# Staffordshire Moorlands (UK Parliament constituency)

Staffordshire Moorlands is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Karen Bradley, a Conservative who served as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport between 2016 and 2018, before she became Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2018 to 2019. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

## Boundaries

1983–1997: The District of Staffordshire Moorlands.
1997–2010: The District of Staffordshire Moorlands wards of Alton, Biddulph East, Biddulph Moor, Biddulph North, Biddulph South, Biddulph West, Caverswall, Cheddleton, Horton, Ipstones, Leek North East, Leek North West, Leek South East, Leek South West, Leekfrith, Longnor, Warslow, Waterhouses, Werrington, and Wetley Rocks, and the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme wards of Butt Lane, Kidsgrove, Newchapel, and Talke.
2010–2024: The District of Staffordshire Moorlands wards of Alton, Bagnall and Stanley, Biddulph East, Biddulph Moor, Biddulph North, Biddulph South, Biddulph West, Brown Edge and Endon, Caverswall, Cellarhead, Cheddleton, Churnet, Dane, Hamps Valley, Horton, Ipstones, Leek East, Leek North, Leek South, Leek West, Manifold, and Werrington, and the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme ward of Newchapel.
2024–present: The District of Staffordshire Moorlands wards of: Alton; Bagnall and Stanley; Biddulph East; Biddulph Moor; Biddulph North; Biddulph South; Biddulph West; Brown Edge and Endon; Caverswall; Cellarhead; Cheadle North East; Cheadle South East; Cheadle West; Cheddleton; Churnet; Dane; Hamps Valley; Horton; Ipstones; Leek East; Leek North; Leek South; Leek West; Manifold; Werrington.

### History of boundary changes

The constituency succeeded the former constituency of Leek at the 1983 general election.
The boundary changes which took effect at the 1997 general election proved to be among the most controversial of all those proposed by the Boundary Commission. Initially only minor changes were to be made: two rural wards to transfer to Stone (newly created). However, in the same proposed boundary changes, the neighbouring community of Kidsgrove had been split between two constituencies, with two wards remaining in the constituency of Stoke-on-Trent North and two wards transferring to Newcastle-under-Lyme. At the local enquiry into the changes, it was argued that this division of Kidsgrove was unacceptable and the assistant commissioner consequently recommended that all four Kidsgrove wards be transferred instead to Staffordshire Moorlands. To make way for the 19,000 voters in Kidsgrove (to that date shown to be heavily Labour-supporting, two wards, Endon & Stanley and Brown Edge, were transferred to Stoke-on-Trent North, while two more rural wards were transferred to the Stone constituency. It was estimated that if the constituency had been fought on the pre-1997 boundaries, Charlotte Atkins would have gained the seat by a majority of about 1,500 votes.
The boundary changes which took effect at the 2010 general election effectively reversed these changes: four of the five Kidsgrove wards transferred to Stoke-on-Trent North, with only one mainly rural ward, Newchapel, remaining in Staffordshire Moorlands. Brown Edge and Endon & Stanley returned to Staffordshire Moorlands. It was estimated that if the constituency had been fought at the 2005 election under the current boundaries, Labour would have lost the seat by 1,035 votes as opposed to the 2,438 votes that Charlotte Atkins won on that occasion.
Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the town of Cheadle was added from the abolished constituency of Stone in order to bring the electorate within the permitted range. The Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme ward of Newchapel was transferred to Stoke-on-Trent North.

## Constituency profile

The constituency covers a substantial rural area of north-east Staffordshire, northeast of Stoke-on-Trent, and borders Derbyshire and Cheshire. The largest towns are Leek, with its cobbled square and a high street lined with independent boutiques, the Churnet valley, Biddulph, in which the famous Biddulph Grange Gardens is located and Cheadle. The area also includes the wooded, hillside village of Rudyard with its long man-made lake and miniature railway, and about 30% is in a sparsely populated part of the Peak District of small villages, including Wetton, site of Old Hannah's Cave. Other rural villages such as Longnor and Alton, home to the theme park Alton Towers make up the constituency. The southern part of Dove Dale on the border features rock climbing as well as Jacob's Ladder and Bertram's cave and well.
Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.1% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.

## History

The forerunner seat, Leek, existed for nearly a century until 1983, and in its more recent history alternated between the Labour and Conservative parties three times after a Liberal had held the seat from 1910 until 1918. Despite this alternation, it was far from a bellwether (that is, a reflection of the national result), as Leek leaned more towards one party more than the other in two phases:
In the first, longer part of this period the seat was held mainly by William Bromfield (Lab), secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Textile Workers and Kindred Trades (ASTWKT), whose membership covered Staffordshire and South Cheshire, and then by the future Harold Davies (later Baron Davies of Leek), who as the main aide to Prime Minister Harold Wilson, was tasked with secret talks with Ho Chi Minh which failed due to a leak.
In the second part of this period David Knox, a pro-European Conservative, toward the left of his party, and a supporter of Ted Heath when he faced Margaret Thatcher's leadership challenge, helped to establish the Tory Reform Group. During his long tenure as MP for Leek, then Staffordshire Moorlands until 1997 he held the seat even during the Wilson-Callaghan government.
From its creation in 1983 this seat was indeed a bellwether for the national result, until 2024 when the seat remained Conservative despite the landslide majority for the Labour Party nationally. After Knox's retirement for the 1997 election, Charlotte Atkins held the seat for Labour until 2010 when it was captured by the current incumbent, Karen Bradley. There was a swing to the Conservatives in four consecutive elections (2010, 2015 and 2017, 2019), leading to a Conservative majority of over 37% in this seat in 2019. The majority reduced at the 2024 general election to less than 3%, when Bradley was re-elected with a reduced majority of 1,175 votes. Bradley served in the cabinet of both of Theresa May's governments, but returned to the backbenches after Boris Johnson became prime minister.

## Members of Parliament

Leek prior to 1983
| Election | Member | Party | Cabinet Positions |
| 1983 | David Knox | Conservative | |
| 1997 | Charlotte Atkins | Labour | |
| 2010 | Karen Bradley | Conservative | Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (2016–2018) Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (2018–2019) |

## Elections
### Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Staffordshire Moorlands :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Karen Bradley | 15,310 | 35.4 | −28.7 |
| | Labour | Alastair Watson | 14,135 | 32.6 | +5.9 |
| | Reform UK | Dave Poole | 10,065 | 23.2 | N/A |
| | Green | Helen Stead | 2,293 | 5.3 | +2.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Graham Oakes | 1,499 | 3.5 | −2.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,175 | 2.8 | −34.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,302 | 62.0 | −5.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −17.3 | |

### Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Staffordshire Moorlands :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Karen Bradley | 28,192 | 64.5 | +6.4 |
| | Labour | Darren Price | 11,764 | 26.9 | −7.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Andrew Gant | 2,469 | 5.7 | +2.4 |
| | Green | Douglas Rouxel | 1,231 | 2.8 | +1.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,428 | 37.6 | +13.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,656 | 66.7 | −0.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +6.7 | |
General election 2017: Staffordshire Moorlands :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Karen Bradley | 25,963 | 58.1 | +7.0 |
| | Labour | Dave Jones | 15,133 | 33.9 | +6.7 |
| | Independent | Nicholas Sheldon | 1,524 | 3.4 | New |
| | Liberal Democrats | Henry Jebb | 1,494 | 3.3 | −0.8 |
| | Green | Mike Shone | 541 | 1.2 | −1.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,830 | 24.2 | +0.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,713 | 67.6 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +0.15 | |
General election 2015: Staffordshire Moorlands :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Karen Bradley | 21,770 | 51.1 | +5.9 |
| | Labour | Trudie McGuinness | 11,596 | 27.2 | −2.7 |
| | UKIP | George Langley-Poole | 6,236 | 14.6 | +6.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Redfern | 1,759 | 4.1 | −12.6 |
| | Green | Brian Smith | 1,226 | 2.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,174 | 23.9 | +8.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,587 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +4.3 | |
General election 2010: Staffordshire Moorlands :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Karen Bradley | 19,793 | 45.2 | +5.4 |
| | Labour | Charlotte Atkins | 13,104 | 29.9 | −6.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Henry Jebb | 7,338 | 16.7 | −0.8 |
| | UKIP | Steve Povey | 3,580 | 8.2 | +1.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,689 | 15.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,815 | 70.6 | +2.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +5.7 | |
Although its predecessor seat was narrowly retained by Labour in 2005, intervening boundary changes made the constituency notionally Conservative prior to the 2010 general election, and it is therefore listed as a hold rather than a gain.

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Staffordshire Moorlands :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Charlotte Atkins | 18,126 | 41.0 | −8.0 |
| | Conservative | Marcus Hayes | 15,688 | 35.5 | +0.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Fisher | 6,927 | 15.7 | +1.8 |
| | UKIP | Stephen Povey | 3,512 | 7.9 | +6.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,438 | 5.5 | −8.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,253 | 64.0 | +0.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −4.1 | |
General election 2001: Staffordshire Moorlands :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Charlotte Atkins | 20,904 | 49.0 | −3.2 |
| | Conservative | Marcus Hayes | 15,066 | 35.3 | +2.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Redfern | 5,928 | 13.9 | +1.8 |
| | UKIP | Paul Gilbert | 760 | 1.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,838 | 13.7 | −5.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,658 | 63.9 | −13.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −3.0 | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Staffordshire Moorlands :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Charlotte Atkins | 26,686 | 52.2 | +17.4 |
| | Conservative | Andrew Ashworth | 16,637 | 32.6 | −14.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Christina Jebb | 6,191 | 12.1 | −2.8 |
| | Referendum | David Stanworth | 1,603 | 3.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,049 | 19.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,117 | 77.8 | −5.9 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +15.7 | |
General election 1992: Staffordshire Moorlands :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | David Knox | 29,240 | 46.6 | −6.3 |
| | Labour | JE Siddelley | 21,830 | 34.8 | +6.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | CR Jebb | 9,326 | 14.9 | −3.4 |
| | Anti-Federalist League | MC Howson | 2,121 | 3.4 | New |
| | Natural Law | P Davies | 261 | 0.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,410 | 11.8 | −12.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 62,778 | 83.7 | +3.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −6.2 | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Staffordshire Moorlands :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | David Knox | 31,613 | 52.9 | −0.9 |
| | Labour | Vera Ivers | 17,186 | 28.8 | +4.6 |
| | SDP | James Corbett | 10,950 | 18.3 | −3.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,427 | 24.1 | −5.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 59,749 | 80.4 | +3.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1983: Staffordshire Moorlands :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | David Knox | 30,079 | 53.8 | |
| | Labour | Brian Campbell | 13,513 | 24.2 | |
| | SDP | Paul Gubbins | 12,370 | 22.1 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,566 | 29.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,962 | 77.2 | |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |