| Shrewsbury | |
| Parliament: | uk |
| Year: | 2024 |
| Type: | County |
| Elects Howmany: | One |
| Year2: | 1918 |
| Abolished2: | 1983 |
| Type2: | County |
| Elects Howmany2: | One |
| Next2: | Shrewsbury and Atcham |
| Year3: | 1295 |
| Abolished3: | 1918 |
| Type3: | Borough |
| Elects Howmany3: | 1295–1885: Two 1885–1918: One |
| Electorate: | 75,139 (2023) [1] |
| Region: | England |
| Party: | Labour |
Shrewsbury is a parliamentary constituency in England, centred on the town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire. It has been represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2024 by Julia Buckley.
A constituency for the town has existed since the 13th century. It was nominally abolished for the 1983 general election, being replaced by Shrewsbury and Atcham. The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies re‑established a constituency with the name of "Shrewsbury", with this taking effect from the 2024 general election.[2]
2024–present: The re-established constituency is composed of the following:
It comprises the wards of its predecessor Shrewsbury and Atcham, with the exception of the Burnell and Severn Valley wards which were transferred to the re-established constituency of South Shropshire.
1918–1950: The Borough of Shrewsbury, and the Rural Districts of Atcham and Chirbury.
1950–1974: The Borough of Shrewsbury, and the Rural District of Atcham.
1974–1983: As prior but with redrawn boundaries.
Shrewsbury was founded in 1295 as parliamentary borough, returning two members to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885.
Famous MPs have included Sir Philip Sidney in 1581, Robert Clive (known as 'Clive of India') from 1761 to his death in 1774, and Benjamin Disraeli (later Prime Minister) in 1841–47. By the mid eighteenth century Shrewsbury was known as an independent constituency. The right of election was vested in resident burgesses paying scot and lot. By 1722 the number of voters exceeded 1300 but Parliament sharply reduced the number by excluding parts of Shrewsbury from the parliamentary borough.[4]
Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, its representation was reduced to one Member of Parliament (MP). The parliamentary borough was abolished with effect from the 1918 general election, and the name transferred to a new county constituency. The constituency was renamed Shrewsbury and Atcham, but continued with the exact same boundaries as had been in effect from 1974-1983.
The seat was re-established from wards that had comprised Shrewsbury and Atcham as part of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. This took effect from the 2024 United Kingdom general election. The constituency was won by Julia Buckley, who became the first Labour Party MP to represent the constituency under its name of Shrewsbury, as well as the first woman to represent the seat under either of its names.[5] [6]
Constituency re-established from Shrewsbury and Atcham in 2024
Constituency created in 1295
| Parliament | First member | Second member | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1386 | Robert Grafton | Hugh Wigan[7] | |
| 1388 (Feb) | Hugh Wigan | Robert Thornes | |
| 1388 (Sep) | Robert Grafton | Hugh Wigan | |
| 1390 (Jan) | Robert Grafton | Thomas Pride | |
| 1390 (Nov) | |||
| 1391 | Hugh Wigan | Thomas Pride | |
| 1393 | Thomas Pride | ||
| 1394 | Thomas Pride | Hugh Wigan | |
| 1395 | Richard Aldescote | Roger Thornes | |
| 1397 (Jan) | Thomas Skinner | John Geoffrey | |
| 1397 (Sep) | |||
| 1399 | Nicholas Gerard | Thomas Berwick | |
| 1401 | |||
| 1402 | Thomas Pride | Roger Thornes | |
| 1404 (Jan) | Thomas Pride | Simon Tour | |
| 1404 (Oct) | |||
| 1406 | John Perle | Robert Thornes | |
| 1407 | Thomas Pride | John Scriven | |
| 1410 | Robert Thornes | Roger Thornes | |
| 1411 | Thomas Pride | ||
| 1413 (Feb) | |||
| 1413 (May) | David Holbache | Urian St Pierre | |
| 1414 (Apr) | Thomas Pride | ? | |
| 1414 (Nov) | Robert Horseley | William Horde | |
| 1415 | William Horde | John Shotton | |
| 1416 (Mar) | William Horde | John Beget | |
| 1416 (Oct) | William Horde | Robert Horseley | |
| 1417 | William Horde | David Holbache | |
| 1419 | Roger Corbet (died 1430) | David Rathbone | |
| 1420 | Robert Whitcombe | Richard Bentley | |
| 1421 (May) | Urian St Pierre | Robert Whitcombe | |
| 1421 (Dec) | William Horde | Robert Whitcombe | |
| 1510 | Roger Thornes | Thomas Knight[8] | |
| 1512 | Thomas Kynaston | Thomas Trentham | |
| 1515 | Sir Thomas Kynaston | Thomas Trentham | |
| 1523 | Edmund Cole | Adam Mytton | |
| 1529 | Robert Dudley alias Sutton | Adam Mytton | |
| 1536 | Robert Dudley alias Sutton | Adam Mytton | |
| 1539 | Nicholas Purcell | Robert Thornes | |
| 1542 | Adam Mytton | Richard Mytton | |
| 1545 | Nicholas Purcell | Edward Hosier | |
| 1547 | Reginald Corbet | John Evans | |
| 1553 (Mar) | Nicholas Purcell | George Leigh | |
| 1553 (Oct) | Reginald Corbet | Nicholas Purcell | |
| 1554 (Apr) | Richard Mytton | Nicholas Purcell | |
| 1554 (Nov) | Thomas Mytton | George Leigh | |
| 1555 | Reginald Corbet | Nicholas Purcell | |
| 1558 | Nicholas Purcell | George Leigh | |
| 1558–9 | Robert Ireland | George Leigh[9] | |
| 1562–3 | Robert Ireland | Richard Purcell | |
| 1571 | George Leigh | Robert Ireland | |
| 1572 (Apr) | Richard Purcell | George Leigh, died and replaced January 1581 by Philip Sidney | |
| 1584 (Nov) | Thomas Owen | Richard Barker | |
| 1586 (Oct) | Reginald Scriven | Thomas Harris | |
| 1588 (Oct) | Reginald Scriven | Andrew Newport | |
| 1593 | Reginald Scriven | Robert Wright | |
| 1597 | Reginald Scriven | Roger Owen | |
| 1601 (Oct) | Reginald Scriven | John Barker | |
| 1604 | Francis Tate | ||
| 1614 | Francis Berkeley | ||
| 1621 | Francis Berkeley | ||
| 1624 | Thomas Owen | ||
| 1625 | Thomas Owen | ||
| 1626 | Thomas Owen | ||
| 1628 | Sir William Owen | Thomas Owen | |
| 1629–1640 | No Parliaments summoned | ||
| 1640 (Apr) | Thomas Owen | ||
| 1640 (Nov) | William Spurstow | ||
| 1645 | Thomas Hunt | William Massam | |
| 1648 | Thomas Hunt | William Massam | |
| 1653 | Shrewsbury not represented in Barebones Parliament | ||
| 1654 | Richard Cheshire | Humphrey Mackworth | |
| 1656 | Samuel Jones | Humphrey Mackworth | |
| 1658 | William Jones | Humphrey Mackworth | |
| Election | First member | First party | Second member | Second party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1660 | |||||||
| 1661 | Robert Leighton[10] | ||||||
| 1677 | |||||||
| 1679 | |||||||
| 1685 | |||||||
| 1689 | Tory | ||||||
| 1690 | |||||||
| 1694 | |||||||
| 1698 | |||||||
| 1709 | vacant | ||||||
| January 1710 | |||||||
| October 1710 | |||||||
| 1713 | |||||||
| 1714 | |||||||
| February 1715 | |||||||
| November 1715 | |||||||
| 1722 | |||||||
| 1723 | |||||||
| 1727 | |||||||
| 1734 | |||||||
| 1749 by-election | |||||||
| 1754 | Robert More | ||||||
| 1761 | Tory[11] | ||||||
| 1768 | |||||||
| 1774[12] | Tory | ||||||
| March 8, 1775 | Whig | ||||||
| March 17, 1775 | Tory | ||||||
| 1780 | Tory | ||||||
| 1784 by-election | Tory | ||||||
| 1796 | Tory | ||||||
| 1805 by-election | Tory | ||||||
| 1806 | Whig | ||||||
| 1807 | Tory | ||||||
| 1811 by-election | Whig | ||||||
| 1812 | Tory | ||||||
| 1814 by-election | Tory | ||||||
| 1819 by-election | Tory | ||||||
| 1820 | Tory | ||||||
| 1826 | Whig[13] [14] [15] | ||||||
| 1830 | Tory | ||||||
| 1832 | Tory | ||||||
| 1834 | Conservative | ||||||
| 1835 | Conservative | ||||||
| 1837 | Conservative | Whig | |||||
| 1841 | Conservative | Conservative | |||||
| 1847 | Conservative | Whig | |||||
| 1852 | Peelite[16] [17] [18] | ||||||
| 1857 | Whig | ||||||
| 1859 | Liberal | Liberal | |||||
| 1862 by-election | Liberal | ||||||
| 1865 | Liberal | ||||||
| 1868 | Conservative | ||||||
| 1870 by-election | Conservative | ||||||
| 1874 | Liberal | Liberal | |||||
| 1885 | Representation reduced to one Member | ||||||
| Election | Member | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | ||||
| Conservative | ||||
| Conservative | ||||
| Conservative | ||||
| 1918 | Borough abolished, name transferred to new county division | |||
| Election | Member | Party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coalition Conservative | |||||
| Conservative | |||||
| Liberal | |||||
| Conservative | |||||
| Conservative | |||||
| Conservative | |||||
| constituency abolished: see Shrewsbury and Atcham | |||||
Slaney's death caused a by-election.
Clement's death caused a by-election.
Cotes was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.
Representation reduced to one Member
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;
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;
The outbreak of World War II in September 1939 caused general elections to be suspended until 1945.