Banbury (UK Parliament constituency)

Banbury is a constituency in Oxfordshire created in 1553 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.

In terms of electorate, Banbury was the 16th largest constituency in the United Kingdom at the time of the 2015 general election.

Constituency profile
The constituency has relatively high economic dependence on agriculture, as well as modern industry (particularly motorsport), research and development, public services and, to a lesser extent, defence. It contains two large market towns, Banbury and Bicester, where the majority of the electorate live. It is a partly rural seat, with the northwest of the constituency on the edge of the Cotswolds. The area has experienced significant urban growth and is popular with commuters who favour its fast transport links to Birmingham, Oxford and London by rail, or the M40.

More than one in 10 of the population is employed in higher managerial, administrative and professional work, according to ONS 2011 Census figures for England and Wales. In 2015 the seat was home to 4.3% of EU residents and unemployment was 2.9%. There are some Labour voting wards in Banbury itself, but the remainder of the constituency including Bicester and the smaller rural towns and villages are safely Conservative. However, the 2017 election saw a particularly strong swing for Labour like many towns in southern England. Nonetheless, the Conservative incumbent Victoria Prentis managed to secure a majority of over 12,000, increasing this to nearly 17,000 in 2019.

History
The constituency was created as a parliamentary borough, consisting of the town of Banbury, on 26 January 1554 through the efforts of Henry Stafford and Thomas Denton. It was one of the few in England in the unreformed House of Commons to elect only one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and finally to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 onwards. As such, it used the first past the post system.

It was the seat represented by Lord North, the prime minister during the American War of Independence.

Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the Parliamentary Borough was abolished and was reconstituted as the Northern or Banbury Division of Oxfordshire when the three-member Parliamentary County of Oxfordshire was divided into the three single-member seats: Banbury, Woodstock and Henley. It comprised the north-western part of Oxfordshire, including Chipping Norton as well as the abolished borough. Banbury has remained as such since then with varying boundaries (see below).

Political history
Banbury has post-World War I unbroken Conservative representation and significant local support for the party. Its MPs since 1922 have all served long terms in office and each since 1922 has been knighted. The seat saw a very close election in 1923. The largest vote since 1922 has at each election been for a Conservative. In 2010 Tony Baldry (Conservative) almost doubled his majority. The 2015 result made the seat the 125th safest of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority.
 * Majority views

In June 2016, an estimated 50.35% of local adults voting in the EU membership referendum chose to leave the European Union instead of to remain. This was matched in two January 2018 votes in Parliament by its MP.

Four of the six parties' candidates achieved more than the deposit-retaining threshold of 5% of the vote in 2015. In 2001, the Labour Party candidate Lesley Silbey won the largest opposing-party share of the vote since 1974 — 35% of the vote. Prior to 1974, the highest percentage of votes for the second-placed candidate was in 1945 — 48% of the vote.
 * Other parties

1885–1918

 * The Borough of Banbury;and
 * The Sessional Divisions of Banbury and Bloxham, Chadlington, and Wootton North.

1918–1950

 * The Boroughs of Banbury, Chipping Norton, and Woodstock;
 * The Urban District of Witney; and
 * The Rural Districts of Banbury, Chipping Norton, Witney, and Woodstock.

The constituency was expanded to include the western half of the abolished Woodstock Division, including Witney and Woodstock.

1950–1974

 * The Boroughs of Banbury, Chipping Norton, and Woodstock;
 * The Urban District of Witney;
 * The Rural Districts of Banbury, Chipping Norton, and Witney; and
 * The Rural District of Ploughley parishes of Begbroke, Gosford and Water Eaton, Hampton Gay and Poyle, Kidlington, Shipton on Cherwell, Thrupp, and Yarnton.

''Change to contents due to reorganisation of rural districts. Marginal loss to the Oxford constituency as a result of the expansion of the County Borough of Oxford.''

1974–1983

 * The Boroughs of Banbury, Chipping Norton, and Woodstock;
 * The Urban District of Bicester;
 * The Rural Districts of Banbury and Chipping Norton; and
 * The Rural District of Ploughley parishes of Ardley, Bucknell, Caversfield, Chesterton, Cottisford, Finmere, Fringford, Fritwell, Godington, Hardwick with Tusmore, Hethe, Kirtlington, Launton, Lower Heyford, Middleton Stoney, Mixbury, Newton Purcell with Shelswell, Somerton, Souldern, Stoke Lyne, Stratton Audley, and Upper Heyford.

