Bath (UK Parliament constituency)

Bath is a constituency in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is an ancient constituency which has been constantly present in parliament for a number of centuries.

History

Before the Reform Act of 1832 Bath had received writs to select representatives to parliament. It had been invited before the seventeenth century, but was certainly present on the list of constituencies from the seventeenth century until the Reform Act along with Bridgwater, Ilchester, Milborne Port, Minehead, Taunton and Wells in Somerset. Bath was able to, along with the others, send 2 constituents to parliament. Each constituency chose its own method of choosing the candidates during this time, in Bath the Mayor, Aldermen and Common Councillors chose the candidate in public. This practiced continued until the Ballot Act of 1872 determined that this should be done in private to resist bribery. It was one of the only Somerset constituencies to survive the nineteenth century reforms to this time, along with Taunton. An Act of 1884 extended the selection of the candidate to all men over 21. Bath had been a county borough as established by the Local Government Act of 1888. While Bath constantly remained a constituency, one of the oldest in the country, Taunton lost its status in 1918 and became part of a county constituency.

Related Topics:
Reform Act of 1832 - Bridgwater - Ilchester - Milborne Port - Minehead - Taunton - Wells - Somerset - Mayor - Aldermen - Common Councillor - Ballot Act of 1872 - Bribery - 1884 - County borough - Local Government Act of 1888 - 1918

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Though a Conservative seat for much of the 20th century it was not considered safe. In 1966, Labour had come just 800 votes from taking the seat. The SDP, second for most of the 1980s, came just 1500 votes from winning in 1987 under Malcolm Dean. In 1992, Conservative Chris Patten was ousted by Don Foster. The Liberal Democrats' majority has grown since, though most of this growth was lost in 2005 in part due the Liberal Democrat dominated local authority being blamed by many voters for the large cost over-run and delays with the Thermae Bath Spa project. In 1995, the constituency was expanded from just the city to include five further village wards and 7000 Wansdyke voters.

Related Topics:
Conservative - 1966 - SDP - 1987 - Malcolm Dean - 1992 - 2005 - Local authority - Thermae Bath Spa - 1995

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