Parliament created the seat in the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 in an area whose population had expanded as coal workers poured in from other parts of the country. At one time 20 collieries operated in the area and and the last, Daw Mill atop the Warwickshire Coalfield (known as the Warwickshire Thick), closed in 2013 following a major fire.

The associated heavy industry and mining-centred economy coupled with the Representation of the People Act 1918 (Fourth Reform Act) led to Nuneaton being held by the Labour Party for nearly 50 years until they lost in the 1983 Conservative landslide to Lewis Stevens, a Conservative who retained the seat in 1987.

Labour regained the constituency at the 1992 election. Bill Olner beat Lew Stevens and retained the seat in 2001 and 2005. Olner announced in 2007 that he would not be contesting the 2010 general election and would be standing down at the end of the 2005-2010 parliament.

Former Nuneaton and Bedworth Council Leader, Marcus Jones was successful in taking the seat for the Conservative Party at the 2010 election and successfully defending it in 2015, 2017 and December 2019.

Nuneaton is seen as a 'bellwether' seat - very often the way Nuneaton votes reflects how the rest of the country will vote.

To read much more about our Town's history, the Nuneaton Local History Group's website is fascinating and a great place to start.

Note - Bedworth is NOT part of the Nuneaton constituency but is in the North Warwickshire constituency of Craig Tracey MP.