Forest of Dean is a constituency in Gloucestershire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Matt Bishop, of the Labour Party.
Boundaries
1885–1918: The Sessional Divisions of Coleford, Lydney, Newent, and Newnham.
1918–1950: The Urban Districts of Awre, Coleford, Newnham, and Westbury-on-Severn, the Rural Districts of East Dean and United Parishes, Lydney, Newent, and West Dean, and part of the Rural District of Gloucester.
1997–2010: The District of Forest of Dean, and the Borough of Tewkesbury wards of Haw Bridge and Highnam.
2010–present: The District of Forest of Dean, and the Borough of Tewkesbury ward of Highnam with Haw Bridge. The constituency boundaries remained unchanged by the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies.
The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies also left the boundaries unchanged.
History
This seat was created for the 1885 general election (replacing the two-seat constituency of West Gloucestershire under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885), was redrawn for the 1918 general election, and abolished for the 1950 general election. It was re-created, with different boundaries, for the 1997 general election, and has thus far not undergone any boundary changes.
Constituency profile
The Forest of Dean constituency covers Gloucestershire west of the river Severn, and lies in the south west of England, near the Welsh border.
The core of the constituency consists of the Royal Forest of Dean itself, which was established by William the Conqueror nearly a thousand years ago and is one of the last surviving Royal Forests in England. The seat has a rich industrial and mining history, evidenced by the market towns of Coleford and Cinderford, and the old port of Lydney from where coal mined in the Forest of Dean Coalfield would start its journey to all parts of the world.
The Wye Valley forms the western border of the Forest and is an area of outstanding natural beauty, whilst the Leadon Valley forms the northern portion of the constituency. The Vale consists of countryside and farmland centred on the Tudor town of Newent, and also produces English wine.
The constituency also includes parishes from Tewkesbury district, including Forthampton, Chaceley Hole, Hasfield, Ashleworth and Highnam.
Members of Parliament
MPs 1885–1950
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Election!!Member!!Party
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1885
| Thomas Blake
| Liberal
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1887
| Godfrey Samuelson
| Liberal
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1892
| Sir Charles Dilke
| Liberal
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1911
| Sir Henry Webb
| Liberal
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1918
| James Wignall
| Labour
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1925
| A. A. Purcell
| Labour
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1929
| David Vaughan
| Labour
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1931
| John Worthington
| National Labour
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1935
| M. Philips Price
| Labour
|-
|
| 1950
|colspan="2"|constituency abolished
|}
MPs since 1997
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Election!!Member
Elections in the 2010s
Elections in the 2000s
Election in the 1990s
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="4" | 1992 notional result
|-
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="130px" colspan="2" | Party
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="50px" | Vote
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30px" | %
|-
|
| Labour ||align=right| 22,176 ||align=right| 42.4
|-
|
| Conservative ||align=right| 21,444 ||align=right| 41.0
|-
|
| Liberal Democrats ||align=right| 8,422 ||align=right| 16.1
|-
|
| Others ||align=right| 204 ||align=right| 0.4
|-
|colspan="4" bgcolor="#EAECF0"|
|-
|colspan="2"|Turnout
|align=right|52,246
|align=right|83.1
|-
|colspan="2"|Electorate
|align=right|62,882
|}
Election in the 1940s
Elections in the 1930s
Elections in the 1920s
thumb|120px|Tennant
Elections in the 1890s
Elections in the 1880s
- Caused by Blake's resignation.
See also
- Parliamentary constituencies in Gloucestershire
Notes
References
External links
- Forest of Dean UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
- Forest of Dean UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
- Forest of Dean UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK