Previously, Hereford had been a parliamentary borough which from 1295 to 1885 had elected two MPs, using the bloc vote system in contested elections. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 the borough's representation had been reduced to one seat at the 1885 general election, and for the 1918 general election the borough was abolished and replaced with a county division which carried the same name but covered a wider geographical area.
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Hereford sent two representatives to Parliament from the beginning of the reign of Edward I. Although a county town, the early elections were always held at a different location from those of the shire, the former taking place at the Guildhall, the latter in the castle.
In 1885, representation was reduced to one Member.
From 1931 until 1997, Hereford was held by the Conservative Party, before being taken by Paul Keetch of the Liberal Democrats at the 1997 general election. Keetch served as the Liberal Democrats' spokesman for defence from October 1999 until May 2005, and announced on 17 November 2006 that he would not be standing at the next election.
1918–1950: The Borough of Hereford, the Urban Districts of Ledbury and Ross-on-Wye, the Rural Districts of Dore, Ross, and Whitchurch, and parts of the Rural Districts of Hereford and Ledbury.
1950–1983: The Borough of Hereford, the Urban District of Ross-on-Wye, the Rural Districts of Dore and Bredwardine, and Ross and Whitchurch, and part of the Rural District of Hereford.
1983–1997: The City of Hereford, and the District of South Herefordshire wards of Backbury, Broad Oak, Dinedor Hill, Doward, Fownhope, Garron, Golden Valley, Gorsley, Gorsty, Harewood End, Hollington, Kingsthorne, Merbach, Olchon, Old Gore, Penyard, Pontrilas, Ross-on-Wye East, Ross-on-Wye West, Stoney Street, Tram Inn, Walford, Whitfield, and Wilton.
1997–2010: The City of Hereford, and the District of South Herefordshire wards of Broad Oak, Clehonger East, Clehonger West, Dinedor Hill, Doward, Fownhope, Garron, Golden Valley, Gorsley, Harewood End, Hollington, Kingsthorne, Merbach, Olchon, Old Gore, Penyard, Pontrilas, Ross-on-Wye East, Ross-on-Wye West, Stoney Street, Tram Inn, Walford, Whitfield, and Wilton.
In its final form, the Hereford constituency contained the city of Hereford and most of South Herefordshire, including Ross-on-Wye, but excluding Ledbury and Much Marcle, both of which were in the Leominster constituency.
The election was declared void on petition, after the Liberal agent was found to have "given breakfast to Liberal electors", and therefore was guilty of treating.[37]
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;
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;
^Roger ...felde: The first part of his surname is illegible in the surviving records. Nothing more is known of him, although he may have been related to Thomas Whitefield[4]
^It is not known for certain whether Weaver sat after Pride's Purge: a "Mr Weaver" was re-admitted and Edmund Weaver appears in one list of members of the Rump, but he is not listed in the House of Commons Journals, and Brunton & Pennington suggest he has probably been confused with John Weaver, MP for Stamford (who was certainly a member)