North Shropshire (UK Parliament constituency)

North Shropshire
North Shropshire
County constituency; for the House of Commons
	Boundary of North Shropshire in Shropshire
	Location of Shropshire within England
County	Shropshire
Electorate	77,673 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Wem, Whitchurch, Ellesmere, Oswestry and Market Drayton
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of Parliament	Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrats)
Seats	One
Created from	Oswestry and Wrekin
1832–1885
Seats	Two
Replaced by	Oswestry; Wellington; Newport

North Shropshire is a constituency in the county of Shropshire, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Helen Morgan of the Liberal Democrats after a by-election on 16 December 2021. The former MP, Owen Paterson of the Conservatives, resigned his seat on 5 November 2021 when faced with suspension from the Commons for a breach of advocacy rules and the consequent possibility of a recall petition. The seat had previously been a safe seat for the Conservatives.

Constituency profile

The area is rural and north of Shrewsbury, west of Newcastle-under-Lyme in the Stoke-on-Trent conurbation, south of Cheshire and Wrexham, having five small towns (in size order): Oswestry, Market Drayton, Whitchurch, Wem and Ellesmere. Residents' health and wealth are similar to UK averages.^[2]

History

From its first creation in 1832 to the abolition of the first creation in 1885 the constituency covered approximately half of the county and elected two members, formally Knights of the Shire. In 1885 the county was (together with South Shropshire) divided between four constituencies: Ludlow, Newport, Oswestry and Wellington.

In 1983 the constituency was revived in a smaller form and elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Owen Paterson was appointed to be the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in May 2010 and from the September 2012 Cabinet reshuffle, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,^[3] until another reshuffle in June 2014. Paterson resigned in November 2021 for breaching Commons lobbying rules while working for two firms as a consultant.^[4] A by-election was held on 16 December 2021, triggered by the resignation and was won by Helen Morgan for the Liberal Democrats with a 34% swing. The swing was seventh largest in United Kingdom by-election history.^[5]

In December 2023, the Labour Party included the seat in its published list of 211 non-battleground seats, suggesting they did not see it as winnable.^[6]

Boundaries

Map of current boundaries

Context: 1832–1868. Extract from 1837 result: the central, doubly blue area.

1832–1885: The Hundreds of Oswestry, Pimhill, North Bradford and South Bradford, as well as the Liberty of Shrewsbury.^[7]

1983–1997: The District of North Shropshire, the Borough of Oswestry, and the District of The Wrekin wards of Church Aston, Edgmond, Ercall Magna, Newport East, Newport North, and Newport West.

1997–present: The District of North Shropshire and the Borough of Oswestry.

The district councils of North Shropshire and Oswestry were abolished in 2009, but the constituency boundaries remained unaltered.

Proposed

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, from the next general election, due by January 2025, the constituency will be composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

The County of Shropshire electoral districts of: Ellesmere Urban; Gobowen, Selattyn and Weston Rhyn; Llanymynech; Market Drayton East; Market Drayton West; Oswestry East; Oswestry South; Oswestry West; Prees; Ruyton and Baschurch; St. Martin’s; St. Oswald; Shawbury; The Meres; Wem; Whitchurch North; Whitchurch South; Whittington.^[8]

The boundaries will be reduced to bring the electorate within the permitted range by transferring the electoral districts of Cheswardine and Hodnet to The Wrekin.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1832–1885

Constituency created in 1832

Election	First member^[9]		Second member^[9]
1832	Sir Rowland Hill, Bt	Tory^[10]^[11]^[12]	John Cotes	Whig^[10]^[11]^[12]
1834		Conservative^[10]	John Cotes	Whig^[10]^[11]^[12]
1835		Conservative^[10]	William Ormsby-Gore	Conservative^[10]
1843 by-election	Viscount Clive	Conservative^[10]
1848 by-election	John Whitehall Dod	Conservative
1857	John Whitehall Dod	Conservative	Hon. Rowland Hill	Conservative
1859	John Ormsby-Gore	Conservative	Hon. Rowland Hill	Conservative
1865			Hon. Charles Cust	Conservative
1866 by-election			Hon. Adelbert Brownlow-Cust	Conservative
1867 by-election			Viscount Newport	Conservative
1876 by-election	Stanley Leighton	Conservative	Viscount Newport	Conservative
1885	Constituency abolished

MPs since 1983

Election	Member^[9]
1983	John Biffen	Conservative
1997	Owen Paterson	Conservative
2021 by-election	Helen Morgan	Liberal Democrats

Elections

Results over time

Elections in the 2020s

Next general election: North Shropshire
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Simon Baynes^[13]
	Green	Mike Isherwood^[14]
	Liberal Democrats	Helen Morgan^[15]
	Reform UK	Mark Whittle^[16]
Majority
Turnout
Registered electors
			Swing

2021 North Shropshire by-election^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Helen Morgan	17,957	47.2	+37.2
	Conservative	Neil Shastri-Hurst	12,032	31.6	-31.1
	Labour	Ben Wood	3,686	9.7	-12.4
	Green	Duncan Kerr	1,738	4.6	+1.4
	Reform UK	Kirsty Walmsley	1,427	3.8	New
	UKIP	Andrea Allen	378	1.0	New
	Reclaim	Martin Daubney	375	1.0	New
	Monster Raving Loony	Alan "Howling Laud" Hope	118	0.3	N/A
	Independent	Suzie Akers-Smith	95	0.2	New
	Heritage	James Elliot	79	0.2	New
	Rejoin EU	Boris Been Bunged	58	0.2	New
	Freedom Alliance	Earl Jesse	57	0.1	New
	Party Party	Russell Dean	19	0.1	New
	No description	Yolande Kenward	3	0.0	New
Majority			5,925	15.6	N/A
Turnout			38,022	46.3	- 21.6
Rejected ballots			74	0.2
Registered electors			82,314
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	+34.2

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: North Shropshire^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Owen Paterson	35,444	62.7	+2.2
	Labour	Graeme Currie	12,495	22.1	-9.0
	Liberal Democrats	Helen Morgan	5,643	10.0	+4.7
	Green	John Adams	1,790	3.2	+0.1
	Shropshire Party	Robert Jones	1,141	2.0	New
Majority			22,949	40.6	+11.2
Turnout			56,513	67.9	-1.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 2017: North Shropshire^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Owen Paterson	33,642	60.5	+9.0
	Labour	Graeme Currie	17,287	31.1	+11.2
	Liberal Democrats	Tom Thornhill	2,948	5.3	-0.7
	Green	Duncan Kerr	1,722	3.1	-1.8
Majority			16,355	29.4	-2.2
Turnout			55,599	69.0	+1.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.1

General election 2015: North Shropshire^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Owen Paterson	27,041	51.5	±0.0
	Labour	Graeme Currie	10,457	19.9	+1.8
	UKIP	Andrea Allen^[21]	9,262	17.6	+12.9
	Liberal Democrats	Tom Thornhill	3,184	6.0	-14.9
	Green	Duncan Kerr	2,575	4.9	+3.3
Majority			16,584	31.6	+1.0
Turnout			52,483	67.6	+0.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.9

Class War originally selected Al Derby as a candidate here, but he changed to Wolverhampton North East.^[22]

General election 2010: North Shropshire^[23]^[24]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Owen Paterson	26,692	51.5	+1.9
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Croll	10,864	20.9	+1.2
	Labour	Ian McLaughlan	9,406	18.1	-7.8
	UKIP	Sandra List	2,432	4.7	-0.1
	BNP	Phil Reddall	1,667	3.2	New
	Green	Steve Boulding	808	1.6	New
Majority			15,828	30.6	+6.9
Turnout			51,869	65.7	+4.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.3

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: North Shropshire^[25]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Owen Paterson	23,061	49.6	+1.0
	Labour	Sandra Samuels	12,041	25.9	−9.3
	Liberal Democrats	Steve Bourne	9,175	19.7	+6.9
	UKIP	Ian Smith	2,233	4.8	+2.3
Majority			11,020	23.7	+10.3
Turnout			46,510	61.4	−1.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.1

General election 2001: North Shropshire^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Owen Paterson	22,631	48.6	+8.4
	Labour	Mike Ion	16,390	35.2	-0.8
	Liberal Democrats	Ben Jephcott	5,945	12.8	-7.6
	UKIP	David Trevanion	1,165	2.5	New
	Independent	Russell Maxfield	389	0.8	New
Majority			6,241	13.4	+9.2
Turnout			46,520	63.1	-9.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: North Shropshire^[27]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Owen Paterson	20,730	40.2
	Labour	Ian Lucas	18,535	36.0
	Liberal Democrats	John Stevens	10,489	20.4
	Referendum	Denis Allen	1,764	3.4	New
Majority			2,195	4.2
Turnout			51,518	72.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1992: Shropshire North^[28]^[29]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Biffen	32,443	50.5	-1.7
	Liberal Democrats	John Stevens	16,232	25.3	-2.1
	Labour	Bob Hawkins	15,550	24.2	+3.8
Majority			16,211	25.2	+0.4
Turnout			64,225	77.7	+2.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.2

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Shropshire North^[30]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Biffen	30,385	52.2	-1.2
	Liberal	Gordon Smith	15,970	27.4	-4.2
	Labour	Bob Hawkins	11,866	20.4	+5.7
Majority			14,415	24.8	+3.0
Turnout			58,221	75.5	+2.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1983: Shropshire North^[31]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	John Biffen	28,496	53.4
	Liberal	David Evans	16,829	31.6
	Labour	Helen Jones	7,860	14.7
	Independent For Referendum	J.L. Phillimore	135	0.3
Majority			11,667	21.8
Turnout			53,320	72.7
	Conservative win (new seat)

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Shropshire North (2 seats)^[32]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Stanley Leighton	Unopposed
	Conservative	George Bridgeman	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,729
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1870s

1876 North Shropshire by-election (1 seat)^[32]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stanley Leighton	2,737	50.3	*N/A*
	Conservative	Salusbury Kynaston Mainwaring^[33]	2,700	49.7	N/A
Majority			37	0.6	N/A
Turnout			5,437	74.1	N/A
Registered electors			7,342
	Conservative hold

Caused by Gore's elevation to the peerage, becoming Lord Harlech.

General election 1874: Shropshire North (2 seats)^[32]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	John Ormsby-Gore	Unopposed
	Conservative	George Bridgeman	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,557
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1868: Shropshire North (2 seats)^[32]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Ormsby-Gore	3,602	38.2	*N/A*
	Conservative	George Bridgeman	3,403	36.1	*N/A*
	Liberal	Richard George Jebb^[34]	2,412	25.6	N/A
Majority			991	10.5	N/A
Turnout			5,915 (est)	77.7 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			7,611
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

1867 North Shropshire by-election^[32]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Bridgeman	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Caused by Brownlow-Cust's elevation to the peerage, becoming 3rd Earl Brownlow.

1866 North Shropshire by-election^[32]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Adelbert Brownlow-Cust	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Caused by Cust's resignation.

General election 1865: Shropshire North (2 seats)^[32]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	John Ormsby-Gore	Unopposed
	Conservative	Charles Cust	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,315
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1859: Shropshire North (2 seats)^[32]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	John Ormsby-Gore	Unopposed
	Conservative	Rowland Hill	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,110
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1857: Shropshire North (2 seats)^[32]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	John Whitehall Dod	Unopposed
	Conservative	Rowland Hill	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,227
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1852: Shropshire North (2 seats)^[32]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	John Whitehall Dod	Unopposed
	Conservative	William Ormsby-Gore	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,685
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1840s

By-election, 16 February 1848: Shropshire North^[32]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Whitehall Dod	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Caused by Herbert's succession to the peerage, becoming 3rd Earl of Powis

General election 1847: Shropshire North (2 seats)^[32]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Edward Herbert	Unopposed
	Conservative	William Ormsby-Gore	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,876
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

By-election, 16 January 1843: Shropshire North^[32]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Edward Herbert	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,876
	Conservative hold

Caused by Hill's succession to the peerage, becoming 2nd Viscount Hill

General election 1841: Shropshire North (2 seats)^[32]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Rowland Hill	Unopposed
	Conservative	William Ormsby-Gore	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,075
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1837: Shropshire North (2 seats)^[32]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Rowland Hill	Unopposed
	Conservative	William Ormsby-Gore	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,910
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1835: Shropshire North (2 seats)^[32]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Rowland Hill	Unopposed
	Conservative	William Ormsby-Gore	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,653
	Conservative hold
	Conservative gain from Whig

General election 1832: Shropshire North (2 seats)^[32]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	Rowland Hill	2,981	41.7
	Whig	John Cotes (1799-1874)	2,117	29.6
	Tory	William Ormsby-Gore	2,045	28.6
Turnout			4,296	91.8
Registered electors			4,682
Majority			864	12.1
	Tory win (new seat)
Majority			72	1.0
	Whig win (new seat)

References

Sources

UK Polling Report
Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 446–447. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.

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