Tewkesbury is a constituency in Gloucestershire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Cameron Thomas, who currently sits as an independent MP but was initially elected as a Liberal Democrat.
History
1610 to 1918 Tewkesbury existed in this period, first in the parliamentary borough form. It returned two MPs until this was reduced to one in 1868, then saw itself become instead a larger county division under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, before it was abolished in 1918.
Prominent politicians William Dowdeswell was Chancellor of the Exchequer for two years under Rockingham, and his short tenure of this position appears to have been a successful one, he being in Lecky's words a good financier, but nothing more. To general astonishment, he refused to abandon his friends and to take an office under The 1st Earl of Chatham ("Pitt the Elder"), who succeeded Rockingham in August 1766. Dowdeswell then led the Rockingham party in the House of Commons, taking an active part in debate until his death. In 1774 he warned MPs against passing the Boston Port Act, related to the later Boston Tea Party. Charles Hanbury-Tracy was heir to much of the Pontypool part the growing iron industry and served as the chairman of the commission of 1835 that commissioned the new Houses of Parliament and judged designs. After service for Tewkesbury Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp entered the Lords and then served in Cabinet positions under the earlier governments headed by Lord Salisbury, before the turn-of-the century third government.
1997 to date The Fourth periodic review of Westminster constituencies in 1997 saw the seat's recreation when the number of constituencies in Gloucestershire was increased from five to six. It was primarily formed from a minority of the larger county division Cirencester and Tewkesbury, together with parts of West Gloucestershire and Cheltenham.
Boundaries
1885–1918: The Municipal Boroughs of Gloucester and Tewkesbury, the Sessional Divisions of Berkeley, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Tewkesbury, and Winchcombe, part of the Sessional Division of Whitminster, and the parish of Slimbridge.
1997–2010: The Borough of Tewkesbury wards of Ashchurch, Bishop's Cleeve East, Bishop's Cleeve North, Bishop's Cleeve South, Brockworth Glebe, Brockworth Moorfield, Brockworth Westfield, Churchdown Brookfield, Churchdown Parton, Churchdown Pirton, Cleeve Hill, Coombe Hill, Crickley, De Winton, Dumbleton, Gotherington, Horsbere, Innsworth, Shurdington, Tewkesbury Mitton, Tewkesbury Newtown, Tewkesbury Prior's Park, Tewkesbury Town, Twyning, and Winchcombe, and the Borough of Cheltenham wards of Leckhampton with Up Hatherley, Prestbury, and Swindon.
2010–2024: The Borough of Tewkesbury wards of Ashchurch with Walton Cardiff, Badgeworth, Brockworth, Churchdown Brookfield, Churchdown St John's, Cleeve Grange, Cleeve Hill, Cleeve St Michael's, Cleeve West, Coombe Hill, Hucclecote, Innsworth with Down Hatherley, Isbourne, Northway, Oxenton Hill, Shurdington, Tewkesbury Newtown, Tewkesbury Prior's Park, Tewkesbury Town with Mitton, Twyning, and Winchcombe, the Borough of Cheltenham wards of Prestbury and Swindon Village, and the City of Gloucester ward of Longlevens.
2024–present: Further to the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency is composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
The Borough of Cheltenham wards of: Prestbury; Springbank; Swindon Village. The City of Gloucester wards of: Elmbridge; Longlevens. The Borough of Tewkesbury wards of: Cleeve Grange; Cleeve Hill; Cleeve St. Michael's; Cleeve West; Innsworth; Isbourne; Northway; Severn Vale North; Severn Vale South; Tewkesbury East; Tewkesbury North & Twyning; Tewkesbury South; Winchcombe.
In order to bring the electorate within the permitted range, the area between the city of Gloucester and the town of Cheltenham, including the communities of Badgeworth, Brockworth, Churchdown and Shurdington, was included in the newly created constituency of North Cotswolds. To partly compensate, the Springbank and Elmbridge wards were transferred in from the Cheltenham and Gloucester seats respectively.
As its name suggests, the main town in the constituency is Tewkesbury, but other settlements include Twyning, Ashchurch, Bishop's Cleeve, Winchcombe, Prestbury, Swindon, Innsworth, Longlevens and Elmbridge.2010 post-revision map non-metropolitan areas and unitary authorities of England
Constituency profile The town has a raised centre with the second largest parish church in the country that is the church of a former Benedictine monastery, named Tewkesbury Abbey, the town also has its own mustard and July medieval battle festival. Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.2% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian.
Members of Parliament
MPs 1610–1629 Constituency created (1610) The constituency was enfranchised on 23 March 1610 – the first record of its members sworn is 16 April 1610.
