The seat covers Chesterfield itself and the villages to the east. 59% of residents voted to leave the EU in 2016. Residents are slightly less healthy and wealthy than the UK average.[3]
Boundaries
The boundaries include the town of Chesterfield, together with areas to the north towards Dronfield and to the east towards Bolsover, comprising the Borough of Chesterfield wards: Brimington North, Brimington South, Brockwell, Dunston, Hasland, Hollingwood and Inkersall, Holmebrook, Linacre, Loundsley Green, Middlecroft and Poolsbrook, Moor, Old Whittington, Rother, St Helen's, St Leonard's, Walton, and West.[4] The other two Borough of Chesterfield wards (Barrow Hill and New Whittington; Lowgates and Woodthorpe) fall within the neighbouring North East Derbyshire seat.[4] Boundary changes before the 2010 general election, when the Mid Derbyshire constituency was created, meant that Chesterfield lost New Whittington to North East Derbyshire but otherwise retained its shape.
Current
Further to a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023,[5][6] the constituency now comprises the following wards of the Borough of Chesterfield:
Brampton East & Boythorpe; Brampton West & Loundsley Green; Brimington North; Brimington South; Brockwell; Dunston; Hasland; Linacre; Rother; Spire; Staveley Central (most); Staveley South; Walton; Whittington (part); Whittington Moor.[7]
Chesterfield has mainly been a Labour seat, with periods when it has been held by other parties; it was gained by the Liberal Democrats in 2001 and held by them until 2010. Chesterfield was safe seat for Labour from 1935 until 2001. Andrew Cavendish, later the Duke of Devonshire, was the National Liberal candidate at the 1945 and 1950 elections.
The seat was held in succession by two prominent Labour politicians for over 35 years. The former Labour cabinet minister Eric Varley held the seat from October 1964 to January 1984, and was succeeded by his ex-government colleague Tony Benn, who held the seat following a by-election in March 1984. He remained the town's MP until his retirement from the House of Commons in 2001, when he famously remarked that his decision was taken to "spend more time on politics". Benn had been a Labour Cabinet Minister between 1966–70 and 1974–1979, while Varley was in the Wilson and Callaghan cabinets in the latter period. Paul Holmes gained the seat for the Liberal Democrats at the 2001 general election, the party's first Commons seat in the East Midlands, but were narrowly defeated at the 2010 by the Labour candidate Toby Perkins, one of only three seats the Labour Party gained at the 2010 general election. In 2015, a collapse in the Liberal Democrat vote nationwide had them fall behind to fourth place, the Conservatives move into second place, and Labour having their largest majority in the seat since 1979.
At the 2015 general election, this seat was the 25th most marginal constituency in Great Britain, the Liberal Democrats requiring a swing from Labour of 0.6% to take the seat (based on the result of the 2010 general election).[19]
Another general election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected; *Labour: George Benson,
^A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
^As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
References
Specific
^"Chesterfield: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
^"The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – East Midlands". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
^"Chesterfield: Seat Details". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021.
^ ab"The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". legislation.gov.uk. IN DERBYSHIRE AND DERBY: The National Archives. p. 29. Archived from the original on 18 August 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
^LGBCE. "Chesterfield | LGBCE". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
^"The Chesterfield (Electoral Changes) Order 2022".
^"New Seat Details - Chesterfield". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
^"The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 1 East Midlands.
^"Chesterfield 1885-". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
^Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 3)
^"Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll" (PDF). Chesterfield Council. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
^Bowen, Huw (14 November 2019). "STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED AND NOTICE OF POLL: Election of a Member of Parliament for Chesterfield Constituency" (PDF). Chesterfield Borough Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
^"Commons Briefing Paper 8749. General Election 2019: results and analysis" (PDF). London: House of Commons Library. 28 January 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
^ ab"Chesterfield parliamentary constituency - Election 2017". BBC News. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
^"Commons Briefing Paper 7979. General Election 2017: results and analysis" (PDF) (Second ed.). House of Commons Library. 29 January 2019 [7 April 2018]. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2019.
^ abcde"Candidates for Chesterfield". Democracy Club. Retrieved 17 May 2017.[permanent dead link]
^"Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^"TUSC parliamentary candidates in May 2015" (PDF). Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition. 4 February 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 February 2015.
^Ransome Mpini; Charlotte Thornton; John Walton; Marcelo Zanni (24 February 2014). "Election 2015: The political battleground". BBC News. Archived from the original on 9 February 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
^"Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^"Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^Stevenson, Graham. "Barker Bas". Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
^Craig, F.W.S., ed. (1969). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949. Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. p. 320. ISBN 0-900178-01-9.
^ abcdefghiCraig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
General
Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
Guardian Unlimited Politics (Election results from 1992 to the present)
http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/ Archived 2009-07-02 at the Wayback Machine (Election results from 1951 to the present)
External links
nomis Constituency Profile for Chesterfield — presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.