# Shrewsbury and Atcham (UK Parliament constituency)

Shrewsbury and Atcham was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.
Under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the constituency was subjected to minor boundary changes, and reverted to the name of Shrewsbury - dropping the "and Atcham" to reflect the abolition in 2009 of the Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council. The re-established constituency was first contested at the 2024 general election.

## Boundaries

The constituency lay at the centre of Shropshire, a large inland county of England, bordering Wales.
The constituency was coextensive with that of the Central area of Shropshire Council (the same area as the former Borough of Shrewsbury and Atcham, after which the constituency was originally named).

## Constituency profile

At its heart lay the town of Shrewsbury (2011 population 71,715), which is the county town of Shropshire. It was otherwise a rural constituency. Villages such as Bayston Hill, Ford, Dorrington, Condover, Minsterley, Pontesbury, Bomere Heath, Wroxeter and Atcham were included. Its southern edge was the northern side of the Shropshire Hills AONB. The landscape of the constituency featured many small rivers which drain the fields and coppices into the upper plain of the River Severn, which cut straight through the area. The main roads through the area were the A5 and A49, providing links to nearby Telford as well as North Wales and the cities of Birmingham and Manchester. The total population of the area was around 105,000.

## History

The constituency was established in 1983, replacing the Shrewsbury constituency, although this change was in name only and not in its boundaries.
On 10 December 2001, following his demand for a parliamentary debate before military intervention in Afghanistan, the incumbent Labour member, Paul Marsden, left the government's benches to join the Liberal Democrats; he remained there until 5 April 2005, when he sought to show strong solidarity with Labour Stop the War MPs by returning to his old party, becoming the first politician to cross the floor twice since Winston Churchill. During much of his time with the Liberal Democrats, Marsden was a senior health spokesman, shadowing the Secretary of State for Health and ministers.
Shrewsbury and Atcham was part of the Shropshire region for the purpose of reporting the results of the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum; the region voted 56.9% in favour of leaving the European Union on a turnout of 77.5%.

## Members of Parliament

Constituency created from Shrewsbury
| Election | Member | Party |
| 1983 | Derek Conway | Conservative |
| 1997 | Paul Marsden | Labour |
| 2001 | Paul Marsden | Liberal Democrats |
| 2005 | Paul Marsden | Labour |
| 2005 | Daniel Kawczynski | Conservative |
| 2024 | Constituency abolished: see Shrewsbury | Constituency abolished: see Shrewsbury |

## Election results 1983-2024
### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Shrewsbury and Atcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Derek Conway | 24,397 | 49.5 | 0.9 |
| | Alliance | Anthony Bowen | 15,773 | 32.0 | 4.4 |
| | Labour | Alan Mosley | 9,080 | 18.4 | 5.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,624 | 17.5 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,250 | 74.0 | 2.7 |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |
General election 1987: Shrewsbury and Atcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Derek Conway | 26,027 | 47.8 | 1.7 |
| | Alliance | Robert Hutchison | 16,963 | 31.1 | 0.9 |
| | Labour | Liz Owen | 10,797 | 19.8 | 1.4 |
| | Green | Geoff Hardy | 660 | 1.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,064 | 16.7 | 1.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,447 | 77.0 | 3.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 1.6 | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Shrewsbury and Atcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Derek Conway | 26,681 | 45.8 | 2.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Kenneth Hemsley | 15,716 | 27.0 | 4.1 |
| | Labour | Liz Owen | 15,157 | 26.0 | 6.2 |
| | Green | Geoff Hardy | 677 | 1.2 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,965 | 18.8 | 2.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 58,231 | 82.5 | 5.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 4.1 | |
General election 1997: Shrewsbury and Atcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Paul Marsden | 20,484 | 37.0 | 11.0 |
| | Conservative | Derek Conway | 18,814 | 34.0 | 11.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Anne Woolland | 13,838 | 25.0 | 2.0 |
| | Referendum | Dylan Barker | 1,346 | 2.4 | New |
| | UKIP | David Rowlands | 477 | 0.9 | New |
| | Country, Field and Shooting Sports | Alan Dignan | 257 | 0.5 | New |
| | People's Party | Alan Williams | 128 | 0.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,670 | 3.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,344 | 75.3 | 7.2 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | 11.4 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Shrewsbury and Atcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Paul Marsden | 22,253 | 44.6 | 7.6 |
| | Conservative | Anthea McIntyre | 18,674 | 37.4 | 3.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jonathan Rule | 6,173 | 12.4 | 12.6 |
| | UKIP | Henry Curteis | 1,620 | 3.2 | 2.4 |
| | Green | Emma Bullard | 931 | 1.9 | New |
| | Independent | James Gollins | 258 | 0.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,579 | 7.2 | 4.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,909 | 66.6 | 8.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 2.1 | |
General election 2005: Shrewsbury and Atcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Daniel Kawczynski | 18,960 | 37.7 | 0.3 |
| | Labour | Michael Ion | 17,152 | 34.1 | 10.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Richard Burt | 11,487 | 22.8 | 10.4 |
| | UKIP | Peter Lewis | 1,349 | 2.7 | 0.5 |
| | Green | Emma Bullard | 1,138 | 2.3 | 0.4 |
| | Independent | James Gollins | 126 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| | World | Nigel Harris | 84 | 0.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,808 | 3.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,296 | 68.7 | 2.1 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | 5.4 | |

### Elections in the 2010s

General election 2010: Shrewsbury and Atcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Daniel Kawczynski | 23,313 | 43.9 | 6.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Charles West | 15,369 | 29.0 | 6.1 |
| | Labour | Jon Tandy | 10,915 | 20.6 | 13.5 |
| | UKIP | Peter Lewis | 1,627 | 3.1 | 0.4 |
| | BNP | James Whittall | 1,168 | 2.2 | New |
| | Green | Alan Whittaker | 565 | 1.1 | 1.2 |
| | Impact | James Gollins | 88 | 0.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,944 | 15.0 | 11.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,045 | 70.3 | 1.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 0.1 | |
General election 2015: Shrewsbury and Atcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Daniel Kawczynski | 24,628 | 45.5 | 1.6 |
| | Labour | Laura Davies | 15,063 | 27.8 | 7.3 |
| | UKIP | Suzanne Evans | 7,813 | 14.4 | 11.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Christine Tinker | 4,268 | 7.9 | 21.1 |
| | Green | Emma Bullard | 2,247 | 4.2 | 3.1 |
| | Children of the Atom | Stirling McNeillie | 83 | 0.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,565 | 17.7 | 2.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,102 | 70.8 | 0.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 2.9 | |
General election 2017: Shrewsbury and Atcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Daniel Kawczynski | 29,073 | 50.0 | 4.4 |
| | Labour | Laura Davies | 22,446 | 38.6 | 10.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Hannah Fraser | 4,254 | 7.3 | 0.6 |
| | UKIP | Edward Higginbottom | 1,363 | 2.3 | 12.1 |
| | Green | Emma Bullard | 1,067 | 1.8 | 2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,627 | 11.4 | 6.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 58,203 | 73.6 | 2.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 3.1 | |
General election 2019: Shrewsbury and Atcham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Daniel Kawczynski | 31,021 | 52.5 | 2.6 |
| | Labour | Julia Buckley | 19,804 | 33.5 | 5.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nat Green | 5,906 | 10.0 | 2.7 |
| | Green | Julian Dean | 1,762 | 3.0 | 1.2 |
| | Independent | Hannah Locke | 572 | 1.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,217 | 19.0 | 7.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 59,065 | 71.8 | 1.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 3.9 | |