Nuneaton (UK Parliament constituency)

Nuneaton is a constituency^{[n 1]} in Warwickshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Jodie Gosling of the Labour Party.^{[n 2][2][3][4]}

Nuneaton
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundaries since 2010
Boundary of Nuneaton in West Midlands region
County	Warwickshire
Electorate	70,335 (2023)[1]
Major settlements	Nuneaton
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of Parliament	Jodie Gosling (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	North Warwickshire

Boundaries

Nuneaton 1885–1918

1885–1918: The Sessional Division of Coventry and part of the Sessional Divisions of Atherstone and Coleshill.

1918–1945: The Municipal Borough of Nuneaton, the Urban District of Bulkington, and the Rural Districts of Atherstone, Coventry, Foleshill, and Nuneaton.

1945–1955: The Municipal Borough of Nuneaton, the Urban District of Bedworth, and the Rural District of Atherstone.

1955–1974: The Municipal Borough of Nuneaton, and the Urban District of Bedworth.^[5]

1974–1983: The Municipal Borough of Nuneaton, and the Urban District of Bedworth as altered by the Coventry Order 1965.

1983–2010: The Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth wards of Abbey, Arbury, Attleborough, Bulkington, Camp Hill, Chilvers Coton, Galley Common, St Nicolas, Stockingford, Weddington, and Whitestone, and the Borough of Rugby wards of Earl Craven, Fosse, and Wolvey.

The boundary changes which took effect for the 1983 general election removed the town of Bedworth, which was transferred to the newly created North Warwickshire constituency.

2010–2024: The Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth wards of Abbey, Arbury, Attleborough, Bar Pool, Camp Hill, Galley Common, Kingswood, St Nicolas, Weddington, Wem Brook, and Whitestone, and the Borough of North Warwickshire wards of Arley and Whitacre, and Hartshill.

2024–present: The 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, which was based on the ward structure in place on 1 December 2020, left the boundaries unchanged.^[6] However, further to a local government boundary review in Nuneaton and Bedworth which came into effect in May 2024,^[7] the constituency now comprises the following from the 2024 general election:

• The Borough of North Warwickshire wards of: Arley and Whitacre; Hartshill.
• The Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth wards of: Arbury; Attleborough; Camp Hill; Chilvers Coton; Eastboro; Galley Common; Milby; St Mary's; St Nicolas; Stockingford East; Stockingford West; Weddington; Whitestone.^[8]

History

The constituency was created as a result of the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, in an area whose population had expanded as coal miners poured in from other parts of the country. At one time 20 collieries operated in the area and now one of three major British coal mines continued with operations in the constituency at Daw Mill atop the Warwickshire Coalfield (known as the Warwickshire Thick) in the north of the county until 2012 when it closed. The associated heavy industry and mining-centred economy coupled with the Representation of the People Act 1918 (Fourth Reform Act) led to Nuneaton being held by the Labour Party for nearly 50 years from 1935 to 1983. Following boundary changes for the 1983 general election, the sitting MP Les Huckfield declined to stand and unsuccessfully sought nomination in other constituencies such as Wigan^[9] and Sedgefield.^[10] The seat was duly won by Lewis Stevens, a Conservative who retained the seat in 1987.

Labour regained the constituency at the 1992 election. Bill Olner beat Stevens and retained the seat in 1997, 2001 and 2005. Olner announced in 2007 that he would not be contesting the 2010 general election and would be standing down at the end of the 2005–2010 parliament.^[11] Former Nuneaton and Bedworth Council Leader Marcus Jones was successful in taking the seat for the Conservative Party at the 2010 election and retained the seat in 2015, 2017 and 2019, but it was retaken for Labour by Jodie Gosling at the 2024 election.

2015 general election significance

In the 2015 general election, Nuneaton was the first marginal constituency between the Conservatives and Labour to declare its results. The result proved to be significant as it saw a 3.0% swing to the Conservatives, despite the seat being Labour's 38th biggest target^[12] and Labour being predicted to win the seat.^[13] The result therefore proved to be a major indication that the Conservatives were going to win a majority of seats in the House of Commons for the first time since the 1992 general election, something which went against national opinion polls which pointed towards Labour gains in the key marginal constituencies.^[14]

It was later reported that the moment incumbent Prime Minister David Cameron knew his Conservative Party had won the general election was when Nuneaton declared its results at 1.53 am on 8 May 2015.^[15]

This has led to many pointing out the similarities between Nuneaton and the former constituency of Basildon which in 1987 and 1992, Labour unexpectedly failed to win. This is why the Nuneaton result has been seen as the 'Basildon Moment' of 2015, since the Basildon constituency similarly foreshadowed the Conservative's election victory in 1992.^[16]

Nuneaton was chosen by the Labour Party as the host of their first televised leadership debate during their 2015 leadership election.^[17]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[18]	Party
	1885	Jasper Johns	Liberal
	1886	John Dugdale	Conservative
	1892	Francis Newdigate[19]	Conservative
	1906	William Johnson	Liberal
	1909		Labour
	1914		Liberal
	1918	Sir Henry Maddocks	Coalition Conservative
	1923	Herbert Willison	Liberal
	1924	Arthur Hope	Conservative
	1929	Francis Smith	Labour
	1931	Edward North	Conservative
	1935	Reginald Fletcher	Labour
	1942 by-election	Frank Bowles	Labour
	1965 by-election	Frank Cousins	Labour
	1967 by-election	Les Huckfield	Labour
	1983	Lewis Stevens	Conservative
	1992	Bill Olner	Labour
	2010	Marcus Jones	Conservative
	2024	Jodie Gosling	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Nuneaton^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jodie Gosling	15,216	36.9	+5.4
	Conservative	Marcus Jones	11,737	28.5	−32.1
	Reform UK	Rob Howard	9,059	22.0	N/A
	Green	Keith Kondakor	2,894	7.0	+3.3
	Liberal Democrats	Joy Salaja	1,340	3.3	−0.8
	Workers Party	John Homer	967	2.3	N/A
Majority			3,479	8.4	N/A
Turnout			41,213	58.7	−6.3
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+18.7

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Nuneaton^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Marcus Jones	27,390	60.6	9.0
	Labour	Zoe Mayou	14,246	31.5	9.8
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Brighton-Knight	1,862	4.1	2.1
	Green	Keith Kondakor	1,692	3.7	2.0
Majority			13,144	29.1	18.8
Turnout			45,190	64.3	2.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	9.4

General election 2017: Nuneaton ^[22][23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Marcus Jones	23,755	51.6	6.0
	Labour	Phil Johnson	19,016	41.3	6.4
	UKIP	Craig Carpenter	1,619	3.5	10.9
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Brighton-Knight	914	2.0	0.2
	Green	Chris Brookes	763	1.7	1.1
Majority			4,739	10.3	0.4
Turnout			46,067	66.67	0.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.2

See also: Opinion polling in United Kingdom constituencies, 2010–15 § Nuneaton

General election 2015: Nuneaton^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Marcus Jones	20,827	45.5	4.0
	Labour	Vicky Fowler	15,945	34.9	2.0
	UKIP	Alwyn Waine[25]	6,582	14.4	New
	Green	Keith Kondakor	1,281	2.8	New
	Liberal Democrats	Christina Jebb	816	1.8	13.5
	TUSC	Paul Reilly	194	0.4	New
	English Democrat	Steve Paxton	104	0.2	New
Majority			4,882	10.6	6.0
Turnout			45,749	67.2	1.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.0

General election 2010: Nuneaton^[26][27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Marcus Jones	18,536	41.5	4.6
	Labour	Jayne Innes	16,467	36.9	9.8
	Liberal Democrats	Christina Jebb	6,846	15.3	2.8
	BNP	Martyn Findley	2,797	6.3	New
Majority			2,069	4.6	N/A
Turnout			44,646	65.8	6.9
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	7.2

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Nuneaton^[28][29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bill Olner	19,945	44.0	8.1
	Conservative	Mark Pawsey	17,665	39.0	4.3
	Liberal Democrats	Ali Asghar	5,884	13.0	1.9
	UKIP	Keith Tyson	1,786	3.9	1.9
Majority			2,280	5.0	12.4
Turnout			45,279	61.7	1.6
	Labour hold		Swing	6.2

General election 2001: Nuneaton ^[30][31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bill Olner	22,577	52.1	−4.1
	Conservative	Mark Lancaster	15,042	34.7	+3.8
	Liberal Democrats	Tony Ferguson	4,820	11.1	+2.3
	UKIP	Brian James	873	2.0	+1.5
Majority			7,535	17.4	−7.9
Turnout			43,312	60.1	−14.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.95

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Nuneaton ^[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bill Olner	30,080	56.2	+10.4
	Conservative	Richard Blunt	16,540	30.9	−12.1
	Liberal Democrats	Ron Cockings	4,732	8.8	−2.4
	Referendum	Roy English	1,533	2.9	New
	Independent	David Bray	390	0.7	New
	UKIP	Peter Everitt	238	0.5	New
Majority			13,540	25.3	+22.5
Turnout			53,513	74.4	−8.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+11.3

General election 1992: Nuneaton ^[33][34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bill Olner	27,157	45.8	+11.2
	Conservative	Lewis Stevens	25,526	43.0	−1.9
	Liberal Democrats	Ruth Merritt	6,671	11.2	−8.0
Majority			1,631	2.8	N/A
Turnout			59,354	83.0	+2.7
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+6.55

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Nuneaton ^[35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lewis Stevens	24,630	44.9	+4.4
	Labour	Valerie Veness	18,975	34.6	+4.0
	Liberal	Andrew Trembath	10,550	19.2	New
	Green	John Morrissey	719	1.3	New
Majority			5,655	10.3	+0.4
Turnout			54,874	80.3	+3.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.2

General election 1983: Nuneaton ^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lewis Stevens	20,666	40.5	+2.8
	Labour	John Haynes	15,605	30.6	−19.3
	SDP	Ruth Levitt	14,264	28.0	New
	Independent	GE Davies	504	1.0	0.0
Majority			5,061	9.9	N/A
Turnout			51,039	77.3	−1.2
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+11.05

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Nuneaton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Les Huckfield	31,403	49.9	−6.2
	Conservative	Lewis Stevens	23,715	37.7	+12.4
	Liberal	Cecil Williams	6,184	9.8	−8.8
	National Front	RP Matthews	1,028	1.6	New
	Independent	GE Davies	504	1.0	New
Majority			7,688	12.2	−18.6
Turnout			62,959	78.5	+4.6
	Labour hold		Swing	-9.35

General election October 1974: Nuneaton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Les Huckfield	32,308	56.10	+2.25
	Conservative	Roland JM Freeman	14,547	25.30	−1.05
	Liberal	N Hawkins	10,729	18.60	−1.19
Majority			17,761	30.80	+3.30
Turnout			57,584	73.90	−8.51
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.65

General election February 1974: Nuneaton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Les Huckfield	34,258	53.85	−3.58
	Conservative	D Samuel	16,765	26.35	−6.34
	Liberal	D Inman	12,491	19.79	+10.00
Majority			17,493	27.50	+2.86
Turnout			63,614	82.41	+6.21
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.38

General election 1970: Nuneaton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Les Huckfield	32,877	57.43	+3.45
	Conservative	Susan Lewis-Smith	18,769	32.79	+1.23
	Liberal	Alex Harrison	5,602	9.79	−4.67
Majority			14,108	24.64	+2.22
Turnout			57,248	76.20	−3.48
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.65

Elections in the 1960s

By Election 1967: Nuneaton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Les Huckfield	18,239	42.08	−11.10
	Conservative	David Knox	14,185	32.73	+1.17
	Liberal	Alan Meredith	7,644	17.64	+3.18
	All Party Alliance	John Creasey	2,755	6.36	New
	Independent	Don Bennett	517	1.19	New
Majority			4,054	9.35	−13.07
Turnout			43,340	67.90	−11.78
	Labour hold		Swing	-5.37

General election 1966: Nuneaton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Cousins	27,452	53.98	+1.20
	Conservative	David S Marland	16,049	31.56	+2.48
	Liberal	Alan Meredith	7,356	14.46	−3.67
Majority			11,403	22.42	−1.26
Turnout			50,857	79.68	−0.43
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.22

By Election 1965: Nuneaton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Cousins	18,325	48.92	−3.86
	Conservative	David S Marland	13,084	34.93	+5.85
	Liberal	John Campbell	6,047	16.14	−1.99
Majority			5,241	13.99	−9.71
Turnout			37,456	60.80	−19.91
	Labour hold		Swing	-4.86

General election 1964: Nuneaton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Bowles	26,059	52.78	+0.34
	Conservative	David S Marland	14,357	29.08	−3.26
	Liberal	John Campbell	8,953	18.13	+2.91
Majority			11,702	23.70	+3.60
Turnout			49,369	80.11	−1.69
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.80

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Nuneaton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Bowles	24,894	52.44	−3.39
	Conservative	Charles G Miller	15,354	32.34	−0.62
	Liberal	John Campbell	7,227	15.22	+4.00
Majority			9,540	20.10	−2.76
Turnout			47,475	81.80	−2.11
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.39

General election 1955: Nuneaton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Bowles	25,112	55.83	−5.8
	Conservative	Robert Dermott D Griffith	14,828	32.96	+3.74
	Liberal	John Beeching Frankenburg	5,048	11.22	+0.47
Majority			10,284	22.87	−7.94
Turnout			44,988	79.69	−5.33
	Labour hold		Swing	-2.06

General election 1951: Nuneaton^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Bowles	35,651	60.03	+1.33
	Conservative	James E Tippett	17,356	29.22	+1.62
	Liberal	GC Middleton	6,386	10.75	−2.95
Majority			18,295	30.81	−0.39
Turnout			59,393	85.02	−2.28
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.15

General election 1950: Nuneaton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Bowles	35,129	58.7	+0.2
	Conservative	Phylis G Spencer	16,488	27.6	+4.2
	Liberal	Jack A Harris	8,177	13.7	−3.5
Majority			18,641	31.1	−4.0
Turnout			59,794	87.3	+8.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Nuneaton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Bowles	30,587	58.5	+10.1
	Conservative	John Fitzroy-Newdegate	12,267	23.4	−17.4
	Liberal	Peter Calvocoressi	8,986	17.2	+6.4
	Independent Progressive	Leonard Melling	468	0.9	New
Majority			18,320	35.1	+27.5
Turnout			52,308	78.7	+2.8
	Labour hold		Swing

1942 Nuneaton by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Bowles	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Labour hold		Swing

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;

• Labour: Reginald Fletcher

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Nuneaton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Reginald Fletcher	33,237	48.4	+10.7
	Conservative	John Moores	28,000	40.8	−0.9
	Liberal	William Thomas Stanton	7,384	10.8	New
Majority			5,237	7.6	+3.6
Turnout			68,621	75.9	−2.1
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General election 1931: Nuneaton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward North	25,839	41.7	+17.4
	Labour	Frank Smith	23,375	37.7	−6.7
	National Liberal	Herbert Willison	12,811	20.6	−10.7
Majority			2,464	4.0	N/A
Turnout			62,025	78.0	−6.1
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929: Nuneaton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Smith	27,102	44.4	+13.1
	Liberal	Herbert Willison	19,104	31.3	+0.3
	Unionist	Arthur Hope	14,819	24.3	−13.4
Majority			7,998	13.1	N/A
Turnout			60,395	84.1	+5.4
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+13.2

General election 1924: Nuneaton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Arthur Hope	15,242	37.7	+7.2
	Labour	Frank Smith	12,679	31.3	+2.2
	Liberal	Herbert Willison	12,550	31.0	−9.4
Majority			2,563	6.4	−3.5
Turnout			40,471	78.7	+6.1
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

General election 1923: Nuneaton ^[38]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Herbert Willison	14,518	40.4	+11.2
	Unionist	Henry Maddocks	10,940	30.5	−7.8
	Labour	Thomas Barron	10,437	29.1	−3.4
Majority			3,578	9.9	N/A
Turnout			35,895	72.6	+2.8
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+9.5

General election 1922: Nuneaton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Henry Maddocks	12,765	38.3	−7.9
	Labour	J Stevenson	10,842	32.5	+6.7
	Liberal	Thomas Slack	9,730	29.2	+5.7
Majority			1,923	5.8	−14.6
Turnout			33,337	69.8	+13.9
	Unionist hold		Swing	-7.3

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Nuneaton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	*Henry Maddocks	11,198	46.2	−1.6
	Labour	Ivor Gregory	6,269	25.8	−16.4
	Liberal	William Henry Grant	5,707	23.5	New
	National Democratic	William Henry Dyson	1,101	4.5	New
Majority			4,929	20.4	N/A
Turnout			24,275	55.9	−34.1
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing

• denotes candidate who was endorsed by the Coalition Government.

Election results 1885–1918

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Nuneaton ^[39][40][41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jasper Johns	4,445	51.6
	Conservative	John Dugdale	4,169	48.4
Majority			276	3.2
Turnout			8,614	85.6
Registered electors			10,061
	Liberal win (new seat)

General election 1886: Nuneaton ^[39][40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Dugdale	4,626	56.2	+7.8
	Liberal	Jasper Johns	3,608	43.8	−7.8
Majority			1,018	12.4	N/A
Turnout			8,234	81.8	−3.8
Registered electors			10,061
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+7.8

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Nuneaton ^[39][40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Francis Newdegate	4,899	53.5	−2.7
	Liberal	Charles Vero	4,258	46.5	+2.7
Majority			641	7.0	−5.4
Turnout			9,157	88.6	+6.8
Registered electors			10,336
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.7

Tomkinson

General election 1895: Nuneaton ^[39][40][42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Francis Newdegate	5,572	57.2	+3.7
	Liberal	James Tomkinson	4,175	42.8	−3.7
Majority			1,397	14.4	+7.4
Turnout			9,747	87.7	−0.9
Registered electors			11,114
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.7

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Nuneaton ^[39][40][42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Francis Newdegate	5,736	56.4	−0.8
	Lib-Lab	William Johnson	4,432	43.6	+0.8
Majority			1,304	12.8	−1.6
Turnout			10,168	78.9	−8.8
Registered electors			12,894
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.8

Johnson

General election 1906: Nuneaton ^[39][40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Lib-Lab	William Johnson	7,677	56.8	+13.2
	Conservative	Francis Newdigate-Newdegate	5,849	43.2	−13.2
Majority			1,828	13.6	N/A
Turnout			13,526	90.0	+11.1
Registered electors			15,021
	Lib-Lab gain from Conservative		Swing	+13.2

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: Nuneaton ^[39][43]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Johnson	8,154	50.8	−6.0
	Conservative	Henry Maddocks	7,891	49.2	+6.0
Majority			263	1.6	−12.0
Turnout			16,045	91.9	+1.9
Registered electors			17,451
	Labour hold		Swing	−6.0

General election December 1910: Nuneaton ^[39][43]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Johnson	8,199	52.2	+1.4
	Conservative	Henry Maddocks	7,501	47.8	−1.4
Majority			698	4.4	+2.8
Turnout			15,700	90.0	−1.9
Registered electors			17,451
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.4

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;

• Liberal-Labour: William Johnson
• Unionist:

See also

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