Newport (Isle of Wight) (UK Parliament constituency) facts for kids

Newport was a special area in Newport on the Isle of Wight that used to elect people to the UK Parliament. It was sometimes called Medina. This area, known as a parliamentary borough, was eventually stopped from electing its own Members of Parliament (MPs) before the 1885 general election.

(It's good to know that before a big change in 1832, there was also another place called Newport in Cornwall that also elected MPs.)

History of Newport's Parliament Seat

Newport first sent representatives to Parliament way back in 1295. Then, from 1584 until 1868, it elected two Members of Parliament (MPs). These MPs were the people who spoke for Newport in the UK Parliament.

Changes to Newport's Representation

In 1868, a new law called the Second Reform Act changed things. Newport could only elect one MP instead of two. Later, in 1885, another law called the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 completely removed Newport's right to elect its own MP. After this, the town of Newport was represented as part of the larger Isle of Wight area.

Newport started electing MPs again in 1584. This happened because the new Governor of the Isle of Wight, Sir George Carey, who was related to Queen Elizabeth I, pushed for it. As a thank you, Newport gave him the right to choose one of the two MPs for life. It seems this was what he wanted when he asked the Queen for the change.

Famous MPs from Newport

Newport was represented by some very important people. Between 1807 and 1811, two future Prime Ministers were MPs for Newport:

• Arthur Wellesley, who later became the famous Duke of Wellington. He was also elected for two other places at the same time!
• Henry Temple, who later became Lord Palmerston. He was one of the UK's most well-known Prime Ministers.

In the 1820s, two more future Prime Ministers represented Newport:

• George Canning was an MP for Newport when he became Prime Minister in 1827. Back then, if a minister took a new job, they had to be re-elected. Canning chose to run in a different area called Seaford.
• After Canning left, William Lamb (who later became Viscount Melbourne) was elected for Newport. His father had also been an MP for Newport. However, Lamb was only an MP for Newport for two weeks before he was also elected for another place called Bletchingley, which he preferred.

Voting Rights and Control

Before the Great Reform Act of 1832, only a small group of people could vote in Newport. This group included the Mayor and the Corporation, which was made up of 11 aldermen and 12 burgesses.

For a long time, the Holmes family "managed" the borough for the government. This meant they could usually make sure that the government's chosen candidates were elected. However, this often involved giving a lot of money to the voters. For example, in 1754, it seems each candidate had to pay £600 to the voters.

The borough of Newport included the parish of Newport and a small part of St Nicholas parish. It did not include parts of the town that were in Carisbrooke parish. In 1831, the population of the borough was 4,398 people. The 1832 reforms made the borough bigger to include the rest of the town, increasing the population to 6,700. Even with this change, only 421 people could vote.

See also

• Isle of Wight
• Newtown
• Politics of the Isle of Wight
• Parliamentary representation from Isle of Wight