Bath is a constituency[n 1] in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom[n 2] represented since 2017 by Wera Hobhouse of the Liberal Democrats.

Perhaps its best-known representatives have been the two with international profiles: William Pitt the Elder (Prime Minister 1766–1768) and Chris Patten, the last Governor of Hong Kong (1992–1997).

[6] The freemen of the city challenged this state of affairs in 1661 and again in 1705, claiming the right to vote and petitioning against the election of the candidates chosen by the corporation, but on both occasions the House of Commons, which at the time was still the final arbiter of such disputes, decided against them.

The Commons resolution of 27 January 1708, "That the right of election of citizens to serve in Parliament for this city is in the mayor, aldermen and common-council only",[7] settled the matter until 1832.

[6] At the time of the 1801 census, it was one of the ten largest towns or cities in England by population, and was almost unique in that the voters generally exercised their powers independently.

As was the case elsewhere, the Common Council was not popularly elected, all vacancies being filled by co-option by the existing members, so that once a united interest had gained majority control it was easy to retain it.

But in Bath, the Common Council retained its independence in most periods and took pride in electing two suitable members of parliament who had either strong local connections or else a national reputation.

Pitt the Elder wrote to the corporation in 1761, on the occasion of his re-election as one of Bath's members, to pay tribute to "a city ranked among the most ancient and most considerable in the kingdom, and justly famed for its integrity, independence, and zeal for the public good".

[8] But even in Bath the limited electorate who voted for its members of Parliament expected them to work to procure favours for their constituents and enterprises to a degree that would be considered corrupt today.

By exercising efforts successfully in this direction, the representatives could in return expect a degree of influence over the voters that differed little from patronage in the pocket boroughs, except that its duration was limited.

[10] The Reform Act 1832 opened up the franchise to all resident (male) householders whose houses had a value of at least £10 a year and imposed uniform voting provisions for all the boroughs.

The boundary changes implemented in 1997 took Bathampton, Batheaston, Bathford, Charlcombe and Freshford from the Wansdyke district, containing about 7,000 voters; these were moved elsewhere in 2010.

[17] In the 2015 general election, following the national Liberal Democrat collapse and Foster standing down, the seat was regained by the Conservatives under Ben Howlett with a 3,833-vote majority.

However, Hobhouse's majority was maintained as the Conservative vote collapsed and Labour achieved second place for the first time in the seat's history.