Bridgwater (UK Parliament constituency)
Encyclopedia
Bridgwater was a parliamentary constituency
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...

  represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

, until 2010 when it was replaced by the Bridgwater and West Somerset constituency. It elected one Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Boundaries

The seat is based on the market town of Bridgwater
Bridgwater
Bridgwater is a market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is the administrative centre of the Sedgemoor district, and a major industrial centre. Bridgwater is located on the major communication routes through South West England...

 in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

 and currently incorporates significant portions of the surrounding north Somerset coast.

History

Bridgwater is one of the oldest Parliamentary Constituencies in the House of Commons, having elected Members of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 since 1295.

The original borough constituency was disenfranchised for corruption in 1870. From 4 July 1870 the town was incorporated within the county constituency of West Somerset
West Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)
West Somerset or Somerset Western was the name of a parliamentary constituency in the county of Somerset between 1832 and 1885...

.

When there was a redistribution of Parliamentary seats to take effect at the 1885 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1885
-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...

, a new county division of Bridgwater was created.

Bridgwater has traditionally had a radical tradition, though in recent years this has become less noticeable in election results as the constituency has expanded considerably beyond Bridgwater town itself.

The seat received particular fame in late 1938 when a by-election
Bridgwater by-election, 1938
The Bridgwater by-election, 1938 was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Bridgwater, Somerset held on 17 November 1938...

 took place in the aftermath of the signing of the Munich Agreement
Munich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...

. Opponnents of the agreement persuaded the local Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

 and Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 parties to not field candidates of their own against the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 candidate, but to instead jointly back an independent standing on a platform of opposition to the Government's foreign policy, in the hope that this would be the precursor to the formation of a more general Popular Front
Popular front
A popular front is a broad coalition of different political groupings, often made up of leftists and centrists. Being very broad, they can sometimes include centrist and liberal forces as well as socialist and communist groups...

 of opposition to the government of Neville Chamberlain
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...

 in anticipation of the General Election
United Kingdom general elections
This is a list of United Kingdom general elections since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801–1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliament of Ireland, before being co-opted to serve in the first Parliament of the United Kingdom, so that Parliament...

 due in either 1939 or 1940. The noted journalist Vernon Bartlett
Vernon Bartlett
Charles Vernon Oldfield Bartlett CBE was an English journalist, politician and author who served as a Member of Parliament from 1938 to 1950.-Life:...

 stood as the independent Popular Front candidate and achieved a sensational victory in what was hitherto a Conservative seat. He represented the constituency for the next twelve years.

In 1970 another by-election
Bridgwater by-election, 1970
The Bridgwater by-election of March 12, 1970 was the first election in the United Kingdom to be held after the voting age had been reduced from 21 to 18. The seat was held by the Conservatives on a turnout of 70.3%.-Results:...

 in the constituency achieved fame as it was the first occasion when 18, 19 and 20 year olds were able to vote in the UK Parliamentary election. The first under-21 year old to cast a vote was Susan Wallace. The by-election was won by the future Conservative Cabinet Minister Tom King
Tom King, Baron King of Bridgwater
Thomas Jeremy King, Baron King of Bridgwater, CH, PC , is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet from 1983–92, and was the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bridgwater in Somerset from 1970-2001...

 who held the seat for the next thirty-one years. The Conservatives have continued to hold the seat to this day.

MPs 1295-1640

  • In at least 14 Parliaments 1377-1406: William Thomere
  • In at least 15 Parliaments 1406-1429: William Gascoigne, William Gascoigne junior

ParliamentFirst memberSecond member
1386 John Sydenham Richard Mayne
1388 (Feb) John Sydenham Richard Mayne
1388 (Sep) John Palmer John Wynd
1390 (Jan) William Tomer John Palmer
1390 (Nov)
1391 William Tomer John Sydenham
1393 William Tomer Robert Boson
1394 John Cole John Palmer
1395 William Tomer John Kedwelly
1397 (Jan) William Tomer John Kedwelly
1397 (Sep) William Tomer John Sydenham
1399 William Tomer John Kedwelly
1401
1402 William Tomer John Kedwelly
1404 (Jan)
1404 (Oct)
1406 William Tomer William Gascoigne
1407 William Gascoigne Richard Ward
1410 William Gascoigne John Kedwelly
1411
1413 (Feb)
1413 (May) William Gascoigne William Gosse
1414 (Apr) William Gascoigne Thomas Cave
1414 (Nov) William Gascoigne John Kedwelly
1415
1416 (Mar)
1416 (Oct)
1417 William Gascoigne John Kedwelly
1419 William Gascoigne Richard Mayne
1420 William Gascoigne Martin Jacob
1421 (May) James FitzJames William Gascoigne
1421 (Dec) William Gascoigne John Pitt
1442 William Dodesham William Gascoigne
1472 Sir Thomas Tremayle
1483 William Hody
1449 Thomas Driffield John Maunsel
1453 John Maunsel
1467 James FitzJames
1467 John Kendall (4 terms)
1483 John Hymerford
1510-1523 No names known
1529 Henry Thornton Hugh Trotter
1536 ?
1539 ?
1542 ?
1545 Thomas Dyer Alexander Popham
1547 Sir Thomas Dyer Alexander Popham
1553 (Mar) Sir Thomas Dyer Richard Gubby
1553 (Oct) Sir Thomas Dyer Nicholas Halswell
1554 (Apr) John Newport Robert Molyns (or Mullens)
1554 (Nov) John Newport John Chapell
1555 Thomas Dyer Edmund Lyte
1558 John Newport Robert Molyns (or Mullens)
1559 Sir Thomas Dyer Robert Molyns (or Mullens)
1563-1567 John Edwards Nicholas Halswell
1571 Edward Popham
1572-1581
1584-1585 Robert Blake
Parliament of 1586-1587 John Courte
Parliament of 1588-1589 Alexander Popham
1593 Robert Bocking William Thomas
1597-1598 Alexander Jones Alexander Popham
1601 Sir Francis Hastings
Francis Hastings (died 1610)
Sir Francis Hastings was an English Puritan politician.He was the fifth and youngest son of the 2nd Earl of Huntingdon. His older brothers were Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon and George Hastings, 4th Earl of Huntingdon....

1604-1611 Sir Nicholas Halswell John Povey
Addled Parliament (1614)
Addled Parliament
The Addled Parliament was the second Parliament of England of the reign of James I of England , which sat between 5 April and 7 June 1614...

Robert Halswell Thomas Warre
1621-1622 Roger Warre Edward Popham
Happy Parliament (1624-1625)
Happy Parliament
The Happy Parliament was the fourth and last Parliament of England of the reign of King James I, sitting from 19 February 1624 to 24 May 1624 and then from 2 November 1624 to 16 February 1625...

Useless Parliament (1625)
Useless Parliament
The Useless Parliament was the first Parliament of England of the reign of King Charles I, sitting only from June until August 1625. It gained its name because it transacted no significant business, making it 'useless' from the king's point of view...

Sir Arthur Lake
1625-1626
1628 Thomas Smith Sir Thomas Wroth
Thomas Wroth (politician, 17th century)
Sir Thomas Wroth was an English parliamentarian and author.-Life:The eldest son of Thomas Wroth and grandson of Sir Thomas Wroth , he was born in London, and baptised at St. Stephen's, Coleman Street, on 5 May 1584. He matriculated as a commoner at Gloucester Hall, Oxford, on 1 July 1600, but was...

1629–1640 No Parliament summoned

1640-1868

YearFirst memberFirst partySecond memberSecond party
April 1640
Short Parliament
The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640 during the reign of King Charles I of England, so called because it lasted only three weeks....

Robert Blake
Robert Blake (admiral)
Robert Blake was one of the most important military commanders of the Commonwealth of England and one of the most famous English admirals of the 17th century. Blake is recognised as the chief founder of England's naval supremacy, a dominance subsequently inherited by the British Royal Navy into...

Edmund Wyndham
Edmund Wyndham
Edmund Wyndham was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1640 and 1679. He fought for the Royalist army in the English Civil War....

 
Royalist
November 1640
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...

Sir Peter Wroth Parliamentarian
February 1641 Thomas Smith Royalist
August 1642 Smith disabled from sitting - seat vacant
May 1644 Wroth died - seat vacant
1645 Admiral Robert Blake
Robert Blake (admiral)
Robert Blake was one of the most important military commanders of the Commonwealth of England and one of the most famous English admirals of the 17th century. Blake is recognised as the chief founder of England's naval supremacy, a dominance subsequently inherited by the British Royal Navy into...

 
Sir Thomas Wroth
Thomas Wroth (politician, 17th century)
Sir Thomas Wroth was an English parliamentarian and author.-Life:The eldest son of Thomas Wroth and grandson of Sir Thomas Wroth , he was born in London, and baptised at St. Stephen's, Coleman Street, on 5 May 1584. He matriculated as a commoner at Gloucester Hall, Oxford, on 1 July 1600, but was...

1653 Bridgwater was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
Barebones Parliament
Barebone's Parliament, also known as the Little Parliament, the Nominated Assembly and the Parliament of Saints, came into being on 4 July 1653, and was the last attempt of the English Commonwealth to find a stable political form before the installation of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector...

1654
First Protectorate Parliament
The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the House....

Admiral Robert Blake
Robert Blake (admiral)
Robert Blake was one of the most important military commanders of the Commonwealth of England and one of the most famous English admirals of the 17th century. Blake is recognised as the chief founder of England's naval supremacy, a dominance subsequently inherited by the British Royal Navy into...

Bridgwater had only one seat in the First
First Protectorate Parliament
The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the House....

  and
Second
Second Protectorate Parliament
The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons...

 Parliaments of the Protectorate
1656
Second Protectorate Parliament
The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons...

Sir Thomas Wroth
Thomas Wroth
Thomas Wroth may refer to:* Thomas Wroth , , English courtier and politician* Thomas Wroth , , English parliamentarian and author...

January 1659
Third Protectorate Parliament
The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session, from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with Chaloner Chute and Thomas Bampfylde as the Speakers of the House of Commons...

John Wroth
May 1659
Rump Parliament
The Rump Parliament is the name of the English Parliament after Colonel Pride purged the Long Parliament on 6 December 1648 of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason....

One seat vacant
April 1660 Francis Rolle
Francis Rolle
Francis Rolle was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1656 and 1685.Rolle was the only son of Henry Rolle of Shapwick who was Chief Justice of the King’s Bench and his wife Margaret Foote, daughter of Sir Henry Foote, merchant of London...

1661 Edmund Wyndham
Edmund Wyndham
Edmund Wyndham was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1640 and 1679. He fought for the Royalist army in the English Civil War....

John Tynte
November 1669 Sir Francis Rolle
Francis Rolle
Francis Rolle was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1656 and 1685.Rolle was the only son of Henry Rolle of Shapwick who was Chief Justice of the King’s Bench and his wife Margaret Foote, daughter of Sir Henry Foote, merchant of London...

December 1669 Peregrine Palmer
February 1679 Sir Halswell Tynte Sir Francis Rolle
Francis Rolle
Francis Rolle was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1656 and 1685.Rolle was the only son of Henry Rolle of Shapwick who was Chief Justice of the King’s Bench and his wife Margaret Foote, daughter of Sir Henry Foote, merchant of London...

September 1679 Ralph Stawell
1681 Sir John Malet
1685 Sir Francis Warre Tory
1689 Henry Bull
Henry Bull (MP)
Henry Bull was an English Member of Parliament who represented three Somerset boroughs in the second half of the 17th century.-References:...

Tory
1692 Robert Balch
1695 Nathaniel Palmer Roger Hoar
1698 George Crane
1699 Sir Francis Warre Tory
January 1701 John Gilbert George Balch Tory
November 1701 Sir Thomas Wroth
1708 George Dodington
George Dodington
George Dodington was a Whig politician under the patronage of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford.Dodington represented Charlemont in the Irish House of Commons from 1707 to 1713. He served as Secretary to the Treasurer of the Navy during the reign of William III, and in 1707-1708 was Secretary to...

Whig
1710 Nathaniel Palmer Tory
1713 John Rolle
1715 George Dodington
George Dodington
George Dodington was a Whig politician under the patronage of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford.Dodington represented Charlemont in the Irish House of Commons from 1707 to 1713. He served as Secretary to the Treasurer of the Navy during the reign of William III, and in 1707-1708 was Secretary to...

