North Wiltshire (UK Parliament constituency)

North Wiltshire was a constituency^{[n 1]} in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was represented since its 1983 recreation by the Conservative Party.^{[n 2]} In the period 1832–1983, North Wiltshire was an alternative name for Chippenham or the Northern Division of Wiltshire and as Chippenham dates to the original countrywide Parliament, the Model Parliament, this period is covered in more detail in that article.

North Wiltshire
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of North Wiltshire in Wiltshire for the 2010 general election
Location of Wiltshire within England
County	Wiltshire
Electorate	67,154 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements	Calne, Royal Wootton Bassett, Cricklade, Malmesbury
1983–2024
Seats	One
Created from	Chippenham
Replaced by	Chippenham Melksham and Devizes South Cotswolds
1832–1885
Replaced by	Cricklade Chippenham Devizes Westbury

The seat was abolished for the 2024 general election and replaced by parts of three other constituencies.^[2]

Boundaries

Map of boundaries 2010–2024

1832–1885: The Hundreds of Chippenham, North Damerham, Bradford, Melksham, Potterne and Cannings, Calne, Selkley, Ramsbury, Whorwelsdown, Swanborough, Highworth, Cricklade and Staple, Kingsbridge, and Malmesbury.^[3]

1983–1997: The District of North Wiltshire.

1997–2010: The District of North Wiltshire wards of Allington, Ashton Keynes, Audley, Avon, Box, Bremhill, Brinkworth, Colerne, Corsham, Crudwell, Hill Rise, Hilmarton, Kington Langley, Kington St Michael, Lacock, Lyneham, Malmesbury, Malmesbury Road, Minety, Monkton Park, Neston and Gastard, Nettleton, Park, Pickwick, Purton, Queen's, Redland, St Paul Malmesbury Without, Sherston, Somerford, The Lydiards, Town, Westcroft, Wootton Bassett North, and Wootton Bassett South.

2010–2024: The District of North Wiltshire wards of Ashton Keynes and Minety, Box, Bremhill, Brinkworth and The Somerfords, Calne Abberd, Calne Chilvester, Calne Lickhill, Calne Marden, Calne Priestley, Calne Quemerford, Calne Without, Colerne, Cricklade, Hilmarton, Kington Langley, Kington St Michael, Lyneham, Malmesbury, Nettleton, Purton, St Paul Malmesbury Without and Sherston, The Lydiards and Broad Town, Wootton Bassett North, and Wootton Bassett South.

The constituency covered most of the northern third of Wiltshire. However, it excluded the eastern town of Swindon which was represented as North Swindon and South Swindon.

North Wiltshire constituency was formed by a renaming for the 1983 general election, with boundaries identical to the former Chippenham constituency (1885–1983).^[4] The constituency sat between the Cotswolds and Swindon. Its main towns were Calne, Royal Wootton Bassett, Cricklade and Malmesbury, and it also contained villages, both small and large, spread over a large area of farming countryside, including the well-known (often-painted and photographed) village of Castle Combe.

For the 2010 general election the North Wiltshire constituency changed radically as a result of boundary change recommendations. The revised constituency covered a northern swathe of the previous version, retaining the towns of Malmesbury, Cricklade, Royal Wootton Bassett and Calne,^{[n 3]} while the largest southern town of Chippenham was given its own seat (which was previously abolished in 1983) that brought in the nearby market towns of Bradford on Avon and Melksham.^[5]

Abolition

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished for the 2024 general election, with its contents distributed three ways:^[2]

• Northern and western parts, including Cricklade, Purton and Malmesbury, forming part of the new seat of South Cotswolds
• Southern and eastern areas, including Royal Wootton Bassett, Lyneham and most of the town of Calne, added to a reconfigured Chippenham constituency
• The Box and Colerne, and Calne South wards included in the new seat of Melksham and Devizes

Members of Parliament

MPs 1832–1885

Election	First member[6]		First party	Second member[6]		Second party
1832		Paul Methuen	Whig[7]		Sir John Astley, Bt	Whig[7]
1835					Walter Long	Whig[7]
1837		Francis Burdett	Conservative[7]
1841						Conservative[7]
February 1844		T. H. S. Sotheron-Estcourt	Conservative[7]
March 1865		Lord Charles Bruce	Liberal
1865					Richard Penruddocke Long	Conservative
1868					George Jenkinson	Conservative
1874		George Sotheron-Estcourt	Conservative
1880					Walter Long	Conservative
1885	Redistribution of Seats Act: constituency abolished; see Chippenham constituency

