Bridgwater is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. 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). ... 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. ... The first-past-the-post electoral system is a voting system for single-member districts, variously called first-past-the-post (FPTP or FPP), winner-take-all, plurality voting, or relative majority. ...

Boundaries

The seat is based on the market town of Bridgwater in Somerset and currently incorporates significant portions of the surrounding north Somerset coast. Bridgwater in Somerset, England, is a market town, the administrative centre of the Sedgemoor district, and the leading industrial town in the county. ... This page is about the county of Somerset in the United Kingdom. ...

Member of Parliament

MPs since 1295

• 1640 Edmund Wyndham
• 1640 (Short Parliament) Admiral Robert Blake
• 1653 (Barebones Parliament) Admiral Robert Blake

• 1661-1669 John Tynte

• 1768-1785 Anne Poulett

• 1938-1950 Vernon Bartlett Independent anti-appeasement) "Popular Front"
• 1950-1969 Sir Gerald Wills Conservative
• 1970-2001 Tom King Conservative
• 2001-present Ian Liddell-Grainger Conservative

  This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bridgwater_%28UK_Parliament_constituency%29&action=edit).

Events December 1 - Portugal regains its independence from Spain and João IV of Portugal becomes king. ... Events December 1 - Portugal regains its independence from Spain and João IV of Portugal becomes king. ... The Short Parliament (April-May, 1640) of King Charles I is so called because it lasted only three weeks. ... Robert Blake, General at Sea, 1599–1657 by Henry Perronet Briggs, painted 1829. ... Events February 2 - New Amsterdam (later renamed New York City) is incorporated. ... The Barebones Parliament came into being on July 4, 1653. ... Robert Blake, General at Sea, 1599–1657 by Henry Perronet Briggs, painted 1829. ... Events January 6 - The fifth monarchy men unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London. ... Events Samuel Pepys stopped writing his diary. ... 1768 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1785 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The United Kingdom general election in 1950 was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. ... Vernon Bartlett (30 April 1894, Tiverton, Devon - January 18, 1983) was a British politician and journalist. ... Appeasement is a strategic maneuver, based on either pragmatism, fear of war, or moral conviction, that leads to acceptance of imposed conditions in lieu of armed resistance. ... Popular Fronts comprise broad coalitions of political and other groups, often made up of oppositioners or left wingers, and often united against particularly stringent circumstances. ... The United Kingdom general election in 1950 was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. ... 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ... The UK general election, 2001 was held on 7 June 2001 and was dubbed the quiet landslide by the media. ... Thomas Jeremy King, Baron King of Bridgwater, PC (born June 13, 1933), is a British Conservative politician who was Member of Parliament for Bridgwater in Somerset, from 1970 until 2001. ... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ... The UK general election, 2001 was held on 7 June 2001 and was dubbed the quiet landslide by the media. ... Ian Richard Peregrine Liddell-Grainger (born 23 February 1959) is a politician in the United Kingdom. ... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ...

Election results

The Member of Parliament since the 2001 general election is Ian Liddell-Grainger of the Conservative Party. He succeeded the retiring Tom King who had represented the seat since a by-election in 1970. 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. ... The UK general election, 2001 was held on 7 June 2001 and was dubbed the quiet landslide by the media. ... Ian Richard Peregrine Liddell-Grainger (born 23 February 1959) is a politician in the United Kingdom. ... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ... Thomas Jeremy King, Baron King of Bridgwater, PC (born June 13, 1933), is a British Conservative politician who was Member of Parliament for Bridgwater in Somerset, from 1970 until 2001. ...

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 Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ... Ian Richard Peregrine Liddell-Grainger (born 23 February 1959) is a politician 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 Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a social liberal political party based in the United Kingdom. ... 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 Green Party of England and Wales emerged as a distinct party in the 1990s. ... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ... The UK general election, 2001 was held on 7 June 2001 and was dubbed the quiet landslide by the media. ... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ... Ian Richard Peregrine Liddell-Grainger (born 23 February 1959) is a politician in the United Kingdom. ... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a social liberal political party based 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 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 Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ...

Politics and history of the constituency

Bridgwater is one of the oldest Parliamentary Constituencies in the House of Commons, having elected Members of Parliament since 1295. A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures, goals or loyalty. ... The House of Commons is a component of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also includes the Sovereign and the House of Lords. ... 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. ... Events Mongol leader Ghazan Khan is converted to Islam, ending a line of Tantric Buddhist leaders. ...

Bridgwater has traditionally had a radical tradition, though in recent years this has become less noticeable in election results as the constiuency has expanded considerably beyond Bridgwater town itself.

The seat received particular fame in late 1938 when a by-election took place in the aftermath of the signing of the Munich Agreement. Opponnents of the agreement persuaded the local Labour and Liberal parties to not field candidates of their own against the Conservative candidate, but to instead jointly back an independent standing on a platform of opposition to the Government's foreign policy, in the hope that this would be the precursor to the formation of a more general Popular Front of opposition to the government of Neville Chamberlain in anticipation of the General Election due in either 1939 or 1940. The noted journalist Vernon Bartlett stood as the independent Popular Front candidate and achieved a sensational victory in what was hitherto a Conservative seat. He represented the constituency for the next twelve years. 1938 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Chamberlain holds the paper containing the resolution to commit to peaceful methods signed by both Hitler and himself on his return from Germany in September 1938. ... 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 Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become known as... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ... Popular Fronts comprise broad coalitions of political and other groups, often made up of oppositioners or left wingers, and often united against particularly stringent circumstances. ... Arthur Neville Chamberlain (18 March 1869–9 November 1940) was a British politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1937–1940. ... United Kingdom general elections are the times when the Members of Parliament forming the House of Commons are elected. ... 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Vernon Bartlett (30 April 1894, Tiverton, Devon - January 18, 1983) was a British politician and journalist. ...

In 1970 another by-election in the constituency achieved fame as it was the first occasion when 18, 19 and 20 year olds were able to vote in the UK Parliamentary election. The first under-21 year old to cast a vote was Susan Wallace. The by-election was won by the future Conservative Cabinet Minister Tom King who held the seat for the next thirty-one years. 1970 was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Thomas Jeremy King, Baron King of Bridgwater, PC (born June 13, 1933), is a British Conservative politician who was Member of Parliament for Bridgwater in Somerset, from 1970 until 2001. ...