Ipswich (UK Parliament constituency)

Ipswich is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since July 2024 by Jack Abbott of the Labour Party.

History

The constituency was created as Parliamentary Borough in the fourteenth century, returning two MPs to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and from 1801 to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The constituency's parliamentary representation was reduced to a single seat with one MP under the Representation of the People Act 1918. Prior to the 1983 general election, when north-western areas were transferred to the Central Suffolk constituency, the Parliamentary and Municipal/County Boroughs were the same
Before the Reform Act 1832, the franchise in Ipswich was in the hands of the Ipswich Corporation and the Freemen. Ipswich was seen as a partisan seat with active Blue and Yellow factions dominating elections for both Parliament and the corporation and comparatively rare split tickets of one Whig and one Tory being returned to Parliament, although the identification of the local parties with national parties could at times be very blurred. In the mid eighteenth century the constituency had an electorate of around 700, which was a middle sized borough by the standards of the time – and a reputation of a borough that was likely to offer stiff opposition to government favoured candidates.
Ipswich is a marginal seat, having changed hands eleven times since its creation as a single-member constituency in 1918. It has generally been favourable to Labour Party candidates, who succeeded at every postwar general election since the end of World War II except 1970, February 1974, 1987, 2010, 2015 and 2019. It was traditionally won by either party by fairly small margins; however, from 1997 until being gained by the Conservative Party in 2010, Labour won the contests with safer margins, and after the Conservatives increased their majority in 2015, Labour regained the seat in 2017 only to lose it again in 2019 when the Conservative candidate got more than half the votes cast when there were more than two candidates for the first time since 1918. This was turned around in 2024 when Labour won the seat once again with a healthy majority of 16.8%
Ipswich was the only seat won by a Labour candidate at the 2017 general election from a total of seven seats in Suffolk, the others being retained by Conservatives and more rural in comparison to Ipswich. Martin's 2017 election victory was one of thirty net gains made by the Labour Party.

Constituency profile

The constituency includes Ipswich town centre and docks, with its mix of historic buildings and modern developments. Ipswich is a bustling town that serves as a centre for the rest of Suffolk which is predominantly rural and remote, and has the only serious concentration of Labour voters in the county, other than in Lowestoft.
Portman Road Football Ground to the West of the centre, and the new university to the East are both in the seat, as is the vast Chantry council estate to the South.
Ipswich's Conservative-leaning suburbs, such as Castle Hill, Westerfield and Kesgrave, extend beyond the constituency's boundaries – the northernmost wards are in the Suffolk Central constituency, and several strong Conservative areas are just outside the borough's tightly drawn limits, making Ipswich a target seat for Labour.

Boundaries

The present-day constituency consists of most of the Borough of Ipswich, with the exception of the Castle Hill, Whitehouse and Whitton wards.
1918–1983: The County Borough of Ipswich.
1983–2010: The Borough of Ipswich wards of Bixley, Bridge, Chantry, Gainsborough, Priory Heath, Rushmere, St Clement's, St John's, St Margaret's, Sprites, Stoke Park, and Town.
2010–present: The Borough of Ipswich wards of Alexandra, Bixley, Bridge, Gainsborough, Gipping, Holywells, Priory Heath, Rushmere, St John's, St Margaret's, Sprites, Stoke Park, and Westgate.
The 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies left the boundaries unchanged.

Members of Parliament

Freemen belonging to the Ipswich Corporation were entitled to elect two burgesses to the Parliament of England from the fourteenth century which continued uninterrupted after the parliament united with Scotland and Ireland, only becoming a single member constituency in 1918.

MPs 1386–1660

Parliament	First member	Second member
1380	William Master	?
1385	William Master	?
1386	Geoffrey Starling	Robert Waleys
1388	Geoffrey Starling	Robert Waleys
1388	John Arnold	Robert Waleys
1390	Geoffrey Starling	Robert Hethe
1390		-
1391	Geoffrey Starling	Robert Andrew
1393	?Geoffrey Starling	?Robert Andrew
1394	John Arnold	Henry Wall
1395	Geoffrey Starling	William Master
1397	John Arnold	John Bernard
1397	William Debenham	John Bernard
1399	John Arnold	John Lewe
1401		-
1402	Richard Church	John Starling
1404		-
1404		-
1406	Robert Lucas	John Starling
1407	John Felbrigg	John Bernard
1410	John Rous	James Andrew
1411	John Bernard	John Starling
1413		-
1413	James Andrew	John Starling
1414		-
1414	William Debenham I	John Rous
1415		-
1416		-
1416		-
1417	William Debenham II	James Andrew
1419	William Debenham II	James Andrew
1420	John Knepping	John Wood
1421	William Debenham II	James Andrew
1421	Thomas Kempstone II	William Weatherfeld
1449	Richard Felaw
1455	Sir Gilbert Debenham
1460-1462	Richard Felaw
1510	Thomas Hall	William Spencer
1512	Thomas Baldry	Edmund Daundy
1515	Thomas Baldry	Edmund Daundy
1523	Humphrey Wingfield	Thomas Rush
1529	Thomas Rush	Thomas Hayward, died and replaced Nov 1534 by Thomas Alvard
1536	?	-
1539	Robert Daundy	William Sabine
1542	Ralph Goodwin	John Sparrow
1545	William Reynball	Richard Smart
1547	John Gosnold	John Smith alias Dyer
1553	John Smith alias Dyer	Richard Bryde alias Byrde
1553	John Gosnold	John Sulyard
1554	Clement Heigham	Thomas Poley
1554	Ralph Goodwin	John Smith alias Dyer
1555	John Sulyard	Richard Smart
1558	William Wheatcroft, repl. Nov 1558 by Edmund Withypoll	Philip Williams
1558/9	Thomas Seckford I	Robert Barker
1562/3	Thomas Seckford I	Edward Grimston
1571	Edward Grimston	John More
1572	Thomas Seckford I	Edward Grimston
1584	Sir John Heigham	John Barker
1586	John Barker	John Laney
1588	John Barker	William Smarte
1593	Robert Barker	Zachariah Lok
1597	Michael Stanhope	Francis Bacon
1601	Michael Stanhope	Francis Bacon
1604	Sir Henry Glenham	Sir Francis Bacon
1614	Robert Snelling	William Cage
1621	Robert Snelling	William Cage
1624	Sir Robert Snelling	William Cage
1625	Sir Robert Snelling	William Cage
1628	William Cage	Edmund Day
1629–1640	No Parliaments convened	No Parliaments convened
1640	John Gurdon	William Cage
1640	John Gurdon	William Cage
1645	John Gurdon	Francis Bacon
1648	John Gurdon	Francis Bacon
1653	Not represented in Barebones Parliament	Not represented in Barebones Parliament
1654	Nathaniel Bacon	Francis Bacon
1656	Nathaniel Bacon	Francis Bacon
1659	Nathaniel Bacon	Francis Bacon

MPs 1660–1832

MPs 1832–1918

During the period between 1835 and 1842 there were five elections and all were found to have been corrupt. After the 1835 election, Dundas and Kelly were unseated on the charge of bribery. After the 1837 election, Tufnell was unseated on a scrutiny. Gibson, who was elected in 1838, resigned. Cochrane was elected in 1839, after which a petition was presented complaining of gross bribery – it was not progressed because a general election was expected. After the 1841 election, Wason and Rennie were unseated, being declared guilty of bribery by their agents.