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. A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures, goals or loyalty. ... In some bicameral parliaments of a Westminster System, the House of Commons has historically been the name of the elected lower house. ... The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). ...

Boundaries

The constituency includes the city of Bath, and has done so for over two centuries. Since 1995, the constituency now includes a further five village wards and 7000 voters transferred from the Wansdyke constituency. Palladian Pulteney Bridge and the weir at Bath Bath is a city in southwest England, most famous for its baths fed by three hot springs. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Members of Parliament

The current Member of Parliament is Don Foster of the Liberal Democrats, who was elected in the 1992 general election. He famously succeeded Chris Patten, the then Conservative Party chairman. Patten's party had held the seat for several decades, fending off close calls and challenges by Labour, the SDP and the Liberal Democrats since before the 1960s. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... Don Foster This page is about the British politician. ... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a social liberal political party based in the United Kingdom. ... The general election of April 9, 1992, was the fourth victory in a row for the Conservatives. ... The Right Honourable Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC (born 12 May 1944) is a prominent British Conservative politician. ... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ... A chairman is the presiding officer of a meeting, organization, committee, or other deliberative body. ...

Candidates and parties in the 2005 election

The UK general election, 2005 sees two more candidates, both of which are independent. All parties apart from the Liberal Democrats are running different candidates. Barring a change in the law, the next general election in the United Kingdom must be held some time before June 30, 2006. ...

The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 and won by the Labour Party, led by Tony Blair. ... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a social liberal political party based in the United Kingdom. ... Don Foster This page is about the British politician. ... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ... The Labour Party is a centre-left or Democratic Socialist political party in the United Kingdom (see British politics), and one of the United Kingdoms three main political parties. ... The Green Party of England and Wales emerged as a distinct party in the 1990s. ... The United Kingdom Independence Party (commonly known as UKIP, pronounced you-kip) is a right-wing political party that aims at British withdrawal from the European Union. ... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a social liberal political party based in the United Kingdom. ...

Past election results

1987: Conservative
1983: Conservative
1979: Conservative
1974: Conservative
1966: Conservative
1945: Conservative The UK general election, 2001 was held on 7 June 2001 and was dubbed the quiet landslide by the media. ... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a social liberal political party based in the United Kingdom. ... Don Foster This page is about the British politician. ... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ... The Labour Party is a centre-left or Democratic Socialist political party in the United Kingdom (see British politics), and one of the United Kingdoms three main political parties. ... The Green Party of England and Wales emerged as a distinct party in the 1990s. ... The United Kingdom Independence Party (commonly known as UKIP, pronounced you-kip) is a right-wing political party that aims at British withdrawal from the European Union. ... The UK general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997. ... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a social liberal political party based in the United Kingdom. ... Don Foster This page is about the British politician. ... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ... The Labour Party is a centre-left or Democratic Socialist political party in the United Kingdom (see British politics), and one of the United Kingdoms three main political parties. ... The Referendum Party were a single-issue party in the United Kingdom formed to contest the 1997 General Election. ... The Green Party of England and Wales emerged as a distinct party in the 1990s. ... Plaid Cymru (literally meaning, Party of Wales) is a left-of-centre (describing itself as socialist and proud of it) Welsh nationalist party. ... The United Kingdom Independence Party (commonly known as UKIP, pronounced you-kip) is a right-wing political party that aims at British withdrawal from the European Union. ... The Natural Law Party is a trans-national political party with national branches in over 80 countries. ... The UK general election, 1992 was held on April 9, 1992, and was the fourth victory in a row for the Conservatives. ... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a social liberal political party based in the United Kingdom. ... Don Foster This page is about the British politician. ... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ... The Right Honourable Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC (born 12 May 1944) is a prominent British Conservative politician. ... The Labour Party is a centre-left or Democratic Socialist political party in the United Kingdom (see British politics), and one of the United Kingdoms three main political parties. ... The Green Party of England and Wales emerged as a distinct party in the 1990s. ... Liberal Party is the name of dozens of political parties around the world. ... For the 18th century American faction, see Anti-Federalist Party The Anti-Federalist League was a small cross-party organisation in Britain, formed in 1991 to campaign against the Maastricht Treaty. ... 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1983 is an integer and composite number that represents a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1979 is a common year starting on Monday. ... 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Politics and history of the constituency

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. The British Reform Act of 1832 (2 & 3 Will. ... Bridgwater in Somerset, England, is a market town, the administrative centre of the Sedgemoor district, and the leading industrial town in the county. ... Ilchester is a village in Somerset, England, situated on the River Yeo five miles north of Yeovil. ... Minehead is a coastal town in West Somerset, England. ... Map sources for Taunton at grid reference ST2324 Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. ... The west front of Wells Cathedral Wells is a small city in the Mendip district of Somerset. ... This page is about the county of Somerset in the United Kingdom. ... A mayor (from the Latin maīor, meaning larger,greater) is the politician who serves as chief executive official of some types of municipalities. ... An alderman is a member of a municipal legislative body in a town or city with many jurisdictions. ... Bribery is the practice of offering a professional money or other favours in order to circumvent ethics in a variety of professions. ... 1884 is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar). ... County borough was a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom to refer to a borough or a city independent of county administration. ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

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. The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... The Social Democratic Party (SDP) was a United Kingdom political party that existed between 1981 and 1990. ... 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bath and North East Somerset (commonly referred to as BANES) is an English unitary local government authority that was created on April 1, 1996 following the abolition of Avon County Council, and is an administrative county in its own right. ... Thermae Bath Spa is a multimillion pound development project in the city of Bath in England. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• "Parliamentary representation (http://www.somerset.gov.uk/archives/ASH/Parlrep.htm)." Aspects of Somerset History. Accessed on 26 April 2005.
• "Bath (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/vote2005/flash_map/html/map01.stm)." 2001 election results. Accessed on 26 April 2005.
• "Bath election history (http://politics.guardian.co.uk/hoc/constituency/history/0,9571,-694,00.html)." Guardian Unlimited Politics. Accessed on 26 April 2005.

April 26 is the 116th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (117th in leap years). ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... April 26 is the 116th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (117th in leap years). ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... April 26 is the 116th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (117th in leap years). ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• BBC profile of Bath constituency (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/vote2005/html/33.stm)