Wellingborough (UK Parliament constituency)

Wellingborough
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire.
Location of Northamptonshire within England.
County	Northamptonshire
Electorate	76,848 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Wellingborough, Rushden, Higham Ferrers and Irchester
Current constituency
Created	1918
Member of parliament	Peter Bone (Conservative Party)
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	East Midlands

Wellingborough is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Peter Bone, a Conservative.

This seat was created under the Representation of the People Act 1918.

Wellingborough's earliest years were left-leaning. Since the 1964 the seat has kept on producing examples of bellwether results and rarely showed itself to be safe for more than one government term. Departing from this are two years where the result has defied the most common result nationwide, by leaning towards the Conservative Party, in 1974 (twice) and in 2005.

Sir Geoffrey Shakespeare was a Lloyd-Georgist National Liberal who served in junior minister roles through much of World War II including, briefly as the Secretary for Overseas Trade in 1940.

The lack of other senior positions is assisted by no majority having been gained by the winner which is in national terms generally shown to be insurmountable, see marginal seat.

1918-1950: The Municipal Borough of Higham Ferrers, the Urban Districts of Finedon, Irthlingborough, Raunds, Rushden, and Wellingborough, the Rural District of Wellingborough, and in the Rural District of Thrapston the civil parishes of Chelveston-cum-Caldecott, Hargrave, and Stanwick.

1950-1974: The Municipal Borough of Higham Ferrers, the Urban Districts of Irthlingborough, Raunds, Rushden, and Wellingborough, the Rural District of Wellingborough, and in the Rural District of Oundle and Thrapston the civil parishes of Chelveston-cum-Caldecott and Hargrave.

1974-1983: The Municipal Borough of Higham Ferrers, the Urban Districts of Irthlingborough, Oundle, Raunds, Rushden, and Wellingborough, and the Rural Districts of Oundle and Thrapston, and Wellingborough.