County Nottinghamshire Major settlements West Bridgford Created from South Nottinghamshire Member of parliament Kenneth Clarke Number of members 1 | Electorate 73,430 (December 2010) Created 1885 European Parliament constituency East Midlands Major settlement West Bridgford Replaced by South Nottinghamshire | |
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Rushcliffe is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1970 by Ken Clarke, a Conservative.
Contents
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. This was at the time attributed in part to its more rural nature, but also to the personal popularity of the incumbent MP, Conservative Kenneth Clarke.
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 civil parishes of Kingston-on-Soar and Ratcliffe-on-Soar, and in the Rural District of Basford the civil 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 civil 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 civil 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 (the civil parishes of Aslockton, Bingham, Car Colston, Clipston-on-the-Wolds, Colston Bassett, Cotgrave, Cropwell Bishop, Cropwell Butler, East Bridgford, Edwalton, Elton, Flawborough, Flintham, Gamston, Granby, Hawksworth, Hickling, Holme Pierrepont, Keyworth, Kinoulton, Kneeton, Langar-cum-Barnstone, Normanton-on-the-Wolds, Orston, Owthorpe, Plumtree, Radcliffe-on-Trent, Saxondale, Scarrington, Screveton, Shelford, Shelton, Sibthorpe, Stanton-on-the-Wolds, Thoroton, Tithby, Tollerton, Upper Broughton, Whatton, Widmerpool, and Wiverton Hall), and in the Rural District of Basford the civil 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.
The constituency covers the south of Nottinghamshire.
Following their review of parliamentary representation in Nottinghamshire, the Boundary Commission's report approved by Parliament led to minor modifications to the existing constituency for the 2010 general election onwards.
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.. The remainder of the constituency is predominantly rural, although includes 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. 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%. 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.
Members of Parliament
Since 1970, Rushcliffe's Member of Parliament has been one of Britain's prominent political figures, Kenneth Clarke of the Conservative Party.
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.