Stratford-on-Avon (UK Parliament constituency)

Stratford-on-Avon is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Nadhim Zahawi, a member of the Conservative Party,^{[n 2]} who briefly served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer in mid-2022. The constituency is in Warwickshire, and is centred on the town of Stratford-on-Avon, yet includes the surrounding areas around the town, including the towns of Alcester and Henley-in-Arden.

Stratford-on-Avon
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Stratford-on-Avon in Warwickshire
Location of Warwickshire within England
County	Warwickshire
Electorate	69,108 (December 2010)^[1]
Current constituency
Created	1950
Member of Parliament	Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	Warwick and Leamington and Rugby
1885–1918
Seats	One
Type of constituency	County constituency
Created from	South Warwickshire
Replaced by	Tamworth, Rugby and Warwick & Leamington

Members of Parliament

MPs 1885–1918

Election		Member^[2]	Party
	1885	Lord William Compton	Liberal
	1886	Frederick Townsend	Conservative
	1892	Algernon Freeman-Mitford	Conservative
	1895	Victor Milward	Conservative
	1901 by-election	Philip Foster	Conservative
	1906	Thomas Kincaid-Smith	Liberal
	1909 by-election	Philip Foster	Conservative
	1918	Constituency abolished

MPs since 1950

Election		Member^[2]	Party	Notes
	1950	John Profumo	Conservative	Secretary of State for War 1960–63; resigned
	1963 by-election	Angus Maude	Conservative
	1983	Alan Howarth	Conservative
	1995		Labour
	1997	John Maples	Conservative	Previously MP for Lewisham West 1983–92
	2010	Nadhim Zahawi	Conservative	Chancellor of the Exchequer July–September 2022

Constituency profile

The seat includes the historic town itself, as with Warwick, a major place in England for international tourism with its buildings, museums and Royal Shakespeare Company theatre, surrounded by green belt villages southeast of Birmingham, with the next largest wards being Studley and Alcester each with just under 5,000 electors.

Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 1.4% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.^[3]

Boundaries

 

Map of current boundaries

The constituency consists of relatively widely spaced rural villages, inhabited largely by commuters,^[4] with its boundaries taking in the eponymous town and the south and west of the Stratford-on-Avon local government district.

2010–present: The District of Stratford-on-Avon wards of Alcester, Aston Cantlow, Bardon, Bidford and Salford, Brailes, Claverdon, Ettington, Henley, Kinwarton, Long Compton, Quinton, Sambourne, Shipston, Snitterfield, Stratford Alveston, Stratford Avenue and New Town, Stratford Guild and Hathaway, Stratford Mount Pleasant, Studley, Tanworth, Tredington, Vale of the Red Horse, and Welford.

1997–2010: All the wards of the District of Stratford-on-Avon except the wards of Henley, Tanworth, and Tanworth Earlswood.

1983–1997: The District of Stratford-on-Avon.

1974–1983: As 1950 but with redrawn boundaries.

1950–1974: The Borough of Stratford-upon-Avon, and the Rural Districts of Stratford-on-Avon, Alcester, Shipston-on-Stour, and Southam.

1885–1918: The Boroughs of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, and Leamington, the Sessional Divisions of Alcester, Brailes, Henley, Stratford, Snitterfield, and Warwick, and the part of the Sessional Division of Kenilworth in the Parliamentary Borough of Warwick and Leamington.

At the 2010 general election, following the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, this seat was reduced in size: a new constituency of Kenilworth and Southam was created, taking in much of the eastern half of the previous version of this constituency, along with parts of the abolished seat of Rugby and Kenilworth.

History since 1950

Since its recreation in 1950, the seat has elected only Conservatives. The earliest member, John Profumo, was noted for his personal life scandal; another MP, Alan Howarth, served on the benches of the Labour Party for two years, choosing to cross the floor.

Political history

With the exception of a relatively close 1963 by-election, the constituency has always returned majorities of over 20% for the Conservatives. Up until 1970, Labour always came second and the Liberals (when they stood) third; and the Liberal/Liberal Democratic parties came second and Labour third in every subsequent general election until 2010. The only occasion on which any other party has been in the top three (or managed to save their deposit) was in 2015, when UKIP came second with just over 13% of the vote. Since then, Labour has come second in 2017, and the Liberal Democrats in 2019.

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Stratford-on-Avon^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nadhim Zahawi	33,343	60.6	-1.6
	Liberal Democrats	Dominic Skinner	13,371	24.3	+12.2
	Labour	Felix Ling	6,222	11.3	-11.0
	Green	David Passingham	2,112	3.8	+1.2
Majority			19,972	36.3	-3.6
Turnout			55,048	74.4	+2.1
Registered electors			74,038
	Conservative hold		Swing	-6.9

General election 2017: Stratford-on-Avon^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nadhim Zahawi	32,657	62.2	+4.5
	Labour	Jeff Kenner	11,699	22.3	+9.3
	Liberal Democrats	Elizabeth Adams	6,357	12.1	+0.1
	Green	Dominic Giles	1,345	2.6	-1.5
	Independent	Jandy Spurway	255	0.5	New
	Independent	Tom Darwood	219	0.4	New
Majority			20,958	39.9	-4.6
Turnout			52,532	72.3	-0.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.4

General election 2015: Stratford-on-Avon^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nadhim Zahawi	29,674	57.7	+6.2
	UKIP	Edward Fila	6,798	13.2	+9.5
	Labour	Jeff Kenner	6,677	13.0	+3.5
	Liberal Democrats	Elizabeth Adams	6,182	12.0	-17.1
	Green	Dominic Giles	2,128	4.1	+3.1
Majority			22,876	44.5	+22.1
Turnout			51,459	72.6	-0.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.75

General election 2010: Stratford-on-Avon^[8][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nadhim Zahawi	26,052	51.5	+2.3
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Turner	14,706	29.1	+0.8
	Labour	Robert Johnston	4,809	9.5	-5.9
	UKIP	Brett Parsons	1,846	3.7	+0.9
	BNP	George Jones	1,097	2.2	New
	Independent	Neil Basnett	1,032	2.0	New
	Green	Karen Varga	527	1.0	-1.3
	English Democrat	Frederick Bishop	473	0.9	New
Majority			11,346	22.4	+1.5
Turnout			50,542	72.7	+3.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.7

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Stratford-on-Avon^[10][11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Maples	28,652	49.2	-1.1
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Juned	16,468	28.3	-0.5
	Labour Co-op	Rachel Blackmore	10,145	17.4	+0.7
	UKIP	Harry Cottam	1,621	2.8	+0.6
	Green	Mick Davies	1,354	2.3	+0.2
Majority			12,184	20.9	-0.6
Turnout			58,240	68.8	+4.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.3

General election 2001: Stratford-on-Avon^[12][11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Maples	27,606	50.3	+2.0
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Juned	15,804	28.8	+3.3
	Labour	Mushtaq Hussain	9,164	16.7	-3.8
	UKIP	Ron A Mole	1,184	2.2	+1.3
	Green	Mick Davies	1,156	2.1	New
Majority			11,802	21.5	-1.3
Turnout			54,914	64.4	-11.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.6

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Stratford-on-Avon^[13][11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Maples	29,967	48.3	-10.9
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Juned	15,861	25.5	±0.0
	Labour	Stewart Stacey	12,754	20.5	+7.4
	Referendum	Adrian K Hilton	2,064	3.3	New
	UKIP	JEM Spilsbury	556	0.9	New
	Natural Law	James Brewster	307	0.5	+0.3
	Stratford First Democratic Conservative	Simon G Marcus	306	0.5	New
	ProLife Alliance	Sarah A Miller	284	0.5	New
Majority			14,106	22.8	-10.9
Turnout			62,099	76.3	-5.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	-5.45

General election 1992: Stratford-on-Avon^[14][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alan Howarth	40,251	59.2	-2.7
	Liberal Democrats	JN Fogg	17,359	25.5	-2.4
	Labour	SM Brookes	8,932	13.1	+2.9
	Green	RG Roughan	729	1.1	New
	Ind. Conservative	AJ Saunders	573	0.8	New
	Natural Law	MR Twite	130	0.2	New
Majority			22,892	33.7	-0.4
Turnout			67,974	82.1	+5.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.2