''The Urban and Rural Districts of Witney and the parts of the Rural District of Ploughley, including Kidlington, formed the basis of the new constituency of Mid-Oxon. Bicester and northern parts of the Rural District of Ploughley transferred from Henley.''

1983–1997

 * The District of Cherwell wards of Adderbury, Ambrosden, Ardley, Bicester East, Bicester South, Bicester West, Bloxham, Bodicote, Calthorpe, Chesterton, Cropredy, Deddington, Easington, Fringford, Grimsbury, Hardwick, Heyford, Hook Norton, Hornton, Kirtlington, Launton, Neithrop, Otmoor, Ruscote, Sibford, Steeple Aston, and Wroxton; and
 * The District of West Oxfordshire wards of Bartons and Tackley, and Wootton.

''Gained a small part of the abolished constituency of Mid-Oxon, to the south of Bicester. The bulk of the area comprising the former Urban and Rural Districts of Chipping Norton transferred to the new constituency of Witney.''

1997–2010

 * The District of Cherwell wards of Adderbury, Ambrosden, Ardley, Bicester East, Bicester South, Bicester West, Bloxham, Bodicote, Calthorpe, Chesterton, Cropredy, Deddington, Easington, Fringford, Grimsbury, Hardwick, Heyford, Hook Norton, Hornton, Kirtlington, Launton, Neithrop, Otmoor, Ruscote, Sibford, Steeple Aston, and Wroxton.

Minor loss to Witney, comprising the two wards in the District of West Oxfordshire.

2010–2024

 * The District of Cherwell wards of Adderbury, Ambrosden and Chesterton, Banbury Calthorpe, Banbury Easington, Banbury Grimsbury and Castle, Banbury Hardwick, Banbury Neithrop, Banbury Ruscote, Bicester East, Bicester North, Bicester South, Bicester Town, Bicester West, Bloxham and Bodicote, Caversfield, Cropredy, Deddington, Fringford, Hook Norton, Launton, Sibford, The Astons and Heyfords, and Wroxton.

Two wards in the District of Cherwell to the south of Bicester (Kirtlington and Otmoor) transferred to Henley.

The 2010 constituency covered the north-east of Oxfordshire, around Banbury and Bicester and largely corresponded to the Cherwell local government district, with the principal exception of the large village of Kidlington on the outskirts of Oxford which lies in the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency, and some smaller villages to the north-east of Oxford that lie in the Henley constituency.

2024–present
Following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, first contested at the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the constituency is composed of the following electoral wards (as they existed on 1 December 2020):


 * The District of Cherwell wards of: Adderbury, Bloxham & Bodicote; Banbury, Calthorpe & Easington; Banbury Cross & Neithrop; Banbury Grimsbury & Hightown; Banbury Hardwick; Banbury Ruscote; Cropredy, Sibfords & Wroxton; Deddington.
 * The District of West Oxfordshire wards of: Chadlington and Churchill; Charlbury and Finstock; Chipping Norton; Kingham, Rollright and Enstone; The Bartons.

Major changes, with the town of Bicester and surrounding areas, comprising 38.5% of the current electorate '', being included in the newly created constituency of Bicester and Woodstock. This was partly offset by the transfer from Witney of north-western parts of the District of West Oxfordshire, including Chipping Norton and Charlbury.''

MPs 1554–1640
''Constituency created 1554. (Even before the Reform Act of 1832, Banbury only returned one member to Parliament)''

Election in the 1940s
General Election 1939–40: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;
 * Independent Progressive: Patrick Early

Election in the 1920s




Election in the 1910s
General Election 1914–15: 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;
 * Liberal: Eustace Fiennes
 * Conservative:



Elections in the 1850s

 * Caused by Tancred's resignation.

Neighbouring constituencies
Banbury is bordered to the northeast by Northamptonshire South, to the east by Buckingham, to the south by Witney and Henley constituencies, to the east by Stratford-upon-Avon, and to the northeast by Kenilworth and Southam.