Christchurch is a constituency in Dorset represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Sir Christopher Chope of the Conservative Party.

History The original Christchurch constituency, a parliamentary borough, existed from 1572 until 1918. In 1918 the constituency was divided between New Forest and Christchurch and Bournemouth.

The constituency was re-created as a county constituency in 1983 from parts of the seats of Christchurch and Lymington, North Dorset and New Forest. It has since 1983 seen strong Conservative majorities, with the exception of a 1993 by-election caused by the death of Robert Adley when it was won by Diana Maddock, a Liberal Democrat. The Conservatives regained the seat at the next general election in 1997, despite their landslide defeat nationally and Chris Chope has retained it ever since. As of 2017, it is the second strongest Conservative seat in terms of voteshare (69.7%) and strongest in terms of majority (49.6%) in the country, although 2017 also saw Labour come second in the seat for the first time in history, having historically been far weaker than the Liberal Democrats and, in 2015, UKIP.

Boundaries 1983–1997: The Borough of Christchurch, and the District of Wimborne wards of Ameysford, Ferndown Central, Golf Links, Longham, St Leonards and St Ives East, St Leonards and St Ives South, St Leonards and St Ives West, Stapehill, Tricketts Cross, Verwood, West Moors North, West Moors South, and West Parley.

1997–2010: The Borough of Christchurch, and the District of East Dorset wards of Ameysford, Ferndown Central, Golf Links, St Leonards and St Ives East, St Leonards and St Ives South, St Leonards and St Ives West, Tricketts Cross, Verwood, West Moors North, West Moors South, and West Parley.

2010–2024: The Borough of Christchurch, and the District of East Dorset wards of Ameysford, Ferndown Central, Ferndown Links, Longham, Parley, St Leonards and St Ives East, St Leonards and St Ives West, Stapehill, and West Moors.

2024–present: The District of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole wards of: Burton and Grange, Christchurch Town, Commons, Highcliffe and Walkford, Mudeford, Stanpit and West Highcliffe, and the Dorset wards of: Ferndown North, Ferndown South, St. Leonards & St. Ives, West Moors & Three Legged Cross, West Parley. Minor changes following re-organisation of local authorities and wards in Dorset.

Constituency profile The area is not as rural as the adjoining New Forest constituencies, nor as urban as Bournemouth and Poole, and contains a mixed assortment of coastal retirement havens, outlying Bournemouth suburbs and the town of Christchurch itself which has expanded to include dedicated villages of sheltered housing on its outskirts.

Consequently, the present Christchurch seat contains one of the most elderly electorates in the country – only Eastbourne and East Devon have an older average voter age and Christchurch has the highest proportion of over-60s of all UK seats. Having recovered from an early-1990s by-election loss, it is today a very safe Conservative seat, with MP Christopher Chope attaining 65% of the votes, a majority of 47%, at the last general election. It is the safest Tory seat in the South West and on most analyses is on the fringe of the area that usually qualifies as the South West, served by a station with direct links to the capital and closest to London.

Bournemouth Airport is located in the constituency.

Members of Parliament

Parliamentary borough (1572–1918)

MPs 1571–1640

ParliamentFirst memberSecond memberParliament of 1571Andrew RogersJohn HyettParliament of 1572–1581Henry KnollysMatthew EvansParliament of 1584–1585Alexander NevillParliament of 1586–1587Henry AshleyParliament of 1588–1589Justinian ChampernounSampson LennardParliament of 1593John HerbertJohn AgmondeshamParliament of 1597–1598Simon WillisAndrew RogersParliament of 1601Henry MeereParliament of 1604–1611Richard MartinNicholas HydeAddled Parliament (1614)Sir Thomas NortonHenry BretonParliament of 1621–1622Sir George HastingsNathaniel TomkinsHappy Parliament (1624–1625)Sir George AstmyllUseless Parliament (1625)Sir Thomas WilfordParliament of 1625–1626Robert MasonParliament of 1628–1629Henry CrokeNo Parliament summoned 1629–1640

MPs 1640–1832 YearFirst memberFirst partySecond memberSecond partyApril 1640Arnold HerbertHenry TulseNovember 1640Matthew DaviesRoyalist1642Tulse died September(?) 1642 – seat left vacantMarch 1643Davies disabled from sitting – seat vacant1645Richard Edwards ParliamentarianJohn Kempe ParliamentarianDecember 1648Kempe not recorded as sitting after Pride's Purge1653Christchurch was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament and the First and Second Parliaments of the ProtectorateJanuary 1659John Bulkeley Henry Tulse May 1659Not represented in the restored RumpMarch 1660 John Hildesley Henry Tulse 1661 Humphrey Weld February 1679 Sir Thomas Clarges August 1679 George Fulford 1685 Anthony Ettrick 1689 Francis Gwyn William Ettrick 1695 Viscount Cornbury 1701 Francis Gwyn 1710 (Sir) Peter MewsKnighted July 1712 1717 Francis GwynGwyn was re-elected in 1722, but had also been elected for Wells, which he chose to represent, and did not sit again for Christchurch 1724 by-election Edward Prideaux Gwyn 1726 by-election Jacob Banks 1727 Joseph Hinxman Charles Wither 1732 by-election Philip Lloyd 1734 Edward Hooper 1740 by-election (Sir) Charles Armand PowlettKnighted (KB), 1749 1748 by-election Sir Thomas Robinson 1751 by-election Harry Powlett 1754 Hon. John Mordaunt 1761 Hon. Thomas Robinson James Harris Whig November 1770 by-election James Harris (junior) Whig1774 Hon. Thomas VilliersStyled Lord Hyde from June 1776 Tory1780 Sir James Harris Whig 1781 by-election (Sir) John FrederickSucceeded to a baronetcy, April 1783 1788 by-election Hans Sloane Tory1790 George Rose Tory1796 William Stewart Rose Tory May 1800 by-election William Chamberlayne 1802 William Sturges Bourne Tory1812 William Edward Tomline ToryMarch 1818 by-election Sir George Henry Rose ToryJune 1818 William Sturges Bourne Tory1826 George Pitt Rose Tory1832 Representation reduced to one member

MPs 1832–1918 YearMemberParty 1832 Sir George Tapps-Gervis Conservative 1837 Sir George Henry Rose Conservative 1844 Hon. Edward Harris Conservative 1852 John Edward Walcott Conservative 1868 Edmund Haviland-Burke Liberal 1874 Sir Henry Drummond Wolff Conservative 1880 Horace Davey Liberal 1885 Charles Young Conservative 1892 Abel Henry Smith Conservative 1900 Kenneth Balfour Conservative 1906 Arthur Acland Allen Liberal 1910 Henry Page Croft Conservative1917 National1918 constituency abolished

County constituency

MPs since 1983 ElectionMemberParty 1983 Robert Adley Conservative 1993 by-election Diana Maddock Liberal Democrat 1997 Sir Christopher Chope Conservative

Elections 1983–present

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Election results 1868–1918 Elections in the 1860s

Elections in the 1870s

Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1900s

The original tally for the 1906 election had Balfour with 3,411 votes and Brassey with 3,408 votes. However, a recount resulted in the increased majority for Balfour.

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: Henry Croft Liberal:

Election results 1832–1868 Elections in the 1830s

Elections in the 1840s

Rose resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Manor of Northstead, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1850s

Elections in the 1860s

Elections before 1832

Neighbouring constituencies

See also List of parliamentary constituencies in Dorset

Notes

References

Sources

The BBC/ITN Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies (Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services, 1983) Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885–1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972) British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1977) British Parliamentary Election Results 1885–1918, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1974) Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume I 1832–1885, edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976) Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume II 1886–1918, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1978) Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume III 1919–1945, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (Harvester Press 1979) Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) D Brunton & D H Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954) Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808) Maija Jansson (ed.), Proceedings in Parliament, 1614 (House of Commons) (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1988) * J E Neale, The Elizabethan House of Commons (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949) J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 – England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)

Frederic A Youngs, jr, Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol I (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979)

External links nomis Constituency Profile for Christchurch — presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics. Christchurch UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK Christchurch UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK Christchurch UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK