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Exeter (UK Parliament constituency)

Overview

Exeter is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 646 members, who are known as "Members...

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 and British overseas territories. It alone has parliamentary sovereignty, conferring upon it ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories...

. It elects one Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of...

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

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Encyclopedia

Exeter is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons

British House of Commons

of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

. It elects one Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

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

It has been represented since 1997 by Labour

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...

's Ben Bradshaw, the Culture Secretary.

Boundaries

The constituency covers the city of Exeter

Exeter

Exeter is a city and district in Devon, England; it is the county town of Devon. Exeter is located approximately northeast of Plymouth, and southwest of Bristol, on the River Exe. The city has a population of 111,076 according to the 2001 Census....

in Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, although that is an unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county itself and often indicating a traditional or historical context. The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to...

. It has a high student population centred around the University of Exeter

University of Exeter

The University of Exeter is a university in the South West of England. Most of its activities are located in the city of Exeter, Devon, where it is the principal higher education institution...

but is otherwise fairly affluent and middle-class.

1660-1885

Two members

Year	First member	First party	Second member	Second party
1660	John Maynard John Maynard (MP) Sir John Maynard KS , was an English lawyer and politician, prominent under the reigns of Charles I, the Commonwealth, Charles II, James II and William III.-Origins and education:...		Thomas Bampfield Thomas Bampfield Thomas Bampfield or Bamfylde was a British politician who was briefly Speaker of the British House of Commons.He sat for Exeter in the First Protectorate Parliament, Second Protectorate Parliament and the Third Protectorate Parliament...
1661	Sir James Smyth		Robert Walker
1673	Sir James Smyth		Thomas Walker
1679	William Glyde		Malachi Pyne
1681	Sir Thomas Carew		Thomas Walker
1685	James Walker		Edward Seymour Sir Edward Seymour, 4th Baronet Sir Edward Seymour, 4th Baronet was a Royalist and Tory politician.-Life:Born at Berry Pomeroy Castle of a family greatly influential in the Western counties, he was a descendant of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, in the senior line...	Tory Tory Toryism is a traditionalist political philosophy, which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is most prominent in Great Britain, but also features in some parts of The Commonwealth — particularly in Canada...
Jan 1689	Henry Pollexfen Henry Pollexfen Sir Henry Pollexfen was a British judge and politician. He was the son of Andrew Pollexfen and his wife Joan, and the brother of John Pollexfen, the British political economist. He entered Inner Temple in 1652, was called to the bar in 1658 and by 1662 he was pleading before the high courts at...
Jun 1689	Christopher Bale
1695	Edward Seyward		Sir Joseph Tily
1698	Sir Edward Seymour Sir Edward Seymour, 4th Baronet Sir Edward Seymour, 4th Baronet was a Royalist and Tory politician.-Life:Born at Berry Pomeroy Castle of a family greatly influential in the Western counties, he was a descendant of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, in the senior line...	Tory Tory Toryism is a traditionalist political philosophy, which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is most prominent in Great Britain, but also features in some parts of The Commonwealth — particularly in Canada...	Sir Bartholomew Shower
1702			John Snell John Snell (MP) John Snell was a member of the British House of Commons representing Exeter from 1702-1708.Snell was the son of Rev. John Snell of Thurlestone Devon and was born about 1638. His father as a Royalist had been dispossessed of his living during the Commonwealth. Snell was in business as a ‘merchant’...	Tory Tory Toryism is a traditionalist political philosophy, which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is most prominent in Great Britain, but also features in some parts of The Commonwealth — particularly in Canada...
Apr 1708	John Harris
May 1708	John Harris		Nicholas Wood
