Tamworth (UK Parliament constituency)

Tamworth is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Christopher Pincher, a Conservative.

Boundaries

1885-1918: The Sessional Divisions of Birmingham and Solihull, part of the Sessional Divisions of Atherstone and Coleshill, the Municipal Borough of Birmingham, and the part of the Municipal Borough of Tamworth situated in Warwickshire.

1918-1945: The Municipal Borough of Sutton Coldfield, the Rural Districts of Meriden and Solihull, and the part of the Rural District of Tamworth in the administrative county of Warwickshire.

1997-2010: The Borough of Tamworth, and the District of Lichfield wards of Bourne Vale, Fazeley, Little Aston, Mease Valley, Shenstone, Stonnall, and Tame.

2010-present: The Borough of Tamworth (the wards of Amington, Belgrave, Bolehall, Castle, Glascote, Mercian, Spital, Stonydelph, Trinity, and Wilnecote), and the District of Lichfield wards of Bourne Vale, Fazeley, Little Aston, Mease and Tame, Shenstone, and Stonnall.

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the UK Parliament or the British Parliament, is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories. It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories. Its head is the Sovereign of the United Kingdom (currently Queen Elizabeth II) and its seat is the Palace of Westminster in Westminster, London.

The parliament is bicameral, consisting of an upper house (the House of Lords) and a lower house (the House of Commons). The Sovereign forms the third component of the legislature (the Queen-in-Parliament). The House of Lords includes two different types of members: the Lords Spiritual, consisting of the most senior bishops of the Church of England, and the Lords Temporal, consisting of members of the peerage and life peers who are appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister. Prior to the opening of the Supreme Court in October 2009, the House of Lords also performed a judicial role through the Law Lords.

List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies

There are 650 constituencies in the United Kingdom, each electing a single Member of Parliament to the House of Commons at least every five years.Voting last took place in 650 of those constituencies at the United Kingdom general election on 7 May 2015. 330 are held by the Conservative Party, 232 are held by the Labour Party, 56 are held by the Scottish National Party, 8 are held by the Liberal Democrats, 3 are held by Plaid Cymru, 1 is held by UKIP, 1 is held by the Green Party of England and Wales, and there are 18 Northern Ireland seats held by different parties. In addition there is the constituency of the Speaker.

The number of seats rose from 646 at the 2005 general election after proposals made by the Boundary Commissions for England, Wales and Northern Ireland were adopted through statutory instruments. Constituencies in Scotland remained unchanged, with the Boundary Commission for Scotland having completed a review shortly prior to the 2005 general election.

Parliament

In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative, elected body of government. Generally a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government (i.e., hearings, inquiries).

Although some restrict the use of the word parliament to parliamentary systems, it is also commonly used to describe the legislature in presidential systems (i.e. the French parliament), even where it is not in the official name.

Historically, parliaments included various kinds of deliberative, consultative, and judicial assemblies (i.e. the mediaeval parlements).

Etymology

The term is derived from Anglo-Norman parlement, from the verb parler 'talk'. The meaning evolved over time: originally any discussion, conversation, or negotiation (attested around 1100), through various kinds of deliberative or judicial groups, often summoned by the monarch. By 1400, it had come to mean in Britain specifically the British supreme legislature.

Origins

Various parliaments are claimed to be the oldest in the world, under varying definitions:

Parliament of Singapore

The Parliament of the Republic of Singapore and the President jointly make up the legislature of Singapore. Parliament is unicameral and is made up of Members of Parliament (MPs) who are elected, as well as Non-constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs) and Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) who are appointed. Following the 2011 general election, 87 MPs were elected, and three NCMPs appointed to the 12th Parliament. Nine NMPs were appointed during the first session of this Parliament. The first sitting of the 12th Parliament took place on 10 October 2011. It was subsequently dissolved on 25 August 2015, with a general election scheduled on 11 September 2015.

Grand National Assembly of Turkey

The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament (Turkish: Meclis), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Constitution. It was founded in Ankara on 23 April 1920 in the midst of the Turkish War of Independence. The parliament was fundamental in the efforts of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his colleagues to found a new state out of the remnants of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I.

History

Turkey has had a history of parliamentary government before the establishment of the current national parliament. These include attempts at curbing absolute monarchy during the Ottoman Empire through constitutional monarchy, as well as establishments of caretaker national assemblies immediately prior to the declaration of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 but after the de facto dissolution of the Ottoman Empire earlier in the decade.

Tamworth pig

The Tamworth is a breed of domestic pig originating in Tamworth, United Kingdom, with input from Irish pigs. It is among the oldest of pig breeds, but as with many older breeds of livestock, it is not well suited to modern production methods and is listed as "Threatened" in the United States and "Vulnerable" in the UK by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust as fewer than 300 registered breeding females remain. This animal is of ginger to red colouration and is thought to have descended from wild boars, via native pig stock of Europe. Principal populations today are in the United Kingdom, Australia, the USA, New Zealand, and Canada. Alternate names for this animal are Sandy Back, and Tam.

Description

This breed exhibits an elongated head shape and a long, narrow body. The ears are erect and pointed, while the face has rectilinear lines as well as the snout. Colours range from a pale gingery to dark mahogany red. Early in the breed history, colours were orange and purple, but breeding has been conducted to remove the orange colouration. The bristle density protects their skin from ultraviolet harm from the sun; nevertheless, when they moult between June and August (in the Northern Hemisphere), shade is sought along with copious mud coating to prevent sunburn. The mud coating also provides a way for the pigs to cool down, as pigs cannot sweat.