Truro and St Austell (UK Parliament constituency)

UK Parliament constituency, 1997 to 2010

Truro and St Austell

Former county constituency
for the House of Commons

Boundary of Truro and St Austell in Cornwall for the 2005 general election

Location of Cornwall within England

County| Cornwall
Major settlements| Truro and St Austell
1997–2010
Seats| One
Created from| Truro
Replaced by| Truro and Falmouth, St Austell and Newquay

Truro and St Austell was a county constituency in Cornwall represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from its 1997 creation to its 2010 abolition by Matthew Taylor of the Liberal Democrats, who was appointed a life peer in the House of Lords following his service as a Member of Parliament (MP). The constituency elected one MP by the first past the post system of election.

## History

[edit]

The constituency has existed in a number of different forms. The Truro constituency, up until 1885 elected two MPs; this was reduced to one. In 1918 the constituency was abolished but it was recreated again in 1950.

In 1997, in spite of the fact that no boundary changes were made to Truro on that occasion, the Boundary Commission nonetheless saw fit to change its name to Truro and St Austell, reflecting the fact that St Austell has a larger population than Truro. The Truro seat became a safe Liberal seat due to the popularity of its former MP, David Penhaligon, who died in a car crash in 1986, aged 42. He was succeeded in a by-election the following year by Matthew Taylor, who held the seat comfortably until his retirement, at the constituency's abolition, in 2010.

## Boundaries

[edit]

The District of Carrick wards of Boscawen, Chacewater, Feock, Kea, Kenwyn, Moresk, Newlyn, Perranzabuloe, Probus, Roseland, St Agnes, St Clement, Tregolls, Trehaverne; and the Borough of Restormel wards of Crinnis, Mevagissey, Poltair, Rock, St Ewe, St Mewan, St Stephen-in-Brannel, Trevarna, Treverbyn.

The constituency was centred on the former district of Carrick (which contains the city of Truro) and the former borough of Restormel (which contains the town of St Austell).

### Boundary review

[edit]

Following a review of parliamentary representation in Cornwall, the Boundary Commission for England created an extra seat for the county which meant consequential changes for the existing seats. The constituency of Truro and St Austell, which was abolished, was partly succeeded by St Austell and Newquay.

The city of Truro forms part of the newly created Truro and Falmouth constituency.

## Members of Parliament

[edit]

Election | Member[1] | Party

|
|

| 1997 | Matthew Taylor | Liberal Democrat
| 2010 | Constituency abolished: see Truro and Falmouth
and St Austell and Newquay

## Elections

[edit]

St Austell area election results

### Elections in the 2000s

[edit]

General election 2005: Truro and St Austell [2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Liberal Democrats | Matthew Taylor | 24,089  | 46.7  | −1.6
| Conservative | Fiona Kemp  | 16,686  | 32.4  | +0.1
| Labour | Charlotte Mackenzie  | 6,991  | 13.6  | −0.1
| UKIP | David Noakes | 2,736  | 5.3  | +2.0
| Mebyon Kernow | Conan Jenkin  | 1,062  | 2.1  | −0.2
Majority  | 7,403  | 14.3  | −1.7
Turnout | 51,564  | 64.2  | +0.7
| Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | -0.8  |
General election 2001: Truro and St Austell[3] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Liberal Democrats | Matthew Taylor | 24,296  | 48.3  | −0.2
| Conservative | Timothy Bonner  | 16,231  | 32.3  | +5.9
| Labour | David Phillips  | 6,889  | 13.7  | −1.6
| UKIP | James Wonnacott  | 1,664  | 3.3  | +2.3
| Mebyon Kernow | Conan Jenkin  | 1,137  | 2.3  | +1.5
| Independent | John Lee  | 78  | 0.2  | New
Majority  | 8,065  | 16.0  | −6.1
Turnout | 50,295  | 63.5  | −10.5
| Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | -3.0  |

### Elections in the 1990s

[edit]

General election 1997: Truro and St Austell[4] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Liberal Democrats | Matthew Taylor | 27,502  | 48.5  | −2.0
| Conservative | Neil Badcock  | 15,001  | 26.4  | −11.9
| Labour | Michael Dooley  | 8,697  | 15.3  | +5.5
| Referendum | Carl Hearn  | 3,682  | 6.5  | New
| UKIP | Alan Haithwaite  | 576  | 1.0  | New
| Green | Dorienne Robinson  | 482  | 0.8  | −0.1
| Mebyon Kernow | Davyth Hicks  | 450  | 0.8  | New
| Independent | Lorna Yelland  | 240  | 0.4  | New
| Natural Law | Peter Bolland  | 117  | 0.2  | 0.0
Majority  | 12,501  | 22.1  | +9.9
Turnout | 56,747  | 74.0  | −8.3
| Liberal Democrats win (new seat)

For elections before 1997, see Truro

## See also

[edit]

* List of parliamentary constituencies in Cornwall

## Notes and references

[edit]

1. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 2)
2. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
3. ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
4. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

## Sources

[edit]

* Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) [1]

## External links

[edit]

* Truro and St Austell UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK

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Constituencies in South West England (58)

Labour (24)|

* Bournemouth East
* Bournemouth West
* Bristol East
* Bristol North East
* Bristol North West
* Bristol South
* Camborne and Redruth
* Exeter
* Filton and Bradley Stoke
* Forest of Dean
* Gloucester
* North East Somerset and Hanham
* North Somerset
* Plymouth Moor View
* Plymouth Sutton and Devonport
* Poole
* South Dorset
* South East Cornwall
* St Austell and Newquay
* Stroud
* Swindon North
* Swindon South
* Truro and Falmouth
* Weston-super-Mare

Liberal Democrats (22)|

* Bath
* Cheltenham
* Chippenham
* Frome and East Somerset
* Glastonbury and Somerton
* Honiton and Sidmouth
* Melksham and Devizes
* Mid Dorset and North Poole
* Newton Abbot
* North Cornwall
* North Devon
* South Cotswolds
* South Devon
* St Ives
* Taunton and Wellington
* Tewkesbury
* Thornbury and Yate
* Tiverton and Minehead
* Torbay
* Wells and Mendip Hills
* West Dorset
* Yeovil

Conservative (11)|

* Bridgwater
* Central Devon
* Christchurch
* East Wiltshire
* Exmouth and Exeter East
* North Cotswolds
* North Dorset
* Salisbury
* South West Devon
* South West Wiltshire
* Torridge and Tavistock

Green (1)|

* Bristol Central

50°18′58″N 4°54′54″W﻿ / ﻿50.316°N 4.915°W﻿ / 50.316; -4.915
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