Sherwood Forest (UK Parliament constituency) (original) (raw)

Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983 onwards

Sherwood Forest
County constituencyfor the House of Commons
Boundaries since 2024
Boundary of Sherwood Forest in the East Midlands
County	Nottinghamshire
Electorate	76,543 (2023)[1]
Major settlements	Hucknall, Ollerton, Ravenshead, Calverton
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of Parliament	Michelle Welsh (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Newark, Carlton, Ashfield

Sherwood Forest is a constituency [n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Michelle Welsh, of the Labour Party.[n 2] The constituency's name is shared with Sherwood Forest, which is in the area.

The constituency was formerly known as Sherwood. It was renamed as a result of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, with minor boundary changes. It was first contested under the new name at the 2024 general election.[2]

Map

Map of boundaries 2010-2024

Historic (Sherwood)

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1983–1997: The District of Newark wards of Bilsthorpe, Blidworth, Boughton, Clipstone, Dover Beck, Edwinstowe, Farnsfield, Fishpool, Lowdham, Ollerton North, Ollerton South, Rainworth, and Rufford, the District of Ashfield wards of Hucknall Central, Hucknall East, Hucknall North, and Hucknall West, and the Borough of Gedling wards of Bestwood St Albans (Bestwood Village only), Calverton, Lambley, Newstead, and Woodborough.

1997–2010: The District of Newark and Sherwood wards of Bilsthorpe, Blidworth, Boughton, Clipstone, Dover Beck, Edwinstowe, Farnsfield, Lowdham, Ollerton North, Ollerton South, Rainworth, and Rufford, the District of Ashfield wards of Hucknall Central, Hucknall East, Hucknall North, and Hucknall West, and the Borough of Gedling wards of Bestwood Park, Calverton, Lambley, Newstead, Ravenshead, and Woodborough.

2010–2024 The District of Newark and Sherwood wards of Bilsthorpe, Blidworth, Boughton, Clipstone, Edwinstowe, Farnsfield, Ollerton, and Rainworth, the District of Ashfield wards of Hucknall Central, Hucknall East, Hucknall North, and Hucknall West, and the Borough of Gedling wards of Bestwood Village, Calverton, Lambley, Newstead, Ravenshead, and Woodborough.

Current (Sherwood Forest)

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Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency is as follows (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

The District of Ashfield wards of: Hucknall Central; Hucknall North; Hucknall South; Hucknall West.
The Borough of Gedling wards of: Calverton; Newstead Abbey.
The District of Newark and Sherwood wards of: Bilsthorpe; Boughton; Dover Beck; Edwinstowe & Clipstone; Farnsfield; Lowdham; Ollerton; Rainworth North & Rufford; Rainworth South & Blidworth.[3]

The constituency saw minor boundary changes, primarily due to the redrawing of local authority ward boundaries.

The constituency is in central Nottinghamshire, covering parts of three local government authorities: Hucknall in the Ashfield district, parts of the Gedling borough, and the western part of the Newark and Sherwood district, the largest geographical area of the seat.

Constituency profile

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The seat name is common with Sherwood Forest. The seat is an area of contrasts such as Ravenshead, home to some of Nottinghamshire's most affluent residents, numerous smaller rural villages, one mining village and many ex-mining villages, and the town of Hucknall, the largest in the constituency, now a commuter town, but one which remains involved with mining. Thoresby, Edwinstowe once contained a large operational coal mine underground. It does not contain the Nottingham City ward of Sherwood, which is further south, within the Nottingham East constituency.

In statistics

The constituency consists of Census Output Areas of three local government districts with similar characteristics: a working population whose income is close to the national average, and lower than average reliance upon social housing.[4] At the end of 2012, the unemployment rate in the constituency stood as 3.5% of the population claiming jobseekers allowance, compared to an identical regional average which was below the national average.[5] Taking the part of Newark and Sherwood that contributes to the seat: a slightly below average 18.6% of its population are without a car, a medium 25.1% of the population are without qualifications and a high 24.2% have level 4 qualifications or above (2011). In terms of tenure, 70.2% of homes are owned outright or on a mortgage by occupants as at the 2011 census across that district.[6]

On the constituency's creation in 1983, Andy Stewart gained the seat for the Conservatives in their landslide victory that year with a small majority of 658. The Nottinghamshire miners drifted further from Labour during the 1984 strike and Stewart was re-elected with an increased majority in 1987. However, in 1992 the seat was gained for Labour by Paddy Tipping, who held it until he retired in 2010, when the seat was regained for the Conservatives by Mark Spencer, by a majority of 214. In 2015, Spencer's lead over the second placed candidate increased to 4,647 votes. This further increased in 2017 and another big swing to the Conservatives in 2019 saw Spencer's majority increase to 16,186, the first time a Conservative had a five-figure majority in the seat.[7]