Wycombe
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Wycombe in Buckinghamshire
Location of Buckinghamshire within England
County	Buckinghamshire
Electorate	76,046 (2018)[1]
Major settlements	High Wycombe
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of Parliament	Steve Baker (Conservative)
Seats	One
1295–1885
Seats	Two until 1868, then one
Type of constituency	County constituency

Wycombe (/ˈwɪkəm/) is a constituency^{[n 1]} in Buckinghamshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Steve Baker, a Conservative.^{[n 2]}

Constituency profile

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]

History

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.

Boundaries and boundary changes

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).

Members of Parliament

Elections

Election in the 1920s

General election 1929: Wycombe ^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Alfred Knox	23,231	47.4	−7.4
	Liberal	Leonard John Humphrey	16,929	34.5	+1.5
	Labour	R. Townsend	8,899	18.1	+5.9
Majority			6,302	12.9	−8.9
Turnout			49,059	71.1	−6.9
	Unionist hold		Swing	−4.5

General election 1924: Wycombe ^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Alfred Knox	20,820	54.8	+13.1
	Liberal	Vera Woodhouse	12,526	33.0	-11.9
	Labour	George Young	4,626	12.2	+0.8
Majority			8,294	21.8	N/A
Turnout			37,972	78.0	+9.8
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing

General election 1923: Wycombe ^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Vera Woodhouse	14,910	46.9	+11.1
	Unionist	William Baring du Pré	13,228	41.7	−8.4
	Labour	George Young	3,611	11.4	−2.7
Majority			1,682	5.2	N/A
Turnout			31,749	68.2	−1.0
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+9.8

Vera Terrington

General election 1922: Wycombe ^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Unionist	William Baring du Pré	15,627	50.1
	Liberal	Vera Woodhouse	11,154	35.8
	Labour	Samuel Stennett	4,403	14.1
Majority			4,473	14.3
Turnout			31,184	69.2
	Unionist hold

Elections 1868–1918

Elections in the 1910s

General election 14 December 1918: Wycombe ^[40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	William Baring du Pré	Unopposed
	Unionist hold
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

1914 Wycombe by-election^[41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Unionist	William Baring du Pré	9,044	57.4
	Liberal	Tonman Mosley	6,713	42.6
Majority			2,331	14.8
Turnout			15,757	86.3
Registered electors			18,268
	Unionist hold

General election December 1910: Wycombe ^[41][42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Cripps	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election January 1910: Wycombe ^[41][42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Cripps	8,690	58.6	+13.5
	Liberal	Arnold Herbert	6,134	41.4	−13.5
Majority			2,556	17.2	N/A
Turnout			14,824	90.6	+7.8
Registered electors			16,366
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+13.5

Elections in the 1900s

Herbert

General election 1906: Wycombe ^[41][43]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arnold Herbert	6,839	54.9	+17.9
	Conservative	Alfred Cripps	5,626	45.1	−17.9
Majority			1,213	9.8	N/A
Turnout			12,465	82.8	+8.6
Registered electors			15,050
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+17.9

General election 1900: Wycombe ^[41][43][44]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	William Grenfell	6,111	63.0
	Liberal	J. Thomas	3,582	37.0
Majority			2,529	26.0
Turnout			9,693	74.2
Registered electors			13,064
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1890s

By-election 21 February 1896: Wycombe ^[41][43][44]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Curzon	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

• Caused by Curzon's appointment as Treasurer of the Household.

General election 1895: Wycombe ^[41][43][44]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Curzon	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Hawkins

General election 1892: Wycombe ^[41][43]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Curzon	5,030	55.8	−0.8
	Liberal	Anthony Hope	3,988	44.2	+0.8
Majority			1,042	11.6	−1.6
Turnout			9,018	78.1	+5.7
Registered electors			11,546
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.8

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1886: Wycombe ^[41][43]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Curzon	4,620	56.6	+2.0
	Liberal	Alfred Gilbey (British soldier)	3,537	43.4	−2.0
Majority			1,083	13.2	+4.0
Turnout			9,331	72.4	−10.4
Registered electors			11,269
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.0

General election 1885: Wycombe ^[41][43][45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Richard Curzon	5,092	54.6
	Liberal	Rupert Carington	4,239	45.4
Majority			853	9.2
Turnout			9,331	82.8
Registered electors			11,269
	Conservative gain from Liberal

By-election 12 March 1883: Wycombe ^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Gerard Smith	1,105	66.5
	Conservative	James Simpson Carson[47]	557	33.5
Majority			548	33.0
Turnout			1,662	80.6
Registered electors			2,062
	Liberal hold

By-election 26 May 1880: Wycombe ^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Carington	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,865
	Liberal hold

• Caused by Carington's appointment as a Groom in Waiting.

General election 1880: Wycombe ^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Carington	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,865
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Wycombe ^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Carrington	953	68.7	+10.3
	Lib-Lab	Henry Broadhurst	415	29.9	N/A
	Liberal-Conservative	Frederick Charsley[48]	19	1.4	New
Majority			538	38.8	+22.0
Turnout			1,387	86.7	−3.1
Registered electors			1,599
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1868: Wycombe ^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	William Carrington	701	58.4
	Liberal	John Remington Mills	500	41.6
Majority			201	16.8
Turnout			1,201	89.8
Registered electors			1,338
	Liberal hold

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Buckinghamshire

Notes

References

Further reading

• 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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