Wycombe (UK Parliament constituency)

The constituency shares similar borders with Wycombe local government district, although it covers a slightly smaller area. The main town within the constituency, High Wycombe contains many working/middle class voters and a sizeable ethnic minority population that totals around one quarter of the town's population, with some census output areas of town home to over 50% ethnic minorities, and a number of wards harbouring a considerable Labour vote. The surrounding villages, which account for just under half of the electorate, are some of the most wealthy areas in the country, with extremely low unemployment, high incomes and favour the Conservatives. Workless claimants totalled 3.0% of the population in November 2012, lower than the national average of 3.8%.[2]

The Parliamentary Borough of Chipping Wycombe had continuously returned two MPs to the House of Commons of England since the Model Parliament of 1295 until 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and finally to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801. This was reduced to one MP by the Representation of the People Act 1867 and the Borough was abolished altogether by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. It was transformed into a large county division, formally named the Southern or Wycombe Division of Buckinghamshire. It was one of three divisions formed from the undivided three-member Parliamentary County of Buckinghamshire, the other two being the Mid or Aylesbury Division and the Northern or Buckingham Division. As well as the abolished Borough, it absorbed the abolished Parliamentary Borough of Great Marlow and included the towns of Beaconsfield and Slough.

Since 1885, the seat has been held by the Conservative Party except for brief intervals for the Liberals (1906-1910 and 1923-1924) and Labour (1945-1951).

The seat bucked the trend in 2019 with a swing of 2.3% to the Labour Party in spite of their heavy general election defeat, and is now looked on as a key Blue Wall marginal constituency in the next general election.

1885–1918

• The Municipal Borough of Chepping Wycombe;
• The Sessional Divisions of Burnham and Stoke; and
• Parts of the first and second Sessional Divisions of Desborough.[3]

1918–1945

• The Municipal Borough of Chepping Wycombe;
• The Urban Districts of Eton, Marlow, and Slough;
• The Rural Districts of Eton and Hambleden; and
• Part of the Rural District of Wycombe.[4]

Beaconsfield was transferred to Aylesbury. Gained Eton which had been part of the abolished Parliamentary Borough of New Windsor in Berkshire.

1945–1950

The House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1944 set up Boundaries Commissions to carry out periodic reviews of the distribution of parliamentary constituencies. It also authorised an initial review to subdivide abnormally large constituencies in time for the 1945 election.[5] This was implemented by the Redistribution of Seats Order 1945 under which Buckinghamshire was allocated an additional seat. As a consequence, the new constituency of Eton and Slough was formed from the Wycombe constituency, comprising the Municipal Borough of Slough and the Urban and Rural Districts of Eton. In compensation, the parts of the (revised) Rural District of Wycombe in the Aylesbury Division, including Hughenden and Princes Risborough, were transferred to Wycombe.

The revised composition of the constituency, after taking account of changes to local authorities, was:

• The Municipal Borough of Chepping Wycombe;
• The Urban District of Marlow; and
• The Rural District of Wycombe.[4]

1950–1974

• The Municipal Borough of High Wycombe;
• The Urban District of Marlow; and
• The Rural District of Wycombe.[4]

No changes to boundaries.

1974–1983

• The Municipal Borough of High Wycombe;
• The Urban District of Marlow; and
• The Rural District of Wycombe parishes of Chepping Wycombe, Fawley, Fingest and Lane End, Great Marlow, Hambleden, Hughenden, Little Marlow, Medmenham, Turville, and West Wycombe Rural.[6]

Northern parts of the Rural District of Wycombe, including Princes Risborough, but excluding Hughenden, were transferred back to Aylesbury.  Wooburn was included in the new constituency of Beaconsfield.

1983–1997

• The District of Wycombe wards of Booker and Castlefield, Bowerdean and Daws Hill, Cressex and Frogmoor, Downley, Great Marlow, Green Hill and Totteridge, Hambleden Valley, Hughenden Valley, Keep Hill and Hicks Farm, Kingshill, Lane End and Piddington, Little Marlow, Marlow Bottom, Marlow North, Marlow South, Marsh and Micklefield, Oakridge and Tinkers Wood, and West Wycombe and Sands.[7]

Areas to the east of High Wycombe (former parish of Chepping Wycombe) transferred to Beaconsfield. Hazlemere transferred to Chesham and Amersham.

1997–2010

• The District of Wycombe wards of Booker and Castlefield, Bowerdean and Daws Hill, Cressex and Frogmoor, Downley, Great Marlow, Green Hill and Totteridge, Hambleden Valley, Hughenden Valley, Keep Hill and Hicks Farm, Kingshill, Lane End and Piddington, Marlow Bottom, Marlow North, Marlow South, Marsh and Micklefield, Oakridge and Tinkers Wood, and West Wycombe and Sands.[8]

Minor changes.

2010–present

• The District of Wycombe wards of Abbey, Booker and Cressex, Bowerdean, Chiltern Rise, Disraeli, Downley and Plomer Hill, Greater Marlow, Hambleden Valley, Hazlemere North, Hazlemere South, Micklefield, Oakridge and Castlefield, Ryemead, Sands, Terriers and Amersham Hill, Totteridge, and Tylers Green and Loudwater.[9]

Hazlemere transferred back from Chesham and Amersham.  Marlow transferred to Beaconsfield and Hughenden to Aylesbury.

In April 2020, the District of Wycombe, together with those of Aylesbury, Chiltern and South Bucks were merged into the new unitary authority of Buckinghamshire Council. Accordingly, the current contents of the constituency are:

• The Buckinghamshire Council wards of Abbey, Booker, Cressex & Castlefield, Chiltern Villages, Downley, Hazlemere, Ryemead & Micklefield, Terriers & Amersham Hill, Totteridge & Bowerdean, Tylers Green & Loudwater, and West Wycombe (part).

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Buckinghamshire

• GENUKI
• Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) A Chronological Register of Both Houses of the British Parliament, from the Union in 1708, to the Third Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in 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) titles A-Z
• 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)

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