Bolsover (UK Parliament constituency)

Bolsover
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Bolsover in Derbyshire for the 2010 general election.
Location of Derbyshire within England.
County	Derbyshire
Electorate	72,162 (December 2010)^[1]
Major settlements	Bolsover, Shirebrook
Current constituency
Created	1950 (1950)
Member of Parliament	Dennis Skinner (Labour)
Number of members	One
Created from	Clay Cross and North East Derbyshire
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	East Midlands

Bolsover /ˈbɒlsˌɒvər/, /ˈbɒlzˌɒvər/ and commonly /boʊzər/ is a county constituency in Derbyshire represented in the House of Commons of the U.K. Parliament. The constituency was first contested in 1950 and is focussed on the town east of the M1 motorway of Bolsover.^{[n 1]}

History

Before the Reform Act 1832 relatively wealthy (forty shilling freeholders) of the whole county could attend elections when there was an opposition candidate. From 1868 until 1885 East Derbyshire served the area by gaining the area from North Derbyshire formed in 1832. The constituency was created in 1950 from parts of the constituencies of 1885-formed North East Derbyshire and 1918-formed Clay Cross.

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Boundaries

The pre-2010 boundaries of Bolsover

When formed in 1950 Bolsover comprised the Urban District of Bolsover and the Rural Districts of Blackwell and Clowne. Bolsover and Clowne had both previously been included in North-East Derbyshire, while Blackwell in the Clay Cross constituency.

In 1974 the Local Government District of Bolsover was formed with identical boundaries to the constituency.
These boundaries remained unchanged until 1983 when the Morton, Pilsley, Shirland and Sutton wards of the District of North East Derbyshire were transferred from the still extant North East Derbyshire constituency.

The 2010 boundary changes added Holmewood and Heath ward to Bolsover constituency from North East Derbyshire.

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Constituency profile

The seat includes many former mining communities and has in elections to date been a Labour Party stronghold although Skinner's share of the popular vote has "dropped" to a bare (50%) plurality in the 2010 election (from a high of 74%) - see below. Its economy has faced struggles following the last closures in the early 1990s of the coal pits upon which the area thrived for many years, facing from the 1970s increased competition to compete with international prices and a need for government subsidy as achieved in Eastern Europe, albeit on lower wages, which ceased under Margaret Thatcher. Bolsover's tourism industry has emerged in the area in recent years, including accommodation and tours involving Bolsover Castle, owned by English Heritage, and Hardwick Hall, home of Bess of Hardwick. Since 1970 it has been held by Dennis Skinner, a former miner whose fast wit and often abrasive manner in the House of Commons has led to him being dubbed "The Beast of Bolsover".

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Members of Parliament

Election		Member^[2]	Party
	1950	Harold Neal	Labour
	1970	Dennis Skinner	Labour

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Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: Bolsover
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dennis Skinner	21,994	50.0	−15.2
	Conservative	Lee Rowley	10,812	24.6	+7.3
	Liberal Democrat	Denise Hawksworth	6,821	15.5	−2.0
	BNP	Martin Radford	2,640	6.0	+6.0
	UKIP	Ray Calladine	1,721	3.9	+3.9
Majority			11,182	25.4
Turnout			43,988	60.5	+4.3
	Labour hold		Swing	−11.3

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Bolsover
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dennis Skinner	25,217	65.2	−3.4
	Liberal Democrat	Denise Hawksworth	6,780	17.5	+5.6
	Conservative	Hasan Imam	6,702	17.3	−2.2
Majority			18,437	47.6
Turnout			38,699	57.3	−2.2
	Labour hold		Swing	−4.5

General Election 2001: Bolsover
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dennis Skinner	26,249	68.6	−5.4
	Conservative	Simon Massey	7,472	19.5	+2.8
	Liberal Democrat	Marie Bradley	4,550	11.9	+2.6
Majority			18,777	49.1
Turnout			38,271	56.5	−14.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Bolsover^[3]^[4]^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dennis Skinner	35,073	74.0	+9.5
	Conservative	Richard Harwood	7,924	16.7	−8.6
	Liberal Democrat	Ian Cox	4,417	9.3	−0.9
Majority			27,149	57.3	+18.1
Turnout			52,669	71.3
	Labour hold		Swing	+9.1

General Election 1992: Bolsover^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dennis Skinner	33,978	64.5	+8.3
	Conservative	Timothy D.R. James	13,323	25.3	−3.0
	Liberal Democrat	Mrs Susan P. Barber	5,368	10.2	−5.3
Majority			20,655	39.2	+11.3
Turnout			52,669	79.1	+1.8
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.7

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Bolsover
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dennis Skinner	28,453	56.21
	Conservative	M.R. Lingens	14,333	28.31
	Social Democrat	M.H. Fowler	7,836	15.48
Majority			14,120	27.89
Turnout				77.34
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1983: Bolsover
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dennis Skinner	26,514	56.33
	Conservative	S. Roberts	12,666	26.91
	Social Democrat	S. Reddish	7,886	16.76
Majority			13,848	29.42
Turnout				72.67
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Bolsover
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dennis Skinner	27,495	66.58
	Conservative	A. Favell	10,116	24.49
	Liberal	I. Frost	3,688	8.93
Majority			17,379	42.08
Turnout				78.31
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: Bolsover
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dennis Skinner	27,275	70.55
	Conservative	C.L. Sternberg	6,209	16.06
	Liberal	M. Taylor	5,176	13.39
Majority			21,066	54.49
Turnout				74.52
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election February 1974: Bolsover
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dennis Skinner	30,787	76.47
	Conservative	A.R. Dix	9,474	23.53
Majority			21,313	52.94
Turnout				78.38
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1970: Bolsover
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dennis Skinner	28,830	77.50
	Conservative	I.J. Humphrey	8,371	22.50
Majority			20,459	55.00
Turnout				70.76
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Bolsover
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harold Neal	30,114	81.55
	Conservative	P.C. Coleman	6,815	18.45
Majority			23,299	63.09
Turnout				74.62
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1964: Bolsover
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harold Neal	31,234	79.34
	Conservative	P.T. Cormack	8,131	20.66
Majority			23,103	58.69
Turnout				78.89
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Bolsover
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harold Neal	32,536	78.19
	Conservative	R.G. Marlar	9,076	21.81
Majority			23,460	56.38
Turnout				82.47
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Bolsover
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harold Neal	30,074	78.87
	Conservative	B.R.O. Bell	8,055	21.13
Majority			22,019	57.75
Turnout				77.57
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Bolsover
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harold Neal	33,661	79.89
	Conservative	J.K. Cordeaux	8,472	20.11
Majority			25,189	59.78
Turnout				85.36
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1950: Bolsover
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harold Neal	34,017	80.61
	Conservative	J.K. Cordeaux	8,184	19.39
Majority			25,833	61.21
Turnout				86.24
	Labour hold		Swing

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Notes and references

Notes

^ As with all constituencies, Bolsover elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

References

^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 4)^{[self-published source]}^{[better source needed]}
^ "Politics Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
^ C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.36 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
^ The 1997 election result is calculated relative to the notional, not the actual, 1992 result.
^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.

v t e Constituencies in the East Midlands (46)

Conservative (31)	Amber Valley Boston and Skegness Bosworth Broxtowe Charnwood Daventry Derbyshire Dales Erewash Gainsborough Grantham and Stamford Harborough High Peak Kettering Lincoln Loughborough Louth and Horncastle Mid Derbyshire Newark Northampton North Northampton South North West Leicestershire Rushcliffe Rutland and Melton Sherwood Sleaford and North Hykeham South Derbyshire South Holland and The Deepings South Leicestershire South Northamptonshire Wellingborough

Labour (16)	Ashfield Bassetlaw Bolsover Chesterfield Corby Derby North Derby South Gedling Leicester East Leicester South Leicester West Mansfield North East Derbyshire Nottingham East Nottingham North Nottingham South

East Midlands European constituency: Conservative (2) Labour (1) UKIP (1) Liberal Democrats (1)

Coordinates: 53°14′N 1°18′W / 53.23°N 1.30°W / 53.23; -1.30

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Last modified on 29 April 2013, at 07:31

Bolsover (UK Parliament constituency)

History

Boundaries

Constituency profile

Members of Parliament

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

See also

Notes and references

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