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Ludlow (UK Parliament constituency) - Wikipedia

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Ludlow
Former county constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map

2010–2024 boundary of Ludlow in Shropshire

Outline map

Location of Shropshire within England

CountyShropshire
Electorate66,199 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlementsLudlow, Bridgnorth
1885–2024
SeatsOne
Created fromLudlow, Bridgnorth and South Shropshire
Replaced bySouth Shropshire
1473–1885
Seats1473–1868: Two
1868–1885: One
Type of constituencyBorough constituency
Created fromShropshire
Replaced byLudlow

Ludlow was a constituency[n 1] in Shropshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.[n 2]

Under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the constituency was abolished. Subject to minor boundary changes, it was reformed as South Shropshire, first contested in the 2024 general election.[2]

From its 1473 creation until 1885, Ludlow was a parliamentary borough.[n 3] It was represented by two burgesses until 1868, when it was reduced to one member.

The seat saw a big reduction in voters between 1727 when 710 people voted to the next contested election in 1812 when the electorate was below 100. The Reform Act 1832 (2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45) raised the electorate to 300-400.[3]

The parliamentary borough was abolished in 1885, and the name transferred to the new county "division" (with lower electoral candidates' expenses and a different returning officer) whose boundaries were expanded greatly to become similar to (and a replacement to) the Southern division of Shropshire.[n 4]

The seat was long considered safe for the Conservatives with the party winning by large majorities from the 1920s until 1997 when the majority was reduced to under 6,000. When the sitting Conservative MP stood down in 2001 it was won by a Liberal Democrat. Ludlow was regained by a Conservative in the 2005 general election, held with a greatly increased majority five years later which was almost doubled in 2015.

In the 2016 referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union, Shropshire, which the constituency entirely forms a part of, voted to leave the European Union by 56.9%.[4]

Boundaries and profile

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Map

Map of boundaries 2010–2024

1885–1918: Parts of the Boroughs of Ludlow, Bridgnorth, and Wenlock, the Sessional Divisions of Bishop's Castle, Brinstree South and Stottesden Chelmarsh, Burford, Clun and Purslow, Munslow Lower and Upper, and Stottesden Cleobury, and parts of the Sessional Divisions of Ovens and Stottesden.

1918–1950: The Boroughs of Ludlow, Bridgnorth, and Bishop's Castle, the Urban District of Church Stretton, and the Rural Districts of Bridgnorth, Burford, Church Stretton, Cleobury Mortimer, Clun, Ludlow, and Teme.

1950–1974: The Boroughs of Ludlow, Bridgnorth, Bishop's Castle, and Wenlock, the Urban District of Church Stretton, and the Rural Districts of Bridgnorth, Clun, and Ludlow.

1974–1983: The Rural Districts of Bridgnorth, Clun and Bishop's Castle, and Ludlow.

1983–1997: The District of South Shropshire, and the District of Bridgnorth.

1997–2010: The District of South Shropshire, and the District of Bridgnorth wards of Alveley, Bridgnorth Castle, Bridgnorth East, Bridgnorth Morfe, Bridgnorth West, Broseley, Claverley, Ditton Priors, Glazeley, Harrington, Highley, Kinlet, Much Wenlock, Morville, Stottesdon, and Worfield.

2010–2024: The District of South Shropshire, and the District of Bridgnorth wards of Alveley, Bridgnorth Castle, Bridgnorth East, Bridgnorth Morfe, Bridgnorth West, Broseley East, Broseley West, Claverley, Ditton Priors, Glazeley, Harrington, Highley, Much Wenlock, Morville, Stottesdon, and Worfield.

nb. in April 2009 the districts of South Shropshire and Bridgnorth (together with their wards) were abolished; the constituency's extent was still constituted by reference to them.

The Ludlow constituency was situated entirely within the county of Shropshire in England.

It covered a large, rural area dotted with market towns, the largest of which are Ludlow and Bridgnorth (which was a borough constituency until 1885), each having a population of just over 10,000. The other towns — all with a population of under 5,000 — are Broseley, Clun, Bishop's Castle (a 'rotten borough' constituency until 1832), Cleobury Mortimer, Much Wenlock (former seat of the borough constituency of Wenlock until 1885 and notable for its part in the history of the modern Olympic Games movement), Craven Arms and Church Stretton.

On its northeast border (just beyond Broseley) is the Ironbridge Gorge (notable for its part in the Industrial Revolution), just to the south of the large new town of Telford. The Guardian encapsulates the seat in a nutshell as "Big, rural, hills and small towns, increasingly middle class."[5] Other than the Telford borough constituency, Ludlow borders onto similarly rural county constituencies, including Montgomery on the other side of the border with Wales.

The constituency covered most of the south area of Shropshire Council (without Shifnal and Albrighton).[n 5]

The most recent boundary changes took place at the 1997 general election, when a part of the Bridgnorth district was removed to The Wrekin constituency.

Members of Parliament

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  • Constituency created (1473)
Parliament First member Second member
1510–1515 No names known[6]
1523 ?William Foxe ?John Cother[6]
1529 William Foxe John Cother[6]
1536 ?John Cother[6]
1539 Charles Foxe Thomas Wheeler[6]
1542 Edmund Foxe[6]
1545 John Bradshaw Thomas Wheeler[6]
1547 Robert Blount Charles Foxe[6]
1553 (Mar) Thomas Wheeler
1553 (Oct) John Passey[6]
1554 (Apr) Sir John Price Thomas Blashefield[6]
1554 (Nov) James Warnecombe John Allsop[6]
1555 William Heath Thomas Croft[6]
1558 Richard Prince Robert Mason[6]
1559 William Poughmill Robert Mason I[7]
1562–3 Richard Langford William Poughmill[7]
1571 William Poughmill Robert Mason I[7]
1572 Robert Mason II, died
and replaced Jan 1581 by Philip Sidney
who sat for Shrewsbury
and was replaced by Robert Berry[7]
1584 Robert Berry Richard Farr[7]
1586 Thomas Canland[7]
1588
1593
1597 Hugh Sanford, election declared void
and was repl. 1597 by Robert Berry
1601 Thomas Canland Robert Berry[7]
1604 Robert Berry Richard Benson
1614 Sir Henry Townshend Robert Berry
unseated on petition- replaced by Robert Lloyd
1621 Henry Spencer, Lord Compton Richard Tomlins
1624 Richard Tomlins Ralph Goodwin
1625
1626
1628
1629–1640 No Parliaments summoned
1640 (Apr) Charles Baldwin Ralph Goodwin
1640 (Nov)
1645 Thomas Mackworth Thomas Moor
1648
1653 Ludlow not represented in Barebones Parliament
1654 John Aston (one seat only)
1656
1659 Job Charlton Samuel Baldwyn
Year First member[8] First party Second member[8] Second party
1660 Timothy Littleton Job Charlton
1670 Somerset Fox
Febr. 1679 Francis Charlton
Sept. 1679 Thomas Walcot
1681 Charles Baldwyn
Apr. 1685 Sir Edward Herbert William Charlton
Jn. 1685 Sir Josiah Child
Nov. 1685 Sir Edward Lutwyche
1689 Francis Herbert Charles Baldwyn
1690 Thomas Hanmer William Gower
1691 Silius Titus Francis Lloyd
1695 Thomas Newport Charles Baldwyn
1698 Francis Herbert William Gower
1699 Thomas Newport
Jan. 1701 Sir Thomas Powys William Gower
Dec. 1701 Francis Herbert
1705 Acton Baldwyn
1713 Humphrey Walcot
1715 Francis Herbert
1719 Sir Robert Raymond
1722 Abel Ketelby Acton Baldwyn
Febr. 1727 Richard Herbert
Sept. 1727 Henry Herbert
1741 Sir William Corbet, Bt
1743 Richard Herbert
1748 Henry Bridgeman
1754 Edward Herbert
1768 William Fellowes
1770 Thomas Herbert
1774 George Mason-Villiers Tory[9] Edward Clive Tory[9]
1780 Frederick Cornewall
1783 Somerset Davies
1784 Richard Payne Knight Whig[9]
1794 Robert Clive Tory[9]
1806 Edward Herbert Tory[9]
1807 Henry Clive
1818 Robert Clive
1832 Edward Romilly Whig[9]
1834 Conservative[9]
1835 Edmund Lechmere Charlton Conservative[9]
1837 Henry Salwey Whig[9][10][11][12][13][14]
1839 Thomas Alcock Whig[9][15][16]
1840 Beriah Botfield Conservative[9]
1841 James Ackers Conservative[9]
1847 Henry Bayley Clive Conservative Henry Salwey Whig[10][11][12][13][14]
1852 Hon. Robert Windsor-Clive Lord William Powlett Conservative
1854 Percy Egerton Herbert
1857 Beriah Botfield
1860 George Windsor-Clive
1863 Sir William Fraser
1865 John Edmund Severne
  • Constituency reduced to one Member (1868)
  • 1868–1885 George Windsor-Clive,
  • Constituency reorganized (1885)
Year Member[8] Whip
1885 Jasper More Liberal
1886 Liberal Unionist
1903 Rowland Hunt
1917 National Party
1918 Unionist
1918 Sir Beville Stanier
1922 Ivor Windsor-Clive
1923 George Windsor-Clive
1945 Uvedale Corbett Conservative
1951 Christopher Holland-Martin
1960 Jasper More
1979 Eric Cockeram
1987 Christopher Gill
2001 Matthew Green Liberal Democrat
2005 Philip Dunne Conservative
2024 Constituency abolished

Election results 1918–2024

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Elections in the 1910s

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Elections in the 1920s

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Elections in the 1930s

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General election 1939–40: Another general election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;

Elections in the 1940s

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Elections in the 1950s

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Elections in the 1960s

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Elections in the 1970s

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Elections in the 1980s

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Elections in the 1990s

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Elections in the 2000s

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Elections in the 2010s

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Election results 1868–1918

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Elections in the 1860s

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Elections in the 1870s

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Elections in the 1880s

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Elections in the 1890s

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More

Elections in the 1900s

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Elections in the 1910s

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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;

Election results 1832–1868

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Elections in the 1830s

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Clive succeeded to the peerage, becoming 2nd Earl of Powis and causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1840s

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Alcock's election was declared void on petition, due to treating, on 12 May 1840, causing a by-election.[40]

Elections in the 1850s

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Clive resigned to contest the 1854 by-election in South Shropshire, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1860s

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Herbert resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, causing a by-election.

Botfield's death caused a by-election.

Elections before 1832

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  1. ^ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer).
  2. ^ As with all UK Parliament constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
  3. ^ From 1473 to 1707 of the House of Commons of England, then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801.
  4. ^ A separate seat from 1832 to 1885.
  5. ^ Prior to the 2009 re-organisation of local government in Shropshire, it comprised the former South Shropshire district together with the southern part of the former Bridgnorth district.
  1. ^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  2. ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – West Midlands | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  3. ^ Page 244,Lewis Namier, The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd edition - London: St Martin's Press, 1957)
  4. ^ "EU Referendum Results". BBC News. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  5. ^ "Politics". The Guardian.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  8. ^ a b c Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 4)
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Stooks Smith, Henry (1845). The Parliaments of England, from 1st George I., to the Present Time. Vol II: Oxfordshire to Wales Inclusive. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. pp. 18–20. Retrieved 24 November 2018 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ a b "Ludlow". Hereford Journal. 5 July 1837. p. 3. Retrieved 19 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ a b "Ludlow". Wolverhampton Chronicle and Staffordshire Advertiser. 12 July 1837. p. 3. Retrieved 19 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ^ a b Davis, Peter (2013). Davis, Martin (ed.). The Diary of a Shropshire Farmer: A Young Yeoman's Life and Travels 1835-37. Stroud: Amberley Publishing. p. 223. ISBN 9781445625737. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  13. ^ a b Mosse, Richard Bartholomew (1837). The Parliamentary Guide: a concise history of the Members of both Houses, etc. p. 213. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  14. ^ a b Churton, Edward (1836). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1836. p. 200.
  15. ^ "The General Election". Morning Post. 24 July 1847. p. 3. Retrieved 18 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  16. ^ "Bell's Weekly Messenger". 19 July 1847. p. 5. Retrieved 18 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  17. ^ a b c d e f Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  18. ^ a b c d F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
  19. ^ a b c F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1973
  20. ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  21. ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  22. ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  23. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  24. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  25. ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  26. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  27. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  28. ^ web.manager@shropshire.gov.uk. "Democracy – Shropshire Council". www.shropshire.gov.uk.
  29. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  30. ^ "Shrewsbury & Atcham Parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
  31. ^ "Ludlow Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  32. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.[page needed]
  33. ^ "To the electors of the Borough of Ludlow". Wellington Journal. 20 March 1880. p. 8. Retrieved 3 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  34. ^ a b c d The Liberal Year Book, 1907
  35. ^ Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
  36. ^ a b c d e f g h i Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
  37. ^ "Ludlow Division". Wellington Journal. 16 July 1892. p. 6. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  38. ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
  39. ^ a b Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
  40. ^ "The Late Elections". Yorkshire Gazette. 30 May 1840. p. 4. Retrieved 24 November 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  41. ^ "Shrewsbury and Ludlow Elections". Shrewsbury Chronicle. Shrewsbury, Shropshire. 1 June 1866. p. 4. Retrieved 1 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  42. ^ a b Escott, Margaret. "Ludlow". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 17 April 2020.