County Wiltshire Created 1885 | Electorate 68,846 (December 2010) Number of members One | |
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Major settlements Devizes, Marlborough, Durrington, Pewsey Member of parliament Claire Perry (Conservative) | ||
Devizes /dᵻvaɪzᵻz/ is a constituency in Wiltshire, England, which is represented in the House of Commons of the U.K. Parliament and includes four towns and many villages in the middle and east of the county. The area's representative has been a Conservative since 1924.
Contents
History
Until 1885 Devizes was a parliamentary borough, electing two Members of Parliament (MPs) by the bloc vote system until the 1868 election, when the Reform Act 1867 reduced its representation to one MP, elected by the first-past-the-post system of election. The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 abolished the parliamentary borough, and created a new county constituency of the same name, covering a wider area and electing one member. It has returned a Conservative MP at every election since 1924.
Its most notable MP was Henry Addington, who held the seat during his term as Prime Minister, as well as when he was Speaker of the House of Commons.
Boundaries
1885-1918: The Municipal Boroughs of Devizes and Marlborough, the Sessional Divisions of Devizes, Everley, Pewsey, Marlborough, and Ramsey, and part of the Sessional Division of Pewsey.
1918-1950: The Municipal Boroughs of Devizes and Marlborough, the Rural Districts of Devizes, Marlborough, Pewsey, and Ramsbury, and part of the Rural District of Highworth.
1950-1983: The Municipal Boroughs of Devizes and Marlborough, and the Rural Districts of Devizes, Highworth, Marlborough and Ramsbury, and Pewsey.
1983-1997: The District of Kennet, and the Borough of Thamesdown wards of Blunsdon, Chiseldon, Covingham, Highworth, Ridgeway, St Margaret, St Philip, and Wroughton.
1997-2010: The District of Kennet, the District of North Wiltshire wards of Calne Abberd, Calne Central, Calne North, Calne North East, Calne South, and Calne Without, and the District of West Wiltshire wards of Blackmore Forest, Melksham Forest, Melksham Lambourne, Melksham Roundpoint, Melksham Town, and Melksham Woodrow.
2010-present: The District of Kennet, and the District of Salisbury wards of Bulford and Durrington.
The Devizes constituency covers Devizes in Wiltshire and the surrounding former Kennet district, which includes the towns of Marlborough, Durrington and Tidworth.
Since 1868
Devizes has been a safe Conservative seat since 1945. The current Member of Parliament is Claire Perry who was first elected at the 2010 general election, succeeding Michael Ancram, who had stood down at that election on health grounds.
Fictional Member of Parliament
Devizes was the stated constituency of fictional Conservative MP The Honourable Sir Piers Fletcher-Dervish, Baronet, later Junior Minister for Housing, in the TV sitcom The New Statesman, which was produced and set during the same decade (1980s) that Charles Andrew Morrison was MP for the real-life seat. He was portrayed by actor Michael Troughton.
Elections in the 1940s
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;
Elections in the 1910s
Elections in the 1910s
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;