ParliamentFirst memberSecond member Parliament of 1604–1611 (1610)Sir Dudley Digges Edward FerrersAddled Parliament (1614) Sir John RatcliffeParliament of 1621–1622Giles BrydgesHappy Parliament (1624–1625)Sir Baptist HicksUseless Parliament (1625)Parliament of 1625–1626Parliament of 1628–1629Sir Thomas Colepeper May 1628Sir William Hicks
MPs 1640–1868 YearFirst memberFirst partySecond memberSecond partyApril 1640Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper Sir Edward Alford November 1640Double return — election declared voidAt the election of November 1640 a double return was made: Sir Robert Cooke, Sir Edward Alford, John Craven and Edward Stephens were all returned. The election was declared void on 6 August 1641.August 1641 Sir Robert Cooke ParliamentarianSir Edward AlfordAlford's election was declared void and his opponent, Stephens, was declared duly elected. However, Alford had also been elected for Arundel, and continued to sit for that borough.Royalist1641Edward StephensParliamentarianAugust 1643Cooke died — seat left vacant1645John StephensDecember 1648Edward Stephens excluded in Pride's Purge – seat vacant1653Tewkesbury was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament1654Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper – chosen for Wiltshire – replaced by Francis St John Tewkesbury had only one seat in the First and Second Parliaments of the Protectorate1656Francis WhiteJanuary 1659Edward CookeRobert LongMay 1659Not represented in the restored RumpApril 1660 (Sir) Henry Capell Richard Dowdeswell 1673 Sir Francis Russell 1685 Richard Dowdeswell 1690 Sir Henry Capell 1692 Sir Francis Winnington 1698 Charles Hancock 1701 Edmund Bray 1708 Henry Ireton 1710 William Bromley 1712 William Dowdeswell 1713 Charles Dowdeswell 1714 Anthony Lechmere 1717 Nicholas Lechmere 1721 The Viscount Gage 1722 Brigadier George Reade 1734 Robert Tracy 1741 John Martin 1747 William Dowdeswell Whig 1754 Nicolson Calvert John Martin, junior 1761Whig Sir William Codrington Tory 1774 Joseph Martin Whig 1776 James Martin Whig 1792 Lieutenant-Colonel William Dowdeswell Tory 1797 Christopher Bethell-Codrington Tory 1807 Charles Hanbury-Tracy Whig 1812 John Edmund Dowdeswell Tory John Martin WhigJanuary 1832 Charles Hanbury-Tracy WhigDecember 1832 John Martin Whig 1835 William Dowdeswell Conservative 1837 John Martin Whig 1847 Humphrey Brown Whig 1857 Hon. Frederick Lygon Conservative 1859 James Martin Liberal 1864 John Yorke Conservative 1865 William Edward Dowdeswell Conservative 1866 Sir Edmund Lechmere, Bt Conservative1868 Representation reduced to one Member
MPs 1868–1918 ElectionMemberParty 1868 William Edwin Price Liberal 1880 Richard Martin Liberal 1885 John YorkeConservative 1886 Sir John Dorington Conservative 1906 Hon. Michael Hicks Beach Conservative 1916 William Frederick Hicks-Beach Unionist 1918 Constituency abolished
MPs since 1997 Election Member Party Notes 1997 Laurence RobertsonConservative 2024 Cameron ThomasLiberal Democrats2026IndependentWhip suspended pending police investigation
Elections since 1997
Elections in the 2020s
Elections in the 2010s
2019 notional result Party Vote % Conservative 31,291 58.1 Liberal Democrats 11,848 22.0 Labour 8,448 15.7 Green 2,271 4.2Turnout53,85874.4Electorate72,426
Elections in the 2000s
Election in the 1990s
Election results 1868–1918 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; Unionist: Michael Hicks Beach Liberal: Richard MathiasGloucester Journal 16 May 1914.
Elections in the 1900s
Elections in the 1890s
Elections in the 1880s
Election in the 1870s
Elections in the 1860s
Seat reduced to one member.
Election results 1832–1868 Elections in the 1860s
Caused by Dowdeswell's resignation to context the 1866 West Worcestershire by-election.
Caused by Lygon's resignation to stand at the 1864 West Worcestershire by-election.
Elections in the 1850s
Caused by the appointment of Lygon as a Civil Lord of the Admiralty
Elections in the 1840s
Elections in the 1830s
Caused by Martin's death
See also Parliamentary constituencies in Gloucestershire
Notes
References
Sources Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) D. Brunton & D. H. Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954) Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808) The Constitutional Year Book for 1913 (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913) F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989) J. Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 – England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965) Henry Stooks Smith, The Parliaments of England from 1715 to 1847 (2nd edition, edited by FWS Craig — Chichester: Parliamentary Reference Publications, 1973)
External links Tewkesbury UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK Tewkesbury UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK Tewkesbury UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK