Stroud (UK Parliament constituency)
Stroud is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.
Siobhan Kathleen Baillie is the British current Member of Parliament for Stroud since the 2019 general election.
Stroud was the only seat by the Labour Party in the 2017 from a total of six covering its county. Drew's 2017 win was one of 30 net gains the Labour Party made at that year's snap general election. Stroud has been relative to others a very marginal seat since 1992 as well as a swing seat, as the winning candidate's majority has not exceeded 9.1% of the vote since the 19.2% majority won at that year's election. The seat has changed hands three times since then.
History
A previous parliamentary borough form of constituency of the same name was created by the First Reform Act for the 1832 general election. It elected two MPs using the bloc vote system until it was transformed in the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for that year's general election, the name being transferred to a single-seat county division which covered a wider geographical area.This was abolished at the 1950 general election, partially replaced with a new Stroud and Thornbury county constituency. That was in turn abolished at the 1955 general election, when the present entity was created. Since this recreation the seat has had boundary changes.
Boundaries
1955–1974: The Urban Districts of Nailsworth and Stroud, the Rural Districts of Dursley, Stroud, and Tetbury, and part of the Rural District of Gloucester.1974–1983: The Urban Districts of Nailsworth and Stroud, the Rural Districts of Dursley, Stroud, and Tetbury, and in the Rural District of Gloucester the parishes of Arlingham, Brookthorpe with Whaddon, Eastington, Elmore, Frampton on Severn, Fretherne with Saul, Frocester, Hardwicke, Harescombe, Haresfield, Longney, Moreton Valence, Quedgeley, Standish, Upton St Leonards, and Whitminster.
1983–1997: The District of Stroud wards of Berkeley, Bisley, Cainscross, Cam, Cambridge, Central, Chalford, Dursley, Eastington, Hinton, King's Stanley, Leonard Stanley, Minchinhampton, Nailsworth, Nibley, Painswick, Parklands, Randwick, Rodborough, Severn, Stonehouse, Thrupp, Trinity, Uley, Uplands, Vale, Whiteshill, Woodfield, and Wotton and Kingswood, and the District of Cotswold wards of Avening, Grumbold's Ash, and Tetbury.
1997–2010: All the wards of the District of Stroud except the Wotton and Kingswood ward.
2010–present: The District of Stroud wards of Amberley and Woodchester, Berkeley, Bisley, Cainscross, Cam East, Cam West, Central, Chalford, Coaley and Uley, Dursley, Eastington and Standish, Farmhill and Paganhill, Hardwicke, Nailsworth, Over Stroud, Painswick, Rodborough, Severn, Slade, Stonehouse, The Stanleys, Thrupp, Trinity, Uplands, Upton St Leonards, Vale, and Valley.
The extent of the constituency is almost all of the Stroud district. As such, the north-west boundary of the constituency is the River Severn, which meanders from Gloucester towards the River's estuary.
Constituency profile
Stroud lies south of Gloucester, between the two larger Gloucestershire rural constituencies of The Cotswolds and Forest of Dean. Though partially situated in the Cotswold Hills, Stroud is both smaller in area and more industrialised than these neighbours.Much of the constituency is rural in character. Through the sparsely populated bulk, is a belt across the middle of the constituency that has a group of small but more urbanised villages, including Caincross, Cam and Rodborough.
The major market towns include Stroud itself, Dursley in the south of the constituency, and the smaller towns of Berkeley, Stonehouse and Nailsworth.
Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.1% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.
Members of Parliament
Stroud parliamentary borough
MPs 1832–1885
Stroud division of Gloucestershire
MPs 1885–1950
Stroud County Constituency
MPs since 1955
Elections
Elections in the 2010s
Elections in the 2000s
Elections in the 1990s
Elections in the 1980s
Elections in the 1970s
Elections in the 1960s
Elections in the 1950s
Election 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;
- Conservative: Walter Perkins
Elections in the 1930s
Elections in the 1920s
Elections 1832 to 1918
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;
- Liberal: George Hardy
- Unionist: Cecil Edwin Fitch
Elections in the 1900s
Elections in the 1890s
Elections in the 1880s
Elections in the 1870s
- Caused by the previous by-election being declared void on petition.
- Caused by Dorington's election being declared void on petition, due to "bribery, treating, and undue influence".
- Caused by the election being declared void on petition on "account of treating, but the treating was not with knowledge of the candidates".
- Caused by Winterbotham's death.
Elections in the 1860s
- Caused by Scrope's resignation.
Elections in the 1850s
- Caused by the appointment of Horsman as Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
- Caused by Reynolds-Moreton's elevation to the peerage, becoming 3rd Earl Ducie
Elections in the 1840s
- J Symons, formerly Editor of Stroud Free Press, was a candidate but withdrew before election
- A Chartist of Nailsworth by name Chapman who has issued his address couched in flaming terms worthy of the Northern Star (goes on to comment that he was a small publican and tailor
Elections in the 1830s
- Resignation of Fox
- Resignation of Ricardo