Tatton (UK Parliament constituency)

Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Coordinates: 53°18′43″N 2°23′02″W / 53.312°N 2.384°W / 53.312; -2.384

Tatton
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Tatton in Cheshire
Location of Cheshire within England
County	Cheshire
Electorate	67,750 (2018)[1]
Major settlements	Alderley Edge, Ashley, Chelford, Handforth, Knutsford, Lostock Gralam, Mobberley, Plumley, Styal, Wilmslow
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of Parliament	Esther McVey (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Runcorn, Cheadle, Northwich and Knutsford

Tatton is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Esther McVey, a Conservative.^{[n 2]}

Constituency profile

Tatton comprises the north-western part of the Cheshire East unitary authority, including the towns of Knutsford and Wilmslow, and a number of villages such as Alderley Edge, Chelford, Handforth and Mobberley, in Cheshire. It also covers a small, north-east, part of the Cheshire West and Chester unitary authority, including some of the outskirts of Northwich.

The seat largely comprises prosperous villages and small towns, many of which have high property prices, set amidst Cheshire countryside, featuring country parks, hills, recreation grounds and golf courses.^[2] The area was previously dominated by countryside; however, since the 1950s, it has developed a largely built-up, suburban character, it being located on the fringes of Greater Manchester. The largest centres of population are Alderley Edge, Wilmslow and Knutsford. Its proximity to Manchester means Tatton forms part of the commuter belt to the city.

Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.1% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.^[3]

During the 2016 EU membership referendum, the constituency voted to remain in the EU, despite both Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester voting to leave overall. The margin was 55.56% Remain over 44.44% Leave.^[4]

Creation

The constituency was created for the 1983 general election following the major reorganisation of local authorities under the Local Government Act 1972, which came into effect on 1 April 1974. It was formed from parts of the seats of Runcorn, Cheadle, Northwich and Knutsford. The constituency is named after Tatton Park, a stately home in this area.

Boundaries

1983–1997: The Borough of Macclesfield wards of Dean Row, Fulshaw, Handforth, High Legh, Hough, Knutsford Nether, Knutsford Over, Knutsford South, Knutsford West, Lacey Green, Mere, Mobberley, Morley and Styal, and Plumley; and the District of Vale Royal wards of Barnton, Castle, Cogshall, Lostock Gralam, Marston and Wincham, Northwich, Rudheath and Whatcroft, Seven Oaks, Shakerley, Winnington, Witton North, and Witton South.^[5]

Initially comprised the towns of Northwich and Knutsford and surrounding rural areas, formerly parts of the abolished constituencies of the same names, together with the former Urban District of Wilmslow, previously part of the constituency of Cheadle. Also included a small area transferred from Runcorn.

1997–2010: The Borough of Macclesfield wards of Alderley Edge, Dean Row, Fulshaw, Handforth, High Legh, Hough, Knutsford Nether, Knutsford Over, Knutsford South, Knutsford West, Lacey Green, Mere, Mobberley, Morley and Styal, Nether Alderley, and Plumley; and the District of Vale Royal wards of Barnton, Cogshall, Lostock Gralam, Marston and Wincham, Rudheath and Whatcroft, Seven Oaks, and Shakerley.^[6]

Under the Fourth Periodic Review of constituencies, the number of constituencies in Cheshire was increased from 10 to 11 and Northwich was now included in the newly created constituency of Weaver Vale. To compensate for this loss, Alderley Edge was transferred from Macclesfield.

2010–2019: The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007 defined the boundaries as:

The Borough of Macclesfield wards of Alderley Edge, Chelford, Dean Row, Fulshaw, Handforth, High Legh, Hough, Knutsford Bexton, Knutsford Nether, Knutsford Norbury Booths, Knutsford Over, Lacey Green, Mere, Mobberley, Morley & Styal, and Plumley; and the Borough of Vale Royal wards of Barnton, Cogshall, Lostock & Wincham, Rudheath & South Witton, Seven Oaks & Marston, Shakerley.^[7]

Minor changes due to revision of ward boundaries.