1710	Sir Coplestone Bampfylde	Tory Tory Toryism is a traditionalist political philosophy, which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is most prominent in Great Britain, but also features in some parts of The Commonwealth — particularly in Canada...	John Snell John Snell (MP) John Snell was a member of the British House of Commons representing Exeter from 1702-1708.Snell was the son of Rev. John Snell of Thurlestone Devon and was born about 1638. His father as a Royalist had been dispossessed of his living during the Commonwealth. Snell was in business as a ‘merchant’...	Tory Tory Toryism is a traditionalist political philosophy, which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is most prominent in Great Britain, but also features in some parts of The Commonwealth — particularly in Canada...
1713	John Rolle		Francis Drewe
1715	John Bampfylde
1722	John Rolle
1727	Samuel Molyneux Samuel Molyneux Samuel Molyneux FRS , son of William Molyneux, was an 18th-century member of the British parliament from Kew and an amateur astronomer whose work with James Bradley attempting to measure stellar parallax led to the discovery of the aberration of light...
1728	John Belfield
1734	John King John King, 2nd Baron King John King, 2nd Baron King , was an English politician. He was Member of Parliament for Launceston from 1727 to 1734 and for Exeter from 1734 until he succeeded to the peerage in 1735.-References:...		Thomas Balle
1735	Sir Henry Northcote Sir Henry Northcote, 5th Baronet Sir Henry Northcote, 5th Baronet , English politician, was a member of a family which had long been settled in Devon, tracing their descent from Galfridas de Nordcote who settled there in 1103....		Thomas Balle
1741			Humphrey Sydenham
1743	Sir Richard Bampfylde, Bt Sir Richard Bampfylde, 4th Baronet Sir Richard Warwick Bampfylde, 4th Baronet was a British politician.He was the only son of Sir Coplestone Bampfylde, 3rd Baronet and his wife Gertrude Carew, daughter of Sir John Carew, 3rd Baronet, and he was baptised in Poltimore in Devon. In 1727, aged only five, he succeeded his father as...
1747	John Tuckfield
1754	John Tuckfield		John Rolle Walter
1767	William Spicer
1768	John Buller
1774	Sir Charles Warwick Bampfylde Sir Charles Bampfylde, 5th Baronet Sir Charles Warwick Bampfylde, 5th Baronet was a British politician and baronet.-Life and career:He was the eldest surviving son of Sir Richard Bampfylde, 4th Baronet and his wife Jane Codrington, daughter of Colonel John Codrington, and he was baptised at St Augustine the Less Church, Bristol in...
1776			John Baring
1790	James Buller
1796	Sir Charles Warwick Bampfylde Sir Charles Bampfylde, 5th Baronet Sir Charles Warwick Bampfylde, 5th Baronet was a British politician and baronet.-Life and career:He was the eldest surviving son of Sir Richard Bampfylde, 4th Baronet and his wife Jane Codrington, daughter of Colonel John Codrington, and he was baptised at St Augustine the Less Church, Bristol in...
1802			James Buller
1812	William Courtenay		James Buller
1818	William Courtenay		Robert William Newman
Feb 1826	Samuel Trehawke Kekewich		Robert William Newman
Jun 1826	Samuel Trehawke Kekewich		Lewis William Buck
1830	James Wentworth Buller		Lewis William Buck
1832	James Wentworth Buller		Edward Divett
1835	Sir William Webb Follett William Webb Follett Sir William Webb Follett , English lawyer, was born at Topsham in Devon.-Background:He was the son of Captain Benjamin Follett, who had retired from the army in 1790, and engaged in business at Topsham, and his wife Ann Webb, daughter of John Webb. His younger brother was Brent Spencer Follett...
1845	Sir John Thomas Buller Duckworth, Bt
1845	Richard Sommers Gard
1864	Richard Sommers Gard		Viscount Courtenay Edward Courtenay, 12th Earl of Devon Edward Baldwin Courtenay, 12th Earl of Devon , styled Lord Courtenay between 1859 and 1888, was a British peer and Conservative politician.-Background:...
1865	John Coleridge John Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge John Duke Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge PC was a British lawyer, judge and Liberal politician. He held the posts, in turn, of Solicitor General for England and Wales, Attorney General for England and Wales, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and Lord Chief Justice of England.Coleridge was the...	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
1868			Edgar Alfred Bowring Edgar Alfred Bowring Edgar Alfred Bowring was a British translator, author and civil servant, serving as librarian and registrar to the Board of Trade , secretary to the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, and Liberal Member of Parliament for Exeter .He was the youngest son of Sir John Bowring, and brother of...
1873	Arthur Mills
1874	Arthur Mills		John George Johnson
1880	Edward Johnson		Henry Northcote Henry Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote Henry Stafford Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote, GCMG, GCIE, CB, PC , the 3rd Governor-General of Australia, was born in London, the second son of the prominent Conservative politician Sir Stafford Northcote, later 1st Earl of Iddesleigh. He was educated at Eton and Merton College, Oxford Henry...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...

