The electorate has elected Conservative Party candidates at the general elections and two by-elections since a Liberal victory in 1880. The closest contest since that year was in 1997 when the Labour Party candidate fell 368 votes, less than 1%, short of winning the seat in 1997 during Tony Blair's first landslide result.
Boundaries and boundary changes
1918–1950
The Borough of Bury St Edmunds;
The Urban District of Newmarket;
The Rural Districts of Brandon, Mildenhall, and Thedwastre; and
Parts of the Rural Districts of Moulton and Thingoe.[6]
1950–1983
The Borough of Bury St Edmunds:
The Urban Districts of Haverhill and Newmarket; and
The Rural Districts of Clare, Mildenhall, Thedwastre, and Thingoe.[6]
Extended to the south-west, gaining western and northern parts of the abolished Sudbury Division of West Suffolk, including Haverhill.
1983–1997
The Borough of St Edmundsbury wards of Abbeygate, Barningham, Barrow, Chevington, Eastgate, Fornham, Great Barton, Honington, Horringer, Ixworth, Northgate, Pakenham, Risby, Risbygate, Rougham, St Olave's, Sextons, Southgate, Stanton, Westgate, and Whelnetham; and
The District of Forest Heath.[7]
Southern areas, including Haverhill, were transferred to the new constituency of South Suffolk. The easternmost area, equivalent to the former Rural District of Thedwastre, was transferred to the new constituency of Central Suffolk.
1997–2010
The Borough of St Edmundsbury wards of Abbeygate, Eastgate, Fornham, Great Barton, Horringer Court, Northgate, Pakenham, Risbygate, Rougham, St Olave's, Sextons, Southgate, Westgate, and Whelnetham; and
The District of Mid Suffolk wards of Badwell Ash, Elmswell, Gislingham, Haughley and Wetherden, Needham Market, Norton, Onehouse, Rattlesden, Rickinghall, Ringshall, Stowmarket Central, Stowmarket North, Stowmarket South, Stowupland, Thurston, Walsham-le-Willows, and Woolpit.[8]
Major reconfiguration, with the majority of the constituency, including Newmarket, forming the basis of the new County Constituency of West Suffolk. Extended eastwards, gaining western half of Central Suffolk, including Stowmarket.
2010–2024
Map of boundaries 2010–2024
The Borough of St Edmundsbury wards of Abbeygate, Eastgate, Fornham, Great Barton, Horringer and Whelnetham, Minden, Moreton Hall, Northgate, Pakenham, Risbygate, Rougham, St Olave's, Southgate, and Westgate; and
The District of Mid Suffolk wards of Bacton and Old Newton, Badwell Ash, Elmswell and Norton, Gislingham, Haughley and Wetherden, Needham Market, Onehouse, Rattlesden, Rickinghall and Walsham, Ringshall, Stowmarket Central, Stowmarket North, Stowmarket South, Stowupland, Thurston and Hessett, and Woolpit.[9]
Marginal changes due to revision of local authority wards.
Note:Independent politician St Edmundsbury Borough Councillor[30] and Bury St Edmunds Town Councillor[31] Paul Hopfensperger[32] submitted a valid nomination but this was subsequently withdrawn. Because of the timing of the withdrawal, his name appears in the Statement of Persons Nominated[33] for this election.
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;
^A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer).
^As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
^"Bury St Edmunds: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
^"Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
^ abS., Craig, Fred W. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1885–1972;. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0900178094. OCLC 539011.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^"The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
^"The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
^"The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
^"General Index to the Twenty-three Volumes of The Parliamentary Or Constitutional History of England". Printed; and sold by Thomas Osborne, ... and William Sandby. 12 October 2017 – via Google Books.
^Hervey, Arthur Charles (1858). A Paper Read Before the Archaeological Institute of Suffolk, at Their Meeting Held at Ickworth, October 2nd, 1856. S. Tymms. p. 16 – via Internet Archive.
^ abcLeigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 6)
^A double return was made, Thomas Chaplin and John Clarke were subsequently declared not duly elected.
^At the general election in May 1705, Davers was also returned for Suffolk, for which he chose to sit.
^Hon. Augustus John Hervey was also declared elected in April 1754, he and his uncle Felton having an equal number of votes. This election was declared void. At the subsequent by-election held on 9 December 1754, Felton Hervey was returned.
^ abcdefghijklmnopStooks Smith, Henry (1845). The Parliaments of England, from 1st George I., to the Present Time. Vol II: Oxfordshire to Wales Inclusive. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. pp. 53–55. Retrieved 29 October 2018 – via Google Books.
^Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1838. p. 92. Retrieved 29 October 2018 – via Google Books.
^Ollivier, John (1841). "Alphabetical List of the House of Commons". Ollivier's parliamentary and political director. p. 38. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
^"Political". Norfolk News. 10 July 1847. p. 3. Retrieved 21 April 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"Reference: D/B 5 Pb1/1". Essex Record Office. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
^"Neighbouring Counties". Norfolk News. 7 August 1847. p. 3. Retrieved 21 April 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^Gardeners Chronicle & New Horticulturist, Volume 7. Haymarket Publishing. 1847. p. 233. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
^"Bury St Edmunds". Beacon and Christian Times. 13 April 1859. p. 4. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
^Gash, Norman (2013). Politics in the Age of Peel: A Study in the Technique of Parliamentary Representation, 1830–1850. Faber & Faber. p. 386. ISBN 9780571302901. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
^"207 Lord Alfred Hervey". Clarke Chronicler's Politicians. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
^https://archive.org/stream/publicgeneralac01walegoog#page/n131/mode/2up Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Second Schedule; Statutes of the Realm, Eyre & Spottiswoode (1884, London) at p. 123
^"Bury St Edmunds Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
^Geater, Paul (30 May 2017). "Election 2017: Find out who is standing in the general election in Suffolk and north Essex". East Anglian Times.
^"Councillor details – St Edmundsbury Borough Councillor Paul Hopfensperger". 12 October 2017.
^"Councillor details – Bury St Edmunds Town Councillor Paul Hopfensperger". 12 October 2017.
^"Cllr Paul Hopfensperger | St Olaves Ward | Bury St Edmunds |". Cllr Paul Hopfensperger.
^"Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). West Suffolk Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2017.
^"Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^"Bury St Edmunds". BBC News. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
^"Jo Churchill selected as Bury St Edmunds candidate for next election". ITN. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
^"Labour's Candidates | the Labour Party". Archived from the original on 5 August 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
^"Director selected as Tory candidate". BBC. 4 November 2014.
^"UK > England > Eastern > Bury St Edmunds". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
^"UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
^ abF W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
^Cooper, Andrew Fenton (1989). British agricultural policy, 1912–36 : a study in Conservative politics. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press. p. 121. ISBN 0-7190-2886-8. OCLC 18557089.
^ abcdBritish parliamentary election results 1918–1949, Craig, F. W. S.
^ abDebrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1916
^ abc"The Bury St Edmunds Election". Grantham Journal. 31 August 1907. Retrieved 5 October 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ abcCraig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885–1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
^ abcdefgThe Liberal Year Book, 1907
^ abDebrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1901
^Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1886
^ abcdefghijklmnopCraig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
^"Bury St. Edmunds". Evening Mail. 14 July 1865. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 31 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"Hertford Mercury and Reformer". 5 June 1841. p. 2. Retrieved 29 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ abcEscott, Margaret (2009). "Bury St. Edmunds". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
Sources
Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
External links
nomis Constituency Profile for Bury St Edmunds – presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.
Bury St Edmunds UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
Bury St Edmunds UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK