Rushcliffe (UK Parliament constituency)

Rushcliffe
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire.
Location of Nottinghamshire within England.
County	Nottinghamshire
Electorate	73,430 (December 2010)
Major settlements	West Bridgford
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of parliament	Kenneth Clarke (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	South Nottinghamshire
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	East Midlands

Rushcliffe is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1970 by Ken Clarke, a Conservative.

The constituency was formed by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (for first use during the election that year).

Since 1950 it has been a safe seat for the Conservative Party whose members have held it without marginal majorities except for a four-year period when it was held by Labour from 1966 coinciding with the First Wilson Ministry. Unlike other constituencies nearby, such as Broxtowe and Gedling, which were previously held by the Conservatives, they retained Rushcliffe in the 1997 New Labour landslide. This was at the time attributed in part to its more rural nature, but also to the personal popularity of the incumbent MP, Conservative Kenneth Clarke.

1885-1918: Part of the Sessional Division of Nottingham.

1918-1950: The Urban Districts of Beeston, Carlton, and West Bridgford, the Rural Districts of Leake and Stapleford, the Rural District which consisted of the civil parishes of Kingston-on-Soar and Ratcliffe-on-Soar, and in the Rural District of Basford the civil parishes of Awsworth, Barton-in-Fabis, Bilborough, Bradmore, Bunny, Burton Joyce, Clifton-with-Glapton, Colwick, Cossall, Gamston, Gedling, Gotham, Nuthall, Ruddington, South Wilford, Stoke Bardolph, Strelley, Thrumpton, Trowell, and Wollaton.

1950-1955: The Urban Districts of Beeston and Stapleford, and West Bridgford, and in the Rural District of Basford the civil parishes of Barton-in-Fabis, Bilborough, Bradmore, Bunny, Clifton with Glapton, Colwick, Costock, East Leake, Gedling, Gotham, Kingston-on-Soar, Normanton-on-Soar, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, Rempstone, Ruddington, Stanford-on-Soar, Sutton Bonington, Thorpe-in-the-Glebe, Thrumpton, West Leake, Willoughby-on-the-Wolds, and Wysall.