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North Cornwall
North Cornwall
County constituency; for the House of Commons
	Boundary of North Cornwall in South West England
County	Cornwall
Electorate	76,741 (2024)
Major settlements	Bodmin, Bude, Camelford, Launceston, Padstow and Wadebridge
Current constituency
Created	1918
Member of Parliament	Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat)
Seats	One
Created from	Launceston and St Austell

North Cornwall is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Ben Maguire, a Liberal Democrat since the 2024 general election. Like all British constituencies, the seat elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years. The seat was created in 1918. Since 1950, the constituency has been held by MPs from either the Conservative Party or the Liberal Democrats (including the party's predecessor, the Liberal Party).

History

This constituency was created under the Representation of the People Act 1918.^[2]

With exceptions in 1997, 2001 and 2019, the seat's margin of victory has been less than 20% of the vote. It has been consistently fought over between and won by the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats' candidate (or predecessor party in the latter case), and can be considered a marginal seat. In 1997 and 2001 the seat turned out strongly overall for the latter party. However, in the 2019 general election, the Conservatives won a large majority of 28.6% over the Liberal Democrat candidate. This was overturned in the 2024 general election when the Liberal Democrats recaptured the seat with a majority of 19.4%.

The highest third-placed (other party) candidate was the 16.4% achieved by Reform UK in 2024. The seat saw three years of defection of its Liberal MP to join the post-World War II Attlee Ministry however in 2015 saw the lowest share of the Labour Party's vote nationally – reinforcing a consistent result by a great majority supporting left-wing politics to vote for a Liberal and later Liberal Democrat at general elections since the seat's inception.

Boundaries

Map of current boundaries

1918–1950: The Borough of Launceston, the Urban Districts of Newquay, Padstow, Stratton and Bude, and Wadebridge, the Rural Districts of Calstock, Camelford, Launceston, St Columb Major, and Stratton, and parts of the Rural Districts of Bodmin and Holsworthy (these areas such as Whitstone and Week St Mary were on the Cornish side of the border).

1950–1974: The Borough of Launceston, the Urban Districts of Bude-Stratton, Newquay, and Padstow, the Rural Districts of Camelford, Launceston, and Stratton, and parts of the Rural Districts of St Austell and Wadebridge.

1974–1983: The Borough of Launceston, the Urban Districts of Bude-Stratton and Newquay, the Rural Districts of Camelford, Launceston, and Stratton, and parts of the Rural Districts of St Austell, and Wadebridge and Padstow.

1983–2010: The District of North Cornwall wards of Allan, Altarnun, Bodmin St Mary's, Bodmin St Petroc, Bude and Poughill, Camelford, Grenville, Lanivet, Launceston North, Launceston South, Lesnewth, North Petherwin, Ottery, Padstow and St Merryn, Penfound, Rumford, St Breward, St Endellion, St Minver, St Teath, South Petherwin, Stratton, Tintagel, Trigg, Wadebridge, and Week St Mary, and the Borough of Restormel wards of Edgcumbe, Gannel, Rialton, St Columb, and St Enoder.

2010–2024: The District of North Cornwall.

2024–present: Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which became effective for the 2024 general election, the constituency is composed of the following electoral divisions of Cornwall (as they existed on 4 May 2021):

Altarnun & Stoke Climsland; Bodmin St Mary’s & St. Leonard; Bodmin St Petroc’s; Bude; Camelford & Boscastle; Lanivet, Blisland & Bodmin St Lawrence; Launceston North & North Petherwin; Launceston South; Padstow; Poundstock; St Columb Major, St Mawgan & St Wenn; St Teath & Tintagel; Stratton, Kilkhampton & Morwenstow; Wadebridge East & St Minver; Wadebridge West & St Mabyn.^[3]

The St Columb Major, St Mawgan & St Wenn division was transferred from St Austell and Newquay. Otherwise unchanged.

Historically four borough constituencies lay within the boundaries, three of which were abolished as 'rotten boroughs' by the Great Reform Act, 1832:

Bossiney (abolished 1832)
Camelford (abolished 1832)
Launceston (abolished 1885)
Newport (abolished 1832 - settlement now a suburb of Launceston).

Members of Parliament

	Member^[4]	Party
1918	George Marks	Coalition Liberal
1924	Alfred Martyn Williams	Conservative
1929	Sir Donald Maclean	Liberal
1932 by-election	Sir Francis Dyke Acland	Liberal
1939 by-election	Tom Horabin	Liberal
1946		Independent
1947		Labour
1950	Sir Harold Roper	Conservative
1959	James Scott-Hopkins	Conservative
1966	John Pardoe	Liberal
1979	Gerry Neale	Conservative^{[n 2]}
1992	Paul Tyler	Liberal Democrat
2005	Dan Rogerson	Liberal Democrat
2015	Scott Mann	Conservative
2024	Ben Maguire	Liberal Democrat

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: North Cornwall^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Ben Maguire	24,094	47.0	+17.1
	Conservative	Scott Mann	14,137	27.6	−31.5
	Reform UK	Rowland O'Connor	8,444	16.5	N/A
	Labour	Robyn Harris	2,958	5.8	−3.8
	Green	Lance Symonds	1,335	2.6	+2.4
	Heritage	Sarah Farrell	277	0.5	N/A
Majority			9,957	19.4	N/A
Turnout			52,055	67.8	−4.3
Registered electors			76,741
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	24.9

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result^[6]
Party		Vote	%
	Conservative	31,941	59.1
	Liberal Democrats	16,158	29.9
	Labour	5,201	9.6
	Others	676	1.3
	Green	101	0.2

Turnout		54,077	72.1
Electorate		75,034

General election 2019: North Cornwall^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Scott Mann	30,671	59.4	+8.7
	Liberal Democrats	Danny Chambers	15,919	30.8	−5.8
	Labour	Joy Bassett	4,516	8.7	−3.4
	Liberal	Elmars Liepins	572	1.1	N/A
Majority			14,752	28.6	+14.5
Turnout			51,678	73.9	−0.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.3

General election 2017: North Cornwall^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Scott Mann	25,835	50.7	+5.7
	Liberal Democrats	Dan Rogerson	18,635	36.6	+5.4
	Labour	Joy Bassett	6,151	12.1	+6.7
	CPA	John Allman	185	0.4	+0.3
	Socialist Labour	Robert Hawkins	138	0.3	N/A
Majority			7,200	14.1	+0.3
Turnout			50,944	74.0	+2.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.3

General election 2015: North Cornwall^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Scott Mann	21,689	45.0	+3.3
	Liberal Democrats	Dan Rogerson	15,068	31.2	−16.9
	UKIP	Julie Lingard	6,121	12.7	+7.8
	Labour	John Whitby	2,621	5.4	+1.2
	Green	Amanda Pennington	2,063	4.3	N/A
	Mebyon Kernow	Jerry Jefferies	631	1.3	+0.2
	Restore the Family for Children's Sake	John Allman	52	0.1	N/A
Majority			6,621	13.8	N/A
Turnout			48,245	71.8	+3.6
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	+10.1

General election 2010: North Cornwall^[10]^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Dan Rogerson	22,512	48.1	+5.7
	Conservative	Sian Flynn	19,531	41.7	+6.3
	UKIP	Miriel O'Connor	2,300	4.9	−0.8
	Labour	Janet Hulme	1,971	4.2	−8.3
	Mebyon Kernow	Joanie Willet	530	1.1	−2.1
Majority			2,981	6.4	+0.9
Turnout			46,844	68.2	+3.7
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	−0.3

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: North Cornwall^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Dan Rogerson	23,842	42.6	−9.4
	Conservative	Mark Formosa	20,766	37.1	+3.3
	Labour	David Acton	6,636	11.9	+2.2
	UKIP	David Campbell-Bannerman	3,063	5.5	+1.1
	Mebyon Kernow	Dick Cole	1,351	2.4	N/A
	Veritas	Alan Eastwood	324	0.6	N/A
Majority			3,076	5.5	−12.7
Turnout			55,982	64.5	+0.7
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	−6.4

General election 2001: North Cornwall^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Tyler	28,082	52.0	−1.2
	Conservative	John Weller	18,250	33.8	+4.3
	Labour	Michael Goodman	5,257	9.7	+0.3
	UKIP	Steve Protz	2,394	4.4	N/A
Majority			9,832	18.2	−5.5
Turnout			53,983	63.8	−9.3
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	−2.7

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: North Cornwall^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Tyler	31,100	53.2	+5.8
	Conservative	Nigel Linacre	17,253	29.5	−14.8
	Labour	Anne Lindo	5,523	9.4	+2.8
	Referendum	Felicity Odam	3,636	6.2	N/A
	Mebyon Kernow	John Bolitho	645	1.1	N/A
	Liberal	Rif Winfield	186	0.3	−0.8
	Natural Law	Nicholas Creswell	152	0.3	+0.1
Majority			13,847	23.7	+10.6
Turnout			58,495	73.1	−9.0
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	+10.3^{[n 3]}

General election 1992: Cornwall North^[15]^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Tyler	29,696	47.4	+5.5
	Conservative	Gerry Neale	27,775	44.3	−7.4
	Labour	Frank Jordan	4,103	6.6	+0.2
	Liberal	Philip Andrews	678	1.1	N/A
	Independent	Geoffrey Rowe	276	0.4	N/A
	Natural Law	Robyn Treadwell	112	0.2	N/A
Majority			1,921	3.1	N/A
Turnout			62,640	82.1	+2.3
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	+6.5

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Cornwall North^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gerry Neale	29,862	51.7	−0.7
	Liberal	Michael Mitchell	24,180	41.9	−1.1
	Labour	Christine Herries	3,719	6.4	+2.5
Majority			5,682	9.8	+0.4
Turnout			57,761	79.8	−0.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.9

General election 1983: Cornwall North^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gerry Neale	28,146	52.4	+0.8
	Liberal	David Chambers	23,087	43.0	−0.8
	Labour	James Hayday	2,096	3.9	−0.7
	Cornish Nationalist	James Whetter	364	0.7	N/A
Majority			5,059	9.4	+1.6
Turnout			53,693	80.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.8

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Cornwall North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gerry Neale	24,489	51.65	+9.65
	Liberal	John Pardoe	20,742	43.75	−7.50
	Labour	R.B. Tremlett	1,514	3.19	−3.21
	Ecology	J. Faull	442	0.93	N/A
	National Front	R. Bridgwater	224	0.47	N/A
Majority			3,747	7.90	N/A
Turnout			47,411	86.1	+5.6
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+8.58

General election October 1974: Cornwall North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Pardoe	21,368	51.25	−6.65
	Conservative	Gerry Neale	17,512	42.00
	Labour	R. Tremlett	2,663	6.40
	Anti Party System	R.J. Bridgwater	148	0.35	N/A
Majority			3,856	9.25
Turnout			41,691	80.52
	Liberal hold		Swing

February 1974; new constituency boundaries applied.

General election February 1974: Cornwall North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	John Pardoe	25,667	57.90
	Conservative	Trixie Gardner	16,938	38.21
	Labour	J.B. Benjamin	1,726	3.89
Majority			8,729	19.69
Turnout			44,331	86.29
	Liberal hold		Swing

General election 1970: Cornwall North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	John Pardoe	19,863	48.64
	Conservative	Simon James Day	19,223	47.10
	Labour	Ernest William J Hill	1,741	4.26
Majority			630	1.54
Turnout			40,827	85.11
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Cornwall North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Pardoe	18,460	48.50	+4.69
	Conservative	James Scott-Hopkins	16,952	44.54	–1.14
	Labour	Reginald S. Wills	2,647	6.95	–2.82
Majority			1,508	3.96	N/A
Turnout			38,059	87.53
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

General election 1964: Cornwall North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Scott-Hopkins	16,352	45.68
	Liberal	Charles Meddon Karslake Bruton	15,683	43.81
	Labour	Raymond S Dash	3,497	9.77
	Independent	Edward George C Voullaire	265	0.74	N/A
Majority			669	1.87
Turnout			35,797	83.10
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Cornwall North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Scott-Hopkins	16,701	46.7	−0.7
	Liberal	Edwin Malindine	15,712	43.9	+1.0
	Labour	William Carlo Ferman	3,389	9.5	−0.3
Majority			989	2.8	−1.7
Turnout			35,802	83.7	+1.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1955: Cornwall North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Harold Roper	16,824	47.38
	Liberal	Edwin Malindine	15,220	42.86
	Labour	Vernon Eric Cornford	3,465	9.76
Majority			1,604	4.52
Turnout			35,509	82.30
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1951: Cornwall North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Harold Roper	18,009	48.77
	Liberal	Dingle Foot	12,869	34.85
	Labour	William Carlo Ferman	6,049	16.38
Majority			5,140	13.92
Turnout			36,927	85.71
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1950: Cornwall North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Harold Roper	17,059	46.6	+1.2
	Liberal	Dingle Foot	13,987	38.3	−14.6
	Labour	Herbert Leslie Richardson	5,521	15.1	N/A
Majority			3,072	8.3	N/A
Turnout			36,567	85.9	+13.2
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Cornwall North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Tom Horabin	18,836	52.9	+1.6
	Conservative	Thomas Percy Fulford	16,171	45.4	−3.3
	Independent Labour	John Hazlewood Worrall	626	1.8	N/A
Majority			2,665	7.5	+4.9
Turnout			35,633	72.7	−7.2
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

1939 North Cornwall by-election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Tom Horabin	17,072	52.2	+0.9
	Conservative	Edward Robin Whitehouse	15,608	47.8	−0.9
Majority			1,464	4.4	+1.8
Turnout			32,680	79.3	−0.6
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.9

1935 general election: North Cornwall
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Francis Dyke Acland	16,872	51.3	+2.2
	Conservative	Edward Robin Whitehouse	16,036	48.7	+3.4
Majority			836	2.6	−1.2
Turnout			32,908	79.9	−5.8
	Liberal hold		Swing	-1.1

1932 North Cornwall by-election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Francis Dyke Acland	16,933	52.4	+3.3
	Conservative	Alfred Martyn Williams	15,387	47.6	+2.3
Majority			1,546	4.8	+1.0
Turnout			32,320	80.8	−4.9
	Liberal hold		Swing

Death of Maclean 15 June 1932

1931 general election: North Cornwall
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Donald Maclean	16,867	49.1	−0.6
	Conservative	Alfred Martyn Williams	15,526	45.3	+3.0
	Labour	Arthur Bennett	1,907	5.6	−2.4
Majority			1,341	3.8	−3.6
Turnout			35,300	85.7	−0.4
	Liberal hold		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

1929 general election: North Cornwall
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Donald Maclean	16,586	49.7	+3.3
	Unionist	Alfred Martyn Williams	14,095	42.3	−11.3
	Labour	F. E. Church	2,654	8.0	N/A
Majority			2,491	7.4	N/A
Turnout			33,335	86.1	+8.1
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+7.3

General election 1924: North Cornwall
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Alfred Martyn Williams	12,639	53.6	+10.1
	Liberal	George Marks	10,927	46.4	−10.1
Majority			1,712	7.2	N/A
Turnout			23,566	78.0	+2.4
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing

General election 1923: North Cornwall
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	George Marks	12,434	56.5	*N/A*
	Unionist	Charles Alexander Petrie	9,581	43.5	N/A
Majority			2,853	13.0	N/A
Turnout			22,015	75.6	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1922: North Cornwall
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	George Marks	Unopposed	*N/A*	*N/A*
	National Liberal hold

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: North Cornwall
Party		Candidate	Votes
C	Liberal	George Marks	Unopposed
	Liberal win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Notes

^ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
^ Knighted in 1991
^ The largest two-party swing in this election was (Con-Ref): 10.5%