Second Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies
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The Second Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies was undertaken between 1965 and 1969 by the four Boundary Commissions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the United Kingdom Parliament as provided by the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949 and amended by House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1958.[1] The changes to the constituencies were approved in 1970 and took effect at the February 1974 United Kingdom general election.
Review and approval process[]
Under the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1958, the four Boundary Commissions were required to review the boundaries of parliamentary constituencies in their respective countries every 10 to 15 years.[1] The Commissions commenced their reports in 1965 and completed them in 1969. Although the final recommendations were laid before Parliament (1968-69 Cmnd. 4084-4087[2]), the Labour Government did not put them forward for approval before calling an election which was held in June 1970. After the election, the new Conservative Government put the proposals forward and they were approved by Parliament on 11 November 1970 through the following Statutory Instruments:
- 1970 No. 1674 - Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970[3]
- 1970 No. 1675 - Parliamentary Constituencies (Wales) Order 1970[4]
- 1970 No. 1678 - Parliamentary Constituencies (Northern Ireland) Order 1970[5]
- 1970 No. 1680 - Parliamentary Constituencies (Scotland) Order 1970[6]
The new boundaries were first applied for the February 1974 general election. Accordingly, there was a gap of nine years between the beginning of the process and their first application, by which time the local authority boundaries used in the review had been superseded by the major reorganisation of local authorities brought in by the Local Government Act 1972 which came into effect on 1 April 1974. The boundaries and constituencies introduced by the Second Review were also used for the general elections of October 1974 and 1979. They were superseded by the boundaries introduced by the Third Review which came into effect for the 1983 general election.
Summary of changes[]
As a result of the considerable delay between the First and Second Periodic Reviews, there were a large number of significant changes, with the total number of seats increasing from 630 to 635. There were 108 new constituencies created and 103 abolished, excluding 13 constituencies with very minor or no changes which were renamed. The resulting net increase of 5 constituencies were all in England (511 to 516), with the number of constituencies in Wales (36), Scotland (71) and Northern Ireland (12) remaining the same. There were changes to a further 311 constituencies, of which 105 were of a very minor nature, mainly bringing constituency boundaries in line with local authority boundaries which had been altered. This left 216 constituencies which were unchanged.
The Review took into account the creation of Greater London with effect from 1 April 1965, as provided by the London Government Act 1963. There was a net decrease of 11 seats within Greater London and this was offset by increases in seats in the surrounding counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Surrey and Kent. There had also been significant reorganisations of local authorities in the Black Country and Teesside resulting in major changes to boundaries in these areas. Outside the large cities, the bulk the constituencies in Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire were unchanged.
The Commissions had carried out interim reviews in 1956, 1960 and 1964 under the provisions of the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949 to bring boundaries into line with those of local authorities. This resulted in the passing of 31 Statutory Instruments, affecting 79 constituencies.[2]
List of constituencies created, abolished or altered[]
Primary source: Craig, F. W. S. (1972). Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0-900178-09-4. Pages 119 to 158.
Also referred to Boundary Maps on the Vision of Britain Through Time website.[7]
BC denotes a Borough Constituency; CC denotes a County Constituency.
England[]
County | Seats
1955-74 |
Created | Abolished | Altered | No change
(or very minor change) |
Seats
1974-83 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bedfordshire | 4 | Luton East BC
Luton West BC |
Luton BC | Mid Bedfordshire CC | Bedford CC | 5 |
Berkshire | 5 | Reading North BC
Reading South CC |
Reading BC | Newbury CC
Wokingham CC |
Abingdon CC
Windsor and Maidenhead CC (formerly Windsor CC) |
6 |
Buckinghamshire | 5 | Beaconsfield CC
Chesham and Amersham CC |
South Buckinghamshire CC | Aylesbury CC
Buckingham CC Wycombe CC |
Eton and Slough BC | 6 |
Cambridgeshire
and Isle of Ely |
3 | Isle of Ely CC | Cambridgeshire CC
Cambridge BC |
3 | ||
Cheshire | 16 | Bebington and Ellesmere Port BC
Hazel Grove BC |
Bebington BC | Knutsford CC
Macclesfield CC Birkenhead BC Cheadle BC |
City of Chester CC
Crewe CC Northwich CC Stalybridge and Hyde CC Altrincham and Sale BC Wallasey BC |
17 |
Cornwall | 5 | Bodmin CC
North Cornwall CC Truro CC |
Falmouth and Camborne CC
St Ives CC |
5 | ||
Cumberland | 4 | Penrith and the Border CC
Whitehaven CC Carlisle BC |
4 | |||
Derbyshire | 10 | Belper CC
North East Derbyshire CC Derby North BC Derby South BC |
Bolsover CC
High Peak CC West Derbyshire CC Chesterfield BC |
10 | ||
Devon | 10 | West Devon CC
Plymouth, Drake BC |
Tavistock CC
Torrington CC |
Honiton CC
North Devon CC Tiverton CC Exeter BC Plymouth, Sutton BC |
Totnes CC
(formerly Torquay BC) |
10 |
Dorset | 4 | North Dorset CC
South Dorset CC West Dorset CC Poole BC |
4 | |||
Durham | 17 | Sedgefield CC | Bishop Auckland CC
Houghton-le-Spring CC North West Durham CC Blaydon CC Sunderland North BC Sunderland South BC |
Chester-le-Street CC
Consett CC Darlington BC (formerly The Hartlepools BC) |
16 | |
Essex | 12 | Braintree CC
Brentwood and Ongar CC Epping Forest CC Harlow CC Basildon BC |
Billericay CC
Epping CC |
Chelmsford CC
Maldon CC South East Essex CC |
Colchester CC
Harwich CC Southend East BC Southend West BC Thurrock BC |
14 |
Gloucestershire | 12 | Kingswood CC | Bristol Central BC | South Gloucestershire CC
Bristol North East BC Bristol South East BC Bristol West BC Gloucester BC |
Cirencester and Tewksbury CC
Stroud CC Bristol North West BC Bristol South BC Cheltenham BC |
12 |
Greater London | 103 | Bethnal Green and Bow BC
Brent East BC Brent North BC Brent South BC Brentford and Isleworth BC Chipping Barnet BC Croydon South BC Enfield North BC Feltham and Heston BC Hackney South and Shoreditch BC Islington South and Finsbury BC Kensington BC Lewisham East BC Newham North East BC Ravensbourne BC Sidcup BC Tooting BC Upminster BC |
Barnet CC
Barons Court BC Bexley BC Brentford and Chiswick BC Brixton BC Bromley BC Heston and Isleworth BC Kensington North BC Kensington South BC Mitcham BC Paddington North BC Paddington South BC Southwark BC Wandsworth Central BC West Ham South BC |
Battersea North BC
Beckenham BC Carshalton BC Chislehurst BC Ealing, Acton BC Ealing North BC Ealing, Southall BC Enfield, Southgate BC Finchley BC Fulham BC Hackney Central BC Hackney North and Stoke Newington BC (formerly Stoke Newington and Hackney North BC) Hayes and Harlington BC Hendon North BC Hendon South BC Hornchurch BC Ilford North BC Islington North BC Lewisham, Deptford BC Lewisham West BC Peckham BC Putney BC Romford BC Streatham BC Uxbridge BC Vauxhall BC Wanstead and Woodford BC Wimbledon BC |
Barking BC
City of London and Westminster South BC (formerly Cities of London and Westminster BC) Croydon Central BC (formerly Croydon South BC) Dagenham BC Dulwich BC Edmonton BC Erith and Crayford BC Greenwich BC Hampstead BC Harrow East BC Harrow West BC Holborn and St Pancras South BC Ilford South BC Kingston-upon-Thames BC (formerly West Ham North BC) Norwood BC Orpington BC Richmond BC (formerly Richmond (Surrey) BC) St Marylebone BC St Pancras North BC Sutton and Cheam BC Ruislip-Northwood BC Tottenham BC Twickenham BC Woolwich East BC Woolwich West BC |
92 |
Hampshire | 14 | Bournemouth East BC
Christchurch and Lymington BC Fareham BC Gosport BC Havant and Waterloo BC |
Bournemouth East and
Christchurch BC Gosport and Fareham BC Portsmouth, Langstone BC Portsmouth West BC |
Aldershot CC
Basingstoke CC Eastleigh CC New Forest CC Winchester CC Bournemouth West BC |
Petersfield CC
Southampton, Itchen BC Southampton, Test BC |
16 |
Herefordshire | 2 | Hereford CC
Leominster CC |
2 | |||
Hertfordshire | 7 | Hertford and Stevenage CC | Hertford CC | East Hertfordshire CC
Hemel Hempstead CC St Albans CC South West Hertfordshire CC |
Watford BC | 9 |
Huntingdonshire
and Peterborough |
2 | Huntingdonshire CC
Peterborough BC (previously included with Northamptonshire) |
2 | |||
Isle of Wight | 1 | Isle of Wight CC | 1 | |||
Kent | 13 | Royal Tunbridge Wells CC
Tonbridge and Malling CC Thanet East BC Thanet West BC |
Isle of Thanet CC
Tonbridge CC |
Ashford CC
Dartford CC Sevenoaks CC |
Canterbury CC
Dover and Deal CC (formerly Dover CC) Faversham CC Folkestone and Hythe CC Gravesend CC Maidstone CC Gillingham BC Rochester and Chatham BC |
15 |
Lancashire | 62 | Liverpool, Scotland Exchange BC
Manchester Central BC |
Liverpool, Exchange BC
Liverpool, Scotland BC Manchester, Exchange BC |
Huyton CC
Bootle BC Crosby BC Liverpool, Edge Hill BC Liverpool, Kirkdale BC Liverpool, Toxteth BC Manchester, Withington BC Manchester, Wythenshawe BC |
Chorley CC
Clitheroe CC Darwen CC Lancaster CC Newton CC Westhoughton CC Widnes CC Accrington BC Ashton-under-Lyne BC Barrow-in-Furness BC Blackburn BC Blackpool North BC Blackpool South BC Bolton East BC Bolton West BC Eccles BC Farnworth BC Ince BC Leigh BC Liverpool, Garston BC Liverpool, Walton BC Liverpool, Wavertree BC Liverpool, West Derby BC Manchester, Blackley BC Manchester, Gorton BC Oldham West BC Preston North BC Rochdale BC Rossendale BC Salford West BC Southport BC Warrington BC Wigan BC |
60 |
Leicestershire | 8 | Blaby CC
Leicester East BC Leicester South BC |
Leicester North East BC
Leicester North West BC Leicester South East BC Leicester South West BC |
Harborough CC
Loughborough CC |
Bosworth CC | 8 |
Lincolnshire
(Parts of Holland) |
1 | Holland with Boston CC | 1 | |||
Lincolnshire
(Parts of Kesteven) and Rutlandshire |
2 | Grantham CC
Rutland and Stamford CC |
2 | |||
Lincolnshire
(Parts of Lindsey) |
6 | Brigg CC
Louth CC Grimsby BC Lincoln BC |
6 | |||
Norfolk | 8 | North West Norfolk CC | Central Norfolk CC | North Norfolk CC
South Norfolk CC |
South West Norfolk CC | 7 |
Northamptonshire | 4 | Daventry CC
Northampton North BC Northampton South BC |
South Northamptonshire CC
Northampton BC |
Kettering CC
Wellingborough CC |
5 | |
Northumberland | 10 | Berwick-upon-Tweed CC
Hexham CC Morpeth CC Blyth CC Newcastle upon Tyne Central BC Newcastle upon Tyne East BC Newcastle upon Tyne North BC Tynemouth BC Wallsend BC |
10 | |||
Nottinghamshire | 10 | Beeston CC
Nottingham North BC |
Nottingham Central BC
Nottingham South BC |
Ashfield CC
Rushcliffe CC Nottingham North BC |
Bassetlaw CC
Mansfield CC Newark CC |
10 |
Oxfordshire | 3 | Mid Oxon CC | Banbury CC
Henley CC |
Oxford BC | 4 | |
Shropshire | 4 | Ludlow CC
The Wrekin CC |
Oswestry CC
Shrewsbury CC |
4 | ||
Somerset | 7 | Bridgwater CC
North Somerset CC Taunton CC Weston-super-Mare CC Yeovil CC |
7 | |||
Staffordshire | 19 | South West Staffordshire CC
Aldridge-Brownhills BC Dudley East BC Dudley West BC West Bromwich East BC West Bromwich West BC Wolverhampton South East BC |
Brierley Hill CC
Bilston BC Dudley BC Rowley Regis and Tipton BC Wednesbury BC West Bromwich BC |
Cannock CC
Leek CC Lichfield and Tamworth CC Stoke-on-Trent North BC Walsall North BC Walsall South BC Wolverhampton North East BC Wolverhampton South West BC |
Burton CC
Stafford and Stone CC Newcastle-under-Lyme BC |
20 |
Suffolk | 5 | Bury St Edmunds CC
Ipswich BC |
5 | |||
Surrey | 9 | East Surrey CC
North West Surrey CC Chertsey and Walton BC |
Chertsey CC | Woking CC
Esher BC Reigate BC |
Dorking CC
Guildford CC Epsom and Ewell BC (formerly Epsom CC) Spelthorne BC |
11 |
Sussex (East) | 8 | Mid Sussex CC | Eastbourne CC
East Grinstead CC Lewes CC |
Rye CC
Brighton, Kemptown BC Brighton, Pavilion BC Hastings BC Hove BC |
9 | |
Sussex (West) | 4 | Arundel CC
Horsham and Crawley CC Shoreham CC |
Arundel and Shoreham CC
Horsham CC |
Chichester CC | Worthing BC | 5 |
Warwickshire | 23 | Birmingham, Erdington BC
Coventry North East BC Coventry North West BC Coventry South East BC Coventry South West BC |
Birmingham, All Saints BC
Birmingham, Aston BC Coventry East BC Coventry North BC Coventry South BC |
Meriden CC
Stratford-on-Avon CC Warwick and Leamington CC Birmingham, Edgbaston BC Birmingham, Ladywood BC Birmingham, Selly Oak BC Birmingham, Small Heath BC Solihull BC Sutton Coldfield BC |
Rugby CC
Birmingham, Hall Green BC Birmingham, Handsworth BC Birmingham, Perry Barr BC Birmingham, Sparkbrook BC Birmingham, Stechford BC Birmingham, Yardley BC Nuneaton BC |
23 |
Westmorland | 1 | Westmorland CC | 1 | |||
Wiltshire | 5 | Chippenham CC
Devizes CC Salisbury CC Westbury CC Swindon BC |
5 | |||
Worcestershire | 6 | Halesowen and Stourbridge BC
Warley East BC Warley West BC |
Oldbury and Halesowen BC
Smethwick BC |
Kidderminster CC
South Worcestershire CC |
Bromsgrove and Redditch CC
(formerly Bromsgrove CC) Worcester BC |
7 |
Yorkshire
(East Riding) |
6 | Kingston upon Hull Central BC | Kingston upon Hull North BC | Kingston upon Hull East BC | Bridlington CC
Kingston upon Hull West BC |
6 |
Yorkshire
(North Riding) |
7 | Cleveland and Whitby CC
Scarborough CC Middlesbrough BC Redcar BC |
Cleveland CC
Scarborough and Whitby CC Middlesbrough East BC Middlesbrough West BC |
Richmond (Yorks) CC
Thirsk and Malton CC Stockton BC (formerly Stockton-on Tees BC) |
8 | |
Yorkshire
(West Riding) |
44 | Bradford East BC | Penistone CC
Bradford North BC Bradford South BC Bradford West BC Leeds East BC Leeds North East BC Leeds North West BC Leeds South BC Leeds South East BC Sheffield, Hallam BC |
Barkston Ash CC
Colne Valley CC Don Valley CC Harrogate CC Normanton CC Ripon CC Rother Valley CC Shipley CC Sowerby CC Batley and Morley CC Brighouse and Spenborough BC Dewsbury BC Doncaster BC Halifax BC Huddersfield East BC Keighley BC Leeds West BC Pontefract and Castleford BC (formerly Pontefract BC) Pudsey BC Rotherham BC Wakefield BC York BC |
43 |
Wales[]
County | Seats
1955-74 |
Created | Abolished | Altered | No change
(or very minor change) |
Seats
1974-83 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anglesey | 1 | Anglesey CC | 1 | |||
Breconshire and
Radnorshire |
1 | Brecon and Radnor CC | 1 | |||
Caernarvonshire | 2 | Caernarvon CC
Conway CC |
2 | |||
Cardiganshire | 1 | Cardigan CC | 1 | |||
Carmarthenshire | 2 | Carmarthen CC
Llanelly CC |
2 | |||
Denbighshire | 2 | Denbigh CC
Wrexham CC |
2 | |||
Flintshire | 2 | East Flint CC | 2 | |||
Glamorganshire | 16 | Cardiff North West BC
Rhondda BC |
Rhondda East BC | Barry CC
Cardiff North BC Cardiff West BC |
Aberavon CC
Caerphilly CC Gower CC Neath CC Pontypridd CC Aberdare BC Merthyr Tydfil CC Swansea East BC Swansea West BC |
16 |
Merionethshire | 1 | Merioneth CC | 1 | |||
Monmouthshire | 6 | Abertillery CC
Ebbw Vale CC Monmouth CC |
6 | |||
Montgomeryshire | 1 | Montgomery CC | 1 | |||
Pembrokeshire | 1 | Pembroke CC | 1 |
Scotland[]
County | Seats
1955-74 |
Created | Abolished | Altered | No change
(or very minor change) |
Seats
1974-83 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aberdeenshire | 4 | East Aberdeenshire CC
West Aberdeenshire CC Aberdeen North BC Aberdeen South BC |
4 | |||
Angus and
Kincardineshire |
4 | North Angus and Mearns CC
South Angus CC Dundee East BC Dundee West BC |
4 | |||
Argyll | 1 | Argyll CC | 1 | |||
Ayrshire and Bute | 5 | Central Ayrshire CC
Kilmarnock CC |
Ayr CC
Bute and North Ayrshire CC South Ayrshire CC |
5 | ||
Banffshire | 1 | Banff CC | 1 | |||
Berwickshire and
East Lothian |
1 | Berwick and East Lothian CC | 1 | |||
Caithness and
Sutherland |
1 | Caithness and Sutherland CC | 1 | |||
Dumfriesshire | 1 | Dumfries CC | 1 | |||
Dunbartonshire | 2 | Central Dunbartonshire CC | East Dunbartonshire CC
West Dunbartonshire CC |
3 | ||
Fife | 4 | Central Fife CC
Dunfermline CC Kirkcaldy CC |
West Fife CC
Dunfermline Burghs BC Kirkcaldy Burghs BC |
East Fife CC | 4 | |
Inverness-shire and
Ross and Cromarty |
3 | Inverness CC
Ross and Cromarty CC Western Isles CC |
3 | |||
Kirkcudbrightshire
and Wigtownshire |
1 | Galloway CC | 1 | |||
Lanarkshire | 22 | East Kilbride CC
Glasgow, Garscadden BC Motherwell and Wishaw BC |
Motherwell CC
Glasgow, Bridgeton BC Glasgow, Gorbals BC Glasgow, Scotstoun BC Glasgow, Woodside BC |
Bothwell CC
Hamilton CC Lanark CC North Lanarkshire CC Rutherglen CC Glasgow, Cathcart BC Glasgow Central BC Glasgow, Craigton BC Glasgow, Govan BC Glasgow, Hillhead BC Glasgow, Maryhill BC Glasgow, Shettleston BC Glasgow, Springburn BC |
Coatbridge and Airdrie BC
Glasgow, Pollok BC |
21 |
Midlothian | 8 | Edinburgh Central BC
Edinburgh, Pentlands BC Edinburgh South BC Edinburgh West BC |
Midlothian CC
Edinburgh East BC |
8 | ||
Moray and
Nairnshire |
1 | Moray and Nairn CC | 1 | |||
Orkney and
Shetland |
1 | Orkney and Shetland CC | 1 | |||
Perthshire and
Kinross-shire |
2 | Kinross and West Perthshire CC
Perth and East Perthshire CC |
2 | |||
Renfrewshire | 4 | Greenock and Port Glasgow BC | Greenock BC | East Renfrewshire CC
West Renfrewshire CC |
Paisley BC | 4 |
Roxburghshire,
Selkirkshire and Peebleshire |
1 | Roxburgh, Selkirk and
Peebles CC |
1 | |||
Stirlingshire and
Clackmannanshire |
3 | Clackmannan and
East Stirlingshire CC West Stirlingshire CC Stirling, Falkirk and Grangemouth BC (formerly Stirling and Falkirk Burghs BC) |
3 | |||
West Lothian | 1 | West Lothian CC | 1 |
Northern Ireland[]
County | Seats
1955-74 |
Created | Abolished | Altered | No change
(or very minor changes) |
Seats
1974-83 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Antrim | 6 | North Antrim CC
South Antrim CC Belfast East BC Belfast North BC Belfast South BC Belfast West BC |
6 | |||
Armagh | 1 | Armagh CC | 1 | |||
Down | 2 | North Down CC | South Down CC | 2 | ||
Fermanagh
and Tyrone |
2 | Fermanagh and South Tyrone CC | 2 | |||
Londonderry | 1 | Londonderry CC | 1 |
References[]
- ^ a b Gay, Oonagh (28 July 2010). "The Rules for the Redistribution of Seats - history and reform" (PDF). SN05628.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Craig, Fred W. S. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1885-1972;. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. p. 166. ISBN 0900178094. OCLC 539011.
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (Wales) Order 1970". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (Northern Ireland) Order 1970". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (Scotland) Order 1970". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
- ^ "Old maps of Britain and Europe from A Vision of Britain Through Time". www.visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
- Periodic Reviews of Westminster constituencies