St Albans (UK Parliament constituency)

Boundaries

The seat is in Hertfordshire, England. Specifically, it comprises the cathedral city of St Albans and some of the surrounding countryside, mainly to the south of the city.

1885–1918

When the constituency was created in 1885 as the Mid or St Albans Division of Hertfordshire, it included the historic city as well as High Barnet (an area now in Greater London), Borehamwood, Elstree, Welwyn, Wheathampstead, and Harpenden.

It was defined as comprising:

The constituency contained the following civil parishes:

1918–1945

The next redrawing of parliamentary constituencies was carried out prior to the 1918 general election. The Representation of the People Act 1918 redefined constituencies in terms of the urban and Rural districts created by the Local Government Act 1894. The St Albans Division of Hertfordshire was defined as comprising:

1945–1950

The House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1944 allowed for the creation of new constituencies in areas where there had been a large increase in population, with the new boundaries coming into force at the next election, which was held 1945. The number of constituencies in Hertfordshire was increased from five to six. The St Albans seat, which had an electorate of over 100,000, was effectively divided into two: a new Barnet Division was formed comprising East Barnet and Barnet Urban Districts and Elstree Rural District (the former Barnet Rural District had been renamed in 1941). At the 1945 general election the St Albans Division comprised:

1950–1955

The Representation of the People Act 1948 provided for a complete redistribution of parliamentary seats, replacing those that had been created on a piecemeal basis in 1945. The Act also replaced the term "division" with "county constituency". The seats were first used at the 1950 general election and the revised St Albans County Constituency was defined as:

1955–1974

The Welwyn Garden City area was transferred to the Hertford seat. The constituency was now defined as consisting of the Municipal Borough of St Albans, and in the Rural District of St Albans the civil parishes of Colney Heath, London Colney, St Michael Rural, St Stephen, Sandridge Rural, and Wheathampstead.

1974–1983

Under legislation passed in 1949 and 1958 there were regular periodic reviews of parliamentary constituencies. An order redrawing boundaries was made in 1970 reflecting the creation of Greater London and the London Borough of Barnet in 1965, which had changed the boundaries of Hertfordshire. The redefined seat, which was first contested at the February 1974 general election, was as follows:

1983–1997

Although local government was completely reorganised in April 1974, parliamentary boundaries were not changed until 1983. The constituencies created in 1983 were defined in terms of the non-metropolitan districts and their electoral wards introduced in 1974.

The local government legislation had created an enlarged City of St Albans including the old borough, most of the surrounding rural district and Harpenden Urban District.

The new St Albans County Constituency comprised 16 wards of the enlarged city: Ashley, Batchwood, Clarence, Colney Heath, Cunningham, Harpenden East, Harpenden North, Harpenden South, Harpenden West, Marshalswick North, Marshalswick South, Redbourn, St. Peters, Sandridge, Sopwell and Verulam.

The constituency was not coterminous with the local government district: St Albans wards also formed parts of the new neighbouring constituencies of Hertsmere, Watford and Welwyn Hatfield.

1997–2010

The next periodic review was completed in 1995, and took effect at the 1997 general election. Hertfordshire's parliamentary representation was increased from 10 to 11 seats. The St Albans County Constituency was redrawn, with areas passing to a new Hitchin and Harpenden constituency, other areas added from the neighbouring South West Hertfordshire seat and boundary changes to the wards of the city. The seat was defined as comprising:

1. The following wards of the City of St. Albans, namely, Ashley, Batchwood, Clarence, Colney Heath, Cunningham, London Colney, Marshalswick North, Marshalswick South, Park Street, St. Peter's, St. Stephen's, Sopwell and Verulam; and
2. The Bedmond ward of the District of Three Rivers.

2010–date

Constituencies were next redrawn in 2007, with the new boundaries taking effect at the 2010 general election. The Boundary Commission for England decided to retain the existing 11 seats in Hertfordshire, making relatively minor adjustments to bring the parliamentary boundaries in line with those of local government wards, which had changed since the 1995 review.

The seat now comprises the following electoral wards:

History

The constituency elected a borough representative for over 300 years, until it was disenfranchised as a result of electoral corruption in 1852. The constituency was re-established in an enlarged form in 1885 with an alternative pseudonym, the Mid Division of Hertfordshire. Both names were used in the Redistribution of Seats Act, which dovetailed with the Third Reform Act.

1885 to date

The constituency was until 1997 held by a Conservative with the exception of five years of the Attlee ministry and early 20th century opposition of Henry Campbell-Bannerman and the first part of his premiership which was when he was in a minority.

Following boundary changes in 1997, and the founding of the New Labour movement which sought public sector reform and investment with expansion based on economic growth, the seat stood the possibility of, on the expected national swing led by Tony Blair, a win by a Labour politician, which took place when it was won for the party for the first time since the 1945 election.

The noble and local landowning Grimston family have produced nine members throughout the seat's history. The three first heirs to the Earldom of Verulam have won election in the seat - the latest MP from the family was John Grimston who later became the 6th Earl.

Sir Hildred Carlile was a textiles entrepreneur and generous benefactor of Bedford College, University of London.

Francis Fremantle was chairman of the Parliamentary Medical Committee from 1923 to 1943.

Peter Lilley was a frontbench minister in government from 1992 until 1997, the Secretary of State for Social Security, after two years as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

Constituency profile

Workless claimants (registered jobseekers) were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 1.9% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.

Elections in the 1910s