County Dorset Created 1885 Member of parliament Simon Hoare | Electorate 73,010 (December 2010) European Parliament constituency South West England Number of members 1 | |
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Major settlements Blandford Forum, Gillingham, Shaftesbury, Sturminster Newton, Verwood | ||
North Dorset is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Simon Hoare, a Conservative.
Contents
History
This seat was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, since which it has been served at various times by candidates from only two parties. For 19 of the years between 1885 and 1950 it has been served by a Liberal and for the other years it has been served only by Conservatives.
Constituency profile
The constituency covers North Dorset local government district and most (geographically) of East Dorset. It is largely rural, with a lower than average proportion of social housing and five small towns shown in the infobox. The largest town is Verwood, and the most central is the market town of Blandford Forum, north of the port of Poole.
Boundaries
1885-1918: The Municipal Borough of Shaftesbury, the Sessional Divisions of Blandford, Shaftesbury, and Sturminster, and part of the Sessional Division of Sherborne.
1918-1950: The Municipal Boroughs of Blandford Forum and Shaftesbury, the Urban District of Sherborne, the Rural Districts of Blandford, Shaftesbury, Sherborne, and Sturminster, and part of the Rural District of Wimborne and Cranborne.
1950-1983: The Municipal Boroughs of Blandford Forum and Shaftesbury, the Urban District of Wimborne Minster, and the Rural Districts of Blandford, Shaftesbury, Sturminster, and Wimborne and Cranborne.
1983-1997: The District of North Dorset, the District of Wimborne wards of Colehill, Corfe Mullen Central, Corfe Mullen North, Corfe Mullen South, Crane, Holt, Sixpenny Handley, Sturminster Marshall, Vale of Allen, and Wimborne Minster, and the District of Purbeck wards of Lytchett Matravers and Lytchett Minster.
1997-2010: The District of North Dorset, and the District of East Dorset wards of Colehill, Crane, Holt, Longham, Sixpenny Handley, Stapehill, Sturminster Marshall, Vale of Allen, and Wimborne Minster.
2010-present: The District of North Dorset, and the District of East Dorset wards of Alderholt, Crane, Handley Vale, Holt, Stour, Three Cross and Potterne, Verwood Dewlands, Verwood Newtown, and Verwood Stephen's Castle.
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 and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;