Stroud (UK Parliament constituency)

Stroud is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It is held by Simon Opher of the Labour Party, who won the seat from Siobhan Baillie of the Conservatives in 2024. Formerly a safe Conservative seat, Stroud has been a marginal seat since 1997, changing hands five times in eight elections (in 1997, 2010, 2017, 2019 and 2024).

History
The seat's parliamentary borough forerunner was created by the First Reform Act for the 1832 general election. It elected two MPs using the bloc vote until transformed in the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for that year's general election, the name being transferred to a single-seat county division which covered a wider zone.

This was abolished at the 1950 general election, chiefly replaced with a new seat, Stroud and Thornbury. That was in turn abolished at the 1955 general election, when the present entity was created. Since this recreation the seat has had boundary changes.

Boundaries
1955–1974: The Urban Districts of Nailsworth and Stroud, the Rural Districts of Dursley, Stroud, and Tetbury, and part of the Rural District of Gloucester.

1974–1983: The Urban Districts of Nailsworth and Stroud, the Rural Districts of Dursley, Stroud, and Tetbury, and in the Rural District of Gloucester the parishes of Arlingham, Brookthorpe with Whaddon, Eastington, Elmore, Frampton on Severn, Fretherne with Saul, Frocester, Hardwicke, Harescombe, Haresfield, Longney, Moreton Valence, Quedgeley, Standish, Upton St Leonards, and Whitminster.

1983–1997: The District of Stroud wards of Berkeley, Bisley, Cainscross, Cam, Cambridge, Central, Chalford, Dursley, Eastington, Hinton, King's Stanley, Leonard Stanley, Minchinhampton, Nailsworth, Nibley, Painswick, Parklands, Randwick, Rodborough, Severn, Stonehouse, Thrupp, Trinity, Uley, Uplands, Vale, Whiteshill, Woodfield, and Wotton and Kingswood, and the District of Cotswold wards of Avening, Grumbold's Ash, and Tetbury.

1997–2010: All the wards of the District of Stroud except the Wotton and Kingswood ward.

2010–2024: The District of Stroud wards of Amberley and Woodchester, Berkeley, Bisley, Cainscross, Cam East, Cam West, Central, Chalford, Coaley and Uley, Dursley, Eastington and Standish, Farmhill and Paganhill, Hardwicke, Nailsworth, Over Stroud, Painswick, Rodborough, Severn, Slade, Stonehouse, The Stanleys, Thrupp, Trinity, Uplands, Upton St Leonards, Vale, and Valley.

The seat has 24 of the 27 wards of Stroud district (the rest are in The Cotswolds seat). The north-west limit is the Severn, which meanders from Gloucester as the upper estuary.

2024–present: Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, from the 2024 general election the constituency will be composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):


 * The District of Stroud wards of: Amberley and Woodchester; Berkeley Vale; Cainscross; Cam East; Cam West; Chalford; Coaley & Uley; Dursley; Nailsworth; Randwick, Whiteshill & Ruscombe; Rodborough; Severn; Stonehouse; Stroud Central; Stroud Farmhill & Paganhill; Stroud Slade; Stroud Trinity; Stroud Uplands; Stroud Valley; The Stanleys; Thrupp; Wotton-under-Edge.

''In order to bring the electorate within the permitted range, northern areas, including the communities of Bisley, Hardwicke and Painswick, will be transferred to the newly created constituency of North Cotswolds. Wotton-under-Edge will be added from The Cotswolds (to be abolished).''

Constituency profile
Stroud lies south of Gloucester, between the two larger Gloucestershire constituencies of The Cotswolds and Forest of Dean. Its east climbs the Cotswold Hills but Stroud is both smaller and more industrialised than east and west neighbours.

Most of the seat is rural or semi-rural with a middle belt that has a group of urbanised villages, including Caincross, Cam and Rodborough, with the main towns part of the West Country textile manufacturing heritage. The major market towns include Stroud itself, Dursley in the south, and the smaller towns of Berkeley (which has a smaller electorate than Chalford, but more facilities), Stonehouse and Nailsworth.

In November 2012, unemployment was 2.1%, compared to the national average of 3.8%.

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;
 * Conservative: Walter Perkins

Elections in the 1870s

 * Caused by the previous by-election being declared void on petition.


 * Caused by Dorington's election being declared void on petition, due to "bribery, treating, and undue influence".


 * Caused by the election being declared void on petition on "account of treating, but the treating was not with knowledge of the candidates".


 * Caused by Winterbotham's death.

Elections in the 1860s

 * Caused by Scrope's resignation.

Elections in the 1850s

 * Caused by the appointment of Horsman as Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland


 * Caused by Reynolds-Moreton's elevation to the peerage, becoming 3rd Earl Ducie

Elections in the 1840s

 * J Symons, formerly Editor of the Stroud Free Press, was a candidate but withdrew before the election took place.
 * The Gloucester Journal described him as "A Chartist of Nailsworth by name Chapman who has issued his address couched in flaming terms worthy of the Northern Star (goes on to comment that he was a small publican and tailor".

Elections in the 1830s

 * Resignation of Fox


 * Resignation of Ricardo