Devizes was a constituency in Wiltshire, England, which included four towns and many villages in the middle and east of the county. The seat was held by members of the Conservative Party continuously for a century from 1924.
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was subject to boundary changes which entailed the loss of the town of Devizes to the newly created constituency of Melksham and Devizes. As a consequence, it was renamed East Wiltshire, and first contested under its new name at the 2024 general election.
History
Until 1885 Devizes was a parliamentary borough, electing two Members of Parliament (MPs) by the bloc vote system until the 1868 election, when the Reform Act 1867 reduced its representation to one MP, elected by the first-past-the-post system of election. The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 abolished the parliamentary borough, and created a new county constituency of the same name, covering a wider area and electing one member. It returned a Conservative MP at every election from 1924, though between the 1950 and 1970 general elections, the seat often had narrow and marginal majorities over the Labour Party.
Its most notable MP was Henry Addington, who held the seat during his term as Prime Minister, as well as when he was Speaker of the House of Commons.
Boundaries
1885–1918: The Boroughs of Devizes and Marlborough, the Sessional Divisions of Devizes, Everley, and Marlborough and Ramsbury, and part of the Sessional Division of Pewsey.
1918–1950: The Boroughs of Devizes and Marlborough, the Rural Districts of Devizes, Marlborough, Pewsey, and Ramsbury, and part of the Rural District of Highworth.
1950–1983: The Boroughs of Devizes and Marlborough, and the Rural Districts of Devizes, Highworth, Marlborough and Ramsbury, and Pewsey.
1983–1997: The District of Kennet, and the Borough of Thamesdown wards of Blunsdon, Chiseldon, Covingham, Highworth, Ridgeway, St Margaret, St Philip, and Wroughton.
1997–2010: The District of Kennet, the District of North Wiltshire wards of Calne Abberd, Calne Central, Calne North, Calne North East, Calne South, and Calne Without, and the District of West Wiltshire wards of Blackmore Forest, Melksham Forest, Melksham Lambourne, Melksham Roundpoint, Melksham Town, and Melksham Woodrow.
2010–2024: The District of Kennet, and the District of Salisbury wards of Bulford and Durrington.
The constituency covered Devizes in Wiltshire and the surrounding former Kennet district, which included the towns of Marlborough, Ludgershall and Tidworth, together with the large villages of Bulford, Durrington and Pewsey.
Members of Parliament
1295–1640
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Parliament!!First member!!Second member
|-
| 1386|| Richard Gobet|| William Salter
|-
| 1388 (Feb)|| Richard Cardmaker|| William Salter
|-
| 1429|| Robert Chandler||
|-
| 1510–1523|| colspan = "2"|No names known
|-
| 1529|| John Poyntz|| Richard Mytton
|-
| 1562–3|| Hugh Powell|| Edward Heynes
!First party!!colspan="2"|Second member
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Montague Gore <!-- 1811 to 5 Oct 1864 -->
| Whig
|rowspan="4" style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|rowspan="4"| Christopher Darby Griffith <!-- 16 Sep 1804 to 19 Mar 1885 -->
|rowspan="4"| Conservative
|-
| 1859
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| John Neilson Gladstone <!-- 18 Jan 1807 to 7 Feb 1863 -->
| Conservative
|-
| Feb 1863
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| William Addington <!-- 25 Mar 1824 to 28 Dec 1913 -->
| Conservative
|-
| Apr 1864
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| Sir Thomas Bateson, Bt. <!-- 4 Jun 1819 to 1 Dec 1890 -->
| Conservative
|-
| 1868
|colspan="6"| Second Reform Act: representation reduced to one member
|}
Since 1868
Devizes has been a safe Conservative seat since 1945. The last Member of Parliament was Danny Kruger who had been first elected at the 2019 general election, succeeding Claire Perry O'Neill, who stood down at that election after nine years of holding the seat.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Election!!Member
Elections in the 2000s
Elections in the 1990s
Elections in the 1980s
Elections in the 1970s
Elections in the 1960s
Elections in the 1950s
Elections in the 1940s
General election 1939–40:
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;
- Conservative: Percy Hurd,
- Liberal: Frances Josephy
Elections in the 1930s
Elections in the 1920s
thumb|120px|Currie
Elections in the 1910s
Election results 1885–1918
Elections in the 1880s
thumb|120px|Long
thumb|120px|Philipps
Elections in the 1900s
thumb|120px|Pocock
General election 1914–15:
Another general election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
- Unionist: Basil Peto
- Liberal: James Currie
Election results 1868–1880
Elections in the 1860s
Seat reduced to one member