Buckingham (UK Parliament constituency)

Buckingham was a constituency that was last represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Greg Smith, a Conservative.

The seat was abolished for the 2024 general election and replaced by the new constituencies Buckingham and Bletchley and Mid Buckinghamshire.

History
After its creation in 1542, the Parliamentary Borough of Buckingham sent two MPs 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, reduced to one MP from 1868 by the Representation of the People Act 1867. The Borough was abolished altogether by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, and it was transformed into a large county division, formally named the North or Buckingham Division of Buckinghamshire. It was one of three divisions formed from the undivided three-member Parliamentary County of Buckinghamshire, the other two being the Mid or Aylesbury Division and the Southern or Wycombe Division.

In the twentieth century, the constituency was held by the Conservative Party for most of the time. However, Aidan Crawley, a Labour Party MP, served Buckingham from 1945 until 1951, and from 1964 until 1970, its Labour MP was the controversial publisher Robert Maxwell.

Before the periodic review effected in 1983, the new town of Milton Keynes, including its older parts such as Bletchley and Fenny Stratford, was in the constituency. The 1983 review followed the previous national review in 1974 and recognised the large increase in voters in the constituency. The sitting Buckingham MP, William Benyon, stood for the newly created Milton Keynes constituency, where he was elected. The residual seat was won in 1983 by Conservative George Walden. Walden retired in 1997, and John Bercow won the following general elections in 2001, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2017. At the 2005 general election, this constituency had the Conservatives' highest numerical majority, although a higher share of the vote was achieved in Kensington and Chelsea in London, the constituency of Malcolm Rifkind, and Richmond in North Yorkshire, the constituency of William Hague.

In 2009, Bercow was elected as Speaker of the House of Commons following the resignation of Michael Martin. There is an inconsistently followed convention, which is mostly kept by the major parties, not to oppose a Speaker at election. Nonetheless, UKIP's leader, Nigel Farage, stood against Bercow in the 2010 election but finished third behind the Buckinghamshire Campaign for Democracy founder, who previously founded the Pro-Euro Conservative Party.

In both the 2015 and 2017 general elections, Bercow was challenged by only UKIP and the Green Party, with the addition of the independent candidate Scott Raven in the latter election. In September 2019 the Conservative Party announced their intention to stand a candidate against Bercow in the next election, breaking the convention of major parties not opposing a Speaker, seemingly in response to Bercow's opposition to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's handling of Brexit. However, Bercow announced in September 2019 that he would stand down as Speaker on either October 31 or at the next election, whichever occurred first.

1885–1918

 * The Municipal Borough of Buckingham;
 * The Sessional Divisions of Ashendon, Buckingham, Newport, and Stony Stratford; and
 * Part of the Sessional Division of Winslow.

1918–1950

 * The Municipal Borough of Buckingham;
 * The Urban Districts of Bletchley, Linslade, and Newport Pagnell;
 * The Rural Districts of Buckingham, Newport Pagnell, Stratford and Wolverton, Wing, and Winslow; and
 * Parts of the Rural Districts of Aylesbury and Long Crendon.

Gained Linslade and the Rural District of Wing from Aylesbury.

1950–1974

 * The Municipal Borough of Buckingham;
 * The Urban Districts of Bletchley, Linslade, Newport Pagnell, and Wolverton; and
 * The Rural Districts of Buckingham, Newport Pagnell, Wing, and Winslow.

''The Urban District of Wolverton had succeeded the Rural District of Stratford and Wolverton. The parts of the Rural District of Aylesbury and the (former) Rural District of Long Crendon were transferred to Aylesbury.''

1974–1983

 * The Municipal Borough of Buckingham;
 * The Urban Districts of Bletchley, Newport Pagnell, and Wolverton; and
 * The Rural Districts of Buckingham, Newport Pagnell, Wing, and Winslow.

Lost Linslade to South Bedfordshire; the Urban District of Linslade had been merged with that of Leighton Buzzard to form the Urban District of Leighton-Linslade, which was included in the Administrative County of Bedfordshire.

