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> United Kingdom > England > East Midlands > East Midlands
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| Established | January 01, 1673 |
| Disbanded | Still Active |
| Contributor | RP |
| Last Modified | RBH October 30, 2021 08:35pm |
| Description |
Newark is on the River Trent to the north east of Nottingham and on the A1 and was one of only five seats lost by Labour in the 2001 General Election. It had been held by the party from 1950 to 1979 and then by the Conservatives between 1979 and 1997. Newark lost much of its naturally Labour-inclined vote to the new Sherwood seat in 1983, although it did gain Retford from Bassetlaw to the north. What remained was the relatively affluent Newark itself, the small town of Southwell and various rural villages. Labour finally won here in the 1997 landslide with Fiona Jones overturning Richard Alexander's 8,229 majority into a 3,016 one for herself. But the Liberal Democrats brought a case under the Representation of the People Act, claiming that she had submitted a false election expenses declaration. She was convicted at Nottingham Crown Court and disqualified as an MP but won on appeal in April 1999 and was then reinstated. However she lost to Tory Patrick Mercer in 2001 by 4,073 votes. Historically, Newark has had an important part to play. Twelfth century Newark Castle, the remains of which are open to the public, is where King John is said to have died in 1216. The town was Charles I's 'key to the north', an important royalist stronghold during the English Civil War, withstanding three Roundhead sieges until it finally fell, at the King's request, in 1642.
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