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Stratford-on-Avon^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alan Howarth	38,483	61.9	+1.0
	Liberal	David Cowcher	17,318	27.9	-1.0
	Labour	Robert Rhodes	6,335	10.2	-0.1
Majority			21,165	34.1	+2.1
Turnout			62,136	76.5	+3.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.0

General election 1983: Stratford-on-Avon^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alan Howarth	34,041	60.90	+0.5
	Liberal	WJB Taylor	16,124	28.85	+8.9
	Labour	Frank Hooley	5,731	10.25	-7.4
Majority			17,917	32.05	-6.4
Turnout			55,896	72.92	-3.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	-4.2

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Stratford-on-Avon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Angus Maude	35,470	60.41	+9.4
	Liberal	J Taylor	12,916	22.00	-5.3
	Labour	CA Purnell	10,334	17.60	-4.1
Majority			22,554	38.41	+14.8
Turnout			58,720	76.67	+2.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.4

General election October 1974: Stratford-on-Avon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Angus Maude	27,123	50.96	-0.8
	Liberal	MJW Wright	14,555	27.34	-1.7
	Labour	DV Hunt	11,551	21.70	+2.5
Majority			12,568	23.62	+ 0.9
Turnout			53,229	74.04	-7.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.4

General election February 1974: Stratford-on-Avon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Angus Maude	30,106	51.77	-6.3
	Liberal	MJW Wright	16,885	29.03	+10.7
	Labour	M Burton	11,165	19.20	-4.3
Majority			13,221	22.74	-11.8
Turnout			58,156	81.06	+7.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	-8.5

General election 1970: Stratford-on-Avon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Angus Maude	28,106	58.08	+6.8
	Labour	Peter Eric Tombs	11,393	23.54	-6.2
	Liberal	David R Bruce	8,895	18.38	+3.4
Majority			16,713	34.54	+12.9
Turnout			48,394	74.08	-4.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+6.5

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Stratford-on-Avon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Angus Maude	22,381	51.30	-2.5
	Labour	Vernon G Hale	12,954	29.69	+0.4
	Liberal	Gordon H Herringshaw	6,556	15.03	-1.9
	Ind. Conservative	Christopher G Clayton-Wright	1,733	3.97	New
Majority			9,427	21.61	-2.9
Turnout			43,624	78.03	-5.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.5

General election 1964: Stratford-on-Avon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Angus Maude	23,236	53.80	-14.7
	Labour	Andrew Faulds	12,646	29.28	-2.2
	Liberal	Derick Mirfin	7,307	16.92	New
Majority			10,590	24.52	-12.5
Turnout			43,189	83.07	+ 6.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	-6.3

Stratford by-election, 1963

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Angus Maude	15,846	43.61	-24.9
	Labour	Andrew Faulds	12,376	34.06	+2.6
	Liberal	Derick Mirfin	7,622	20.98	New
	Independent	MS Blair	281	0.77	New
	Teenage Party	David Sutch	209	0.58	New
Majority			3,470	9.55	-27.5
Turnout			36,334
	Conservative hold		Swing	-13.7

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Stratford-on-Avon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Profumo	26,146	68.5	-0.1
	Labour	Joseph Stretton	12,017	31.5	+0.1
Majority			14,129	37.0	-0.2
Turnout			38,163	76.9	+1.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.1

General election 1955: Stratford-on-Avon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Profumo	24,587	68.6	+4.1
	Labour	Thomas LK Locksley	11,275	31.4	-4.1
Majority			13,312	37.2	+8.2
Turnout			35,862	75.6	-4.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.1

General election 1951: Stratford-on-Avon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Profumo	24,041	64.5	+7.2
	Labour	Henry Hilditch	13,246	35.5	-3.5
Majority			10,795	29.0	+4.4
Turnout			37,287	79.9	-3.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.36

General election 1950: Stratford-on-Avon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Profumo	21,492	57.3
	Labour	RGM Brown	12,143	32.0
	Liberal	Hadleigh Sydney Seaborne	4,318	11.4
Majority			9,349	24.6
Turnout			37,953	83.1
	Conservative win (new seat)

