| West Worcestershire | |
| Parliament: | uk |
| Year: | 1997 |
| Type: | County |
| Elects Howmany: | One |
| Previous: | South Worcestershire, Leominster |
| Year2: | 1832 |
| Abolished2: | 1885 |
| Type2: | County |
| Elects Howmany2: | Two |
| Previous2: | Worcestershire |
| Next2: | Bewdley, Droitwich, Evesham, East Worcestershire and North Worcestershire |
| Electorate: | 73,001 (December 2010)[1] |
| Region: | England |
| County: | Worcestershire |
| Mp: | Harriett Baldwin (Conservative) |
West Worcestershire is a constituency in Worcestershire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Harriett Baldwin, a Conservative. The constituency is considered a safe seat for the Conservatives, having been a marginal with the Liberal Democrats from 1997 to 2010. The constituency boundaries roughly correspond with the Malvern Hills District.
West Worcestershire stretches from the Gloucestershire border in the south almost to Shropshire in the north, taking in Pershore and Bredon Hill in its eastern side. Its other major towns are Malvern in the west and Upton-upon-Severn in the centre.
Boundary changes for 2010, the fifth modern review nationwide, added an area including Tenbury Wells to the seat (formerly in the Leominster constituency) and lost the small shared part of the Fladbury ward to the Mid Worcestershire seat.[2]
1832–1885: The Petty Sessional Divisions of Upton, Worcester, Hundred House and Kidderminster, and the City and County of the City of Worcester.[3]
1997–2010: The District of Malvern Hills wards of Baldwin, Broadheath, Chase, Hallow, Kempsey, Langland, Laugherne Hill, Leigh and Bransford, Link, Longdon, Martley, Morton, Powick, Priory, Ripple, Temeside, The Hanleys, Trinity, Upton-on-Severn, Wells, West, and Woodbury, and the District of Wychavon wards of Bredon, Eckington, Elmley Castle, Pershore Holy Cross, Pershore St Andrew's, Somerville, and South Bredon Hill.
2010–present: The District of Malvern Hills, and the District of Wychavon wards of: Bredon; Bredon Hill; Broadway, Sedgeberrow & Childswickham (small part); Eckington; Pershore;[4] (before 2023 local government boundary review in the District of Wychavon: The District of Malvern Hills, and the District of Wychavon wards of Bredon, Eckington, Elmley Castle and Somerville, Pershore, and South Bredon Hill.).
Despite change of wards boundaries constituency retained 2010 boundaries.
The constituency boundaries roughly correspond with the Malvern Hills District. The seat is known for its hilly landscape: with products such as regional speciality cheeses, drinks and mineral water, a major economic sector is tourism and leisure. However, the principal industries are in agriculture; food; chemicals; distribution; waste and mineral processing; printing and publishing; and transport and retail.
Workless claimants who were registered jobseekers were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.1% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.[5]
West Worcestershire formally, the Western division of Worcestershire, was created the first time for the 1832 general election, by the Reform Act 1832 which radically changed the boundaries of many British parliamentary constituencies. It was created by the division of the old Worcestershire constituency (which had existed since 1290) into two new two-member constituencies: West Worcestershire and East Worcestershire.
During this first creation, three members of the Lygon family, the Earls Beauchamp (pronounced Beecham) represented the constituency - their large country estate in the county had its seat at Madresfield Court near the heart of Madresfield village.
The constituency then existed, basically unchanged, until its abolition by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election, when the constituency's territory was variously incorporated into the seats of Bewdley, Droitwich, Evesham, East Worcestershire and North Worcestershire.
The seat was created on Parliament's approval for the 1997 general election of the Boundary Commission's fourth periodic review (following the first such review in 1945, which in turn followed that of the Representation of the People Act 1918.
| Election | 1st Member | 1st Party | 2nd Member | 2nd Party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1832 | Hon. Henry Lygon | Tory[7] | Hon. Thomas Foley | Whig | |||
| 1833 by-election | Henry Winnington | Whig[8] | |||||
| 1834 | Conservative | ||||||
| 1841 | Frederick Knight | Conservative | |||||
| 1853 by-election | The Viscount Elmley | Conservative | |||||
| 1863 by-election | Hon. Frederick Lygon | Conservative | |||||
| 1866 by-election | William Dowdeswell | Conservative | |||||
| 1876 by-election | Sir Edmund Lechmere, Bt | Conservative | |||||
| 1885 | constituency abolished | ||||||
South Worcestershire prior to 1997
| Election | Member | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Sir Michael Spicer | Conservative | ||
| 2010 | Harriett Baldwin | Conservative | ||
Reference: Statutory Instrument 1987 No. 2208 The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) (Miscellaneous Changes) (No. 3) Order 1987 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1987/Uksi_19872208_en_1.htm