# Bristol (European Parliament constituency)

Bristol was a European Parliament constituency centred on Bristol in England, but covering much of Avon. Until 1984, it included parts of southern Gloucestershire and northwestern Wiltshire.
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.
When it was created in England in 1979, it consisted of the Westminster Parliament constituencies of Bristol North East, Bristol North West, Bristol South, Bristol South East, Bristol West, Chippenham, Kingswood, and South Gloucestershire. In 1984, it was redrawn to consist of Bath, Bristol East, Bristol North West, Bristol South, Bristol West, Kingswood, Northavon, and Wansdyke. In 1994, it consisted of Bristol East, Bristol North West, Bristol South, Bristol West, Kingswood, Northavon, and Woodspring.
The seat became part of the much larger South West England constituency in 1999.

## Members of the European Parliament

| Election | Member | Party | Party |
| 1979 | Richard Cottrell | | Conservative |
| 1989 | Ian White | | Labour |

## Results

European Parliament election, 1979: Bristol :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Richard Cottrell | 100,160 | 54.2 | |
| | Labour | Doug Naysmith | 59,443 | 32.1 | |
| | Liberal | James P. Heppell | 25,308 | 13.7 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 40,717 | 22.1 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 184,911 | 35.1 | |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |
European Parliament election, 1984: Bristol :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Richard Cottrell | 94,652 | 46.1 | −8.2 |
| | Labour | Roger Berry | 77,008 | 37.5 | +5.4 |
| | SDP | Peter J. Farley | 33,698 | 16.4 | +2.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,644 | 8.6 | −13.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 205,438 | 36.0 | +0.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
European Parliament election, 1989: Bristol :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Ian White | 87,753 | 39.5 | +2.0 |
| | Conservative | Richard Cottrell | 77,771 | 35.0 | −11.1 |
| | Green | Derek Wall | 39,436 | 17.7 | New |
| | SLD | Charles Boney | 16,309 | 7.3 | −9.1 |
| | Wessex Regionalist | Gwendoline McEwen | 1,017 | 0.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,982 | 4.5 | −4.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 222,286 | 39.6 | +3.6 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
European Parliament election, 1994: Bristol :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Ian White | 90,790 | 44.1 | +4.6 |
| | Conservative | Earl of Stockton | 60,835 | 29.6 | −5.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jim A. W. Barnard | 40,394 | 19.6 | +12.3 |
| | Green | John H. Boxall | 7,163 | 3.5 | −14.2 |
| | UKIP | Thomas H. Whittingham | 5,798 | 2.8 | New |
| | Natural Law | Thomas Dyball | 876 | 0.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 29,955 | 14.5 | +10.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 205,856 | 40.9 | +1.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |