Bath (UK Parliament constituency)

Bath
County constituency for the House of Commons
Constituency location within Bath and North East Somerset, Somerset
Location of Somerset within England.
County	Somerset
Population	88,859 (2011 census)
Electorate	66,690 (December 2010)
Current constituency
Created	1295
Member of parliament	Ben Howlett (Conservative)
Number of members	Two (1295–1918) One (1918–present)
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South West England

Bath is a constituency in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom represented by Ben Howlett of the Conservative Party.

Perhaps its best-known representatives have been the two with international profiles: William Pitt the Elder (Prime Minister 1766–1768) and Chris Patten.

Bath is an ancient constituency which has been constantly represented in Parliament since boroughs were first summoned to send members in the 13th century.

Bath was one of the cities summoned to send members in 1295 and represented ever since, although Parliaments in early years were sporadic. Like almost all English constituencies before the Great Reform Act of 1832, it originally returned two members to each Parliament.

The precise way in which its MPs were chosen in medieval times is unknown. It is recorded that "election was by the Mayor and three citizens being sent from thence to the county court who in the name of the whole community, and by the assent of the community, returned their representatives"; but what form the "assent of the community" took is unrecorded, even assuming it was not a complete dead letter. By the 17th century elections had become more competitive, and the means of election in Bath had been formalised to a franchise restricted to the Mayor, Aldermen and members of the Common Council (the City Corporation), a total of thirty voters. The freemen of the city challenged this state of affairs in 1661 and again in 1705 claiming the right to vote and petitioning against the election of the candidates chosen by the corporation, but on both occasions the House of Commons, which at the time was still the final arbiter of such disputes, decided against them. The Commons resolution of 27 January 1708, "That the right of election of citizens to serve in Parliament for this city is in the mayor, aldermen and common-council only", settled the matter until 1832.