Harrogate
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
CountyWest Riding of Yorkshire
Major settlementsHarrogate and Knaresborough
1950–1997
Number of membersOne
Replaced byHarrogate and Knaresborough
Created fromRipon

Harrogate (/ˈhærəɡət, -ɡeɪt, -ɡɪt/ HARR-ə-gət, -⁠gayt, -⁠ghit)[1][2] was a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. As with all constituencies, the constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency was renamed Harrogate and Knaresborough in 1997.

Constituency profile

An area with little unemployment, a relatively large retired population and large neighbourhoods of high house prices[n 2][3] which, until former Chancellor Norman Lamont stood for the first time in the successor seat in The New Labour landslide general election in 1997 was part of a Conservative safe seat since 1910, Harrogate moved the way of other famous spa towns in England such as Bath[n 3] by returning the Liberal Democrat MP Phil Willis.

Boundaries

1950–1983: The Municipal Borough of Harrogate, the Urban District of Knaresborough, and the Rural District of Nidderdale except the civil parishes of Hessay, Knapton, Moor Monkton, Nether Poppleton, Rufforth, and Upper Poppleton.

1983–1997: The Borough of Harrogate wards of Bilton, Claro, Duchy, East Central, Granby, Harlow, Knaresborough East, Knaresborough West, Marston Moor, Nether Poppleton, New Park, Ouseburn, Pannal, Spofforth, Starbeck, Upper Poppleton, Wedderburn, and West Central.

History

Before 1950 Harrogate had been part of the Ripon constituency. The constituency was created as 'Harrogate' and following boundary changes in 1997 the name was changed to Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Members of Parliament

Election Member[4] Party Notes
1950 Christopher York Conservative Resigned February 1954
1954 by-election James Ramsden Conservative
Feb 1974 Robert Banks Conservative

Election results

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Harrogate
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Christopher York 28,582 68.55
Labour Edward J. Parris 13,114 31.45
Majority 15,468 37.10
Turnout 41,696 81.24
Conservative win (new seat)
General election 1951: Harrogate
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Christopher York 28,806 70.56
Labour Christopher William Sewell 12,021 29.44
Majority 16,785 41.12
Turnout 40,827 78.74
Conservative hold Swing
1954 Harrogate by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Ramsden 20,263 70.78 +0.22
Labour Ernest Kavanagh 8,367 29.22 -0.22
Majority 11,896 41.56 +0.44
Turnout 28,630
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1955: Harrogate
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Ramsden 26,799 72.32
Labour Thomas Evers 10,258 27.68
Majority 16,541 44.64
Turnout 37,057 71.86
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1959: Harrogate
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Ramsden 29,466 74.29
Labour Frederick Bernard Singleton 10,196 25.71
Majority 19,270 48.58
Turnout 39,662 74.49
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Harrogate
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Ramsden 24,474 57.64
Liberal Barrington Malcolm Black 9,332 21.98 New
Labour Edward Lyons 8,655 20.38
Majority 15,142 35.66
Turnout 42,461 77.00
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1966: Harrogate
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Ramsden 22,932 54.97
Liberal Walter Greaves 9,518 22.82
Labour Reginald Ernest Holmes 9,267 22.21
Majority 13,414 32.15
Turnout 41,717 74.47
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Harrogate
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Ramsden 26,167 59.76
Liberal Walter Greaves 8,825 20.15
Labour Brian Hellowell 8,797 20.09
Majority 17,342 39.61
Turnout 43,789 69.93
Conservative hold Swing
General election February 1974: Harrogate
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Banks 27,517 53.55
Liberal Ian DeCourcey Bayley 15,728 30.61
Labour Michael A. Wheaton 6,084 11.84
National Front Andrew Brons 1,186 2.31 New
Democratic Christian J. E. Stringfellow 875 1.70 New
Majority 11,789 22.94
Turnout 51,390 80.05
Conservative hold Swing
General election October 1974: Harrogate
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Banks 24,583 53.85
Liberal Ian DeCourcey Bayley 11,269 24.69
Labour Barry Seal 8,047 17.63
National Front Andrew Brons 1,030 2.26
Whig Cecil Margolis 719 1.58 New
Majority 13,314 29.17
Turnout 45,648 70.49
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1979: Harrogate
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Banks 30,551 59.46
Liberal Rodney Kent 12,021 23.40
Labour A. Fleming 8,221 16.00
National Front D. Waite 585 1.14
Majority 18,530 36.06
Turnout 51,378 74.26
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Harrogate[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Banks 30,269 60.23
SDP J. Burney 14,381 28.62 New
Labour J. Dixon 5,128 10.20
Reintroduction of Hanging and Corporal Punishment D. Kelley 316 0.63 New
National Front P. Vessey 163 0.32
Majority 15,888 31.61
Turnout 50,257 69.02
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1987: Harrogate[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Banks 31,167 55.55
SDP Jonathan Leach 19,265 34.34
Labour Andrew Wright 5,671 10.1
Majority 11,902 21.21
Turnout 56,103 74.05
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Harrogate[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Banks 32,023 53.85
Liberal Democrats T. J. Hurren 19,434 32.68
Labour A. J. Wright 7,230 12.16
Green A. Warneken 780 1.31 New
Majority 12,589 21.17
Turnout 59,467 77.99
Conservative hold Swing

See also

Notes and references

Notes
  1. ^ A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
  2. ^ In the 2001 census: worklessness was the status of (see Harrogate 009 Middle Layer SOA for access to the whole district): 1.0% of working age people compared to Yorkshire and the Humber: 2.6% England 2.3%
    However in the 2001 Census publication "Indices of Deprivation and Classification: Social Grade" 0.27% of the wider District population of 69,614 of working age were Class E: On state benefit, unemployed, lowest grade workers, slightly higher than 0.22% Yorkshire and the Humber average and 0.24% national average
  3. ^ And for example more urban and less touristic Cheltenham, which is in the Gloucester conurbation
References
  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011). Roach, Peter; Setter, Jane; Esling, John (eds.). "Harrogate". Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 225. ISBN 978-0-521-15255-6.
  2. ^ "Harrogate". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  3. ^ Mouseprice.com heat map
  4. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 1)
  5. ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  6. ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
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