Election results 1885-1918

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 July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Unionist: Philip Foster
• Liberal: John Pascoe Elsden^[18]

General election December 1910: Stratford-on-Avon^[19][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Philip Foster	5,147	59.8	0.9
	Liberal	Walter King	3,462	40.2	0.9
Majority			1,685	19.6	1.8
Turnout			8,609	79.5	6.7
Registered electors			10,835
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.9

General election January 1910: Stratford-on-Avon^[19][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Philip Foster	5,505	58.9	9.8
	Liberal	Oscar William Bowen	3,838	41.1	9.8
Majority			1,667	17.8	N/A
Turnout			9,343	86.2	2.7
Registered electors			10,835
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	9.8

Elections in the 1900s

 

Martin

1909 Stratford-on-Avon by-election^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Philip Foster	5,374	62.5	13.4
	Liberal	Joseph Martin	2,747	31.9	19.0
	Independent	Thomas Kincaid-Smith	479	5.6	New
Majority			2,627	30.6	N/A
Turnout			8,600	80.9	2.6
Registered electors			10,628
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	16.2

General election 1906: Stratford-on-Avon^[19][21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Kincaid-Smith	4,321	50.9	N/A
	Conservative	Philip Foster	4,173	49.1	N/A
Majority			148	1.8	N/A
Turnout			8,494	83.5	N/A
Registered electors			10,173
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A

1901 Stratford-on-Avon by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Philip Foster	4,755	61.5	N/A
	Liberal	Bolton King	2,977	38.5	New
Majority			1,778	23.0	N/A
Turnout			7,732	76.8	N/A
Registered electors			10,063
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1900: Stratford-on-Avon^[19][21][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Victor Milward	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1895: Stratford-on-Avon^[19][21][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Victor Milward	4,598	61.9	+6.1
	Liberal	Isaac Thomas Sadler	2,827	38.1	−6.1
Majority			1,771	23.8	+12.2
Turnout			7,425	76.2	−2.2
Registered electors			9,745
	Conservative hold		Swing	+6.1

General election 1892: Stratford-on-Avon^[19][21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Algernon Freeman-Mitford	4,157	55.8	+2.4
	Liberal	George Septimus Warmington^[23]	3,293	44.2	−2.4
Majority			864	11.6	+4.8
Turnout			7,450	78.4	+3.9
Registered electors			9,505
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.4

Elections in the 1880s

 

Compton

General election 1886: Stratford-on-Avon^[19][21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Townsend	3,833	53.4	8.8
	Liberal	William Compton	3,344	46.6	8.8
Majority			489	6.8	N/A
Turnout			7,177	74.5	12.5
Registered electors			9,631
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	8.8

General election 1885: Stratford-on-Avon^[19][21][24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Compton	4,639	55.4
	Conservative	Sampson Lloyd	3,738	44.6
Majority			901	10.8
Turnout			8,377	87.0
Registered electors			9,631
	Liberal win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Warwickshire

Notes

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

1. . 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
3. Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
4. "Local statistics - Office for National Statistics". neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk.
5. "Stratford-on-Avon Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
6. "Candidates confirmed for General Election". Stratford-upon-Avon Herald. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
7. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
8. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
9. "UK > England > West Midlands > Stratford-on-Avon". Election 2010. BBC. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
10. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
11. "News > Politics > Constituency > Stratford-on-Avon". The Guardian. Elections. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
12. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
13. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
14. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
15. "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
16. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
17. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
18. Leamington Spa Courier 14 November 1913
19. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. p. 410. ISBN 9781349022984.
20. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
21. The Liberal Year Book, 1907
22. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
23. "Kentish Mail Greenwich And Deptford Observer Newspaper Archives". Kentish Mail, Greenwich and Deptford Observer. 7 August 1908. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
24. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Richmond (Yorks)	Constituency represented by the Chancellor of the Exchequer 2022	Succeeded by Spelthorne

Coordinates: 52°09′N 1°42′W / 52.15°N 1.70°W / 52.15; -1.70