Shrewsbury and Atcham (UK Parliament constituency)

Shrewsbury and Atcham
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
2010–2024 boundary of Shrewsbury and Atcham in Shropshire
Location of Shropshire within England
County	Shropshire
Electorate	82,238 (2019)
Major settlements	Shrewsbury
1983–2024
Seats	One
Created from	Shrewsbury
Replaced by	Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury and Atcham was a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.^{[n 2]}

Under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the constituency was subjected to minor boundary changes, and reverted to the name of Shrewsbury - dropping the "and Atcham" to reflect the abolition in 2009 of the Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council. The re-established constituency was first contested at the 2024 general election.^[1]

Map of boundaries 1983-2024

The constituency lay at the centre of Shropshire, a large inland county of England, bordering Wales.

The constituency was coextensive with that of the Central area of Shropshire Council (the same area as the former Borough of Shrewsbury and Atcham, after which the constituency was originally named).

At its heart lay the town of Shrewsbury (2011 population 71,715), which is the county town of Shropshire. It was otherwise a rural constituency. Villages such as Bayston Hill, Ford, Dorrington, Condover, Minsterley, Pontesbury, Bomere Heath, Wroxeter and Atcham were included. Its southern edge was the northern side of the Shropshire Hills AONB. The landscape of the constituency featured many small rivers which drain the fields and coppices into the upper plain of the River Severn, which cut straight through the area. The main roads through the area were the A5 and A49, providing links to nearby Telford as well as North Wales and the cities of Birmingham and Manchester. The total population of the area was around 105,000.

The constituency was established in 1983, replacing the Shrewsbury constituency, although this change was in name only and not in its boundaries.

On 10 December 2001, following his demand for a parliamentary debate before military intervention in Afghanistan, the incumbent Labour member, Paul Marsden, left the government's benches to join the Liberal Democrats; he remained there until 5 April 2005, when he sought to show strong solidarity with Labour Stop the War MPs by returning to his old party, becoming the first politician to cross the floor twice since Winston Churchill.^[2] During much of his time with the Liberal Democrats, Marsden was a senior health spokesman, shadowing the Secretary of State for Health and ministers.

Shrewsbury and Atcham was part of the Shropshire region for the purpose of reporting the results of the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum; the region voted 56.9% in favour of leaving the European Union on a turnout of 77.5%.^[3][4]

Constituency created from Shrewsbury

General election 1983: Shrewsbury and Atcham^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Derek Conway	24,397	49.5	0.9
	Alliance	Anthony Bowen	15,773	32.0	4.4
	Labour	Alan Mosley	9,080	18.4	5.5
Majority			8,624	17.5	N/A
Turnout			49,250	74.0	2.7
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election 1987: Shrewsbury and Atcham^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Derek Conway	26,027	47.8	1.7
	Alliance	Robert Hutchison	16,963	31.1	0.9
	Labour	Liz Owen	10,797	19.8	1.4
	Green	Geoff Hardy	660	1.2	New
Majority			9,064	16.7	1.2
Turnout			54,447	77.0	3.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.6

General election 1992: Shrewsbury and Atcham^[10][11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Derek Conway	26,681	45.8	2.0
	Liberal Democrats	Kenneth Hemsley	15,716	27.0	4.1
	Labour	Liz Owen	15,157	26.0	6.2
	Green	Geoff Hardy	677	1.2
Majority			10,965	18.8	2.1
Turnout			58,231	82.5	5.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	4.1

General election 1997: Shrewsbury and Atcham^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Marsden	20,484	37.0	11.0
	Conservative	Derek Conway	18,814	34.0	11.8
	Liberal Democrats	Anne Woolland	13,838	25.0	2.0
	Referendum	Dylan Barker	1,346	2.4	New
	UKIP	David Rowlands	477	0.9	New
	Country, Field and Shooting Sports	Alan Dignan	257	0.5	New
	People's Party	Alan Williams	128	0.2	New
Majority			1,670	3.0	N/A
Turnout			55,344	75.3	7.2
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	11.4

General election 2001: Shrewsbury and Atcham^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Marsden	22,253	44.6	7.6
	Conservative	Anthea McIntyre	18,674	37.4	3.4
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathan Rule	6,173	12.4	12.6
	UKIP	Henry Curteis	1,620	3.2	2.4
	Green	Emma Bullard	931	1.9	New
	Independent	James Gollins	258	0.5	New
Majority			3,579	7.2	4.2
Turnout			49,909	66.6	8.7
	Labour hold		Swing	2.1

General election 2005: Shrewsbury and Atcham^[14][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Daniel Kawczynski	18,960	37.7	0.3
	Labour	Michael Ion	17,152	34.1	10.5
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Burt	11,487	22.8	10.4
	UKIP	Peter Lewis	1,349	2.7	0.5
	Green	Emma Bullard	1,138	2.3	0.4
	Independent	James Gollins	126	0.3	0.2
	World	Nigel Harris	84	0.2	New
Majority			1,808	3.6	N/A
Turnout			50,296	68.7	2.1
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	5.4

General election 2010: Shrewsbury and Atcham^[16][17][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Daniel Kawczynski	23,313	43.9	6.3
	Liberal Democrats	Charles West	15,369	29.0	6.1
	Labour	Jon Tandy	10,915	20.6	13.5
	UKIP	Peter Lewis	1,627	3.1	0.4
	BNP	James Whittall	1,168	2.2	New
	Green	Alan Whittaker	565	1.1	1.2
	Impact	James Gollins	88	0.2	New
Majority			7,944	15.0	11.4
Turnout			53,045	70.3	1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.1

General election 2015: Shrewsbury and Atcham^{[19][20][21][22]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Daniel Kawczynski	24,628	45.5	1.6
	Labour	Laura Davies	15,063	27.8	7.3
	UKIP	Suzanne Evans	7,813	14.4	11.4
	Liberal Democrats	Christine Tinker	4,268	7.9	21.1
	Green	Emma Bullard	2,247	4.2	3.1
	Children of the Atom	Stirling McNeillie	83	0.2	New
Majority			9,565	17.7	2.7
Turnout			54,102	70.8	0.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	2.9

General election 2017: Shrewsbury and Atcham^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Daniel Kawczynski	29,073	50.0	4.4
	Labour	Laura Davies	22,446	38.6	10.7
	Liberal Democrats	Hannah Fraser	4,254	7.3	0.6
	UKIP	Edward Higginbottom	1,363	2.3	12.1
	Green	Emma Bullard	1,067	1.8	2.3
Majority			6,627	11.4	6.3
Turnout			58,203	73.6	2.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.1

General election 2019: Shrewsbury and Atcham^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Daniel Kawczynski	31,021	52.5	2.6
	Labour	Julia Buckley	19,804	33.5	5.1
	Liberal Democrats	Nat Green	5,906	10.0	2.7
	Green	Julian Dean	1,762	3.0	1.2
	Independent	Hannah Locke	572	1.0	New
Majority			11,217	19.0	7.6
Turnout			59,065	71.8	1.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.9

• Parliamentary constituencies in Shropshire
• Shrewsbury – pre-1983

• Shrewsbury and Atcham UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
• Shrewsbury and Atcham UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK