South West Norfolk
Encyclopedia : S : SO : SOU : South West Norfolk
| County constituency | |
|---|---|
|
| |
| South West Norfolk shown within Norfolk, and Norfolk shown within England | |
| Created: | |
| MP: | Christopher Fraser |
| Party: | Conservative |
| Type: | House of Commons |
| County: | Norfolk |
| EP constituency: | East of England |
South West Norfolk is a parliamentary constituency of the United Kingdom comprising the towns of Downham Market, Swaffham and Thetford in Norfolk. The current Member of Parliament is Christopher Fraser, replacing Gillian Shepherd who stepped down at the May 2005 general election, having served since 1987.
2005 election
Gillian Shepherd decided not to run for the 2005 general election. The Conservative Party selected Christopher Fraser to be their candidate, and he was elected with a majority of over 10,000. Labour's candidate was Charmaine Morgan and UKIP selected Delia Hall.
History
South West Norfolk has been held solidly by Conservatives since 1964 but for twenty years before then, it had been ultra-marginal. Labour first held it from 1929-31, and Sidney Dye won it for Labour in 1945 with a tiny majority of 53, holding it at the 1950 election by 260. He lost it to Denys Bullard in 1951 by 442 votes and won it back in 1955 with a majority of 193. Dye died at the end of 1958, and in the by-election Albert Hinton retained the seat for Labour by a margin of 1,354 votes. In the 1959 general election that soon followed, his majority was cut to 78.
Although Labour had held the seat during two Conservative national election victories, the Conservatives took the seat in the 1964 election, which Labour won nationally. Paul Hawkins and Gillian Shepherd held the seat since then, although the latter's majority was slashed in the 1997 general election.
Members of Parliament
- 1923-1929 Alan McLean (Conservative)
- 1929-1931 W B Taylor (Labour)
- 1931-1935 Alan McLean (Conservative)
- 1935-1945 Somerset de Chair (Conservative)
- 1945-1951 Sidney Dye (Labour)
- 1951-1955 Denys Bullard (Conservative)
- 1955-1958 Sidney Dye (Labour)
- 1959-1964 Albert Hinton (Labour)
- 1964-1987 Paul Hawkins (Conservative)
- 1987-2005 Gillian Shepherd (Conservative)
- 2005-current Christopher Fraser (Conservative)
Election results
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gillian Shephard | Conservative Party | 24,694 | 42.0% | -12.6% |
| Adrian Hefferman | Labour Party | 22,230 | 37.8% | +10.7% |
| David Bucton | Liberal Democrats | 8,178 | 13.9% | -6.3% |
| R Hoare | Referendum Party | 3,694 | 6.3% |
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gillian Shephard | Conservative Party | 33,637 | 54.6% |
| Mary Page | Labour Party | 16,706 | 27.1% |
| John Marsh | Liberal Democrats | 11,237 | 18.2% |
See also
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