| Winchester | |
| Parliament: | uk |
| Year: | 1918 |
| Type: | County |
| Elects Howmany: | One |
| Electorate: | 76,577 (2023) [1] |
| Region: | England |
| Year2: | 1295 |
| Abolished2: | 1918 |
| Type2: | Borough |
| Elects Howmany2: | 1295–1885: Two |
Winchester is a constituency in Hampshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Danny Chambers, a Liberal Democrat.
1918–1950: The Borough of Winchester, the Urban District of Eastleigh and Bishopstoke, the Rural Districts of Hursley and Winchester, and the Rural District of South Stoneham except the parish of Bittern.
1950–1955: The Boroughs of Eastleigh, Romsey, and Winchester, in the Rural District of Romsey and Stockbridge the parishes of Ampfield, Chilworth, East Dean, Lockerley, Melchet Park and Plaitford, Michelmersh, Mottisfont, North Baddesley, Nursling and Rownhams, Romsey Extra, Sherfield English, and Wellow, and part of the Rural District of Winchester.
1955–1974: The Boroughs of Romsey and Winchester, and parts of the Rural Districts of Romsey and Stockbridge, and Winchester.
1974–1983: The Municipal Boroughs of Andover and Winchester, the Rural District of Andover, and parts of the Rural Districts of Romsey and Stockbridge, and Winchester.
1983–1997: The City of Winchester wards of Bishop's Sutton, Bishop's Waltham, Cheriton, Compton, Durley and Upham, Itchen Valley, Littleton, Micheldever, New Alresford, Olivers Battery, Otterbourne and Hursley, Owlesbury and Colden Common, St Barnabas, St Bartholomew, St John and All Saints, St Luke, St Michael, St Paul, Sparsholt, The Worthys, Twyford, Upper Meon Valley, and Wonston, and the District of East Hampshire wards of Alton Holybourne, Alton North East, Alton North West, Alton South East, Alton South West and Beech, Farringdon, Four Marks, Medstead, North Downland and Ropley, and West Tisted.
1997–2010: The City of Winchester.
2010–2024: The City of Winchester wards of Colden Common and Twyford, Compton and Otterbourne, Itchen Valley, Kings Worthy, Littleton and Harestock, Olivers Battery and Badger Farm, St Barnabas, St Bartholomew, St John and All Saints, St Luke, St Michael, St Paul, Sparsholt, The Alresfords, and Wonston and Micheldever, and the Borough of Eastleigh wards of Chandler's Ford East, Chandler's Ford West, Hiltingbury East, and Hiltingbury West.
Parliament accepted the Boundary Commission's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies by making slight changes to this constituency for the 2010 general election, removing 11 mostly rural wards in and around Bishops Waltham to a new seat, Meon Valley. In return, Winchester gained four suburban and partially urban wards at the northern edge of Eastleigh.[2]
2024–present: Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which became effective for the 2024 general election, the constituency is composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
The constituency again solely comprises areas within the City of Winchester local authority with the transfer of Chandler's Ford and Hitlingbury back to Eastleigh. Bishop's Waltham and the Meon valley area was transferred back from the abolished Meon Valley seat.
The chartered city sent burgesses (equivalent to advisory MPs) to the Model Parliament of 1295 and then to most Parliaments convened by the monarch in the medieval period and thereafter; its representation being fixed at two in number during this long period of English history. As is common, major disruption in representation caused by both infrequency of Parliaments convened and allegiance of the incumbents (whether a Royalist or a Parliamentarian) led to sporadic representation during the Protectorate of England and its Commonwealth which followed the end of most fighting during the English Civil War, in this case the stripping of wealth and status from Sir William Ogle followed his being supportive of the wrong faction at the wrong time.
The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 reduced the narrow borough constituency that elected two MPs to only one, permitting the creation of new broader replacement seats in surrounding Hampshire countryside for two abolished boroughs: Andover and Fareham (also known as West and South Hampshire respectively).
The seat was a Conservative safe seat in terms of majority and length of time held from 1950 until 1997.
At the 1997 general election the incumbent MP Gerry Malone of the Conservative Party was defeated by Mark Oaten of the Liberal Democrats by just two votes. This was the closest result in any of the 659 constituencies contested at the 1997 general election, followed by the Liberal Democrats 12 vote majority (also over the Conservatives) in Torbay.[4] Malone petitioned the result and it was declared void by the High Court on the grounds of mis-stamped ballots having altered the outcome, necessitating a by-election. This was won definitively by Oaten with a very large majority of 21,556, in an election that saw the Labour vote collapse to 1.7% hence the candidate, Patrick Davies, losing his deposit.
The events of 1997 swung the constituency strongly away from its usual status as a fairly safe Conservative seat.
Oaten stood down at the 2010 general election and was replaced as Liberal Democrat candidate by Martin Tod. Following significant boundary changes, Tod was defeated by Conservative candidate Steve Brine, who took the seat with a majority of 3,048 votes. Brine held the seat in 2015, 2017 and 2019, although in 2019 his majority was reduced to just 985 votes over Paula Ferguson of the Liberal Democrats, making Winchester one of the most marginal seats in the UK.
Brine stood down for the 2024 election and Flick Drummond, the incumbent MP for the now abolished seat of Meon Valley, was selected for the Conservatives, having failed to be selected for the new seat of Fareham and Waterlooville. However, despite boundary changes favouring the Conservative Party, she was easily defeated by the Liberal Democrats' Danny Chambers after a notional swing of 19.2%.
The constituency is in mid-Hampshire and comprises the bulk of the large City of Winchester District. The largest settlements after Winchester itself are Bishop's Waltham, New Alresford and Kings Worthy.
The ancient capital of Wessex, Winchester is a cathedral city with the arts and humanities-oriented University and an affluent population. Poverty is very low, and the population is a mixture of students, academics, London and Southampton commuters, and those employed locally in high-tech and creative industries.[5]
Workless claimants who were 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.[6]
| Parliament | First member | Second member | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1386 | Richard Frye | Mark Le Faire[7] | |
| 1388 (February) | Mark Le Faire | Gilbert Forster | |
| 1388 (September) | William Wygge | John Blake | |
| 1390 (January) | Mark Le Faire | John West | |
| 1390 (November) | |||
| 1391 | Mark Le Faire | Gilbert Forster | |
| 1393 | Mark Le Faire | Edmund Picard | |
| 1394 | John Peverel | Richard Gould | |
| 1395 | Mark Le Faire | John Blake | |
| 1397 (January) | Henry Clerk | Nicholas Tanner | |
| 1397 (September) | William Bolt | Richard Pachford | |
| 1399 | Mark Le Faire | Edmund Picard | |
| 1401 | |||
| 1402 | John Snell | John Steor | |
| 1404 (January) | |||
| 1404 (October) | |||
| 1406 | Thomas Smale | Edmund Picard | |
| 1407 | John Steor | Robert Archer | |
| 1410 | |||
| 1411 | Mark Le Faire | Robert Archer | |
| 1413 (February) | Mark Le Faire | William Wood | |
| 1413 (May) | Mark Le Faire | William Wood | |
| 1414 (April) | |||
| 1414 (November) | Mark Le Faire | William Wood | |
| 1415 | Richard Gould | Richard Bolt | |
| 1416 (March) | Mark Le Faire | William Wood | |
| 1416 (October) | Richard Turnaunt | William Reson | |
| 1417 | Mark Le Faire | Richard Turnaunt | |
| 1419 | Richard Bolt | Richard Turnaunt | |
| 1420 | William Reson | William Wood | |
| 1421 (May) | John French | William Wood | |
| 1421 (December) | John French | Thomas Cutler | |
| 1510-1523 | No names known[8] | ||
| 1529 | William Hawles | Thomas Coke, died and replaced after 1532 by ?Walter Chandler | |
| 1536 | ?William Hawles | ?Walter Chandler | |
| 1539 | Thomas Lee | ? | |
| 1542 | Walter Chandler | ? | |
| 1545 | ? | ||
| 1547 | William Honing | John Foster | |
| 1553 (March) | Richard Bethell | William Lawrence I | |
| 1553 (October) | Richard Bethell | William Lawrence I | |
| 1554 (April) | William Lawrence I | Robert Hodson | |
| 1554 (November) | William Lawrence I | Robert Hodson | |
| 1555 | William Lawrence I | Robert Hodson | |
| 1558 | Giles White | William Lawrence I | |
| 1559 (January) | William Lawrence | Robert Bethell[9] | |
| 1562 (December) | William Lawrence | Thomas Michelborne | |
| 1571 | Thomas Michelborne | Richard Birde? | |
| 1572 (May) | Thomas Michelborne, died and replaced in January 1583 by William Bethell | John Caplyn | |
| 1584 (November) | John Wolley | Thomas Fleming I | |
| 1586 (October) | John Wolley | Thomas Fleming I | |
| 1588 (October) | Francis Mylles | ||
| 1593 | Sir Edward Stafford | Thomas Fleming I | |
| 1597 (October) | William Badger | John Moore | |
| 1601 (October) | Edward Cole | Sir Thomas Fleming II | |
| 1604 | John Moore | Edward Cole | |
| 1614 | Sir William Sandys | Sir Thomas Bilson | |
| 1621 | William Savage | ||
| 1624 | |||
| 1625 | Sir Thomas Phelipps | ||
| 1626 | Henry Whitehead | ||
| 1628 | Robert Mason | ||
| 1629–1640 | No Parliaments summoned | ||
| 1640 (April) | Sir William Ogle | ||
| 1640 (November) | Sir William Ogle, disabled June 1643 replaced in 1645 by Nicholas Love | ||
| 1654 | John Hildesley | ||
| 1656 | John Hildesley | ||
| 1659 | John Hildesley | Nicholas Love | |
| 1659 | John Lisle | Nicholas Love | |
| Year | First member | First party | Second member | Second party | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1660 | John Hooke | < | -- party --> | Thomas Cole | < | -- party --> | ||
| 1660 | Charles Paulet | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1661 | Richard Goddard | < | -- party --> | Lawrence Hyde | < | -- party --> | ||
| 1666 | Sir Robert Mason | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1669 | Sir Robert Holmes | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1679 | James Annesley | < | -- party --> | Sir John Cloberry | < | -- party --> | ||
| 1685 | Roger L'Estrange | < | -- party --> | Charles Hanses | < | -- party --> | ||
| 1689 | Francis Morley | < | -- party --> | Lord William Powlett | < | -- party --> | ||
| 1690 | Frederick Tylney | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1701 | George Rodney Brydges | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1710 | Thomas Lewis | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1714 | George Brydges | < | -- party --> | John Popham | < | -- party --> | ||
| 1715 | Lord William Powlett | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1730 | Norton Powlett | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1734 | Paulet St John | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1741 | William Powlett | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1747 | Henry Penton | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1751 | Paulet St John | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1754 | James Brydges | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1761 | Henry Penton | < | -- party --> | Lord Harry Powlett | < | -- party --> | ||
| 1765 | George Paulet | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1774 | Lovell Stanhope | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1783 | Henry Flood | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1784 | Richard Grace Gamon | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1796 | Henry Temple, 2nd Viscount Palmerston | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1802 | Sir Henry St John-Mildmay | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1807 | Sir Henry St John-Mildmay | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1812 | Richard Meyler | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1818 | James Henry Leigh | [10] | ||||||
| 1818 | Paulet St John-Mildmay | [11] | ||||||
| 1823 | Sir Edward East | |||||||
| 1831 | James Buller East | |||||||
| 1832 | Bingham Baring | [12] | ||||||
| 1835 | Sir James Buller East | |||||||
| 1837 | Paulet St John-Mildmay | |||||||
| 1841 | Bickham Escott | |||||||
| 1847 | John Bonham-Carter | [13] [14] | ||||||
| 1859 | ||||||||
| 1864 by-election | Thomas Willis Fleming | |||||||
| 1865 | William Barrow Simonds | |||||||
| 1874 | Arthur Robert Naghten | |||||||
| 1880 | Francis Baring | Richard Moss | ||||||
| 1885 | Representation reduced to one member | |||||||
| 2019 notional result[15] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| 34,522 | 54.0 | ||
| 25,472 | 39.9 | ||
| 3,039 | 4.8 | ||
| 586 | 0.9 | ||
| Others | 292 | 0.5 | |
| Turnout | 63,911 | 83.5 | |
| Electorate | 76,577 | ||
Note: The percentage differences are compared to the previous general election poll, not the by-election.
Note: The result reflects the official return made at the time. It was subsequently declared void upon petition.Because of the presence on the ballot paper of Richard Huggett as "Liberal Democrat Top Choice for Parliament", Oaten used the description "Liberal Democrat: Leader: Paddy Ashdown" to identify himself as the official Liberal Democrat candidate.
Tottenham's death caused a by-election.
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;
East's resignation caused a by-election.
Carter was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.