West Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency)

Last updated

West Suffolk
County constituency
for the House of Commons
East of England - West Suffolk constituency.svg
Boundary of West Suffolk in the East of England
County Suffolk
Electorate 76,158 (December 2010) [1]
Major settlements Newmarket, Haverhill and Mildenhall
Current constituency
Created 1997
Member of Parliament Matt Hancock (Conservative)
SeatsOne
Created from Bury St Edmunds
South Suffolk
1832–1885
SeatsTwo
Type of constituency County constituency
Created from Suffolk
Replaced by Bury St Edmunds
(also succeeded itself)
North-Western or 'Stowmarket' Division
South or 'Sudbury' Division

West Suffolk is a constituency [n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Matt Hancock, a Conservative. [n 2]

Contents

Between 1832 and 1885 there had also been a constituency, the Western Division of Suffolk, also known as West Suffolk, although on different boundaries.

Constituency profile

This area includes a slightly older demographic profile than the national average, with a significant proportion of semi-detached and detached homes and a higher than average proportion of retired people. [2]

Major economic sectors include defence (RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath), agriculture/food (including for major products as well as regional specialities such as ales, Suffolk cider and cured meats), tourism and leisure (such as Newmarket racecourse) and particularly in Haverhill, a range of industries. These include chemicals (such as International Flavors and Fragrances), waste processing, transport, construction and pharmaceuticals.

Workless claimants who were registered jobseekers were in November 2012 lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.5% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian . [3]

History

The seat's current version was created with Parliamentary approval of the Boundary Commission's fourth periodic review of Westminster constituencies in time for the 1997 general election.

Political history

The seat at this time has only been represented by Conservatives with the narrowest majority having been that of 1997 at only 3.8% of the vote, since which the majority has gradually increased to a level seen most commonly in safe seats.

For the 2010 general election, the transition was planned six months before, on 23 November 2009, when the incumbent announced he would not stand again. [4]

Prominent frontbenchers

Richard Spring [n 3] was an opposition spokesman for Foreign Affairs (2000-2004) (shadowing a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister) then Shadow Minister for the Treasury (2004-2005) before being a vice-chairman of his party and being elevated to the House of Lords as Lord Risby. Several of his ancestors had previously represented Suffolk in the House of Commons.

Matt Hancock was a government minister serving under various positions from 2012 until the 2015 general election, when he was promoted to the Cabinet as Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office. After a short stint outside the Cabinet between 2016 and 2018 as a minister at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, he rejoined the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and was promoted in July 2018 to serve as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, serving until 2021 when he resigned from this position following an affair with his aide Gina Coladangelo, which at the time breached COVID-19 social distancing rules. Previously Mr Hancock had seen no reason whatsoever to resign after claims in the Guardian newspaper that he had secured £40 million for the landlord of his local pub after he decided that pulling pints and serving packets of crisps made him an ideal candidate to manufacture PPE. [5] Another friend of Mr Hancock's was awarded a PPE contract for £14.4 million despite having no previous manufacturing experience, but whose husband had entirely coincidentally donated £5,000 to Mr Hancock's office in 2019. [6]

Boundaries and boundary changes

West Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency)
Map of boundaries 2010-2024

1997–2010

The new county constituency was formed primarily from the majority (including Newmarket) of the constituency of Bury St Edmunds, which was reconfigured. It was extended southwards, incorporating westernmost areas of South Suffolk, including Haverhill.

2010–2024

Marginal changes due to revision of local authority wards.

NB With effect from 1 April 2019, the District of Forest Heath and the Borough of St Edmundsbury were abolished and absorbed into the District of West Suffolk . [9]

Current

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency is as follows (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

The four wards (Bardwell, Barningham, Ixworth and Stanton) in the north east corner of the seat were moved to the newly named constituency of Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, partly offset by small transfers in from Bury St Edmunds and South Suffolk.

The constituency includes the town of Newmarket, a global centre of horse racing, as well as the towns of Haverhill and Mildenhall, with a farmed landscape, interspersed with patches of forest [n 4] and small villages.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMember [11] Party
1997 Richard Spring Conservative
2010 Matt Hancock Conservative
2022 Independent [12]
2024 Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: West Suffolk
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Luke O'Brien [13]
Liberal Democrats Henry Batchelor [14]
Labour Rebecca Denness [15]
Green Mark Ereira-Guyer [16]
SDP Ivan Kinsman [17]
Reform UK David Bull [18]
Independent Katie Parker [19]
Conservative Nick Timothy [20]
Majority
Turnout
Registered electors
Swing

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: West Suffolk [21]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Matt Hancock 33,842 65.8 +4.6
Labour Claire Unwin10,64820.7―7.5
Liberal Democrats Elfreda Tealby-Watson4,6859.1+4.9
Green Donald Allwright2,2624.4+2.6
Majority23,19445.1+12.1
Turnout 51,43764.1―2.8
Registered electors 80,192+3.7
Conservative hold Swing +6.1
General election 2017: West Suffolk [22]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Matt Hancock 31,649 61.2 +9.0
Labour Michael Jefferys14,58628.2+10.7
UKIP Julian Flood2,3964.6―17.1
Liberal Democrats Elfreda Tealby-Watson2,1804.2―0.8
Green Donald Allwright9351.8―1.8
Majority17,06333.0+2.5
Turnout 51,74666.9+2.3
Registered electors 77,348
Conservative hold Swing ―0.9
General election 2015: West Suffolk [23]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Matt Hancock 25,684 52.2 +1.6
UKIP Julian Flood [24] 10,70021.7+15.3
Labour Michael Jefferys8,60417.5+2.8
Liberal Democrats Elfreda Tealby-Watson [25] 2,4655.0―18.4
Green Niall Pettitt [26] 1,7793.6New
Majority14,98430.5+3.3
Turnout 49,23264.6―0.1
Conservative hold Swing ―6.9
General election 2010: West Suffolk [27]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Matt Hancock 24,312 50.6 +1.7
Liberal Democrats Belinda Brooks-Gordon11,26223.4+6.2
Labour Ohid Ahmed7,08914.7―14.2
UKIP Ian Smith3,0856.4+1.5
BNP Ramon Johns1,4283.0New
Independent Andrew Appleby5401.1New
CPA Colin Young3730.8New
Majority13,05027.2+7.0
Turnout 48,08964.7+3.9
Conservative hold Swing ―2.3

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: West Suffolk [28]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Richard Spring 21,682 49.0 +1.4
Labour Michael Jeffreys12,77328.9―8.6
Liberal Democrats Adrian Graves7,57317.1+5.3
UKIP Ian Smith2,1774.9+1.8
Majority8,90920.1+10.0
Turnout 44,20560.7+0.2
Conservative hold Swing +5.0
General election 2001: West Suffolk [29]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Richard Spring 20,201 47.6 +6.7
Labour Michael Jefferys15,90637.5+0.4
Liberal Democrats Robin Martlew5,01711.8―2.2
UKIP Will Burrows1,3213.1New
Majority4,29510.1+6.3
Turnout 42,44560.5―11.0
Conservative hold Swing +3.1

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: West Suffolk [30]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Richard Spring 20,081 40.9
Labour Michael Jefferys18,21437.1
Liberal Democrats Adrian Graves6,89214.0
Referendum James Carver3,7247.6
Natural Law Alistair Shearer1710.3
Majority1,8673.8
Turnout 49,08271.5
Conservative win (new seat)

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
  2. ↑ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
  3. ↑ Previously MP for the Bury St Edmunds seat
  4. ↑ For example Thetford Forest, synonymous with Breckland.

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References

  1. ↑ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  2. ↑ "Local statistics". Office for National Statistics.
  3. ↑ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
  4. ↑ So Long and Farewell, Richard Spring Blog
  5. ↑ Lawrence, Felicity (1 December 2021). "Pressure on Hancock over pub landlord's Covid deal". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  6. ↑ Bright, Sam (10 February 2021). "Friend of Matt Hancock Wins £14.4 Million PPE Contract". Byline Times. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  7. ↑ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  8. ↑ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  9. ↑ "The West Suffolk (Local Government Changes) Order 2018".
  10. ↑ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part 2 Eastern region.
  11. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 6)
  12. ↑ "Matt Hancock suspended as Tory MP for joining I'm a Celeb cast". BBC News. November 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  13. ↑ Campaign Website for Luke Thomas O'Brien
  14. ↑ "West Suffolk Liberal Democrats". West Suffolk Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  15. ↑ Labour East [@EofELabour] (19 March 2024). "Congratulations, Rebecca Denness, Labour's Parliamentary candidate for West Suffolk!" (Tweet). Retrieved 20 March 2024– via Twitter.
  16. ↑ "Full list of all Green Party candidates at the next general election". Bright Green. 17 September 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  17. ↑ EastofEnglandSDP [@SDP_EoE] (15 November 2023). "Ivan Kinsman selected as SDP candidate for West Suffolk" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  18. ↑ "West Suffolk Constituency - Josh Owens Reform UK". Reform UK. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  19. ↑ "Former Bury St Edmunds Town councillor Katie Parker launches crowdfunder to stand as independent General Election candidate for West Suffolk". SuffolkNews. 24 April 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  20. ↑ "West Suffolk Conservatives select Nick Timothy to fight next election". West Suffolk Conservatives. 31 July 2023. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  21. ↑ "Suffolk West Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  22. ↑ "West Suffolk - 2017 Election Results - General Elections Online". electionresults.parliament.uk. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  23. ↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  24. ↑ "Haverhill councillor reveals hopes for West Suffolk following selection as constituency candidate". Cambridge News. Archived from the original on 19 January 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  25. ↑ "General Election 2015 Candidates - Liberal Democrats". Archived from the original on 13 April 2014.
  26. ↑ "Green Party announces a full slate of seven parliamentary candidates for Suffolk". midsuffolk.greenparty.org.uk.
  27. ↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  28. ↑ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  29. ↑ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  30. ↑ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
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