1983–1992

 * The District of Aylesbury Vale wards of Bierton, Brill, Buckingham North, Buckingham South, Cheddington, Eddlesborough, Great Brickhill, Great Horwood, Grendon Underwood, Haddenham, Hogshaw, Long Crendon, Luffield Abbey, Marsh Gibbon, Newton Longville, Oakley, Pitstone, Quainton, Steeple Claydon, Stewkley, Stone, Tingewick, Waddesdon, Wing, Wingrave, and Winslow; and
 * The Borough of Milton Keynes wards of Stony Stratford, Wolverton, and Wolverton Stacey Bushes.

''Rural areas to the north and west of the town of Aylesbury transferred from the constituency thereof. The area comprising the new District of Milton Keynes, except for Stony Stratford and Wolverton, formed the new constituency of Milton Keynes.''

1992–1997
For the 1992 general election, outside the normal cycle of periodic reviews by the Boundaries Commission, the Milton Keynes constituency was split in two, with Stony Stratford and Wolverton being included in the new Borough Constituency of Milton Keynes South West. No further changes.

1997–2010
The District of Aylesbury Vale wards of Aston Clinton, Bierton, Brill, Buckingham North, Buckingham South, Cheddington, Eddlesborough, Great Brickhill, Great Horwood, Grendon Underwood, Haddenham, Hogshaw, Long Crendon, Luffield Abbey, Marsh Gibbon, Newton Longville, Oakley, Pitstone, Quainton, Steeple Claydon, Stewkley, Stone, Tingewick, Waddesdon, Wing, Wingrave, and Winslow.

The Aston Clinton ward was transferred from Aylesbury.

2010–2024

 * The District of Aylesbury Vale wards of Buckingham North, Buckingham South, Eddlesborough, Gatehouse, Great Brickhill & Newton Longville, Great Horwood, Grendon Underwood & Brill, Haddenham & Stone, Long Crendon, Luffield Abbey, Marsh Gibbon, Oakfield & Bierton, Oakley, Pitstone & Cheddington, Quainton, Steeple Claydon, Stewkley, Tingewick, Waddesdon, Watermead, Weedon, Wing, Wingrave, and Winslow; and
 * The District of Wycombe wards of Icknield and The Risboroughs.

The District of Wycombe wards, including Princes Risborough, were transferred from Aylesbury, offset by the return of Aston Clinton.

In April 2020, the Districts of Aylesbury Vale and Wycombe, as well as those of South Bucks and Chiltern were merged into the new unitary authority of Buckinghamshire Council. Accordingly, the current contents of the constituency are:


 * The Buckinghamshire Council wards of Aston Clinton and Bierton (part), Bernwood, Buckingham East, Buckingham West, Great Brickhill, Grendon Underwood, Ivinghoe, Ridgeway East (part), Stone and Waddesdon (part), The Risboroughs, Wing (part), and Winslow.

The constituency takes up a large part of central Buckinghamshire, covering much of the Aylesbury Vale including the town of Buckingham, and some areas south of it, including Chequers, the official country residence of the Prime Minister since 1921. To the north, the remaining part of ceremonial Buckinghamshire forms two Borough of Milton Keynes constituencies (Milton Keynes South and Milton Keynes North).

Proposed abolition
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be abolished for the 2024 general election, with its contents distributed three ways:


 * Buckingham, Winslow, Great Brickhill and surrounding rural areas to form part of the newly created constituency of Buckingham and Bletchley, with the Bletchley area of the City of Milton Keynes
 * Western areas, extending southwards to Haddenham and Princes Risborough, to form part of the new constituency of Mid Buckinghamshire
 * Wing and Ivinghoe wards to be transferred to Aylesbury

Members of Parliament

 * Constituency created (1542)

Elections in the 1880s

 * Caused by Hubbard's elevation to the peerage, becoming Lord Addington.

Elections in the 1850s

 * Caused by Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville's appointment as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury.

Elections in the 1840s

 * Caused by Fremantle's resignation by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds


 * Caused by Chetwode's death.


 * Caused by Fremantle's appointment as Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland


 * Caused by Fremantle's appointment as Secretary at War