MPs since 1983

Election		Member[6]	Party
	1983	Richard Needham	Conservative
	1997	James Gray	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: North Wiltshire^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Gray	32,373	59.1	1.2
	Liberal Democrats	Brian Mathew	14,747	26.9	9.2
	Labour	Jonathan Fisher	5,699	10.4	7.1
	Green	Bonnie Jackson	1,939	3.5	1.4
Majority			17,626	32.2	10.4
Turnout			54,758	75.0	0.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	5.2

General election 2017: North Wiltshire^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Gray	32,398	60.3	3.1
	Liberal Democrats	Brian Mathew	9,521	17.7	2.1
	Labour	Peter Baldrey	9,399	17.5	7.7
	Green	Phil Chamberlain	1,141	2.1	2.5
	UKIP	Paddy Singh	871	1.6	9.9
	Independent	Lisa Tweedie	376	0.7	New
Majority			22,877	42.6	1.0
Turnout			53,706	75.34	0.84
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.5

General election 2015: North Wiltshire^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Gray[11]	28,938	57.2	5.6
	Liberal Democrats	Brian Mathew[11]	7,892	15.6	20.6
	UKIP	Pat Bryant[12]	5,813	11.5	7.6
	Labour	Peter Baldrey	4,930	9.8	3.1
	Green	Phil Chamberlain[13]	2,350	4.6	3.4
	Independent	Simon Killane[11]	390	0.8	New
	Independent	Giles Wareham	243	0.5	New
Majority			21,046	41.6	26.2
Turnout			50,556	74.5	1.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	13.15

General election 2010: North Wiltshire^[14][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Gray	25,114	51.6	+1.9
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Evemy	17,631	36.2	+1.8
	Labour	Jason Hughes	3,239	6.7	−5.3
	UKIP	Charles Bennett	1,908	3.9	+1.2
	Green	Philip Chamberlain	599	1.2	New
	Independent	Philip Allnatt	208	0.4	−0.6
Majority			7,483	15.4	+5.9
Turnout			48,699	73.4	+3.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.05

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: North Wiltshire^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Gray	26,282	46.9	+1.4
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Fox	20,979	37.4	−0.8
	Labour	David Nash	6,794	12.1	−2.2
	UKIP	Neil Dowdney	1,428	2.5	+0.4
	Independent	Philip Allnatt	578	1.0	New
Majority			5,303	9.5	+2.2
Turnout			56,061	69.3	+2.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.1

General election 2001: North Wiltshire^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Gray	24,090	45.5	+1.7
	Liberal Democrats	Hugh Pym	20,212	38.2	+0.4
	Labour	Joanne Garton	7,556	14.3	+0.1
	UKIP	Neil Dowdney	1,090	2.1	+1.4
Majority			3,878	7.3	+1.3
Turnout			52,948	67.3	−7.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.7

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: North Wiltshire^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Gray	25,390	43.8	−12.4
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Cordon	21,915	37.8	+6.3
	Labour	Nigel Knowles	8,261	14.2	+4.1
	Referendum	Margaret Purves	1,774	3.1	New
	UKIP	Alan Wood	410	0.7	New
	Natural Law	Joan Forsyth	263	0.4	New
Majority			3,475	6.0	−16.4
Turnout			58,013	74.9	−6.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	−9.3

General election 1992: North Wiltshire^[19][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Needham	39,028	55.6	+0.5
	Liberal Democrats	Christine Napier	22,640	32.3	−5.8
	Labour	Christine Reid	6,945	9.9	+3.1
	Green	Lydia Howitt	850	1.2	New
	Liberal	George Hawkins	622	0.9	New
	Independent	David Martienssen	66	0.1	New
Majority			16,388	23.4	+6.4
Turnout			70,151	81.7	+2.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.1

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: North Wiltshire^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Needham	35,309	55.1	+2.1
	Liberal	Christopher Graham	24,370	38.1	−2.5
	Labour	Christine Reid	4,343	6.8	+1.8
Majority			10,939	17.0	+4.6
Turnout			64,022	79.3	+2.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1983: North Wiltshire^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Needham	30,924	53.0	+3.9
	Liberal	Christopher Graham	23,692	40.6	−0.7
	Labour	Stephen Allsop	2,888	5.0	−3.7
	Ecology	Edward Barham	678	1.2	New
	Justice for Divorced Fathers	Henri de la Perriere	113	0.2	New
Majority			7,232	12.4	N/A
Turnout			58,295	76.6	4.5
	Conservative win (new seat)

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: North Wiltshire (2 seats)^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Walter Long	3,090	35.5	−0.5
	Conservative	George Sotheron-Estcourt	2,836	32.6	−4.2
	Liberal	George Fuller	2,784	32.0	+4.8
Majority			52	0.6	−8.2
Turnout			5,747 (est)	79.3 (est)	+2.1
Registered electors			7,249
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	−3.3

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: North Wiltshire (2 seats)^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Bucknall-Estcourt	3,195	36.8	+18.0
	Conservative	George Jenkinson	3,129	36.0	+17.2
	Liberal	Charles Bruce	2,358	27.2	−35.3
Majority			771	8.8	+6.5
Turnout			5,520 (est)	77.2 (est)	+3.2
Registered electors			7,152
	Conservative hold		Swing	+17.8
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+17.4

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1868: North Wiltshire (2 seats)^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Jenkinson	2,769	37.5	−23.0
	Liberal	Charles Bruce	2,600	35.2	+15.4
	Liberal	Joseph Trigge Schomberg	2,016	27.3	+7.5
Majority			169	2.3
Turnout			5,077 (est)	74.0 (est)	+0.3
Registered electors			6,857
	Conservative hold		Swing	−17.2
	Liberal hold		Swing	+13.5

General election 1865: North Wiltshire (2 seats)^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Bruce	2,151	39.6	N/A
	Conservative	Richard Penruddocke Long	1,911	35.2	N/A
	Conservative	George Jenkinson	1,373	25.3	N/A
Majority			240	4.4	N/A
Turnout			3,793 (est)	73.7 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			5,146
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

By-election 20 March 1865: North Wiltshire^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Bruce	Unopposed
	Liberal gain from Conservative

• Caused by Sotheron-Estcourt's resignation due to ill health.^[24]

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1859: North Wiltshire (2 seats)^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	T. H. S. Sotheron-Estcourt	Unopposed
	Conservative	Walter Long	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,417
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

By-election 8 March 1859: North Wiltshire^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	T. H. S. Sotheron-Estcourt	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

• Caused by Sotheron-Estcourt's appointment as Home Secretary

By-election 5 March 1858: North Wiltshire^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	T. H. S. Sotheron-Estcourt	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

• Caused by Sotheron-Estcourt's appointment as President of the Poor Law Board

General election 1857: North Wiltshire (2 seats)^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	T. H. S. Sotheron-Estcourt	Unopposed
	Conservative	Walter Long	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,400
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1852: North Wiltshire (2 seats)^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	T. H. S. Sotheron	Unopposed
	Conservative	Walter Long	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,955
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1847: North Wiltshire (2 seats)^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	T. H. S. Sotheron	Unopposed
	Conservative	Walter Long	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,165
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

By-election, 12 February 1844: North Wiltshire (2 seats)^[23][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	T. H. S. Sotheron	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

• Caused by Burdett's death.

General election 1841: North Wiltshire (2 seats)^[23][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Francis Burdett	Unopposed
	Conservative	Walter Long	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,241
	Conservative hold
	Conservative gain from Whig

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1837: North Wiltshire (2 seats)^[23][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Francis Burdett	2,365	36.7
	Whig	Walter Long	2,197	34.1
	Whig	Paul Methuen	1,876	29.1
Majority			321	5.0
Turnout			4,183	82.5
Registered electors			5,068
	Conservative gain from Whig
	Whig hold

General election 1835: North Wiltshire (2 seats)^[23][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Walter Long	Unopposed
	Whig	Paul Methuen	Unopposed
Registered electors			3,560
	Whig hold
	Whig hold

General election 1832: North Wiltshire (2 seats)^[23][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Paul Methuen	1,835	46.8
	Whig	John Astley	1,683	42.9
	Radical	John Edridge	403	10.3
Majority			1,280	32.6
Turnout			2,332	64.5
Registered electors			3,614
	Whig win (new seat)
	Whig win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Wiltshire

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. Since 2010 Calne is the furthest south