Nuneaton is a constituency in Warwickshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Jodie Gosling of the Labour Party.

Constituency profile Nuneaton is a constituency in Warwickshire in the West Midlands region of England, covering parts of the Nuneaton and Bedworth and North Warwickshire local government districts. It includes the town of Nuneaton, which has a population of around 94,000, and some small villages to its west.

Nuneaton is a large, historic market town. It was largely developed during the late 19th century as an important industrial centre, especially for silk ribbon weaving and coal mining. Today, many of the town's residents commute to the nearby cities of Birmingham and Coventry. Much of the town is highly-deprived, particularly in the town centre and in the southern and western neighbourhoods like Camp Hill and Hill Top which were developed in the 1950s as council estates. There are some affluent suburbs in the north and east of the town which were built more recently, like Whitestone, Horeston Grange and St Nicolas Park. House prices across the constituency are generally lower than the regional and UK averages.

Residents of Nuneaton have a similar age profile to the rest of the country. They have below-average levels of income but above-average rates of homeownership, and the child poverty rate is in line with the UK-wide figure. Residents have low levels of education and a high proportion work in the health, retail and transport sectors. The percentage claiming unemployment benefits is similar to the rest of the country. White people made up 88% of the population at the 2021 census. Asians, mostly of Indian origin, were the largest ethnic minority group at 8% and made up around a quarter of the population in the town centre.

At the local district council, the town centre is represented by Labour Party councillors whilst the outer neighbourhoods elected Reform UK and Conservative representatives, except some northern suburbs which voted for the Green Party. Most of the town elected Reform UK councillors to the county council. Voters in Nuneaton strongly supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 65% voted in favour of Brexit compared to the UK-wide rate of 52%.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The Sessional Division of Coventry and part of the Sessional Divisions of Atherstone and Coleshill.

1918–1945: The Municipal Borough of Nuneaton, the Urban District of Bulkington, and the Rural Districts of Atherstone, Coventry, Foleshill, and Nuneaton.

1945–1955: The Municipal Borough of Nuneaton, the Urban District of Bedworth, and the Rural District of Atherstone.

1955–1974: The Municipal Borough of Nuneaton, and the Urban District of Bedworth.

1974–1983: The Municipal Borough of Nuneaton, and the Urban District of Bedworth as altered by the Coventry Order 1965.

1983–2010: The Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth wards of Abbey, Arbury, Attleborough, Bulkington, Camp Hill, Chilvers Coton, Galley Common, St Nicolas, Stockingford, Weddington, and Whitestone, and the Borough of Rugby wards of Earl Craven, Fosse, and Wolvey.

The boundary changes which took effect for the 1983 general election removed the town of Bedworth, which was transferred to the newly created North Warwickshire constituency.

2010–2024: The Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth wards of Abbey, Arbury, Attleborough, Bar Pool, Camp Hill, Galley Common, Kingswood, St Nicolas, Weddington, Wem Brook, and Whitestone, and the Borough of North Warwickshire wards of Arley and Whitacre, and Hartshill.

2024–present: The 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, which was based on the ward structure in place on 1 December 2020, left the boundaries unchanged. However, further to a local government boundary review in Nuneaton and Bedworth which came into effect in May 2024, the constituency now comprises the following from the 2024 general election:

The Borough of North Warwickshire wards of: Arley and Whitacre; Hartshill. The Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth wards of: Arbury; Attleborough; Camp Hill; Chilvers Coton; Eastboro; Galley Common; Milby; St Mary's; St Nicolas; Stockingford East; Stockingford West; Weddington; Whitestone.

History The constituency was created as a result of the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, in an area whose population had expanded as coal miners poured in from other parts of the country. At one time 20 collieries operated in the area and now one of three major British coal mines continued with operations in the constituency at Daw Mill atop the Warwickshire Coalfield (known as the Warwickshire Thick) in the north of the county until 2012 when it closed. The associated heavy industry and mining-centred economy coupled with the Representation of the People Act 1918 (Fourth Reform Act) led to Nuneaton being held by the Labour Party for nearly 50 years from 1935 to 1983. With a decline in coal mining and related heavy industry, and boundary changes that were more favourable towards the Conservatives for the 1983 general election, the sitting MP Les Huckfield declined to stand and unsuccessfully sought nomination in other constituencies such as WiganAlmanac of British Politics, 3rd edition, Robert Waller and Sedgefield. The seat was duly won by Lewis Stevens, a Conservative who retained the seat in 1987.

Labour regained the constituency at the 1992 election. Bill Olner beat Stevens and retained the seat in 1997, 2001 and 2005. Olner announced in 2007 that he would not be contesting the 2010 general election and would be standing down at the end of the 2005–2010 parliament.Coventry Telegraph 27 March 2007 Accessed 26 November 2007 Former Nuneaton and Bedworth Council Leader Marcus Jones was successful in taking the seat for the Conservative Party at the 2010 election and retained the seat in 2015, 2017 and 2019, but it was retaken for Labour by Jodie Gosling at the 2024 election.

2015 general election significance In the 2015 general election, Nuneaton was the first marginal constituency between the Conservatives and Labour to declare its results. The result proved to be significant as it saw a 3.0% swing to the Conservatives, despite the seat being Labour's 38th biggest target and Labour being predicted to win the seat. The result therefore proved to be a major indication that the Conservatives were going to win a majority of seats in the House of Commons for the first time since the 1992 general election, something which went against national opinion polls which pointed towards Labour gains in the key marginal constituencies.

It was later reported that the moment incumbent Prime Minister David Cameron knew his Conservative Party had won the general election was when Nuneaton declared its results at 1.53 am on 8 May 2015.

This has led to many pointing out the similarities between Nuneaton and the former constituency of Basildon which in 1987 and 1992, Labour unexpectedly failed to win. This is why the Nuneaton result has been seen as the 'Basildon Moment' of 2015, since the Basildon constituency similarly foreshadowed the Conservative's election victory in 1992.

Nuneaton was chosen by the Labour Party as the host of their first televised leadership debate during their 2015 leadership election.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberParty 1885 Jasper Johns Liberal 1886 John Dugdale Conservative 1892 Francis NewdigateFrom 1902 Francis Newdigate-Newdegate Conservative 1906 William Johnson Liberal 1909 Labour 1914 Liberal 1918 Sir Henry Maddocks Coalition Conservative 1923 Herbert Willison Liberal 1924 Arthur Hope Conservative 1929 Francis Smith Labour 1931 Edward North Conservative 1935 Reginald Fletcher Labour 1942 by-election Frank Bowles Labour 1965 by-election Frank Cousins Labour 1967 by-election Les Huckfield Labour 1983 Lewis Stevens Conservative 1992 Bill Olner Labour 2010 Marcus Jones Conservative 2024 Jodie Gosling Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1940s

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; Labour: Reginald Fletcher

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1910s

denotes candidate who was endorsed by the Coalition Government.

Election results 1885–1918 Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1910s

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; Liberal-Labour: William Johnson Unionist:

See also List of parliamentary constituencies in Warwickshire List of parliamentary constituencies in West Midlands (region)

References Specific

General Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. .

Notes Notes

External links Nuneaton Labour, Jayne Innes Nuneaton Conservatives Nuneaton UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK Nuneaton UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK Nuneaton UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK