Gainsborough is a constituency in Lincolnshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1983 by Sir Edward Leigh of the Conservative Party, who, since the 2024 general election, is the Father of the House.

Constituency profile

Gainsborough is a constituency located in Lincolnshire and is coterminous with the local government district of West Lindsey. It covers a large rural area north of the city of Lincoln. Its largest settlement is the market town of Gainsborough, which has a population of around 21,000. The town has a history of industry, particularly ironworking, and currently falls within the top 10% most-deprived areas in England. Other settlements in the constituency include the small towns of Market Rasen and Caistor and the villages of Saxilby, Nettleham, Welton and Scotter. The rural areas are agricultural and generally wealthier than Gainsborough.

In general, residents of the constituency are older and more religious than the rest of the country. Levels of education, wealth and professional employment are similar to national averages. White people made up 97% of the population at the 2021 census.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1885–1983

North Lincolnshire prior to 1885

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!colspan="2"|Year!!Member!!Party

|-

|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |

| 1885

| Joseph Bennett

| Liberal

|-

|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |

| 1886

| Henry Eyre

| Conservative

|-

|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |

| 1892

| Joseph Bennett

| Liberal

|-

|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |

| 1895

| Emerson Bainbridge

| Liberal

|-

|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |

| 1900

| Seymour Fitzroy Ormsby-Gore

| Conservative

|-

|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |

| 1906

|rowspan="2"| Leslie Renton

| Liberal

|-

|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |

| 1907

| Liberal Unionist

|-

|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |

| 1910

| George Jackson Bentham

| Liberal

|-

|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |

| 1918

|John Molson

| Unionist

|-

|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |

| 1923

|Richard Winfrey

| Liberal

|-

|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |

| 1924

| Harry Crookshank

| Conservative

|-

|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |

| 1956 by-election

| Marcus Kimball

| Conservative

|-

|

| 1983

|colspan="2"| constituency abolished

|}

MPs since 1997

Gainsborough and Horncastle prior to 1997

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!colspan="2"|Year!!Member!!Party

|-

|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |

| 1997

|Sir Edward Leigh

| Conservative

|}

Elections

thumb|centre|upright=2.5|Gainsborough election results 1997–2024

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

thumb|Sir Edward Leigh

Elections in the 1990s

Election results 1885–1979

Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1970s

Election results following boundary changes

For 1983 – 1992, see Gainsborough and Horncastle (UK Parliament constituency)

See also

  • List of parliamentary constituencies in Lincolnshire
  • The town of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire

Notes

References

Sources

  • Gainsborough UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
  • Gainsborough UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
  • Gainsborough UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK