	23.6	2.1
	UKIP	Rob Millington	5,778	12.2	8.0
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Priestner	4,289	9.1	13.4
	Green	Andrew Garman	1,624	3.4	N/A
	CISTA	George Antar	301	0.6	N/A
Majority			12,974	27.4	1.8
Turnout			47,352	69.0	0.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.4

General election 2010: Eddisbury[9][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Stephen O'Brien	23,472	51.7	4.8
	Liberal Democrats	Bob Thompson	10,217	22.5	4.5
	Labour	Pat Merrick	9,794	21.6	10.5
	UKIP	Charles Dodman	1,931	4.3	1.3
Majority			13,255	29.2	15.6
Turnout			45,414	69.5	2.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.2

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Eddisbury[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Stephen O'Brien	21,181	46.4	+0.1
	Labour	Mark Green	14,986	32.8	−3.2
	Liberal Democrats	Joanne Crotty	8,182	17.9	+2.2
	UKIP	Steve Roxborough	1,325	2.9	+0.9
Majority			6,195	13.6
Turnout			45,674	63.2	−1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.6

General election 2001: Eddisbury[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Stephen O'Brien	20,556	46.3	+3.8
	Labour	George Eyres	15,988	36.0	−4.1
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Roberts	6,975	15.7	+2.5
	UKIP	David Carson	868	2.0	N/A
Majority			4,568	10.3
Turnout			44,387	64.2	−11.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

1999 Eddisbury by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Stephen O'Brien	15,465	44.8	+2.3
	Labour	Margaret R. Hanson	13,859	40.2	+0.1
	Liberal Democrats	Paul D. Roberts	4,757	13.8	+0.6
	Monster Raving Loony	Alan Hope	238	0.7	N/A
	Independent Conservative	Robert J. Everest	98	0.3	N/A
	Natural Law	Dinah Grice	80	0.2	N/A
Majority			1,606	4.7
Turnout			34,497	51.4	−24.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1997: Eddisbury[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Alastair Goodlad	21,027	42.5	−8.5
	Labour	Margaret R. Hanson	19,842	40.1	+9.6
	Liberal Democrats	David Reaper	6,540	13.2	−3.8
	Referendum	Norine D. Napier	2,041	4.2	N/A
Majority			1,185	2.4
Turnout			49,450	75.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	−9.1

General election 1992: Eddisbury[14][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Alastair Goodlad	31,625	51.0	−0.1
	Labour	Norma M. Edwards	18,928	30.5	+7.0
	Liberal Democrats	Derrick W. Lyon	10,543	17.0	−6.6
	Green	Andrew Basden	783	1.3	−0.4
	Natural Law	Nigel P.J. Pollard	107	0.2	N/A
Majority			12,697	20.5	−7.0
Turnout			61,986	82.6	+4.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	−3.5

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Eddisbury[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Alastair Goodlad	29,474	51.1	−2.4
	Liberal	Roderick Fletcher	13,639	23.7	−1.8
	Labour	Catriona Grigg	13,574	23.5	+2.5
	Green	Andrew Basden	976	1.7	N/A
Majority			15,835	27.5
Turnout			57,663	78.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.3

General election 1983: Eddisbury[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Alastair Goodlad	28,407	53.5	N/A
	Liberal	Roderick Fletcher	13,561	25.5	N/A
	Labour	David Hanson	11,169	21.0	N/A
Majority			14,846	28.0	N/A
Turnout			53,137	74.8	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)

Election results 1885–1945

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Eddisbury[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal National	John Barlow	15,294	57.7	N/A
	Labour	John Loverseed	7,392	27.9	N/A
	Liberal	Dunstan Curtis	3,808	14.4	N/A
Majority			7,902	29.8
Turnout			26,494	75.2
	Liberal National hold		Swing	N/A

1943 Eddisbury by-election[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Common Wealth	John Loverseed	8,023	43.7	n/a
	Liberal National	Thomas Peacock	7,537	41.0	n/a
	Independent Liberal	Harold Heathcote Williams	2,803	15.3	n/a
Majority			486	2.7	n/a
Turnout			18,363	56.1	n/a
	Common Wealth gain from Liberal National

General Election 1939/40:

Another general election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;

• Liberal National: R.J. Russell
• Liberal: William Gretton Ward

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Eddisbury

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal National	R.J. Russell	Unopposed
	Liberal National hold

General election 1931: Eddisbury

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal National	R.J. Russell	Unopposed
	Liberal National hold

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929 Eddisbury

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	R.J. Russell	13,688	51.6	+5.7
	Unionist	Roderick George Fenwick-Palmer	12,862	48.4	−5.7
Majority			826	3.2	N/A
Turnout			26,550	86.8	−0.1
Registered electors			30,593
	Liberal hold		Swing	+5.7

1929 Eddisbury by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	R.J. Russell	10,223	53.4	+7.5
	Unionist	Roderick George Fenwick-Palmer	8,931	46.6	−7.5
Majority			1,292	6.8	N/A
Turnout			19,154	80.6	−6.3
Registered electors			23,760
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+7.5

General election 1924: Eddisbury

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Harry Barnston	11,006	54.1	+3.5
	Liberal	R.J. Russell	9,337	45.9	−3.5
Majority			1,669	8.2	+7.0
Turnout			20,343	86.9	+10.5
Registered electors			23,409
	Unionist hold		Swing	+3.5

General election 1923: Eddisbury

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Harry Barnston	8,716	50.6	N/A
	Liberal	R.J. Russell	8,520	49.4	N/A
Majority			196	1.2	N/A
Turnout			17,236	76.4	N/A
Registered electors			22,547
	Unionist hold

General election 1922: Eddisbury

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Harry Barnston	Unopposed
	Unionist hold

By-election, 1921: Eddisbury

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
C	Unionist	Harry Barnston	Unopposed
	Unionist hold
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Eddisbury

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
C	Unionist	Harry Barnston	Unopposed
	Unionist hold
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

General Election 1914/15: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Unionist: Harry Barnston
• Liberal: Hayward

General election December 1910: Eddisbury [19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Harry Barnston	5,312	51.4	−1.8
	Liberal	Arthur Stanley	5,023	48.6	+1.8
Majority			289	2.8	−3.6
Turnout			10,335	90.0	−2.6
Registered electors			11,488
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.8

General election January 1910: Eddisbury [20][19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Harry Barnston	5,664	53.2	+9.1
	Liberal	Arthur Stanley	4,976	46.8	-9.1
Majority			688	6.4	N/A
Turnout			10,640	92.6	+6.1
Registered electors			11,488
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+9.1

Elections in the 1900s

Stanley

Cotton-Jodrell

General election 1906: Eddisbury [18][21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Arthur Stanley	5,315	55.9	N/A
	Conservative	Edward Cotton-Jodrell	4,192	44.1	N/A
Majority			1,123	11.8	N/A
Turnout			9,507	86.5	N/A
Registered electors			10,988
	Liberal gain from Conservative

General election 1900: Eddisbury [18][21][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Henry James Tollemache	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1895: Eddisbury [18][21][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Henry James Tollemache	5,176	60.6	+7.5
	Liberal	Roger Bate	3,371	39.4	-7.5
Majority			1,805	21.2	+15.0
Turnout			8,547	83.3	-0.9
Registered electors			10,262
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.5

General election 1892: Eddisbury [18][21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Henry James Tollemache	4,578	53.1	−1.1
	Liberal	James Tomkinson	4,042	46.9	+1.1
Majority			536	6.2	−2.2
Turnout			8,620	84.2	+7.2
Registered electors			10,232
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.1

Elections in the 1880s

Tomkinson

General election 1886: Eddisbury [18][21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Henry James Tollemache	4,357	54.2	+3.5
	Liberal	James Tomkinson	3,678	45.8	-3.5
Majority			679	8.4	+7.0
Turnout			8,035	77.0	-4.0
Registered electors			10,436
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.5

Tollemache

General election 1885: Eddisbury [23][21][24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Henry James Tollemache	4,285	50.7	N/A
	Liberal	Lawrence Irwell	4,164	49.3	N/A
Majority			121	1.4	N/A
Turnout			8,449	81.0	N/A
Registered electors			10,436
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Cheshire

Notes and references

Notes

1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

References

Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.

1. "England Parliamentary electorates 2010-2018". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
2. "'Eddisbury', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
3. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/8ed6470c-fc28-11e9-a4b4-b816768ca711
4. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "E" (part 1)
5. "Notice of Poll - Eddisbury 2019" (PDF). cheshireeast.gov.uk. Cheshire East Council. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
6. "Eddisbury parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
7. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
8. "Eddisbury". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
9. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
10. Boundary change information . Results from BBC Website
11. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
12. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
13. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
14. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
15. "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
16. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
17. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
18. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
19. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
20. Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
21. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
22. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
23. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885–1918, FWS Craig
24. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886