Whig Thomas Palmer
Thomas Palmer (died 1735)
Thomas Palmer, MP FRS , was a British politician. He was twice the Member of Parliament for Bridgewater.He was the son of Nathaniel Palmer, MP, of Fairfield and Stogursey, Somerset, and his wife, Frances, daughter of Sir William Wyndham...

Tory
1720 William Pitt
1722 George Bubb Dodington
George Dodington, 1st Baron Melcombe
George Bubb Dodington, 1st Baron Melcombe PC was an English politician and nobleman.Christened simply George Bubb, he acquired the surname Dodington around the time his uncle George Dodington died in 1720 and left him his estate...

1727 Sir Halswell Tynte Tory
1731 Thomas Palmer
Thomas Palmer (died 1735)
Thomas Palmer, MP FRS , was a British politician. He was twice the Member of Parliament for Bridgewater.He was the son of Nathaniel Palmer, MP, of Fairfield and Stogursey, Somerset, and his wife, Frances, daughter of Sir William Wyndham...

Tory
1735 Charles Wyndham
Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont
Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont, PC and Catherine née Seymour, succeeded his uncle, Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset, as 2nd Earl of Egremont in 1750...

Tory
1741 Vere Poulett Tory
1747 Peregrine Poulett Tory
1753 Robert Balch Tory
1754 The Earl of Egmont
John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont
John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont PC, FRS was a British politician, political pamphleteer, and genealogist...

1761 Edward Southwell
Edward Southwell, 20th Baron de Clifford
Edward Southwell, 20th Baron de Clifford was a British politician.He was the son of Edward Southwell by his wife Katherine, daughter of Edward Watson, Viscount Sondes....

1762 Viscount Perceval
John Perceval, 3rd Earl of Egmont
John Perceval, 3rd Earl of Egmont was a British politician.Perceval served as Member of Parliament for Bridgwater from 1762-1768. Perceval was initially declared re-elected in 1768, but on petition he was judged not to have been duly elected and his opponent, Anne Poulett, was seated in his place...

 
1763 The Lord Coleraine
Gabriel Hanger, 1st Baron Coleraine
Gabriel Hanger, 1st Baron Coleraine was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1753 and 1768. He was honoured with a Peerage of Ireland....

1768 Benjamin Allen
Benjamin Allen (MP)
Benjamin Allen was an English politician.Benjamin Allen was the son of John Allen, M.D., of Bridgwater. He attended school in Bridgwater before being admitted, age 19, to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge in 1751...

 
1769 Hon. Anne Poulett
Anne Poulett
The Honourable Anne Poulett , fourth son of John Poulett, 1st Earl Poulett, was a British Member of Parliament who represented the borough of Bridgwater in the House of Commons for sixteen years until his death in 1785...

Tory
1781 John Acland
1784 Rear-Admiral Alexander Hood
Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport
|-...

 
1785 Robert Thornton
1790 Major the Hon. Vere Poulett
Vere Poulett
Lieutenant-General The Honourable Vere Poulett , was a British soldier and politician.Poulett was a younger son of Vere Poulett, 3rd Earl Poulett, and Mary, daughter of Richard Butt. He was returned to parliament for Bridgewater in 1790, a seat he held until 1796 and again between 1806 and...

 
John Langston
1796 George Pocock Jeffreys Allen
1804 John Hudleston
1806 Major-General the Hon. Vere Poulett
Vere Poulett
Lieutenant-General The Honourable Vere Poulett , was a British soldier and politician.Poulett was a younger son of Vere Poulett, 3rd Earl Poulett, and Mary, daughter of Richard Butt. He was returned to parliament for Bridgewater in 1790, a seat he held until 1796 and again between 1806 and...

John Langston
1807 William Thornton Astell George Pocock
1820 Charles Kemeys Kemeys Tynte
Charles Kemeys Kemeys Tynte
Charles Kemeys Kemeys Tynte or Charles Kemeys Kemeys-Tynte was an English Whig and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1820 to 1837....

Whig
1832 William Tayleur
William Tayleur
William Tayleur was an English Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1832 to 1835.Tayleur was the son of John Tayleur of Buntingsdale and his wife Penelope Pearson, daughter of Thomas Pearson of Tottenhall, Staffordshire...

 
Whig
1835 John Temple Leader  Whig
May 1837 Henry Broadwood  Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

August 1837 Philip Courtenay  Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

1841 Thomas Seaton Forman  Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

1847 Charles John Kemys Tynte
Charles John Kemys Tynte
Charles John Kemeys Tynte or Charles Kemeys-Tynte was an English Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1832 and 1865....

 
Whig
1852 Brent Spencer Follett  Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

1857 Alexander William Kinglake
Alexander William Kinglake
Alexander William Kinglake was an English travel writer and historian.He was born near Taunton, Somerset and educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge...

 
Whig
1859 Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

1865 Henry Westropp  Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

1866 George Patton
George Patton, Lord Glenalmond
George Patton, Lord Glenalmond was a Scottish politician and judge.He studied law at Edinburgh University. He studied at Glasgow University and Trinity College, Cambridge. He was Conservative Member of Parliament for Bridgwater, Somerset from 1865 to 1866...

 
Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

1866 Philip Vanderbyl
Philip Vanderbyl
Philip Vanderbyl was a qualified doctor, merchant and a Liberal politician.Vanderbyl was the son of P. V. Vanderbyl of the Cape of Good Hope. He trained as a doctor at the University of Edinburgh obtaining M.D. in honours and a gold medal. He became M.R.C.S. Eng. in 1849 and M.R.C.P. Lond. in 1855...

 
Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

1869 Writ suspended - both seats vacant
1870 Constituency abolished for corruption and incorporated into the West Somerset
West Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)
West Somerset or Somerset Western was the name of a parliamentary constituency in the county of Somerset between 1832 and 1885...

 county division from 4 July 1870

Bridgwater county division, 1885-present

  • County division created (1885)

YearMemberParty
1885
United Kingdom general election, 1885
-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...

Edward Stanley Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

1906
United Kingdom general election, 1906
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...

Henry Greville Montgomery
Henry Greville Montgomery
Henry Greville Montgomery was the Member of Parliament for Bridgwater from 1906 to 1910.- External links :...

Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

1910 Rt Hon. Sir Robert Arthur Sanders, Bt
Robert Sanders, 1st Baron Bayford
Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Arthur Sanders, 1st Baron Bayford PC, JP was an English politician.-Background and education:...

, later Baron Bayford
Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

1918
United Kingdom general election, 1918
The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...

Coalition Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

1922
United Kingdom general election, 1922
The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...

Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

1923
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...

William Ewart Morse
William Ewart Morse
William Ewart Morse was an English businessman and Liberal Party politician, briefly member of parliament for Bridgwater and later a member of Wiltshire County Council.-Family and education:...

Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

1924
United Kingdom general election, 1924
- Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...

Brooks Crompton Wood Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

1929
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...

 — 1938
Bridgwater by-election, 1938
The Bridgwater by-election, 1938 was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Bridgwater, Somerset held on 17 November 1938...

Reginald Powell Croom-Johnson  Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

1938
Bridgwater by-election, 1938
The Bridgwater by-election, 1938 was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Bridgwater, Somerset held on 17 November 1938...

Charles Vernon Oldfield Bartlett Independent Progressive
1942 Common Wealth
Common Wealth Party
The Common Wealth Party was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom in the Second World War. Thereafter, it continued in being, essentially as a pressure group, until 1993.-The war years:...

1945
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...

Independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

1950
United Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...

Sir Gerald Wills
Gerald Wills
Sir Gerald Wills, MBE was a British Barrister and politician who was Member of Parliament for Bridgwater from 1950 until his death....

Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

1970
Bridgwater by-election, 1970
The Bridgwater by-election of March 12, 1970 was the first election in the United Kingdom to be held after the voting age had been reduced from 21 to 18. The seat was held by the Conservatives on a turnout of 70.3%.-Results:...

Rt Hon Tom King
Tom King, Baron King of Bridgwater
Thomas Jeremy King, Baron King of Bridgwater, CH, PC , is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet from 1983–92, and was the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bridgwater in Somerset from 1970-2001...

, later Baron King of Bridgwater
Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

2001
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...

Ian Liddell-Grainger Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

2010 constituency abolished: see Bridgwater and West Somerset

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Sources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK