North Warwickshire and Bedworth (UK Parliament constituency)

North Warwickshire and Bedworth is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.^{[n 2]}

North Warwickshire and Bedworth
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundaries since 2010
Boundary of North Warwickshire and Bedworth in West Midlands region
County	Warwickshire
Electorate	70,245 (2023)[1]
Major settlements	Atherstone, Bedworth, Coleshill and Polesworth
Current constituency
Created	1983 (as North Warwickshire)
Member of Parliament	Rachel Taylor (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Meriden Nuneaton
1832–1885
Seats	Two
Type of constituency	County constituency
Created from	Warwickshire
Replaced by	Nuneaton Rugby Tamworth

Before the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the constituency was known as North Warwickshire with new name taking effect on the 2024 general election, with unchanged boundaries.^[2]

Constituency profile

Warwickshire North contained wards which are the most "working-class" (lowest average income) and industrial of the six constituencies in the county, politically frequently with the best returns locally for Labour candidates. In the 2010 election, all six Warwickshire constituencies were won by the Conservative party, though this constituency was the most marginal, falling on a substantial swing of 8.1% from Labour to the Conservatives (compared to a national swing of 5%).

Like much of the county, the area includes many rural villages which can today be classified as 'commuter' and 'retirement', south of the National Forest, south east of Tamworth and the small cathedral city of Lichfield and centred less than 10 miles (16 km) east of Birmingham, which provides some work locally in the creative and international export sectors. Many towns and villages have a history of coal mining and heavy industry, linked to a strong Labour vote.^[3]

Settlements include Bedworth, just north of Coventry, and the historic market town of Atherstone.^{[n 3]}

Boundaries

1832–1885: The Hundred of Hemlingford, the County of the City of Coventry, and the Rugby and Kirby Divisions of the Hundred of Knightlow.^[4]

1983–2010: The Borough of North Warwickshire, and the Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth wards of Exhall, Heath, Mount Pleasant, and Poplar.

2010–present:

• The Borough of North Warwickshire wards of: Atherstone Central; Atherstone North; Atherstone South and Mancetter; Baddesley and Grendon; Coleshill North; Coleshill South; Curdworth; Dordon; Fillongley; Hurley and Wood End; Kingsbury; Newton Regis and Warton; Polesworth East; Polesworth West; Water Orton; and
• The Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth wards of: Bede; Exhall; Heath; Poplar; and Slough.

The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies left the boundaries unchanged.^[2]

The constituency since 2010 has all but two wards of North Warwickshire.^{[n 4]}

History

1832–1885

The North Warwickshire constituency was created for the 1832 general election, when the Great Reform Act divided the former Warwickshire constituency into two new divisions: North Warwickshire and South Warwickshire.

Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, North Warwickshire was abolished for the 1885 general election, when Warwickshire was divided into four new single-member constituencies: Rugby, Stratford-on-Avon, Nuneaton and Tamworth.

1983–present

The second iteration of the North Warwickshire county constituency was created for the 1983 general election, replacing outlying parts of the Meriden and Nuneaton constituencies. The seat was won by Francis Maude of the Conservative Party at the 1983 general election, who held it until 1992, when it was taken by Mike O'Brien of Labour. Labour held the seat comfortably until 2010.

On 8 March 2007, former Army Officer and polar explorer Dan Byles was selected at an open primary to contest North Warwickshire for the Conservative Party. At the 2010 general election, Byles won the seat off Mike O'Brien by just 54 votes, making him the Conservative Member of Parliament with the smallest majority in the country. However, a strong Conservative performance during the latter part of the decade saw the seat become safer for the Conservatives – the result in 2019 being akin to a safe Conservative seat. This trend was reversed when the newly named seat was won by Labour's Rachel Taylor at the 2024 general election.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1832–1885

Election	First member[5]		First party	Second member[5]		Second party
1832		William Stratford Dugdale	Tory[6]		Sir John Eardley-Wilmot, Bt	Tory[6]
1834			Conservative[6]			Conservative[6]
1843 by-election					Charles Newdegate	Conservative[6]
1847		Richard Spooner	Conservative
1864 by-election		William Bromley-Davenport	Conservative
1884 by-election		Philip Muntz	Conservative
1885	Constituency abolished: see Nuneaton, Rugby, Stratford-on-Avon and Tamworth

MPs 1983–2024

Meriden and Nuneaton prior to 1983

Election		Member[5]	Party
	1983	Francis Maude	Conservative
	1992	Mike O'Brien	Labour
	2010	Dan Byles	Conservative
	2015	Craig Tracey	Conservative
	2024	Rachel Taylor	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: North Warwickshire and Bedworth^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rachel Taylor	14,727	36.0	+9.2
	Conservative	Craig Tracey	12,529	30.6	−35.3
	Reform UK	Paul Hopkins	10,701	26.1	N/A
	Green	Alison Wilson	1,755	4.3	+1.5
	Liberal Democrats	Guy Burchett	1,228	3.0	−1.5
Majority			2,198	5.4	N/A
Turnout			40,940	58.9	−6.7
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+22.2

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: North Warwickshire^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Craig Tracey	30,249	65.9	9.0
	Labour Co-op	Claire Breeze	12,293	26.8	12.1
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Whelan	2,069	4.5	2.3
	Green	James Platt	1,303	2.8	0.8
Majority			17,956	39.1	21.1
Turnout			45,914	65.3	1.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	10.5

General election 2017: North Warwickshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Craig Tracey	26,860	56.9	14.6
	Labour	Julie Jackson	18,350	38.9	2.9
	Liberal Democrats	James Cox	1,028	2.2	0.1
	Green	Keith Kondakor	940	2.0	0.1
Majority			8,510	18.0	11.7
Turnout			47,178	63.5	3.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	5.9

General election 2015: North Warwickshire^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Craig Tracey	20,042	42.3	2.1
	Labour	Mike O'Brien	17,069	36.0	4.1
	UKIP	William Cash[10]	8,256	17.4	14.6
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Beddow	978	2.1	9.5
	Green	Ian Bonner	894	1.9	New
	TUSC	Eileen Hunter	138	0.3	New
Majority			2,973	6.3	6.2
Turnout			47,377	67.2	0.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.05

General election 2010: North Warwickshire^[11][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Daniel Byles	18,993	40.2	8.2
	Labour	Mike O'Brien	18,939	40.1	8.0
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Martin	5,481	11.6	1.9
	BNP	Jason Holmes	2,106	4.5	0.4
	UKIP	Stephen Fowler	1,335	2.8	0.1
	English Democrat	David Lane	411	0.9	New
Majority			54	0.1	N/A
Turnout			47,265	67.4	5.2
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	8.1

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: North Warwickshire^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mike O'Brien	22,561	48.1	6.0
	Conservative	Ian Gibb	15,008	32.0	0.4
	Liberal Democrats	Jerry Roodhouse	6,212	13.2	1.8
	BNP	Michaela Mackenzie	1,910	4.1	New
	UKIP	Ian Campbell	1,248	2.7	0.6
Majority			7,553	16.1	5.6
Turnout			46,939	62.2	2.0
	Labour hold		Swing	2.8

General election 2001: North Warwickshire^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mike O'Brien	24,023	54.1	4.3
	Conservative	Geoffrey Parsons	14,384	32.4	1.2
	Liberal Democrats	William Powell	5,052	11.4	4.0
	UKIP	John Flynn	950	2.1	1.1
Majority			9,639	21.7	5.5
Turnout			44,409	60.2	14.5
	Labour hold		Swing	2.75

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: North Warwickshire^[15][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mike O'Brien	31,669	58.4	12.3
	Conservative	Stephen Hammond	16,902	31.2	13.4
	Liberal Democrats	William Powell	4,040	7.4	2.9
	Referendum	Roland Mole	917	1.7	New
	UKIP	Christopher Cooke	533	1.0	New
	Berties Party	Ian Moorecroft	178	0.3	New
Majority			14,767	27.2	24.7
Turnout			54,239	74.7	8.1
	Labour hold		Swing	12.9

General election 1992: North Warwickshire^[17][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mike O'Brien	27,599	46.1	6.0
	Conservative	Francis Maude	26,145	43.6	1.5
	Liberal Democrats	Noel R Mitchell	6,167	10.3	4.6
Majority			1,454	2.5	N/A
Turnout			59,862	82.8	2.9
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	3.7

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: North Warwickshire ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Francis Maude	25,453	45.1	3.1
	Labour	Mike O'Brien	22,624	40.1	3.0
	SDP	Suzan Neale	8,382	14.9	6.1
Majority			2,829	5.0	0.1
Turnout			56,459	79.9	1.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.1

General election 1983: North Warwickshire^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Francis Maude	22,452	42.0
	Labour Co-op	John Tomlinson	19,867	37.1
	SDP	Howard Kerry	11,207	20.9
Majority			2,585	4.9
Turnout			53,526	78.0
	Conservative win (new seat)

Election results 1832–1885

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1832: North Warwickshire (2 seats)^[21][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	John Eardley-Wilmot	2,237	40.9
	Tory	William Stratford Dugdale	1,666	30.4
	Whig	Dempster Heming	1,573	28.7
Majority			93	1.7
Turnout			3,109	83.4
Registered electors			3,730
	Tory win (new seat)
	Tory win (new seat)

