The current boundaries include the town of Chesterfield, together with areas to the north towards Dronfield and to the east towards Bolsover, comprising the Borough of Chesterfield wards: Brimington North, Brimington South, Brockwell, Dunston, Hasland, Hollingwood and Inkersall, Holmebrook, Linacre, Loundsley Green, Middlecroft and Poolsbrook, Moor, Old Whittington, Rother, St Helen’s, St Leonard’s, Walton, and West.[3] The other two Borough of Chesterfield wards (Barrow Hill and New Whittington; Lowgates and Woodthorpe) fall within the neighbouring North East Derbyshire seat.[3] Boundary changes before the 2010 general election, when the Mid Derbyshire constituency was created, meant that Chesterfield lost New Whittington to North East Derbyshire but otherwise retained its shape.
The town of Chesterfield lies just outside the Peak District southwest of Sheffield. Its best known landmark is the Church of St Mary and All Saints, commonly known as the Crooked Spire. The constituency borders the constituencies of Bolsover and Derbyshire North East.
History[edit]
Chesterfield has mainly been a Labour seat, with periods when it has been held by other parties; it was gained by the Liberal Democrats in 2001 and held by them until 2010. Chesterfield was safe seat for Labour from 1935 until 2001. Andrew Cavendish, later the Duke of Devonshire, was the National Liberal candidate at the 1945 and 1950 elections.
The seat was held in succession by two prominent Labour politicians for over 35 years. The former Labour cabinet minister Eric Varley held the seat from October 1964 to January 1984, and was succeeded by his ex-government colleague Tony Benn, who held the seat following a by-election in March 1984. He remained the town's MP until his retirement from the House of Commons in 2001, when he famously remarked that his decision was taken to "spend more time on politics". Benn had been a Labour Cabinet Minister between 1966–70 and 1974-1979, while Varley was in the Wilson and Callaghan cabinets in the latter period. Paul Holmes gained the seat for the Liberal Democrats at the 2001 general election, the party's first Commons seat in the East Midlands, but were narrowly defeated at the 2010 by the Labour candidate Toby Perkins, one of only three seats the Labour Party gained at the 2010 general election. In 2015, a collapse in the Liberal Democrat vote nationwide had them fall behind to fourth place, the Conservatives move into second place, and Labour having their largest majority in the seat since 1979.
Members of Parliament[edit]
Year
Member[4][5]
Party
1885
Alfred Barnes
Liberal
1886
Liberal Unionist
1892
Thomas Bayley
Liberal
1906
James Haslam
Lib-Lab
1910
Labour
1913
Barnet Kenyon
Lib-Lab
1918
Liberal
1929
George Benson
Labour
1931
Roger Conant
Conservative
1935
George Benson
Labour
1964
Eric Varley
Labour
1984
Tony Benn
Labour
2001
Paul Holmes
Liberal Democrat
2010
Toby Perkins
Labour
Election results[edit]
Elections in the 2010s[edit]
General election 2019: Chesterfield [6]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
Toby Perkins
18,171
40.2
14.6
Conservative
Leigh Higgins
16,720
37.0
2.2
Brexit Party
John Scotting
4,771
10.6
New
Liberal Democrats
Emily Coy
3,985
8.8
3.4
Green
Neil Jackson
1,148
2.5
0.9
Independent
John Daramy
391
0.9
New
Majority
1,451
3.2
16.8
Turnout
45,186
63.6
3.3
Labour hold
Swing
8.4
General election 2017: Chesterfield
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
Toby Perkins[8]
26,266
54.8
6.9
Conservative
Spencer Pitfield[8]
16,661
34.8
16.7
Liberal Democrats
Tom Snowdon[8]
2,612
5.4
8.4
UKIP
Stuart Bent[8]
1,611
3.4
13.1
Green
David Wadsworth[8]
777
1.6
1.4
Majority
9,605
20.0
9.8
Turnout
47,927
66.9
3.7
Labour hold
Swing
4.9
General election 2015: Chesterfield[9][7]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
Toby Perkins
21,829
47.9
+8.9
Conservative
Mark Vivis
8,231
18.1
+2.3
UKIP
Stuart Yeowart
7,523
16.5
+13.4
Liberal Democrats
Julia Cambridge
6,301
13.8
-24.0
Green
Matthew Genn
1,352
3.0
+1.7
TUSC
Matt Whale[10]
202
0.4
New
Peace
Tommy Holgate
129
0.3
New
Majority
13,598
29.8
+28.6
Turnout
45,567
63.2
-0.6
Labour hold
Swing
+3.3
At the 2015 general election, this seat was the 25th most marginal constituency in Great Britain, the Liberal Democrats requiring a swing from Labour of 0.6% to take the seat (based on the result of the 2010 general election).[11]
General election 2010: Chesterfield[12]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
Toby Perkins
17,891
39.0
-1.6
Liberal Democrats
Paul Holmes
17,342
37.8
-9.1
Conservative
Carolyn Abbott
7,214
15.7
+7.5
UKIP
David Phillips
1,432
3.1
+0.9
English Democrat
Ian Jerram
1,213
2.6
+0.8
Green
Duncan Kerr
600
1.3
New
Independent
John "Noneoftheabove" Daramy
147
0.3
New
Majority
549
1.2
N/A
Turnout
45,839
63.8
+3.8
Labour gain from Liberal Democrats
Swing
+3.8
Apart from Glasgow North East where Labour retained its seat from former speaker Michael Martin, this was the only Labour gain during the 2010 General Election
Elections in the 2000s[edit]
General election 2005: Chesterfield[13]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Liberal Democrats
Paul Holmes
20,875
47.3
-0.5
Labour
Simon Rich
17,830
40.4
-1.6
Conservative
Mark Kreling
3,605
8.2
+0.1
UKIP
Christopher Brady
997
2.3
New
English Democrat
Ian Jerram
814
1.8
New
Majority
3,045
6.9
+1.1
Turnout
44,121
59.6
-1.1
Liberal Democrats hold
Swing
+0.6
General election 2001: Chesterfield[14]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Liberal Democrats
Paul Holmes
21,249
47.8
+8.2
Labour
Reg Race
18,663
42.0
-8.8
Conservative
Simon Hitchcock
3,613
8.1
-1.1
Socialist Alliance
Jeannie Robinson
437
1.0
New
Socialist Labour
Bill Harrison
295
0.7
New
Independent
Christopher Rawson
184
0.4
New
Majority
2,586
5.8
N/A
Turnout
44,441
60.7
-10.2
Liberal Democrats gain from Labour
Swing
+8.6
Elections in the 1990s[edit]
General election 1997: Chesterfield[15]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
Tony Benn
26,105
50.8
+3.5
Liberal Democrats
Anthony Rogers
20,330
39.6
+3.8
Conservative
Martin Potter
4,752
9.2
-7.7
Independent
Norman Scarth
202
0.4
New
Majority
5,775
11.2
−0.3
Turnout
51,389
70.9
−7.2
Labour hold
Swing
General election 1992: Chesterfield[16]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
Tony Benn
26,461
47.3
+2.4
Liberal Democrats
Anthony Rogers
20,047
35.8
+6.2
Conservative
PG Lewis
9,473
16.9
−8.1
Majority
6,414
11.5
−4.4
Turnout
55,981
78.1
+1.4
Labour hold
Swing
Elections in the 1980s[edit]
General election 1987: Chesterfield[17]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
Tony Benn
24,532
44.9
−1.6
Liberal
Anthony Rogers
15,955
29.6
+10.1
Conservative
Ronald Grant
13,472
25.0
-7.4
Majority
8,577
15.3
-3.2
Turnout
53,959
76.7
+4.1
Labour hold
Swing
1984 Chesterfield by-election
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
Tony Benn
24,633
46.5
-1.6
Liberal
Max Payne
18,369
34.7
+15.2
Conservative
Nick Bourne
8,028
15.2
-17.2
Independent Labour
Bill Maynard
1,355
2.6
New
Monster Raving Loony
Screaming Lord Sutch
178
0.3
New
Independent
David Bentley
116
0.2
New
Independent
John Davey
83
0.2
New
Independent
Thomas Layton
46
0.1
New
Independent
Helen Anscombe
34
0.1
New
Independent
Jitendra Bardwaj
33
0.1
New
Independent
Donald Butler
24
0.1
New
Independent
Paul Nicholls-Jones
22
0.0
New
Independent
Sid Shaw
20
0.0
New
Independent
Christopher Hill
17
0.0
New
Independent
Giancarlo Piccaro
15
0.0
New
Independent
David Cahill
12
0.0
New
Independent
John Connell
7
0.0
New
Majority
6,264
11.8
-3.9
Turnout
52,992
76.9
+4.3
Labour hold
Swing
General election 1983: Chesterfield[18]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
Eric Varley
23,881
48.1
-9.3
Conservative
Nick Bourne
16,118
32.4
+0.2
Liberal
Max Payne
9,705
19.5
+9.1
Majority
7,763
15.7
-9.5
Turnout
49,704
72.6
-0.8
Labour hold
Swing
Elections in the 1970s[edit]
General election 1979: Chesterfield
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
Eric Varley
31,049
57.4
-2.5
Conservative
S. Hill
17,445
32.2
+6.3
Liberal
M. Payne
5,617
10.4
-3.8
Majority
13,604
25.2
-8.8
Turnout
54,111
73.4
+0.8
Labour hold
Swing
General election October 1974: Chesterfield
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
Eric Varley
30,953
59.9
+5.1
Conservative
J. D. Taylor
13,393
25.9
-1.7
Liberal
M. W. Brown
7,349
14.2
-3.4
Majority
17,560
34.0
+6.8
Turnout
51,695
72.6
-7.5
Labour hold
Swing
General election February 1974: Chesterfield
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
Eric Varley
31,040
54.8
-4.2
Conservative
J. D. Taylor
15,644
27.6
-3.9
Liberal
M. W. Brown
9,937
17.6
+8.1
Majority
15,396
27.2
-0.3
Turnout
56,621
80.1
+7.7
Labour hold
Swing
General election 1970: Chesterfield
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
