| Ipswich | |
| Parliament: | uk |
| Year: | 1295 |
| Type: | Borough |
| Electorate: | 75,117 (2023)[1] |
| Region: | England |
| Elects Howmany: | One |
Ipswich is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since July 2024 by Jack Abbott of the Labour Party.
The constituency was created as Parliamentary Borough in the fourteenth century, returning two MPs to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and from 1801 to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The constituency's parliamentary representation was reduced to a single seat with one MP under the Representation of the People Act 1918. Prior to the 1983 general election, when north-western areas were transferred to the Central Suffolk constituency, the Parliamentary and Municipal/County Boroughs were the same
Before the Reform Act 1832, the franchise in Ipswich was in the hands of the Ipswich Corporation and the Freemen. Ipswich was seen as a partisan seat with active Blue (Tory inclined) and Yellow (Whig inclined) factions dominating elections for both Parliament and the corporation and comparatively rare split tickets of one Whig and one Tory being returned to Parliament, although the identification of the local parties with national parties could at times be very blurred. In the mid eighteenth century the constituency had an electorate of around 700, which was a middle sized borough by the standards of the time - and a reputation of a borough that was likely to offer stiff opposition to government favoured candidates.[2]
Ipswich is a marginal seat, having changed hands ten times since its creation as a single-member constituency in 1918. It has generally been favourable to candidates from the Labour Party, being won by Labour at every postwar general election since the end of World War II; except 1970, February 1974, 1987, 2010, 2015 and 2019. Despite this, it was traditionally won by the party by fairly small margins; however, from 1997 until being gained by the Conservative Party in 2010, Labour won the contests with safer margins, and after the Conservatives increased their majority in 2015, Labour regained the seat in 2017 only to lose it again in 2019 when the Conservative candidate got more than half the votes cast when there were more than two candidates for the first time since 1918.
Ipswich was the only seat won by a Labour candidate at the 2017 general election from a total of seven seats in Suffolk, the others being retained by Conservatives and more rural in comparison to Ipswich. Martin's 2017 election victory was one of thirty net gains made by the Labour Party.
The constituency includes Ipswich town centre and docks, with its mix of historic buildings and modern developments. Ipswich is a bustling town that serves as a centre for the rest of Suffolk which is predominantly rural and remote, and has the only serious concentration of Labour voters in the county, other than in Lowestoft.
Portman Road Football Ground to the West of the centre, and the new university to the East are both in the seat, as is the vast Chantry council estate to the South.
Ipswich's Conservative-leaning suburbs, such as Castle Hill, Westerfield and Kesgrave, extend beyond the constituency's boundaries – the northernmost wards are in the Suffolk Central constituency, and several strong Conservative areas are just outside the borough's tightly drawn limits, making Ipswich a target seat for Labour.
The Broomhill, Castle Hill, White House and Whitton wards were transferred to the new county constituency of Central Suffolk (Central Suffolk and North Ipswich from 1997).
Following a revision of the Borough of Ipswich wards, the constituency gained a small area from Central Suffolk and North Ipswich.
Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency was unchanged.[7]
The present-day constituency consists of most of the Borough of Ipswich, with the exception of the Castle Hill, Whitehouse and Whitton wards.
Freemen belonging to the Ipswich Corporation were entitled to elect two burgesses to the Parliament of England from the fourteenth century which continued uninterrupted after the parliament united with Scotland and Ireland, only becoming a single member constituency in 1918.
| Election | 1st member | 1st party | 2nd member | 2nd party | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 1660 | Francis Bacon < | -- 30 Sep 1600 to c Sep 1663 --> | < | -- party --> | ||||
| Oct 1660 | ||||||||
| Apr 1661 | William Blois < | -- 7 Jul 1600 to 13 Nov 1673 --> | < | -- party --> | ||||
| Nov 1670 | John Wright < | -- 9 Apr 1615 to 29 Nov 1683 --> | < | -- party --> | ||||
| Jan 1674 | ||||||||
| Dec 1680 | Sir John Barker, Bt < | -- c 1655 to 14 Aug 1696 --> | < | -- party --> Tory | ||||
| Mar 1685 | Tory | |||||||
| Jan 1689 | Whig | |||||||
| May 1689 | Tory | |||||||
| Oct 1695 | Charles Whitaker < | -- c 1642 to 19 Jun 1715 --> | Whig | |||||
| Nov 1696 | Richard Phillips < | -- c 1640 to 8 Jan 1720 --> | < | -- party --> Tory | ||||
| Jul 1698 | Whig | |||||||
| Jan 1701 | Whig | Tory | ||||||
| Dec 1701 | Charles Whitaker < | -- c 1642 to 19 Jun 1715 --> | Whig | Tory | ||||
| Jul 1702 | John Bence < | -- 27 Sep 1670 to 18 Oct 1718 --> | Tory | |||||
| May 1705 | Tory | |||||||
| Nov 1707 | William Churchill < | -- 11 Aug 1661 to Feb 1737 --> | < | -- party --> Whig | ||||
| May 1708 | Tory | |||||||
| Sep 1713 | Whig | |||||||
| Apr 1714 | Tory | Tory | ||||||
| Jan 1715 | William Thompson < | -- c 1676 to 27 Oct 1739 --> | Whig | Whig | ||||
| Dec 1717 | Francis Negus < | -- 3 May 1670 to 9 Sep 1732 --> | Whig | |||||
| Jan 1730 | Philip Broke < | -- 1702 to 21 Sep 1762 --> | Tory | |||||
| Jan 1733 | William Wollaston < | -- 26 Apr 1693 to 20 Jun 1757 --> | Whig | |||||
| Apr 1734 | Samuel Kent < | -- c 1683 to 8 Oct 1759 --> | < | -- party --> Whig | ||||
| May 1741 | Tory[9] | |||||||
| Dec 1757 | Thomas Staunton < | -- c 1706 to 1 Oct 1784 --> | < | -- party -->Whig | ||||
| Nov 1759 | Whig | |||||||
| Mar 1761 | Whig | |||||||
| Mar 1768 | Whig | Whig | ||||||
| Apr 1784 | William Middleton < | -- 8 Nov 1748 to 26 Dec 1829 --> | Tory | John Cator declared void | Whig | |||
| Jun 1784 | Charles Crickitt < | -- 12 Jan 1736 to 16 Jan 1803 --> | Tory | |||||
| Jun 1790 | Whig | |||||||
| May 1796 | Sir Andrew Hamond < | -- 28 Dec 1738 to 12 Oct 1828 --> | Tory | |||||
| Feb 1803 | ||||||||
| Oct 1806 | Whig | Whig | ||||||
| May 1807 | Tory | Robert Alexander Crickitt < | -- 1784 to 3 Jan 1832 --> | Tory | ||||
| Oct 1812 | Tory | |||||||
| Jul 1818 | Tory | |||||||
| Apr 1820 | William Haldimand < | -- 9 Sep 1784 to 20 Sep 1862 --> | Whig | Whig[10] [11] [12] | ||||
| Jun 1826 | Whig | |||||||
| Feb 1827 | Tory | Tory | ||||||
| May 1831 | Whig | Whig | ||||||
| Election | 1st member | 1st party | 2nd member | 2nd party | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1832 | Whig[13] | Whig[14] | ||||||
| 1835 | Conservative | Conservative | ||||||
| June 1835 | Whig | Whig | ||||||
| 1837 | Thomas Milner Gibson < | -- 3 Sep 1806 to 25 Feb 1884 --> | Conservative | Whig[15] [16] [17] | ||||
| Feb. 1838 | Fitzroy Kelly < | -- 1 Oct 1796 to 18 Sep 1880 --> | Conservative | |||||
| July 1839 | Conservative | |||||||
| 1841 | Whig[18] | Whig | ||||||
| June 1842 | Conservative | Conservative | ||||||
| August 1842 | Conservative | Conservative | ||||||
| 1847 | John Cobbold < | -- 24 Aug 1797 to 6 Oct 1882 --> | Conservative | Sir Hugh Adair, Bt < | -- 26 Dec 1815 to 2 Mar 1902 --> | Whig[19] [20] [21] | ||
| 1859 | Liberal | |||||||
| 1868 | Liberal | |||||||
| 1874 | Conservative | James Redfoord Bulwer < | -- 22 May 1820 to 4 Mar 1899 --> | Conservative | ||||
| 1876 | Thomas Cobbold < | -- 22 Jul 1833 to 21 Nov 1883 --> | Conservative | |||||
| 1880 | Jesse Collings < | -- 2 Dec 1831 to 20 Nov 1920 --> | Liberal | |||||
| December 1883 | Liberal | |||||||
| April 1886 | Sir Charles Dalrymple, Bt < | -- 15 Oct 1839 to 20 Jun 1916 --> | Conservative | Conservative | ||||
| 1895 | Sir Daniel Ford Goddard < | -- 17 Jan 1850 to 6 May 1922 --> | Liberal | |||||
| 1906 | Liberal | |||||||
| January 1910 | Liberal | |||||||
| May 1914 | John Ganzoni | Conservative | ||||||
During the period between 1835 and 1842 there were five elections and all were found to have been corrupt. After the 1835 election, Dundas and Kelly were unseated on the charge of bribery. After the 1837 election, Tufnell was unseated on a scrutiny. Gibson, who was elected in 1838, resigned. Cochrane was elected in 1839, after which a petition was presented complaining of gross bribery – it was not progressed because a general election was expected. After the 1841 election, Wason and Rennie were unseated, being declared guilty of bribery by their agents.[22]
| Election | Member | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 | John Ganzoni | Coalition Conservative | ||
| 1922 | Conservative | |||
| 1923 | Robert Jackson | Labour | ||
| 1924 | Sir John Ganzoni, Bt | Conservative | ||
| 1938 by-election | Richard Stokes | Labour | ||
| 1957 by-election | Dingle Foot | Labour | ||
| 1970 | Ernle Money | Conservative | ||
| October 1974 | Kenneth Weetch | Labour | ||
| 1987 | Michael Irvine | Conservative | ||
| 1992 | Jamie Cann | Labour | ||
| 2001 by-election | Chris Mole | Labour | ||
| 2010 | Ben Gummer | Conservative | ||
| 2017 | Sandy Martin | Labour | ||
| 2019 | Tom Hunt | Conservative | ||
| 2024 | Jack Abbott | Labour | ||
Constituency boundaries stayed the same as previously in the 2023 boundary review.
Following the death of Jamie Cann on 15 October 2001, a by-election was held on 22 November 2001.
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;