Since the split of the City of York seat with effect from the 2010 general election, Lincoln has been the oldest constituency in continuous existence in the UK – established in 1265. Lincoln was a bellwether between 1974 and 2017. The seat bucked the national Conservative victory in 1970 by electing a Labour MP, as it did in 2017.
The seat has been considered relative to others an ultra-marginal seat, as well as a swing seat, since 2005 as its winner's majority has not exceeded 6.9% of the vote since the 12.5% majority won in 2005 and the seat has changed hands three times since that year.
Boundariesedit
Map of present boundaries
1885–1918: The existing parliamentary borough, and the parish of Bracebridge.[2]
1918–1950: The County Borough of Lincoln, and the Urban District of Bracebridge.
1950–1974: The County Borough of Lincoln.
1974–1983: As prior but with redrawn boundaries.
1983–1997: The City of Lincoln, and the District of North Kesteven wards of Bracebridge Heath, North Hykeham Central, North Hykeham North, North Hykeham South, Skellingthorpe, and Waddington West.
1997–2010: The City of Lincoln, and the District of North Kesteven ward of Bracebridge Heath.
2010–2023: The City of Lincoln, and the District of North Kesteven wards of Bracebridge Heath and Waddington East, and Skellingthorpe.
2023–present: Following a local government boundary review in the District of North Kesteven which came into effect in May 2023,[3][4] the constituency now comprises the following:
The City Of Lincoln.
In the District of Kesteven: the Bracebridge Heath ward; the majority of the Skellingthorpe & Eagle ward; and the majority of the Waddington Rural ward.[5]
Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the composition of the constituency (based on the ward structure which existed on 1 December 2020) will be unchanged from the next general election (due by January 2025).[6]
Historyedit
Lincoln first sent Members to Parliament in 1265, thirty years before the first all-over coverage of cities and qualifying towns was introduced in the Model Parliament, and has done so ever since, although no records exist from before the end of the 13th century. The early elections were held at the Guildhall and the burgesses elected were usually officials of the borough.
The representation, originally two Members ("burgesses"), was reduced to one Member in 1885.
The seat includes the University of Lincoln. From 1945 to 1972 Lincoln was continuously held by the Labour Party, often as a safe seat. The city has good transport links with Nottingham, Hull and the smaller ancient market towns in Lincolnshire, such as Spalding, Market Rasen and Boston. Lincoln was a bellwether constituency from October 1974 to 2015, voting for the party which would form the government in each election. In 2017 Labour took the seat despite being the 2nd largest party nationwide.
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;
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;
^Changed seat in 1983 to serve Derby South which she has held to date (winning most recently in 2019)
Referencesedit
^"Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
^"Chap. 23. Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885". The Public General Acts of the United Kingdom passed in the forty-eighth and forty-ninth years of the reign of Queen Victoria. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode. 1885. pp. 111–198.
^LGBCE. "North Kesteven | LGBCE". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
^"The North Kesteven (Electoral Changes) Order 2021".
^"New Seat Details - Lincoln". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
^"The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part I.
^ abMembers of Parliament 1213-1702. London: House of Commons. 1878.
^ abcde"SUTTON, John I (d.c.1391), of Lincoln". History of Parliament. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
^ abcdefghij"SUTTON, Robert (d.1414), of Lincoln". History of Parliament. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
^"SALTBY, Robert, of Lincoln". History of Parliament. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
^Payling, S. J. (2006). "Fitzwilliam, Sir Thomas, Speaker of the House of Commons". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/92985. Retrieved 1 December 2011. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ abcdefghijklmn"History of Parliament". Retrieved 19 September 2011.
^ abcdefghij"History of Parliament". Retrieved 19 September 2011.
^ abcLeigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 3)
^Robert Hobart was known as Robert Hobart until 1793, and as Lord Hobart from 1793 until he acceded to the peerage in 1804 as the 4th Earl of Buckinghamshire
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrsStooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 202–204. ISBN 978-0-900178-13-9.
^ abcHill, Francis (1974). Victorian Lincoln. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 17, 74. ISBN 978-0-521-20334-0. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
^ ab"North Lincolnshire Election". Lincolnshire Chronicle. 23 July 1852. p. 5. Retrieved 19 May 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^Mosse, Richard Bartholomew (1838). The Parliamentary Guide: a concise history of the Members of both Houses, etc. p. 141. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
^Simpson, Roger (Fall 1997). "The Nannau Oak: Bulwer Lytton and his Midsummer Knight at the Westminster Round Table". Arthuriana. 7 (3): 124–136. doi:10.1353/art.1997.0008. JSTOR 27869279. S2CID 154206973.
^The election in 1847 of Charles Seely was declared void on 10 March 1848
^ abcdefghijklmnopqCraig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.[page needed]
^"Election Intelligence". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 14 June 1884. p. 5. Retrieved 3 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"Imperial Parliament". Freeman's Journal. 13 March 1848. p. 4. Retrieved 24 November 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"Lincoln Election". Lincolnshire Chronicle. 28 July 1837. p. 2. Retrieved 16 April 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"To the ELECTORS of the NORTHERN DIVISION of the COUNTY of NORTHAMPTON". Stamford Mercury. 14 July 1837. p. 2. Retrieved 16 April 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"Nomination for the City of Lincoln". Stamford Mercury. 9 January 1835. p. 2. Retrieved 16 April 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ abFisher, David R. "Lincoln". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
Sourcesedit
Guardian Unlimited Politics (Election results from 1992 to the present)
Politicsresources.net - Official Web Site ✔ (Election results from 1951 to the present)
Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 187. ISBN 978-0-900178-26-9.
Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-900178-27-6.
Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-900178-06-1.