Kingswood (constituency)

Kingswood was a borough constituency for the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) at least once every five years by the first-past-the-post electoral system.

The seat was abolished for the 2024 general election.

History

The constituency existed from the February 1974 general election. It had been held by the Conservative and Labour parties. Before the 2010 election, when the seat was held by Labour, it was 135th on the Conservative Party target seats list and in the 2015 election it was 41st on the Labour Party's target seats.

On 26 November 2022, the previous MP, Conservative Chris Skidmore, announced that he would not seek re-election at the next election. On 5 January 2024, Skidmore announced he would resign from parliament "as soon as possible" in protest at the introduction of the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill. On 8 January 2024, he formally resigned as an MP which triggered a by-election. Labour's Damien Egan won the by-election, and would sit for it for the last four months of the constituency's existence before its abolition at the 2024 general election.

Boundaries

1974–1983: The Urban Districts of Kingswood and Mangotsfield, alongside the Rural District of Warmley.

1983–1997: The District of Kingswood wards of Chase, Chiphouse, Downend, Forest, Hanham, Mangotsfield, New Cheltenham, Soundwell, Staple Hill, Woodstock, alongside the City of Bristol wards of Frome Vale, Hillfields, St George East, St George West.

1997–2010: The Borough of Kingswood wards of Badminton, Blackhorse, Bromley Heath, Chase, Chiphouse, Downend, Forest, Hanham, Mangotsfield, New Cheltenham, Oldland Barrs Court, Oldland Cadbury Heath, Oldland Longwell Green, Siston, Soundwell, Springfield, Staple Hill, Woodstock, alongside the City of Bristol wards of Frome Vale and Hillfields.

2010–2019: The District of South Gloucestershire wards of Bitton, Hanham, Kings Chase, Longwell Green, Oldland Common, Parkwall, Rodway, Siston, Woodstock.

2019 to 2024: The District of South Gloucestershire wards of Bitton and Oldland Common, Hanham, Kingswood, New Cheltenham, Woodstock, Longwell Green, Parkwall and Warmley.

The constituency covered part of the South Gloucestershire unitary authority, consisting of the eastern suburbs of Bristol and commuter villages outside of the city boundary, including the town of Kingswood. It largely corresponded to the former Borough of Kingswood.

The Boundary Commission's fifth periodic review of Westminster constituencies prompted the boundary changes with effect from the 2010 general election. In particular, all wards in the constituency were now from the South Gloucestershire authority. Prior to 2010, the Frome Vale and Hillfields wards of the City of Bristol were part of the Kingswood constituency, but were transferred to Bristol East. Within South Gloucestershire, the Kingswood seat gained Hanham, Bitton and Oldland Common from the former Wansdyke constituency, but lost Downend and Staple Hill to the new Filton and Bradley Stoke seat.

Abolition

Further to the completion of the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished for the 2024 general election, with its contents distributed three ways:!!Party