1885 on

One member

Election	1885 United Kingdom general election, 1885 The 1885 UK general election was from 24 November to 18 December 1885. This was the first general election after an extension of the franchise and redistribution of seats. For the first time a majority of adult males could vote and most constituencies returned a single-member to Parliament. It saw...		Henry Northcote Henry Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote Henry Stafford Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote, GCMG, GCIE, CB, PC , the 3rd Governor-General of Australia, was born in London, the second son of the prominent Conservative politician Sir Stafford Northcote, later 1st Earl of Iddesleigh. He was educated at Eton and Merton College, Oxford Henry...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
1899 by-election		Sir Edgar Vincent Edgar Vincent, 1st Viscount D'Abernon Edgar Vincent, 1st Viscount D'Abernon GCMG was a British politician, diplomat, art collector and author....	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
1906 United Kingdom general election, 1906 The United Kingdom general election of 1906 was held from 12 January to 8 February 1906.The Liberals, led by sitting minority Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman, won a large majority in the election...		Sir George Kekewich	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
January 1910		Henry Duke Henry Duke, 1st Baron Merrivale Henry Edward Duke, 1st Baron Merrivale PC, QC , was a British judge and Conservative politician. He served as Chief Secretary for Ireland between 1916 and 1918.-Background and education:...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
December 1910		Harold St Maur Harold St Maur Richard Harold St. Maur JP DL was claimant to the Dukedom of Somerset, and briefly the Liberal MP for Exeter, being unseated on petition by a single vote.-Early life:...	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
1911		Henry Duke Henry Duke, 1st Baron Merrivale Henry Edward Duke, 1st Baron Merrivale PC, QC , was a British judge and Conservative politician. He served as Chief Secretary for Ireland between 1916 and 1918.-Background and education:...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
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 all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did not begin...		Sir Robert Newman	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
1929 United Kingdom general election, 1929 The 1929 UK general election was held on 30 May 1929, and resulted in a hung parliament. It was the first of only three elections under universal suffrage in which a party lost the popular vote but gained a plurality of seats...		Sir Robert Newman	Independent
1931 United Kingdom general election, 1931 The UK general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was held in the middle...		Arthur Conrad Reed	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
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...		John Cyril Maude	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
1951 United Kingdom general election, 1951 The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the.1950 general election, which the Labour Party won, but with a very slim majority of just five seats...		Sir Rolf Dudley-Williams, Bt Rolf Dudley-Williams Sir Rolf Dudley Dudley-Williams, 1st Baronet was a British aeronautical engineer and Conservative Party politician.-Royal Air Force career:...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
1966 United Kingdom general election, 1966 The 1966 UK general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected only two years previously in 1964 had an unworkable small majority of only 4 MPs...		Gwyneth Dunwoody Gwyneth Dunwoody Gwyneth Patricia Dunwoody was the longest ever serving female Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, by both length of total and length of continuous service...	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
1970 United Kingdom general election, 1970 The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...		Sir John Hannam John Hannam Sir John Gordon Hannam is a British Conservative politician. He was MP for Exeter from 1970 until his retirement in 1997.-References:* "Times Guide to the House of Commons", Times Newspapers Limited, 1997 edition....	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
1997 United Kingdom general election, 1997 The UK general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992. The Labour Party won the general election in a landslide victory with 418 seats, the most seats the party has ever held...		Ben Bradshaw Ben Bradshaw Benjamin Peter James Bradshaw is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Exeter since 1997, and currently serves in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.-Biography:...	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...

Exeter (UK Parliament constituency)

Boundaries

1660-1885

1885 on

Election results

See also