However, before the new boundaries came into force for the 2010 election, the districts making up the county of Cheshire were abolished on 1 April 2009, being replaced by four unitary authorities. Consequently, the constituency's boundaries became:

The Cheshire East wards of Alderley Edge, Chelford, Handforth, High Legh, Knutsford, Mobberley, Wilmslow Dean Row, Wilmslow East, Wilmslow Lacey Green, and Wilmslow West & Chorley ; and the Cheshire West and Chester wards of Marbury, Shakerley, and Witton & Rudheath (part).

2019-present: Following a further local government ward boundary review in 2019, the boundaries are currently:

The Cheshire East wards of Alderley Edge, Chelford, Handforth, High Legh, Knutsford, Mobberley, Wilmslow Dean Row, Wilmslow East, Wilmslow Lacey Green, and Wilmslow West & Chorley ; and the Cheshire West and Chester wards of Davenham, Moulton & Kingsmead (part), Marbury (part), Rudheath (part), and Shakerley.^[8]

Political history

The constituency was initially held in 1983 by the Conservative Neil Hamilton.

During the 1997 general election campaign, Tatton was one of the UK's highest-profile constituencies. Following Hamilton's implication in the Cash for Questions scandal of the 1990s, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats withdrew their candidates in favour of the former BBC journalist Martin Bell, who stood as an Independent, while those two parties supported his "anti-corruption" campaign. Bell was ultimately successful, with a majority of 11,077. Hamilton came second.

Having promised to serve only one term, Bell did not contest the seat at the 2001 election, and the seat was won by Conservative George Osborne with a majority of 8,611 (20.8%). Osborne held the seat at the 2005 election with an increased majority, and became the Shadow Chancellor that year. He held the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016, one of the highest frontbench government positions. Osborne served the seat until standing down at the 2017 election,^[9] having been announced as the new editor of the London Evening Standard newspaper in March of that year.

Esther McVey, who had been MP for nearby Wirral West from 2010 to 2015, was elected in 2017. McVey was the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions after Theresa May's Cabinet reshuffle in January 2018, but resigned after concerns over May's plan of leaving the European Union in November 2018.^[10] McVey subsequently announced her candidacy for the Conservative Party leadership in 2019, but was knocked out in the first round, receiving the lowest number of votes of all ten candidates.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[11]	Party
	1983	Neil Hamilton	Conservative
	1997	Martin Bell	Independent
	2001	George Osborne	Conservative
	2017	Esther McVey	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Tatton^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Esther McVey	28,277	57.7	–0.9
	Labour	James Weinberg	10,890	22.2	–6.3
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathan Smith	7,712	15.7	+6.7
	Green	Nigel Hennerley	2,088	4.3	+2.2
Majority			17,387	35.5	+5.4
Turnout			48,967	70.9	–1.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.7

General election 2017: Tatton^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Esther McVey	28,764	58.6	±0.0
	Labour	Samuel Rushworth	13,977	28.5	+10.2
	Liberal Democrats	Gareth Wilson	4,431	9.0	+0.5
	Green	Nigel Hennerley	1,024	2.1	−1.7
	Independent	Quentin Abel	920	1.9	New
Majority			14,787	30.1	−10.2
Turnout			49,116	72.4	+2.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	−5.1

See also: Opinion polling for the United Kingdom general election, 2017 § Tatton

General election 2015: Tatton^[14][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Osborne	26,552	58.6	+4.0
	Labour	David Pinto-Duschinsky	8,311	18.3	+1.0
	UKIP	Stuart Hutton	4,871	10.8	New
	Liberal Democrats	Gareth Wilson	3,850	8.5	−14.1
	Green	Tina Rothery	1,714	3.8	New
Majority			18,241	40.3	+8.3
Turnout			45,298	70.2	−0.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.5

General election 2010: Tatton^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Osborne	24,687	54.6
	Liberal Democrats	David Lomax	10,200	22.6
	Labour	Richard Jackson	7,803	17.3
	Independent	Sarah Flannery	2,243	4.9	New
	The True English (Poetry) Party	Michael Gibson	298	0.7	New
Majority			14,487	32.0
Turnout			45,231	70.6
	Conservative win (new boundaries)

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Tatton^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Osborne	21,447	51.8	+3.7
	Labour	Justin Madders	9,716	23.5	−3.8
	Liberal Democrats	William Arnold	9,016	21.8	+3.2
	UKIP	Diane Bowler	996	2.4	+0.5
	Independent	Michael Gibson	239	0.6	New
Majority			11,731	28.3	+3.5
Turnout			41,414	64.6	+1.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.8

General election 2001: Tatton^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Osborne	19,860	48.1	+10.6
	Labour	Steven Conquest	11,249	27.3	New
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Ash	7,685	18.6	New
	UKIP	Mark Sheppard	769	1.9	New
	Independent Green	Peter Sharratt	734	1.8	New
	Tatton Group	Vivianne Allinson	505	1.2	New
	Independent	John Batchelor	322	0.8	New
	Independent	Jonathan Hunt	154	0.4	New
Majority			8,611	20.8	N/A
Turnout			41,278	63.5	−7.6
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing	+5.4

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Tatton^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Martin Bell	29,354	60.2	New
	Conservative	Neil Hamilton	18,277	37.5
	Ind. Conservative	Sam Hill	295	0.6	New
	Ind. Conservative	Simon Kinsey	184	0.4	New
	Miss Moneypenny's Glamorous One Party	Burnel Penhaul	128	0.3	New
	Albion Party	John Muir	126	0.3	New
	Natural Law	Michael Kennedy	123	0.3	New
	Lord Biro versus the Scallywag Tories	David Bishop	116	0.2	New
	Ind. Conservative	Ralph Nicholas	113	0.2	New
	Juice Party	Julian Price	73	0.1	New
Majority			11,077	22.7	N/A
Turnout			48,792	76.1	-4.7
	Independent win (new boundaries)

General election 1992: Tatton^[20][21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Neil Hamilton	31,658	55.1	+0.5
	Labour	Jonathan Kelly	15,798	27.5	+5.9
	Liberal Democrats	Catherine Hancox	9,597	16.7	−6.9
	Feudal Party	Michael Gibson	410	0.7	+0.2
Majority			15,860	27.6	−3.4
Turnout			57,463	80.8	+4.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.7

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Tatton^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Neil Hamilton	30,128	54.6	±0.0
	SDP	Bridie Gaskin	13,034	23.6	−3.6
	Labour	Hazel Blears	11,760	21.3	+3.1
	Feudal Party	Michael Gibson	263	0.5	New
Majority			17,094	31.0	+3.6
Turnout			55,185	76.8	+2.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.8

General election 1983: Tatton^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Neil Hamilton	27,877	54.6
	SDP	David Levy	13,917	27.2
	Labour	William Davies	9,295	18.2
Majority			13,960	27.4
Turnout			51,089	74.3
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Cheshire
• History of Parliamentary constituencies and boundaries in Cheshire

Notes and references

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

References

1. "England Parliamentary electorates 2010-2018". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
2. "Historic England". list.english-heritage.org.uk.
3. Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
4. EU Ref Update – Gareth Wilson of Tatton Lib Dems
5. "Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983" (PDF).
6. "Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995".
7. "Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007".
8. "OpenStreetMap". OpenStreetMap.
9. "George Osborne to quit as MP for Tatton at election". BBC News. 19 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
10. "Brexit: Dominic Raab and Esther McVey among ministers to quit over EU agreement". BBC News. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
11. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 1)
12. "Tatton Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
13. "Tatton parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
14. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
15. "Tatton". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
16. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
17. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
18. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
19. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
20. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
21. "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
22. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
23. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

Sources

• Data for the 2005 election are from the BBC.
• Data for the 2001 election are from United Kingdom Election Results.
• Data for the 1997 and 1992 results are taken from The Guardian.
• Data for 1983 and 1987 elections taken from Politicsresources.net - Official Web Site ✔

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Edinburgh South West	Constituency represented by the Chancellor of the Exchequer 2010–2016	Succeeded by Runnymede and Weybridge