Corby and East Northamptonshire
Corby and East Northamptonshire is a constituency in the English county of Northamptonshire. It is represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since July 2024 by Lee Barron, of the Labour Party.
Prior to the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, the constituency was known as Corby. The 2024 general election was the first general election in which the 'Corby and East Northamptonshire' constituency was contested following the boundary changes of 2023.
Constituency profile
The Corby and East Northamptonshire constituency is located in Northamptonshire. It covers the large town of Corby, with a population of around 68,000, and the rural areas to its east. Other settlements in the constituency include the small market towns of Oundle, Thrapston and Raunds. Corby grew rapidly as an industrial town in the 1930s due to the establishment of a large steelworks. It has been nicknamed Little Scotland due to the large numbers of Scottish people who moved to Corby to work in the steel industry. Central Corby has high levels of deprivation whilst the rural areas of the constituency, particularly in the east around Oundle, are affluent.On average, residents of the constituency have average incomes and low levels of education and professional employment when compared to nationwide figures. At the local council, most of the constituency is represented by Reform UK, although some Labour Party councillors were elected in Corby and some Conservatives were elected in the rural east. Voters in the constituency showed strong support for leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, with an estimated 60% voting in favour of Brexit compared to 52% nationally.
History
From 1832 – 1918, the village of Corby was part of the North Northamptonshire constituency, which consisted of most of the Soke of Peterborough, the towns of Oundle and Thrapston and the surrounding villages and hamlets of north-eastern Northamptonshire.The North Northamptonshire constituency boundaries were changed slightly in 1885, with some of the constituency being transferred to the newly created Mid Northamptonshire constituency. However, Corby remained within the revised constituency of North Northamptonshire.
The North Northamptonshire constituency was abolished in 1918 for that year's general election, and from 1918, Corby was part of the Kettering constituency.
Corby remained part of the Kettering constituency until 1983. The Parliamentary seat of 'Corby' was created due to population increases in and around the town of Corby for the 1983 general election. Since creation, the Corby constituency has been a marginal seat being won by the party that won the national election at each general election since its creation, with Corby inclined towards Labour, and the rural towns and villages of East Northamptonshire mostly Conservative. The first Member of Parliament elected for the constituency in 1983 was William Powell, who represented the Conservatives for three sessions of Parliament until 1997. Labour then held the seat until 2010.
On 6 August 2012, MP for the seat since 2010 Louise Mensch announced she was resigning, triggering a by-election held on 15 November 2012. Labour's Andy Sawford won, becoming the first Labour MP for the seat since Phil Hope was defeated in 2010, and only the second in the seat's history. This was Labour's first by-election win from a Conservative since the 1997 Wirral South by-election. At the 2015 general election Tom Pursglove standing for the Conservatives won with a small majority. He won again with a similar margin in 2017 and in 2019 Tom Pursglove took the seat for the third time, but with a majority of over 10,000, turning Corby into a non-marginal seat by Conservative Party standards.
At the 2024 general election, the seat was gained by Labour's Lee Barron amidst their national landslide victory, continuing the seat's bellwether streak of voting for the party that won nationally at every general election since its creation in 1983.
Boundaries
Historic (Corby)
1983–2010: The District of Corby, and the District of East Northamptonshire wards of Barnwell, Brigstock, Drayton, Forest, Irthlingborough, King's Cliffe, Lower Nene, Margaret Beaufort, Oundle, Raunds, Ringstead, Stanwick, Thrapston, Willibrook, and Woodford.2010–2021: The Borough of Corby, and the District of East Northamptonshire wards of Barnwell, Dryden, Fineshade, Irthlingborough, King's Forest, Lower Nene, Lyveden, Oundle, Prebendal, Raunds Saxon, Raunds Windmill, Ringstead, Stanwick, Thrapston, and Woodford.
2021–2024: With effect from 1 April 2021, the Borough of Corby and the District of East Northamptonshire were abolished and absorbed into the new unitary authority of North Northamptonshire. From that date, the constituency comprised the District of North Northamptonshire wards of Corby Rural, Corby West, Irthlingborough, Kingswood, Lloyds, Oakley, Oundle, Raunds and Thrapston.
The constituency was created in 1983 from parts of the seats of Kettering and Wellingborough. It is named after the town of Corby in Northamptonshire, and also covers much of the local government district of East Northamptonshire, but excluding Rushden and Higham Ferrers which are in the Wellingborough constituency. The seat is a highly marginal contest between the Tories and Labour, with Labour's vote strongest in the town of Corby itself, against the solidly Conservative rural areas of East Northamptonshire.
The constituency was sometimes informally called "Corby and East Northamptonshire", but the 2007 Parliamentary Constituencies Order and Whitaker's Almanack both make it clear that, until 2024, its official name was "Corby".
Current (Corby and East Northamptonshire)
Following the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency is composed of the following wards of the District of North Northamptonshire:- Corby Rural ; Corby West; Irthlingborough ; Kingswood; Lloyds; Oakley; Oundle; Raunds; Thrapston.
Members of Parliament