Wessex (European Parliament constituency) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wessex |
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| European Parliament constituency | |
European Parliament logo
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| Member state | United Kingdom |
| Created | 1979 |
| Dissolved | 1984 |
| MEPs | 1 |
| Sources | |
| [1] | |
Wessex was a special area in England that used to choose one person to represent it in the European Parliament. This was like a big meeting place for countries in Europe. The Wessex area covered all of Dorset, plus parts of western Hampshire and southern Wiltshire. It was named after an old Anglo-Saxon kingdom called the Kingdom of Wessex.
Contents
What Was the Wessex European Parliament Area?
The European Parliament is a group of people chosen from different countries in Europe. They work together to make decisions that affect many countries. From 1979 to 1984, Wessex was one of the areas in the United Kingdom that elected a person to be a Member of the European Parliament (MEP).
How Elections Worked for Wessex
Before 1999, the United Kingdom used a system called "first-past-the-post" for its European elections. This means that the candidate who got the most votes in an area won, even if they didn't get more than half of all the votes. Each area, like Wessex, only elected one MEP.
The Wessex area was made up of several smaller voting areas. These were called Westminster Parliament constituencies. They included places like Bournemouth East, Bournemouth West, Christchurch and Lymington, North Dorset, Poole, South Dorset, Westbury and West Dorset.
What Happened to Wessex?
The Wessex European Parliament area didn't last very long. It was created in 1979 and then changed in 1984. Parts of Wessex became new areas like Dorset East and Hampshire West, Somerset and Dorset West, and Wiltshire. Later, in 1999, these areas became part of even bigger regions, such as South West England and South East England. This was when the UK started using a different way to elect MEPs, called proportional representation.
Who Represented Wessex?
Wessex only had one Member of the European Parliament during its time.
| Elected | Name | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | James Spicer | Conservative | |
| 1984 | The Wessex area was changed | ||
Election Results for Wessex
In the 1979 election, people in Wessex voted for their first and only MEP.
| European Parliament election, 1979: Wessex | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | James Spicer | 130,744 | 63.3 | ||
| Labour | John Goss | 42,910 | 20.8 | ||
| Liberal | W. M. Duncan | 31,220 | 15.1 | ||
| Wessex Regionalist | Viscount Weymouth | 1,706 | 0.8 | ||
| Majority | 87,834 | 42.5 | |||
| Turnout | 206,580 | 37.2 | |||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
