Surbiton (UK Parliament constituency) facts for kids

Surbiton was an area in the UK that had its own special representative in the UK Parliament. This area is called a borough constituency. It was created for the election in 1955 and stopped being a separate area for elections in 1997.

At first, Surbiton was part of Surrey. After 1965, it became part of south-west London. Each time there was an election, the people of Surbiton voted for one person to be their Member of Parliament (MP). An MP is someone who represents the people in the House of Commons. They are chosen using a system called "first past the post." This means the candidate with the most votes wins.

History of Surbiton's Parliament Seat

For all the years Surbiton was a special election area (32 years!), it was considered a very safe seat for the Conservative Party. This means that a Conservative candidate almost always won the election there.

The party that came in second place usually stayed the same too. However, this changed once during the seat's history, in the 1983 election. The closest election result was in 1966. In that election, the winning Conservative candidate had a lead of 15.7% over the second-place candidate.

Where Were Surbiton's Borders?

The borders of the Surbiton election area changed a few times over the years.

1955 to 1974

During these years, the election area was exactly the same as the Municipal Borough of Surbiton.

1974 to 1983

The borders changed to include specific parts of the London Borough of Kingston upon Thames. These parts were called wards, like Berrylands, Chessington, Hook and Southborough, St Mark's and Seething Wells, Surbiton Hill, Tolworth East, Tolworth South, and Tolworth West.

1983 to 1997

The borders changed again slightly. They still included parts of the London Borough of Kingston upon Thames, but some ward names were updated. These included Berrylands, Chessington North, Chessington South, Hook, St Mark's, Surbiton Hill, Tolworth East, Tolworth South, and Tolworth West.

Overall, the Surbiton election area covered the eastern part of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. This area is in south-west London and is centered around the town of Surbiton. In 1997, the Surbiton election area was combined with another area to form a new, larger election area called Kingston and Surbiton. This happened because the Boundary Commission for England suggested that one election seat should be removed from the combined areas of Kingston and Richmond.

People Who Were Members of Parliament for Surbiton

The table below shows the people who were elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Surbiton.

Surbiton Election Results

During its time, Surbiton was a strong area for the Conservative Party. The people of Surbiton consistently voted for Conservative Members of Parliament.

• 1950s Elections: In the elections of 1955 and 1959, Sir Nigel Fisher of the Conservative Party won by a large number of votes. He had a very big lead over the Labour Party candidates.

• 1960s Elections: Sir Nigel Fisher continued to win in 1964 and 1966. His lead, while still good, became a bit smaller in these elections.

• 1970s Elections: Sir Nigel Fisher won all the elections in the 1970s (1970, February 1974, October 1974, and 1979). In 1970, new parties like the Liberal Party and an Independent Conservative candidate also ran. By 1979, Sir Nigel Fisher's lead grew much larger again.

• 1980s Elections: In 1983, Richard Tracey became the new Conservative MP for Surbiton. He also won by a good margin. In 1987, Richard Tracey was re-elected, keeping the seat for the Conservatives. The Social Democratic Party often came in second place during this time.

• 1990s Elections: Richard Tracey won the last election for Surbiton in 1992. He continued the trend of Conservative wins in the area. After this, the Surbiton election area was changed and combined with another.

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in London