Bristol Central (UK Parliament constituency)

Bristol Central is a parliamentary constituency to be represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, located within the City of Bristol, in South West England, from the 2024 general election.^[2][3] It returns one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Bristol Central
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Location of City of Bristol within England
County	City of Bristol
Electorate	^[1]
Major settlements	Bristol
Current constituency
Created	2024
Member of Parliament	TBD
Seats	1
Created from	Bristol West
1918–1974
Seats	one
Created from	Bristol East Bristol North Bristol South Bristol West
Replaced by	Bristol North East Bristol South East

A constituency of the same name was previously created for the 1918 general election, and abolished for the February 1974 general election, after which it was absorbed into Bristol North East and Bristol South East. The constituency name was re-established in the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies as a successor to Bristol West.^[4]

Background

During the 2007 review, a proposal to rename Bristol West to "Bristol Central" was rejected.^[5]

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, Bristol Central will largely replace Bristol West, and will be first contested at the next general election.^[6] However the Bishopston and Ashley Down ward will move to Bristol North West, and the Lawrence Hill and Easton wards to Bristol East.^[7]

Constituency profile

Based on data from the 2021 census, Electoral Calculus characterises the proposed seat as "Strong Left", with left-wing economic and socially liberal views, high levels of university education and an internationalist outlook including strong opposition to Brexit.^[8] Bristol Central was reported to be the most pro-immigration constituency in the United Kingdom; 55 per cent of voters wanted fewer controls and higher numbers in Bristol, the survey found.^[9]

History

Modern constituency

Bristol Central was recreated as a constituency for 2024 general election, after being abolished in the 1970s. The modern Bristol Central became the successor constituency to Bristol West created from the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, of which Thangam Debbonaire was the final MP.^[10]

2024 election

In January 2022, Debbonaire was reselected by the Labour Party to re-stand as a candidate in the next general election; on 4 September 2023 she was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport by Keir Starmer.^[10][11]

Bristol Central is a target seat for the Green Party where 12 of the 14 Bristol City Council members are Greens; the Green party selected Carla Denyer as their candidate.^[12][13][14]

Reform UK selected Robert Clarke as their candidate for the 2024 election.^[15]

Boundaries

1918–1950: The County Borough of Bristol wards of Central East, Central West, Redcliffe, St Augustine, St James, St Paul, and St Philip and Jacob South.

1950–1955: The County Borough of Bristol wards of Easton, Knowle, Redcliffe, St Paul, St Philip and Jacob North, and St Philip and Jacob South.

1955–1974: The County Borough of Bristol wards of Easton, Knowle, St Paul, St Philip and Jacob, and Windmill Hill.

Proposed

 

Map of boundaries from 2024

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, from the next general election, due by January 2025, the constituency will be composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

• The City of Bristol wards of Ashley, Central, Clifton, Clifton Down, Cotham, Hotwells and Harbourside, and Redland.^[16]

The re-established seat will comprise approximately 70% of the, to be abolished, constituency of Bristol West.^[17]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party	Notes
	1918	Thomas Inskip	Conservative
	1929	Joseph Alpass	Labour
	1931	Lord Apsley	Conservative	Killed in action, 1942 as Commander of the Arab Legion in Malta
	1943 by-election	Lady Apsley	Conservative
	1945	Stan Awbery	Labour
	1964	Arthur Palmer	Labour
1974–2024		None		Constituency abolished for 50 years

Election results

Elections in the 2020s

Next general election: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thangam Debbonaire^[10]
	Green	Carla Denyer^[14]
	Reform UK	Robert Clarke^[15]
Majority
Turnout

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Arthur Palmer	12,375	51.4	-7.5
	Conservative	James R. E. Taylor	9,130	37.9	+1.9
	Liberal	Antony Rider	2,569	10.7	New
Majority			3,245	13.5	-9.4
Turnout			24,074	66.7	-3.3
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Arthur Palmer	15,399	58.9	+3.4
	Conservative	James R. E. Taylor	9,410	36.0	-3.0
	Independent	Desmond H. R. Burgess	1,322	5.1	-1.4
Majority			5,989	22.9	+7.4
Turnout			26,131	70.0	-1.9
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1964: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Arthur Palmer	16,207	54.5	+0.9
	Conservative	James R. E. Taylor	11,616	39.0	-7.4
	Independent	Desmond H. R. Burgess	1,936	6.5	New
Majority			4,591	15.5	+8.3
Turnout			29,759	71.9	-3.1
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stan Awbery	19,905	53.6	-6.9
	Conservative	L. G. Pine	17,209	46.4	+6.9
Majority			2,696	7.2	-13.8
Turnout			37,114	75.0	+1.2
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1955: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stan Awbery	25,158	60.5	-1.9
	Conservative	Kenelm Antony Philip Dalby	16,406	39.5	+1.9
Majority			8,752	21.0	-3.8
Turnout			41,564	73.8	-9.3
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1951: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stan Awbery	26,091	62.4	+2.7
	Conservative	Kenelm Antony Philip Dalby	15,725	37.6	+6.6
Majority			10,366	24.8	-3.9
Turnout			41,816	83.1	-1.4
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1950: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stan Awbery	25,889	59.7	-4.2
	Conservative	John Peyton	13,461	31.0	-5.1
	Liberal	Donald David Oliver Jones	4,042	9.3	New
Majority			12,428	28.7	+0.9
Turnout			43,392	84.5	+14.5
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stan Awbery	13,045	63.9	+16.4
	Conservative	Violet Bathurst	7,369	36.1	-16.4
Majority			5,676	27.8	N/A
Turnout			20,414	70.0	-2.8
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

1943 Bristol Central by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Violet Bathurst	5,867	52.1	−0.4
	Independent Labour	Jennie Lee	4,308	38.2	New
	Ind. Labour Party	John McNair	830	7.4	New
	Independent	F. H. Dunn	258	2.3	New
Majority			1,559	13.9	+8.9
Turnout			11,263	32.9	−39.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Allen Bathurst	15,774	52.5	-7.1
	Labour	J. J. Taylor	14,258	47.5	+7.1
Majority			1,516	5.0	-14.2
Turnout			30,032	72.8	-7.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1931: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Allen Bathurst	22,311	59.6	+15.3
	Labour	Joseph Alpass	15,143	40.4	-15.3
Majority			7,168	19.2	N/A
Turnout			37,454	80.4	+2.9
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joseph Alpass	20,749	55.7	+10.8
	Unionist	Thomas Inskip	16,524	44.3	−10.8
Majority			4,225	11.4	N/A
Turnout			37,273	77.5	0.0
Registered electors			48,081
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+10.8

General election 1924: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Thomas Inskip	17,177	55.1	+0.4
	Labour	James Lovat-Fraser	14,018	44.9	−0.4
Majority			3,159	10.2	+0.8
Turnout			31,195	77.5	+11.7
Registered electors			40,252
	Unionist hold		Swing	+0.4

General election 1923: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Thomas Inskip	14,386	54.7	−1.2
	Labour	Samuel Edward Walters	11,932	45.3	+1.2
Majority			2,454	9.4	−2.4
Turnout			26,318	65.8	−6.2
Registered electors			40,000
	Unionist hold		Swing	−1.2

General election 1922: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Thomas Inskip	15,568	55.9	−6.3
	Labour	Christopher Thomson	12,303	44.1	+6.3
Majority			3,265	11.8	−12.6
Turnout			27,871	72.0	+18.3
Registered electors			38,709
	Unionist hold		Swing	−6.3

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Bristol Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	Thomas Inskip	12,232	63.2
	Labour	Ernest Bevin	7,137	36.8
Majority			5,095	26.4
Turnout			19,369	53.7
Registered electors			36,038
	Unionist win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

See also

• 1943 Bristol Central by-election
• Politics of Bristol

References

1. "England Parliamentary electorates 2010-2018". Boundary Commission for England. from the original on 12 April 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
2. "South West region – Revised proposals" (PDF). Boundary Commission for England. (PDF) from the original on 17 December 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
3. "Bristol Central Borough Constituency" (PDF). Boundary Commission for England. (PDF) from the original on 12 April 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
4. "Revised proposals for new Parliamentary constituency boundaries in the South West region". Boundary Commission for England. from the original on 17 December 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
5. (PDF). Boundary Commission for England. 26 February 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
6. Cork, Tristan (30 June 2023). "New 'Bristol Central' election contest confirmed – and the Greens already say they can win it". BristolLive. from the original on 12 April 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
7. "How Bristol constituency boundaries could change". BBC News. 8 November 2022. from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
8. "Bristol Central: New Boundaries 2023 Calculation". Electoral Calculus. from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
9. Booth, Mia Vines (23 January 2024). "Bristol Central most pro-immigation constituency in UK". Bristol24/7. from the original on 23 January 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
10. Cork, Tristan (26 January 2022). "Bristol MP reselected as candidate for next General Election". BristolLive. from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
11. Harris, Aden (13 September 2023). "Shadow sports minister Debbonaire admits she has never been to a football match". Bristol 24/7. from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
12. Walker, Peter (6 October 2023). "Green party says it plans to focus its effort on four seats at general election". The Guardian. from the original on 3 April 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
13. Green, Tilly (28 June 2023). "Bristol constituency boundary changes halve Labour majority". Bristol Green Party. from the original on 28 June 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
14. "Full list of all Green Party candidates at the next general election". Bright Green. 17 September 2023. from the original on 1 April 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
15. "Bristol Central Constituency". Reform UK. from the original on 19 February 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
16. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". legislation.gov.uk. from the original on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
17. Baker, Carl; Johnston, Neil (20 March 2024). "Boundary review 2023: Which seats will change in the UK?". UK Parliament. from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.

Sources

• Craig, Fred W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.