Uxbridge (UK Parliament constituency)

Uxbridge was a seat returning one Member of Parliament (MP) of the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 1885 to 2010. Its MPs elected were: Conservative Party candidates for 107 years and Labour Party candidates for 18 years. The closing 40 years of the seat's history saw Conservative victory &mdash; in 1997 on a very marginal majority in relative terms.

The seat began with the market towns Uxbridge and Staines shedding the latter and its southern half in 1918; by 1945 more new seats were needed. Its eastern area merited Southall and the loss of Northolt to Ealing West (all new seats) and in 1950 of Ruislip, Northwood and Harefield to become Ruislip-Northwood and of Hayes and Harlington, taking up eastern territory and some of that lost in 1918. In each possible boundary reform the seat was reduced reflecting population expansion of areas outlying its core area of Uxbridge and interwoven Hillingdon, Cowley and Ickenham.

Boundaries
1885–1918: The constituency was created as the westernmost county division of the county of Middlesex. The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 defined the seat as comprising the parishes of Ashford*, Bedfont, Cowley, Cranford, Feltham, Hampton, Hampton Wick, Hanworth, Harefield, Harlington, Harmondsworth, Hayes, Hillingdon East, Hillingdon West, Ickenham, Laleham*, Littleton*, Northolt, Ruislip, Shepperton*, Staines*, Stanwell*, Sunbury*, Teddington, Uxbridge, West Drayton, and Yiewsley. The shape of the seat was irregular and it stretched more than three times the maximum length than its final form and twice its breadth.

The parishes (as various successor urban districts) marked * were absorbed into Surrey and the others absorbed into Greater London, in 1965.

1918–1945: Uxbridge was cut down to a north-western division of Middlesex. Large areas to the south were removed to form Spelthorne (UK Parliament constituency).

The local government areas in the new Uxbridge seat were defined, by the Representation of the People Act 1918, as the urban districts of Hayes, Ruislip-Northwood, Southall-Norwood, Uxbridge, and Yiewsley as well as the Uxbridge Rural District.

1945–1950: included in 1945's interim redistribution of seats with more than 100,000 registered electors. Reduced to the urban districts of Ruislip-Northwood and Uxbridge. This saw contributions to two new seats: Southall, almost its whole; Ealing West, (as to Northolt); a cast-off for five years to Spelthorne of southerly Yiewsley and West Drayton Urban District.

1950–1974: Under 1950 redistribution, Ruislip-Northwood became a new seat in the north and north-east. Uxbridge with immediate neighbours north south and east (together forming the Municipal Borough of Uxbridge in 1955) was re-united with Yiewsley and West Drayton, to form the last incarnation of the county division.

1965 saw the last major Local Government reform. The area covered became part of the London Borough of Hillingdon.

1974–1983: The seat was reclassified as a borough constituency. Its wards were Colham-Cowley, Harefield, Hillingdon East, Hillingdon West, Ickenham, Uxbridge, and Yiewsley.

1983–1997: ward names were changed to: Colham, Cowley, Harefield, Hillingdon East, Hillingdon North, Hillingdon West, Ickenham, Uxbridge North, Uxbridge South, West Drayton, and Yiewsley. Their coverage remained unchanged.

1997–2010: Harefield ward was transferred to Ruislip-Northwood.

Boundary review
Following their review of parliamentary representation in North London, the Boundary Commission for England created a new constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

A number of electoral wards in Hillingdon were moved into the new constituency of Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner

Elections in the 1910s





 * endorsed by Coalition Government