General election 1835: North Warwickshire (2 seats)^[21][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Eardley-Wilmot	2,600	37.3	−3.6
	Conservative	William Stratford Dugdale	2,513	36.1	+5.7
	Whig	Arthur Francis Gregory[22]	1,854	26.6	−2.1
Majority			659	9.5	+7.8
Turnout			c. 3,484	c. 72.9	c. −10.5
Registered electors			4,779
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.4

General election 1837: North Warwickshire (2 seats)^[21][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Stratford Dugdale	3,326	32.7	−3.4
	Conservative	John Eardley-Wilmot	2,768	27.2	−10.1
	Whig	Grey Skipwith	2,292	22.5	+9.2
	Whig	Charles Holte Bracebridge	1,787	17.6	+4.3
Majority			476	4.7	−4.8
Turnout			5,099	76.9	c. +4.0
Registered electors			6,632
	Conservative hold		Swing	−5.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−8.4

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: North Warwickshire (2 seats)^[21][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Stratford Dugdale	Unopposed
	Conservative	John Eardley-Wilmot	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,785
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

By-election, 10 March 1843: North Warwickshire^[21][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Newdigate Newdegate	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

• Caused by Eardley-Wilmot's resignation after being appointed Governor of Tasmania

General election 1847: North Warwickshire (2 seats)^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Newdigate Newdegate	2,915	38.1	N/A
	Conservative	Richard Spooner	2,451	32.1	N/A
	Whig	William Henry Leigh[23]	2,278	29.8	New
Majority			173	2.3	N/A
Turnout			4,961 (est)	77.9 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			6,371
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: North Warwickshire (2 seats)^[21][24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Newdigate Newdegate	2,950	30.0	−8.1
	Conservative	Richard Spooner	2,822	28.7	−3.4
	Whig	Frederick Craven[25]	2,038	20.7
	Whig	Sir Thomas George Skipwith, 9th Baronet	2,021	20.6
Majority			784	8.0	+5.7
Turnout			4,916 (est)	70.2 (est)	−7.7
Registered electors			7,002
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1857: North Warwickshire (2 seats)^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Newdigate Newdegate	Unopposed
	Conservative	Richard Spooner	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,832
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1859: North Warwickshire (2 seats)^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Newdigate Newdegate	Unopposed
	Conservative	Richard Spooner	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,871
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

By-election, 13 December 1864: North Warwickshire^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Bromley	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

• Caused by Spooner's death.

General election 1865: North Warwickshire (2 seats)^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Newdigate Newdegate	3,159	37.4	N/A
	Conservative	William Bromley	2,873	34.0	N/A
	Liberal	George Frederick Muntz	2,408	28.5	New
Majority			465	5.5	N/A
Turnout			5,424 (est)	80.8 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			6,710
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1868: North Warwickshire (2 seats)^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Newdigate Newdegate	4,547	29.0	−8.4
	Conservative	William Bromley-Davenport	4,377	28.0	−6.0
	Liberal	George Frederick Muntz	3,411	21.8	+7.5
	Liberal	Edward Fordham Flower	3,322	21.2	+6.9
Majority			966	6.2	+0.7
Turnout			7,829 (est)	76.3 (est)	−4.5
Registered electors			10,266
	Conservative hold		Swing	−7.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	−6.6

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: North Warwickshire (2 seats)^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Newdigate Newdegate	4,672	38.3	+9.3
	Conservative	William Bromley-Davenport	4,322	35.5	+7.5
	Liberal	George Frederick Muntz[26]	3,189	26.2	−16.8
Majority			1,133	9.3	+3.1
Turnout			7,686 (est)	75.4 (est)	−0.9
Registered electors			10,200
	Conservative hold		Swing	+8.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	+8.0

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: North Warwickshire (2 seats)^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Bromley-Davenport	Unopposed
	Conservative	Charles Newdigate Newdegate	Unopposed
Registered electors			11,789
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

By-election, 3 July 1884: North Warwickshire^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Philip Muntz	5,282	59.9	N/A
	Liberal	Archibald Corbett	3,538	40.1	New
Majority			1,744	19.8	N/A
Turnout			8,820	73.5	N/A
Registered electors			11,993
	Conservative hold

• Caused by Bromley-Davenport's death.

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Warwickshire
• List of parliamentary constituencies in West Midlands (region)

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.
3. This saw considerable population expansion from 1995–2010
4. Arley and Whitacre and Hartshill, moved in 2010 to Nuneaton