Shrewsbury and Atcham (UK Parliament constituency)

Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983-2024

Shrewsbury and Atcham

Former county constituency
for the House of Commons

2010–2024 boundary of Shrewsbury and Atcham in Shropshire

Location of Shropshire within England

County| Shropshire
Electorate| 82,238 (2019)
Major settlements| Shrewsbury
1983–2024
Seats| One
Created from| Shrewsbury
Replaced by| Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury and Atcham was a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.[n 2]

Under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the constituency was subjected to minor boundary changes, and reverted to the name of Shrewsbury \- dropping the "and Atcham" to reflect the abolition in 2009 of the Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council. The re-established constituency was first contested at the 2024 general election.[1]

## Boundaries

[edit]

Map of boundaries 1983-2024

The constituency lay at the centre of Shropshire, a large inland county of England, bordering Wales.

The constituency was coextensive with that of the Central area of Shropshire Council (the same area as the former Borough of Shrewsbury and Atcham, after which the constituency was originally named).

## Constituency profile

[edit]

At its heart lay the town of Shrewsbury (2011 population 71,715), which is the county town of Shropshire. It was otherwise a rural constituency. Villages such as Bayston Hill, Ford, Dorrington, Condover, Minsterley, Pontesbury, Bomere Heath, Wroxeter and Atcham were included. Its southern edge was the northern side of the Shropshire Hills AONB. The landscape of the constituency featured many small rivers which drain the fields and coppices into the upper plain of the River Severn, which cut straight through the area. The main roads through the area were the A5 and A49, providing links to nearby Telford as well as North Wales and the cities of Birmingham and Manchester. The total population of the area was around 105,000.

## History

[edit]

The constituency was established in 1983, replacing the Shrewsbury constituency, although this change was in name only and not in its boundaries.

On 10 December 2001, following his demand for a parliamentary debate before military intervention in Afghanistan, the incumbent Labour member, Paul Marsden, left the government's benches to join the Liberal Democrats; he remained there until 5 April 2005, when he sought to show strong solidarity with Labour Stop the War MPs by returning to his old party, becoming the first politician to cross the floor twice since Winston Churchill.[2] During much of his time with the Liberal Democrats, Marsden was a senior health spokesman, shadowing the Secretary of State for Health and ministers.

Shrewsbury and Atcham was part of the Shropshire region for the purpose of reporting the results of the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum; the region voted 56.9% in favour of leaving the European Union on a turnout of 77.5%.[3][4]

## Members of Parliament

[edit]

Constituency created from Shrewsbury

Election  | Member  | Party

|
|

| 1983 | Derek Conway[5] | Conservative
| 1997 | Paul Marsden[6] | Labour
| 2001 | Liberal Democrats
| 2005 | Labour
| 2005 | Daniel Kawczynski[7] | Conservative
| 2024 | Constituency abolished: see Shrewsbury

## Election results 1983-2024

[edit]

General election results in Shrewsbury & Atcham, from its creation in 1983 up to the 2019 election.

### Elections in the 1980s

[edit]

General election 1983: Shrewsbury and Atcham[8] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Derek Conway | 24,397  | 49.5  |  0.9
| Alliance | Anthony Bowen  | 15,773  | 32.0  |  4.4
| Labour | Alan Mosley  | 9,080  | 18.4  |  5.5
Majority  | 8,624  | 17.5  | N/A
Turnout | 49,250  | 74.0  |  2.7
| Conservative win (new seat)
General election 1987: Shrewsbury and Atcham[9] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Derek Conway | 26,027  | 47.8  |  1.7
| Alliance | Robert Hutchison  | 16,963  | 31.1  |  0.9
| Labour | Liz Owen  | 10,797  | 19.8  |  1.4
| Green | Geoff Hardy  | 660  | 1.2  | New
Majority  | 9,064  | 16.7  |  1.2
Turnout | 54,447  | 77.0  |  3.0
| Conservative hold | Swing |  1.6  |

### Elections in the 1990s

[edit]

General election 1992: Shrewsbury and Atcham[10][11] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Derek Conway | 26,681  | 45.8  |  2.0
| Liberal Democrats | Kenneth Hemsley  | 15,716  | 27.0  |  4.1
| Labour | Liz Owen  | 15,157  | 26.0  |  6.2
| Green | Geoff Hardy  | 677  | 1.2  |
Majority  | 10,965  | 18.8  |  2.1
Turnout | 58,231  | 82.5  |  5.5
| Conservative hold | Swing |  4.1  |
General election 1997: Shrewsbury and Atcham[12] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | Paul Marsden | 20,484  | 37.0  |  11.0
| Conservative | Derek Conway | 18,814  | 34.0  |  11.8
| Liberal Democrats | Anne Woolland  | 13,838  | 25.0  |  2.0
| Referendum | Dylan Barker  | 1,346  | 2.4  | New
| UKIP | David Rowlands | 477  | 0.9  | New
| Country, Field and Shooting Sports  | Alan Dignan  | 257  | 0.5  | New
| People's Party  | Alan Williams  | 128  | 0.2  | New
Majority  | 1,670  | 3.0  | N/A
Turnout | 55,344  | 75.3  |  7.2
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing |  11.4  |

### Elections in the 2000s

[edit]

General election 2001: Shrewsbury and Atcham[13] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | Paul Marsden | 22,253  | 44.6  |  7.6
| Conservative | Anthea McIntyre | 18,674  | 37.4  |  3.4
| Liberal Democrats | Jonathan Rule  | 6,173  | 12.4  |  12.6
| UKIP | Henry Curteis  | 1,620  | 3.2  |  2.4
| Green | Emma Bullard  | 931  | 1.9  | New
| Independent | James Gollins  | 258  | 0.5  | New
Majority  | 3,579  | 7.2  |  4.2
Turnout | 49,909  | 66.6  |  8.7
| Labour hold | Swing |  2.1  |
General election 2005: Shrewsbury and Atcham[14][15] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Daniel Kawczynski | 18,960  | 37.7  |  0.3
| Labour | Michael Ion  | 17,152  | 34.1  |  10.5
| Liberal Democrats | Richard Burt  | 11,487  | 22.8  |  10.4
| UKIP | Peter Lewis  | 1,349  | 2.7  |  0.5
| Green | Emma Bullard  | 1,138  | 2.3  |  0.4
| Independent | James Gollins  | 126  | 0.3  |  0.2
| World  | Nigel Harris  | 84  | 0.2  | New
Majority  | 1,808  | 3.6  | N/A
Turnout | 50,296  | 68.7  |  2.1
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing |  5.4  |

### Elections in the 2010s

[edit]

General election 2010: Shrewsbury and Atcham[16][17][18] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Daniel Kawczynski | 23,313  | 43.9  |  6.3
| Liberal Democrats | Charles West  | 15,369  | 29.0  |  6.1
| Labour | Jon Tandy  | 10,915  | 20.6  |  13.5
| UKIP | Peter Lewis  | 1,627  | 3.1  |  0.4
| BNP | James Whittall  | 1,168  | 2.2  | New
| Green | Alan Whittaker  | 565  | 1.1  |  1.2
| Impact  | James Gollins  | 88  | 0.2  | New
Majority  | 7,944  | 15.0  |  11.4
Turnout | 53,045  | 70.3  |  1.0
| Conservative hold | Swing |  0.1  |
General election 2015: Shrewsbury and Atcham[19][20][21][22] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Daniel Kawczynski | 24,628  | 45.5  |  1.6
| Labour | Laura Davies  | 15,063  | 27.8  |  7.3
| UKIP | Suzanne Evans | 7,813  | 14.4  |  11.4
| Liberal Democrats | Christine Tinker  | 4,268  | 7.9  |  21.1
| Green | Emma Bullard  | 2,247  | 4.2  |  3.1
| Children of the Atom  | Stirling McNeillie  | 83  | 0.2  | New
Majority  | 9,565  | 17.7  |  2.7
Turnout | 54,102  | 70.8  |  0.5
| Conservative hold | Swing |  2.9  |
General election 2017: Shrewsbury and Atcham[23] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Daniel Kawczynski | 29,073  | 50.0  |  4.4
| Labour | Laura Davies  | 22,446  | 38.6  |  10.7
| Liberal Democrats | Hannah Fraser  | 4,254  | 7.3  |  0.6
| UKIP | Edward Higginbottom  | 1,363  | 2.3  |  12.1
| Green | Emma Bullard  | 1,067  | 1.8  |  2.3
Majority  | 6,627  | 11.4  |  6.3
Turnout | 58,203  | 73.6  |  2.8
| Conservative hold | Swing |  3.1  |
General election 2019: Shrewsbury and Atcham[19] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Daniel Kawczynski | 31,021  | 52.5  |  2.6
| Labour | Julia Buckley | 19,804  | 33.5  |  5.1
| Liberal Democrats | Nat Green  | 5,906  | 10.0  |  2.7
| Green | Julian Dean  | 1,762  | 3.0  |  1.2
| Independent | Hannah Locke  | 572  | 1.0  | New
Majority  | 11,217  | 19.0  |  7.6
Turnout | 59,065  | 71.8  |  1.8
| Conservative hold | Swing |  3.9  |

## See also

[edit]

* Parliamentary constituencies in Shropshire
* Shrewsbury – pre-1983

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. ^ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – West Midlands | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
2. ^ "Paul Marsden Political Profile". BBC News. 16 October 2002. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
3. ^ "EU referendum results by region: West Midlands". The Electoral Commission. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
4. ^ "EU Referendum Results". BBC News. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
5. ^ "Derek Conway - Parliamentary career - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". UK Parliament. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
6. ^ "Mr Paul Marsden - Parliamentary career - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". UK Parliament. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
7. ^ "Daniel Kawczynski - Parliamentary career - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". UK Parliament. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
8. ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
9. ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
10. ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
11. ^ "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
12. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
13. ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
14. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
15. ^ "Shrewsbury and Atcham 2005 General Election". UK Parliament. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
16. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
17. ^ "Election 2010 - Shrewsbury and Atcham". BBC News. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
18. ^ "Shrewsbury and Atcham 2010 General Election". UK Parliament. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
19. ^ a b "Shrewsbury & Atcham Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
20. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
21. ^ "UK parliamentary election 2015 results". Shropshire Council. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015.
22. ^ "Shrewsbury and Atcham 2015 General Election". UK Parliament. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
23. ^ "Shrewsbury and Atcham 2017 General Election". UK Parliament. Retrieved 28 November 2019.

## External links

[edit]

* Shrewsbury and Atcham UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* United States

People|

* UK Parliament