Harrogate and Knaresborough (UK Parliament constituency)

Harrogate and Knaresborough is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Boundaries

The constituency includes the towns of Harrogate and Knaresborough. An affluent seat which was once considered a safe Conservative area, Harrogate has moved the way of other famous spa towns in England (Bath, Cheltenham) by now returning Liberal Democrat MPs.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in York and North Yorkshire, the Boundary Commission for England has recommended alterations to the existing Harrogate and Knaresborough seat.

The newly drawn constituency is formed from the following electoral wards:

• Bilton, Boroughbridge, Claro, Granby, Harlow Moor, High Harrogate, Hookstone, Killinghall, Knaresborough East, Knaresborough King James, Knaresborough Scriven Park, Low Harrogate, New Park, Pannal, Rosett, Saltergate, Starbeck, Stray and Woodfield.

History

The constituency was created in 1950 as 'Harrogate'. In 1997 the name was changed to 'Harrogate and Knaresborough'. Prior to 1950, the two eponymous towns had been contained in the Ripon constituency.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	1950	Christopher York	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	1954 by-election	James Ramsden	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Feb 1974	Robert Banks	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color" |	1997	Phil Willis	Liberal Democrat

Election results

As per the Electoral Commission [1] the candidate John Allmann was coded as an "Independent" candidate because his chosen party label - Alliance For Change Human Rights First - did not match a registered political party name.

General Election 2005: Harrogate and Knaresborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Phil Willis	24,113	56.3	+0.7
	Conservative	Maggie Punyer	13,684	31.9	−2.7
	Labour	Lorraine Ferris	3,627	8.5	+1.1
	UKIP	Chris Royston	845	2.0	+0.2
	BNP	Colin Banner	466	1.1	N/A
	Alliance for Change (UK)	John Allman	123	0.3	N/A
Majority			10,429	24.3
Turnout			42,858	65.3	+0.7
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

General Election 2001: Harrogate and Knaresborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Phil Willis	23,445	55.6	+4.0
	Conservative	Andrew Jones	14,600	34.6	−3.8
	Labour	Alastair MacDonald	3,101	7.4	−1.4
	UKIP	Bill Brown	761	1.8	N/A
	Prolife Alliance	John Cornforth	272	0.6	N/A
Majority			8,845	21.0
Turnout			42,179	64.6	−8.2
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

General Election 1997: Harrogate and Knaresborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Phil Willis	24,558	51.5	N/A
	Conservative	Norman Lamont	18,322	38.5	N/A
	Labour	Barbara Boyce	4,151	8.7	N/A
	Loyal Conservative	J. Blackburn	614	1.3	N/A
Majority			6,236	13.0	N/A
Turnout			47,645	73.1	N/A
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in North Yorkshire