County Cambridgeshire Electorate 75,259 (December 2010) Created 1295 Major settlement Cambridge | Population 114,740 (2011 census) Major settlements Cambridge Member of parliament Daniel Zeichner | |
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Number of members 1295–1885: Two
1885–present: One | ||
Cambridge is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the U.K. Parliament. It has been represented since May 2015 by Daniel Zeichner, a member of the Labour Party.
Contents
History
Before 1885, Cambridge elected two MPs, using the bloc vote system. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, its representation was reduced to one member, with effect from the 1885 general election.
The current MP is Daniel Zeichner of the Labour Party, who was first elected in 2015.
Boundaries
1918-1983: The Municipal Borough of Cambridge.
1983-2010: The City of Cambridge wards of Abbey, Arbury, Castle, Cherry Hinton, Coleridge, East Chesterton, King's Hedges, Market, Newnham, Petersfield, Romsey, and West Chesterton.
2010-present: The City of Cambridge wards of Abbey, Arbury, Castle, Cherry Hinton, Coleridge, East Chesterton, King’s Hedges, Market, Newnham, Petersfield, Romsey, Trumpington, and West Chesterton.
The constituency roughly covers the city of Cambridge, including areas such as Chesterton, Newnham and Cherry Hinton, although one ward in the south of the city (Queen Edith's) is in South Cambridgeshire constituency; until 2010, this ward was joined in that seat by Trumpington ward. From 1983 to 1997, both wards were in the now-abolished seat of Cambridgeshire South West, and from 1997 to 2010 in Cambridgeshire South.
History
Cambridge returned two Members to Parliament regularly from 1295 onwards. These were generally townsmen who were involved in local government. The representation was reduced to one MP in 1885.
Cambridge was a Conservative constituency from 1967 to 1992, when it was taken by Labour's Anne Campbell, who held onto the seat for 13 years (in this case three Parliamentary terms). In 2005 it was taken by David Howarth of the Liberal Democrats, the first time the party had taken the seat since their 1906 landslide; his successor, Julian Huppert, held the seat with an increased majority in the 2010 general election. In 2015, Huppert was unseated by the Labour candidate Daniel Zeichner, who took the seat with a thin majority of 599 votes.
Historically, the city of Cambridge was also home to a second constituency representing the Cambridge University. The university seat was created in 1603 as part of the scheme of University constituencies. MPs for the university included Isaac Newton, William Pitt the Younger, Lord Palmerston, George Stokes, Richard Jebb, and Archibald Hill. The Cambridge University constituency was abolished in 1950.
Members of Parliament
Elections
For a complete list of all Cambridge election results covering 1754–present, see Cambridge parliamentary constituency election results. Figures for the most recent elections are below.