Eric Varley
30,386
59.0
-2.6
Conservative
John C Ramsden
16,217
31.5
+5.2
Liberal
Terence D Bamford
4,891
9.5
-2.7
Majority
14,169
27.5
-7.8
Turnout
51,494
72.4
-4.3
Labour hold
Swing
Elections in the 1960s[edit]
General election 1966: Chesterfield
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
Eric Varley
31,542
61.6
+5.1
Conservative
Alan T Hale
13,443
26.3
-2.4
Liberal
Terence D. Bamford
6,227
12.2
-2.6
Majority
18,099
35.3
+7.5
Turnout
51,212
76.7
-2.1
Labour hold
Swing
General election 1964: Chesterfield
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
Eric Varley
29,452
56.5
-0.1
Conservative
William G Blake
14,944
28.7
-3.0
Liberal
Derek A McKie
7,738
14.8
+3.0
Majority
14,508
27.8
+2.9
Turnout
52,134
78.8
-3.9
Labour hold
Swing
Elections in the 1950s[edit]
General election 1959: Chesterfield[19]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
George Benson
30,534
56.6
-1.0
Conservative and National Liberal
James Anthony Lemkin
17,084
31.7
-10.7
Liberal
Geoffrey R. Smedley-Stevenson
6,360
11.8
New
Majority
13,450
24.9
+9.6
Turnout
53,978
82.7
+2.8
Labour hold
Swing
General election 1955: Chesterfield[20]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
George Benson
29,602
57.7
-6.0
Conservative and National Liberal
Frank Hadfield
21,748
42.4
+6.1
Majority
7,854
15.3
-12.1
Turnout
51,350
79.9
-4.3
Labour hold
Swing
General election 1951: Chesterfield[21]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
George Benson
34,753
63.7
+2.9
Conservative and National Liberal
John F. Nash
19,776
36.3
+5.4
Majority
14,977
27.4
-2.5
Turnout
54,529
84.2
-2.8
Labour hold
Swing
General election 1950: Chesterfield[22]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
George Benson
33,914
60.8
-2.0
Conservative and National Liberal
Andrew Cavendish
17,231
30.9
-6.3
Liberal
John William O'Neill
4,052
7.3
New
Communist
Bas Barker[23]
554
1.0
New
Majority
16,683
29.9
+4.2
Turnout
55,751
87.0
+9.6
Labour hold
Swing
Elections in the 1940s[edit]
General election 1945: Chesterfield[24]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
George Benson
29,459
62.8
+11.9
Conservative
Andrew Cavendish
17,424
37.2
-2.1
Majority
12,035
25.6
+14.0
Turnout
46,883
77.4
-2.4
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: George Benson,
Conservative:
Elections in the 1930s[edit]
General election 1935: Chesterfield
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
George Benson
21,439
50.94
Conservative
Roger Conant
16,555
39.33
Liberal
Robert George Hill
4,096
9.73
New
Majority
4,884
11.61
N/A
Turnout
40,072
79.78
Labour gain from Conservative
Swing
General election 1931: Chesterfield
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Conservative
Roger Conant
23,026
57.46
Labour
George Benson
17,046
42.54
Majority
5,980
14.92
N/A
Turnout
40,072
80.02
Conservative gain from Labour
Swing
Elections in the 1920s[edit]
General election, 1929: Chesterfield
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
George Benson
20,296
54.1
+14.4
Unionist
Roger Conant
9,915
26.4
New
Liberal
Harry Cropper
7,329
19.5
−40.8
Majority
10,381
27.7
N/A
Turnout
37,540
77.8
+13.4
Registered electors
48,278
Labour gain from Liberal
Swing
+27.6
General election, 1924: Chesterfield
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Liberal
Barnet Kenyon
13,971
60.3
+9.4
Labour
George Benson
9,206
39.7
+13.8
Majority
4,765
20.6
−4.4
Turnout
23,177
64.4
−4.6
Registered electors
35,989
Liberal hold
Swing
−2.2
Barnet Kenyon
General election 6 December 1923:
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Liberal
Barnet Kenyon
12,164
50.9
N/A
Labour
George Benson
6,198
25.9
New
Unionist
R F H Broomhead-Colton-Fox
5,541
23.2
New
Majority
5,966
25.0
N/A
Turnout
23,903
69.0
N/A
Registered electors
34,648
Liberal hold
Swing
N/A
General election 6 December 1922:
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Liberal
Barnet Kenyon
Unopposed
Liberal hold
Elections in the 1910s[edit]
General election 1918: Chesterfield
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Liberal
Barnet Kenyon
Unopposed
Liberal gain from Labour
Kenyon
1913 Chesterfield by-election[25]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Lib-Lab
Barnet Kenyon
7,725
55.8
−3.2
Unionist
Edward Christie
5,539
40.0
−1.0
Independent Labour
John Scurr
583
4.2
New
Majority
2,186
15.8
−2.2
Turnout
13,847
81.5
+5.6
Registered electors
16,995
Lib-Lab hold
Swing
−1.1
General election Dec 1910[25]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
James Haslam
7,283
59.0
−0.1
Conservative
W.G.W. Radford
5,055
41.0
+0.1
Majority
2,228
18.0
−0.2
Turnout
12,338
75.9
−9.8
Registered electors
16,248
Labour hold
Swing
−0.1
General election Jan 1910[25]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Labour
James Haslam
8,234
59.1
+2.6
Conservative
W.G.W. Radford
5,693
40.9
−2.6
Majority
2,541
18.2
+5.2
Turnout
13,927
85.7
+0.5
Registered electors
16,248
Labour hold
Swing
+2.6
Elections in the 1900s[edit]
General election 1906[25]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Lib-Lab
James Haslam
7,254
56.5
+3.1
Conservative
Godfrey Locker-Lampson
5,590
43.5
−3.1
Majority
1,664
13.0
+6.2
Turnout
12,844
85.2
+1.1
Registered electors
15,077
Lib-Lab hold
Swing
+3.1
General election 1900[25]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Liberal
Thomas Bayley
5,418
53.4
+2.0
Conservative
A. W. Byron
4,729
46.6
−2.0
Majority
689
6.8
+4.0
Turnout
10,147
84.1
−1.3
Registered electors
12,069
Liberal hold
Swing
+2.0
Elections in the 1890s[edit]
General election 1895[25]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Liberal
Thomas Bayley
4,572
51.4
+0.3
Conservative
A. W. Byron
4,325
48.6
−0.3
Majority
247
2.8
+0.6
Turnout
8,897
85.4
+4.8
Registered electors
10,413
Liberal hold
Swing
+0.3
General election 1892[25]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Liberal
Thomas Bayley
4,249
51.1
+1.9
Liberal Unionist
Alfred Barnes
4,067
48.9
−1.9
Majority
182
2.2
N/A
Turnout
8,316
80.6
−0.9
Registered electors
10,313
Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist
Swing
+1.9
Elections in the 1880s[edit]
General election 1886[25]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Liberal Unionist
Alfred Barnes
3,567
50.8
+22.1
Liberal
Thomas Bayley
3,453
49.2
+3.5
Majority
114
1.6
N/A
Turnout
7,020
81.5
−5.0
Registered electors
8,616
Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal
Swing
+9.3
General election 1885[25]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Liberal
Alfred Barnes
3,408
45.7
Conservative
John Cumming Macdona
2,136
28.7
Independent Liberal-Labour
James Haslam
1,907
25.6
Majority
1,272
17.0
Turnout
7,451
86.5
Registered electors
8,616
Liberal win (new seat)
See also[edit]
1913 Chesterfield by-election
List of Parliamentary constituencies in Derbyshire
Notes and references[edit]
Notes
^A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
^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.
References
Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
^"Chesterfield: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
^"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.
^ a b"The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". legislation.gov.uk. IN DERBYSHIRE AND DERBY: The National Archives. p. 29. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
^"Chesterfield 1885-". Hansard 1803-2005. UK Parliament. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
^Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 3)
^ a b"Chesterfield parliamentary constituency - Election 2017". Retrieved 21 April 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
^ a b c d e"Candidates for Chesterfield". Democracy Club. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
^"Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^http://www.tusc.org.uk/txt/328.pdf
^Ransome Mpini; Charlotte Thornton; John Walton; Marcelo Zanni (24 February 2014). "Election 2015: The political battleground". BBC News. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
^"Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^"Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^[1]
^[2]
^[3]
^[4]
^Stevenson, Graham. "Barker Bas". Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
^Craig, F.W.S., ed. (1969). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949. Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. p. 320. ISBN 0-900178-01-9.
^ a b c d e f g h iCraig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
Sources
Guardian Unlimited Politics (Election results from 1992 to the present)
http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/ (Election results from 1951 to the present)
External links[edit]
nomis Constituency Profile for Chesterfield — presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.