Wessex (European Parliament constituency)

Wessex
European Parliament constituency
Member stateUnited Kingdom
Created1979
Dissolved1984
MEPs1
Sources
[1]

Wessex was a European Parliament constituency covering all of Dorset in England, plus parts of western Hampshire and southern Wiltshire. It was named after the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Wessex.

Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first-past-the-post for the European elections in England, Scotland and Wales. The European Parliament constituencies used under that system were smaller than the later regional constituencies and only had one Member of the European Parliament each.

The constituency consisted of the Westminster Parliament constituencies of Bournemouth East, Bournemouth West, Christchurch and Lymington, North Dorset, Poole, South Dorset, Westbury and West Dorset.[1]

The constituency was replaced by much of Dorset East and Hampshire West and parts of Somerset and Dorset West and Wiltshire in 1984. Following further changes, these seats became part of the much larger South West England and South East England constituencies in 1999.

Members of the European Parliament

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Elected Name Party
1979 James Spicer Conservative
1984 Constituency abolished

Results

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European Parliament election, 1979: Wessex[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Spicer 130,744 63.3
Labour John Goss 42,910 20.8
Liberal W. M. Duncan 31,220 15.1
Wessex Regionalist Viscount Weymouth 1,706 0.8
Majority 87,834 42.5
Turnout 206,580 37.2
Conservative win (new seat)

References

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  1. ^ "David Boothroyd's United Kingdom Election Results". Retrieved 20 January 2008.
  2. ^ United Kingdom European Parliamentary Election results 1979-99: England: Part 2
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