Banbury is an important local centre for commerce and industry, especially in themotorsport sector.[2][3][4] In 2016 the town had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.[5] Chipping Norton is known for theChipping Norton set, a group of high-profile media and political personalities who live in the area.[6] Residents of the constituency are wealthier than the national average and around 90% of the population arewhite.[7]
Under theRedistribution of Seats Act 1885, the Parliamentary Borough was abolished and was reconstituted as the Northern orBanbury Division of Oxfordshire when the three-member Parliamentary County ofOxfordshire was divided into the three single-member seats: Banbury,Woodstock andHenley. It comprised the north-western part of Oxfordshire, including Chipping Norton as well as the abolished borough. Banbury has remained as such since then with varying boundaries (see below).
Banbury had a post-World War I unbroken Conservative representation and significant local support for the party for more than a century, from 1922 to 2024; during that period, the largest vote had been for aConservative. Since then, its representatives have all served long terms in office, and its MPs from 1922 to 2015 have all been knighted. Although the seat saw a very close election in 1923, the seat would turn out to be one of the Tories'safe seats in the succeeding elections: in 2010,Tony Baldry (Conservative) almost doubled his majority, while the 2015 result made the seat the 125th safest of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority.[9]Victoria Prentis would hold the seat for the Conservatives for nine more years after 2015, until the2024 general election saw theLabour candidate,Sean Woodcock, win the seat; consequently, this was the first time that the constituency elected a Labour Party MP.
Four of the six parties' candidates achieved more than thedeposit-retaining threshold of 5% of the vote in 2015. In 2001, the Labour Party candidate Lesley Silbey won the largest opposing-party share of the vote since 1974 — 35% of the vote. Prior to 1974, the highest percentage of votes for the second-placed candidate was in 1945 — 48% of the vote.
The Boroughs of Banbury, Chipping Norton, and Woodstock;
The Urban District of Witney;
The Rural Districts of Banbury, Chipping Norton, and Witney; and
The Rural District of Ploughley parishes of Begbroke, Gosford and Water Eaton, Hampton Gay and Poyle, Kidlington, Shipton on Cherwell, Thrupp, and Yarnton.[12]
Change to contents due to reorganisation of rural districts. Marginal loss to theOxford constituency as a result of the expansion of the County Borough of Oxford.
The Boroughs of Banbury, Chipping Norton, and Woodstock;
The Urban District of Bicester;
The Rural Districts of Banbury and Chipping Norton; and
The Rural District of Ploughley parishes of Ardley, Bucknell, Caversfield, Chesterton, Cottisford, Finmere, Fringford, Fritwell, Godington, Hardwick with Tusmore, Hethe, Kirtlington, Launton, Lower Heyford, Middleton Stoney, Mixbury, Newton Purcell with Shelswell, Somerton, Souldern, Stoke Lyne, Stratton Audley, and Upper Heyford.[13]
The Urban and Rural Districts of Witney and the parts of theRural District of Ploughley, includingKidlington, formed the basis of the new constituency ofMid-Oxon. Bicester and northern parts of the Rural District of Ploughley transferred fromHenley.
The District of Cherwell wards of Adderbury, Ambrosden, Ardley, Bicester East, Bicester South, Bicester West, Bloxham, Bodicote, Calthorpe, Chesterton, Cropredy, Deddington, Easington, Fringford, Grimsbury, Hardwick, Heyford, Hook Norton, Hornton, Kirtlington, Launton, Neithrop, Otmoor, Ruscote, Sibford, Steeple Aston, and Wroxton; and
The District of West Oxfordshire wards of Bartons and Tackley, and Wootton.[14]
Gained a small part of the abolished constituency of Mid-Oxon, to the south of Bicester. The bulk of the area comprising the former Urban and Rural Districts ofChipping Norton transferred to the new constituency ofWitney.
The District of West Oxfordshire wards of: Chadlington and Churchill; Charlbury and Finstock; Chipping Norton; Kingham, Rollright and Enstone; The Bartons.[17]
Major changes, with the town ofBicester and surrounding areas, comprising 38.5% of the existing electorate[18], being included in the newly created constituency ofBicester and Woodstock. This was partly offset by the transfer fromWitney of north-western parts of the District of West Oxfordshire, includingChipping Norton andCharlbury.
General Election 1939–40:Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;
General Election 1914–15:Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
^"Election Movements in England".Northern Standard. 19 June 1841. p. 1. Retrieved26 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.(subscription required)
^abTancred, Henry William (1969). Trinder, Barrie Stuart (ed.).A Victorian M.P. and his constituents: the correspondence of H. W. Tancred, 1841-1859 (Illustrated ed.). Banbury Historical Society. p. 105.
^"Banbury".Northampton Mercury. 28 March 1874. p. 8. Retrieved27 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.(subscription required)
^"Banbury".Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 16 November 1868. pp. 3–4. Retrieved28 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.(subscription required)
^"Banbury".Oxford Times. 22 July 1865. p. 7. Retrieved28 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.(subscription required)
^"The General Election".North Devon Gazette. 24 March 1857. p. 4. Retrieved7 April 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.(subscription required)
^"Election Intelligence".Liverpool Mail. 24 July 1847. p. 5. Retrieved26 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.(subscription required)
^"Banbury Election".Northampton Mercury. 3 July 1841. p. 3. Retrieved26 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.(subscription required)
^"Banbury, June 17".Oxford Journal. 19 June 1841. p. 2. Retrieved26 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.(subscription required)
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