Rushcliffe (UK Parliament constituency)

Rushcliffe is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2019 by Ruth Edwards, a Conservative. From 1970 until 2019, it was represented by Kenneth Clarke who was the Father of the House of Commons from 2017 until 2019. He also served under the governments of Margaret Thatcher, John Major and David Cameron respectively. Clarke was one of only 5 ministers to serve throughout the whole 18 years of the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major. His political career is the fifth-longest in the modern era and he is a notable figure in British politics. [n 2]

Rushcliffe
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire
Location of Nottinghamshire within England
County	Nottinghamshire
Electorate	73,430 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements	West Bridgford, Cotgrave, Radcliffe on Trent
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of Parliament	Ruth Edwards (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	South Nottinghamshire

History

The constituency was formed by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (for first use during the election that year).

Since 1950 it has been a safe seat for the Conservative Party whose members have held it without marginal majorities except for a four-year period when it was held by Labour from 1966 coinciding with the First Wilson Ministry. Unlike other constituencies nearby, such as Broxtowe and Gedling, which were previously held by the Conservatives, they retained Rushcliffe in the 1997 New Labour landslide.

Boundaries

1885–1918: Part of the Sessional Division of Nottingham.

1918–1950: The Urban Districts of Beeston, Carlton, and West Bridgford, the Rural Districts of Leake and Stapleford, the Rural District which consisted of the parishes of Kingston-on-Soar and Ratcliffe-on-Soar, and in the Rural District of Basford the parishes of Awsworth, Barton-in-Fabis, Bilborough, Bradmore, Bunny, Burton Joyce, Clifton-with-Glapton, Colwick, Cossall, Gamston, Gedling, Gotham, Nuthall, Ruddington, South Wilford, Stoke Bardolph, Strelley, Thrumpton, Trowell, and Wollaton.

1950–1955: The Urban Districts of Beeston and Stapleford, and West Bridgford, and in the Rural District of Basford the parishes of Barton-in-Fabis, Bilborough, Bradmore, Bunny, Clifton with Glapton, Colwick, Costock, East Leake, Gedling, Gotham, Kingston-on-Soar, Normanton-on-Soar, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, Rempstone, Ruddington, Stanford-on-Soar, Sutton Bonington, Thorpe-in-the-Glebe, Thrumpton, West Leake, Willoughby-on-the-Wolds, and Wysall.

1955–1974: The Urban District of Beeston and Stapleford, and in the Rural District of Basford the parishes of Barton-in-Fabis, Bilborough, Bradmore, Bunny, Colwick, Costock, East Leake, Gedling, Gotham, Kingston-on-Soar, Normanton-on-Soar, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, Rempstone, Ruddington, Stanford-on-Soar, Sutton Bonington, Thorpe-in-the-Glebe, Thrumpton, West Leake, Willoughby-on-the-Wolds, and Wysall.

1974–1983: The Urban District of West Bridgford, the Rural District of Bingham, and in the Rural District of Basford the parishes of Barton-in-Fabis, Bradmore, Bunny, Costock, East Leake, Gotham, Kingston on Soar, Normanton on Soar, Ratcliffe on Soar, Rempstone, Ruddington, Stanford on Soar, Sutton Bonington, Thorpe in the Glebe, Thrumpton, West Leake, Willoughby-on-the-Wolds, and Wysall.

1983–2010: The Borough of Rushcliffe.

2010–present: The Borough of Rushcliffe wards of 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.

Constituency profile

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., and has some strong Labour wards like Trent Bridge itself and Lady Bay. The remainder of the constituency is predominantly rural and Conservative, including the villages of Cotgrave, East Leake, Sutton Bonington, Keyworth, Radcliffe on Trent and Ruddington.

The constituency consists of Census Output Areas of one local government district with a working population whose income is close to the national average and has lower than average reliance upon social housing.[2] At the end of 2012 the unemployment rate in the constituency stood as 1.9% of the population claiming jobseekers allowance, compared to the regional average of 3.5%.[3] The borough contributing to the bulk of the seat has a low 15.1% of its population without a car, 16.4% of the population without qualifications and a very high 39.0% with level 4 qualifications or above. In terms of tenure a high 76.7% of homes are owned outright or on a mortgage as at the 2011 census across the district.[4]

Members of Parliament

Clarke was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997, ran to be party leader during opposition under the Blair Ministry, then became Shadow Secretary of State for Business from 2009 to 2010 and then took de facto joint role of Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor from 2010 as the Lord Chancellor lost in the previous administration the requirement to be a leading judge and sit in the judiciary's highest court as well as a conventionally apolitical role in the House of Lords, in which the holder no longer sits.[n 3]

Election		Member[5]	Party	Notes
	1885	John Ellis	Liberal
	Dec 1910	Leif Jones
	1918	Rt. Hon. Henry Betterton	Coalition Conservative	Minister of Labour 25 August 1931 – 29 June 1934
	1922		Conservative
	1934 by-election	Rt. Hon. Ralph Assheton	Conservative
	1945	Florence Paton	Labour
	1950	Rt. Hon. Martin Redmayne	Conservative
	1966	Antony Gardner	Labour
	1970	Rt. Hon. Kenneth Clarke	Conservative	Home Secretary (1992-1993) Chancellor of the Exchequer (1993-1997) Secretary of State for Justice (2010-2012) Father of the House of Commons (2017-2019)
	2019		Independent
	2019	Ruth Edwards	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Rushcliffe[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Ruth Edwards	28,765	47.5	-4.3
	Labour	Cheryl Pidgeon	21,122	34.9	-3.2
	Liberal Democrats	Jason Billin	9,600	15.9	+11.1
	UKIP	Matthew Faithfull	591	1.0	-1.6
	Independent	John Kirby	427	0.7	N/A
Majority			7,643	12.6	-0.9
Turnout			60,505	78.5	+0.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 2017: Rushcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	30,223	51.8	+0.4
	Labour	David Mellen	22,213	38.1	+11.8
	Liberal Democrats	Jayne Phoenix	2,759	4.7	-0.3
	Green	Richard Mallender	1,626	2.8	-3.7
	UKIP	Matthew Faithfull	1,490	2.6	-8.2
Majority			8,010	13.7	-11.4
Turnout			58,311	78.0	+2.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	-5.7

General election 2015: Rushcliffe[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	28,354	51.4	+0.2
	Labour	David Mellen	14,525	26.3	+5.6
	UKIP	Matthew Faithfull	5,943	10.8	+6.7
	Green	Richard Mallender	3,559	6.5	+4.2
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Johnston	2,783	5.0	-16.7
Majority			13,829	25.1	-4.4
Turnout			55,164	75.3	+1.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.7

General election 2010: Rushcliffe[8][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	27,470	51.2	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Karrar Khan	11,659	21.7	N/A
	Labour	Andrew Clayworth	11,128	20.7	N/A
	UKIP	Matthew Faithfull	2,179	4.1	N/A
	Green	Richard Mallender	1,251	2.3	N/A
Majority			15,811	29.5	N/A
Turnout			53,687	73.6	N/A
	Conservative win (new boundaries)

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Rushcliffe[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	27,899	49.5	+2.0
	Labour	Edward Gamble	14,925	26.5	−7.5
	Liberal Democrats	Karrar Khan	9,813	17.4	+3.8
	Green	Simon Anthony	1,692	3.0	+0.7
	UKIP	Matthew Faithfull	1,358	2.4	−0.2
	Veritas	Daniel Moss	624	1.1	N/A
Majority			12,974	23.0	+9.5
Turnout			56,311	70.5	+4.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.8

General election 2001: Rushcliffe[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	25,869	47.5	+3.1
	Labour	Paul Fallon	18,512	34.0	−2.2
	Liberal Democrats	Jeremy Hargreaves	7,395	13.6	−0.7
	UKIP	John Brown	1,434	2.6	+1.9
	Green	Ashley Baxter	1,236	2.3	N/A
Majority			7,357	13.5	+5.3
Turnout			54,446	66.5	−12.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.6

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Rushcliffe[12][13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	27,558	44.4	−10.0
	Labour	Jocelyn Pettitt	22,503	36.2	+13.0
	Liberal Democrats	Sam Boote	8,851	14.3	−5.7
	Referendum	Catherine Chadd	2,682	4.3	N/A
	UKIP	Joseph Moore	403	0.7	N/A
	Natural Law	Anna Miszewska	115	0.2	+0.0
Majority			5,055	8.2	−23.0
Turnout			62,112	78.8	−4.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	−11.5

General election 1992: Rushcliffe[15][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	34,448	54.4	−4.4
	Labour	Alan D. Chewings	14,682	23.2	+6.6
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew M. Wood	12,660	20.0	−3.0
	Green	Simon R. Anthony	775	1.2	−0.5
	Ind. Conservative	Morgan Maelor-Jones	611	1.0	N/A
	Natural Law	David Richards	150	0.2	N/A
Majority			19,766	31.2	−4.6
Turnout			63,326	83.0	+3.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−5.5

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Rushcliffe[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	34,214	58.8
	SDP	Laurence George	13,375	23.0
	Labour	Paddy Tipping	9,631	16.5
	Green	Heather Wright	991	1.7	+0.74
Majority			20,839	35.8
Turnout			72,797	80.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1983: Rushcliffe [18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	33,253	61.5
	Liberal	J Hamilton	13,033	24.09
	Labour	Vernon Coaker	7,290	13.48
	Ecology	Maureen Pooks	518	0.96
Majority			20,220	37.38
Turnout				76.91
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Rushcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	34,196	62.21
	Labour	CIE Atkins	11,712	21.31
	Liberal	JE Hamilton	9,060	16.48
Majority			22,484	40.90
Turnout				81.69
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Rushcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	27,074	54.69
	Labour	V Bell	12,131	24.50
	Liberal	JE Hamilton	10,300	20.81
Majority			14,943	30.18
Turnout				77.38
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Rushcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	29,828	55.58
	Labour	Michael Gallagher	12,119	22.58
	Liberal	JE Hamilton	11,719	21.84
Majority			17,709	33.00
Turnout				84.57
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1970: Rushcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Kenneth Clarke	30,966	51.66
	Labour	Antony Gardner	24,798	41.37
	Liberal	Paul M Browne	4,180	6.97
Majority			6,168	10.29
Turnout				79.64
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Rushcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Antony Gardner	25,623	45.80
	Conservative	Martin Redmayne	25,243	45.12
	Liberal	Malcolm J Smith	5,085	9.09
Majority			380	0.68
Turnout				85.43
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General election 1964: Rushcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Martin Redmayne	27,936	52.64
	Labour	Arthur Latham	25,137	47.36
Majority			2,799	5.27
Turnout				83.44
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Rushcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Martin Redmayne	27,392	54.41
	Labour	Neville Sandelson	22,952	44.59
Majority			4,440	8.82
Turnout				85.37
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1955: Rushcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Martin Redmayne	23,509	51.81
	Labour	David Hardman	21,866	48.19
Majority			1,643	3.62
Turnout				82.86
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1951: Rushcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Martin Redmayne	30,972	57.92
	Labour	Ron Ledger	22,506	42.08
Majority			8,466	15.83
Turnout				85.95
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1950: Rushcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Martin Redmayne	27,497	51.47
	Labour	Hugh Lawson	20,860	39.05
	Liberal	Erica Margaret Stallabrass	5,064	9.48
Majority			6,637	12.42
Turnout				87.77
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Election in the 1940s

General election 1945: Rushcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Florence Paton	43,303	54.23
	Conservative	Ralph Assheton	36,544	45.77
Majority			6,759	8.46
Turnout				77.00
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Rushcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Ralph Assheton	32,320	62.55
	Labour	HJ Cadogan	19,349	37.45
Majority			12,971	25.10
Turnout				67.92
	Conservative hold		Swing

1934 Rushcliffe by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Ralph Assheton	19,374	48.8
	Labour	HJ Cadogan	15,081	38.0
	Liberal	Arthur Thomas Marwood	5,251	13.2
Majority			4,293	10.8
Turnout				56.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1931: Rushcliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Henry Betterton	36,670	72.12
	Labour	Florence Paton	14,176	27.88
Majority			22,494	44.24
Turnout				77.79
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929: Rushcliffe [19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Henry Betterton	19,145	41.7	−23.3
	Labour	Florence Widdowson	16,069	35.0	-
	Liberal	Arthur Thomas Marwood	10,724	23.3	N/A
Majority			3,076	6.7	−23.3
Turnout			45,938	79.5	+10.2
Registered electors			57,758
	Unionist hold		Swing	−11.7

General election 1924: Rushcliffe [19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Henry Betterton	17,733	65.0	+20.5
	Labour	J.O. Whitwham	9,548	35.0	+10.3
Majority			8,185	30.0	+16.3
Turnout			27,281	69.3	−4.0
Registered electors			39,360
	Unionist hold		Swing	+5.1

General election 1923: Rushcliffe [19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Henry Betterton	12,427	44.5	−12.3
	Liberal	John Lewin	8,581	30.8	N/A
	Labour	James Wilson	6,882	24.7	−18.5
Majority			3,846	13.7	+0.1
Turnout			27,890	73.3	+3.4
Registered electors			38,068
	Unionist hold		Swing	+3.1

General election 1922: Rushcliffe [19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Henry Betterton	14,822	56.8	+3.8
	Labour	Norman Angell	11,261	43.2	+13.3
Majority			3,561	13.6	−9.5
Turnout			26,083	69.9	+10.7
Registered electors			37,293
	Unionist hold		Swing	−4.8

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Rushcliffe [19][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
C	Unionist	Henry Betterton	10,848	52.4	+10.7
	Labour	Charles Harris	6,180	29.9	N/A
	Liberal	Leif Jones	3,673	17.7	−40.6
Majority			4,668	22.5	N/A
Turnout			20,701	59.2	−21.1
Registered electors			34,974
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+25.7
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

General election December 1910: Rushcliffe [21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Leif Jones	9,186	58.3	+0.0
	Conservative	Coningsby Disraeli	6,580	41.7	+0.0
Majority			2,606	16.6	+0.0
Turnout			15,766	80.3	−6.5
Registered electors			19,640
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.0

General election January 1910: Rushcliffe [21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	John Ellis	9,942	58.3	−4.2
	Conservative	Coningsby Disraeli	7,098	41.7	+4.2
Majority			2,844	16.6	−8.4
Turnout			17,040	86.8	+5.4
Registered electors			19,640
	Liberal hold		Swing	−4.2

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1906: Rushcliffe [21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	John Ellis	9,094	62.5	+10.7
	Liberal Unionist	H. F. Wyatt	5,460	37.5	−10.7
Majority			3,634	25.0	+21.4
Turnout			14,554	81.4	−0.9
Registered electors			17,883
	Liberal hold		Swing	+10.7

General election 1900: Rushcliffe [21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	John Ellis	6,359	51.8	−1.1
	Conservative	J. Robinson	5,913	48.2	+1.1
Majority			446	3.6	−2.2
Turnout			12,272	82.3	−2.6
Registered electors			14,906
	Liberal hold		Swing	−1.1

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1895: Rushcliffe [21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	John Ellis	5,752	52.9	−1.1
	Liberal Unionist	George Murray Smith[22]	5,119	47.1	+1.1
Majority			633	5.8	−2.2
Turnout			10,871	84.9	+1.5
Registered electors			12,808
	Liberal hold		Swing	−1.1

General election 1892: Rushcliffe [21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	John Ellis	5,380	54.0	−4.9
	Liberal Unionist	Charles Seely	4,588	46.0	+4.9
Majority			792	8.0	−9.8
Turnout			9,968	83.4	+10.4
Registered electors			11,946
	Liberal hold		Swing	−4.9

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1886: Rushcliffe [21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	John Ellis	4,784	58.9	−5.3
	Liberal Unionist	George Savile Foljambe[23]	3,337	41.1	+5.3
Majority			1,447	17.8	−10.6
Turnout			8,121	73.0	−10.1
Registered electors			11,132
	Liberal hold		Swing	−5.3

General election 1885: Rushcliffe [21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	John Ellis	5,944	64.2	N/A
	Conservative	John Henry Boyer Warner	3,308	35.8	N/A
Majority			2,636	28.4	N/A
Turnout			9,252	83.1	N/A
Registered electors			11,132
	Liberal win (new seat)

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Nottinghamshire

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.
3. Commentators questioned Lord Falconer its first revised holder whether the title should be abolished.

References

1. "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
2. "Local statistics - Office for National Statistics". neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk.
3. Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
4. "2011 census interactive maps". Archived from the original on 2016-01-29.
5. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 2)
6. "Rushcliffe Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
7. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
8. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
9. "BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Rushcliffe". BBC News.
10. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
11. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
12. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
13. "Politics Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 7 Jan 2011.
14. C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.142 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
15. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
16. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 Dec 2010.
17. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
18. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
19. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
20. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1922
21. Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
22. "[No title]". Rhyl Record and Advertiser. 27 July 1895. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
23. "Election Expenses in Notts". Nottingham Evening Post. 6 August 1886. p. 3. Retrieved 10 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Kingston-upon-Thames	Constituency represented by the Chancellor of the Exchequer 1993–1997	Succeeded by Dunfermline East
Preceded by Manchester Gorton	Constituency represented by the Father of the House 2017–2019	Succeeded by Worthing West