Ashfield (UK Parliament constituency)

Ashfield
County constituency for the House of Commons
Interactive map of boundaries from 2024
Boundary of Ashfield in the East Midlands
County	Nottinghamshire
Population	101,914 (2011 census) [1]
Electorate	69,819 (2023) [2]
Major settlements	Sutton in Ashfield and Kirkby in Ashfield
Current constituency
Created	1955
Member of Parliament	Lee Anderson (Reform UK)
Seats	One
Created from	Broxtowe

Ashfield is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It is in the English county of Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, to the north-west of the city of Nottingham, in the Erewash Valley along the border with neighbouring county Derbyshire.

Ashfield was part of the Red Wall, a group of constituencies in the Midlands and Northern England which formerly almost always voted for the Labour Party, until many of them switched to the Conservative Party in the 2019 general election. In the 2016 referendum on membership of the European Union, Ashfield voted 70% in favour of Brexit. ^[3]

Constituency profile

The seat contains the market towns of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Sutton-in-Ashfield and Huthwaite. Coal mining was formerly a significant part of the local economy. Electoral Calculus categorises the seat as having socially conservative views and economically soft-left views alongside strong support for Brexit. Around 57% of the constituency is deprived, slightly higher than the national average of 52%, according to the site. The average age is 50.8, at least 80% of the local population owns a car, whilst 68% own a home, and the gross household income is £35,124. ^[4]

Boundaries

Historic

Map of boundaries 2010–2024

1955–1974: The Urban Districts of Eastwood, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, and Sutton-in-Ashfield, and in the Rural District of Basford the parishes of Annesley, Bestwood Park, Brinsley, Felley, Linby, Newstead, Papplewick, and Selston.

1974–1983: The Urban Districts of Hucknall, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, and Sutton-in-Ashfield, and in the Rural District of Basford the parishes of Annesley, Felley, and Selston.

1983–2010: The District of Ashfield wards of Jacksdale, Kirkby-in-Ashfield Central, Kirkby-in-Ashfield East, Kirkby-in-Ashfield West, Selston, Sutton-in-Ashfield Central, Sutton-in-Ashfield East, Sutton-in-Ashfield North, Sutton-in-Ashfield West, Underwood, and Woodhouse, and the Borough of Broxtowe wards of Brinsley, Eastwood East, Eastwood North, and Eastwood South.

2010–2024: The District of Ashfield wards of Jacksdale, Kirkby-in-Ashfield Central, Kirkby-in-Ashfield East, Kirkby-in-Ashfield West, Selston, Sutton-in-Ashfield Central, Sutton-in-Ashfield East, Sutton-in-Ashfield North, Sutton-in-Ashfield West, Underwood, and Woodhouse, and the Borough of Broxtowe wards of Brinsley, Eastwood North and Greasley Beauvale, and Eastwood South.

Current

Following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, and reflecting the local government boundary review in the District of Mansfield which came into effect in May 2023, ^{[5] [6]} the constituency is composed of the following with effect from the 2024 general election:

• The District of Ashfield wards of: Abbey Hill; Annesley & Kirkby Woodhouse; Ashfields; Carsic; Central & New Cross; Huthwaite & Brierley; Jacksdale; Kingsway; Kirkby Cross & Portland; Larwood; Leamington; St. Mary’s; Selston; Skegby; Stanton Hill & Teversal; Summit; Sutton Junction & Harlow Wood; The Dales; Underwood. ^[7]

• Parts of the District of Mansfield wards of: Lindhurst; Pleaseley; Rufford; Sherwood.^{1 [8]}

The parts in the Borough of Broxtowe were transferred to the Broxtowe constituency and the parts in Mansfield District were transferred from the Mansfield constituency.

History

Until the Conservatives gained the seat at the 2019 general election, it had almost always been a Labour Party seat since its creation for the 1955 general election. The Ashfield constituency has been served by a former Secretary of State, Geoff Hoon, and, since its creation until 2019, for only two years has been served by one member of another party, Tim Smith of the Conservative Party, from 1977 to 1979. Ashfield's 2019 result indicates quite a large Conservative majority. In 2010, the seat had a marginal majority of only 192 votes over the Liberal Democrats, but that was increased to 8,820 in 2015 after a collapse in the Liberal Democrat vote, with the Conservatives finishing in second place. In 2017, there was another narrow margin of victory for Labour after an 8.9% swing to the Conservatives, who squeezed most of the fairly substantial UKIP vote from two years earlier, and also a large vote for the Ashfield Independents candidate of nearly 10%, but Labour on that occasion did just enough to hang on by just over 400 votes. In 2019, the Ashfield Independents candidate Jason Zadrozny, who had come close to winning the seat for the Liberal Democrats nine years earlier, came second with a substantial vote, and the Conservatives took the seat despite achieving fewer votes and a smaller percentage of the total vote than in 2017. When the MP Lee Anderson left the Tories to become an independent and then subsequently join Reform UK, he contested it once again in the 2024 election, managing to win it for the party due to their message resounding with the predominantly pro-Brexit electorate and Anderson having the advantage of incumbency.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member [9]	Party
	1955	Will Warbey	Labour
	1966	David Marquand	Labour
	1977 by-election	Tim Smith	Conservative
	1979	Frank Haynes	Labour
	1992	Geoff Hoon	Labour
	2010	Gloria De Piero	Labour
	2019	Lee Anderson	Conservative
	February 2024		Independent
	March 2024		Reform UK

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Ashfield ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform UK	Lee Anderson	17,062	42.8	+37.8
	Labour	Rhea Keehn	11,554	29.0	+3.4
	Ashfield Ind.	Jason Zadrozny	6,276	15.7	−11.2
	Conservative	Debbie Soloman	3,271	8.2	−31.0
	Green	Alexander Coates	1,100	2.8	+1.5
	Liberal Democrats	Daniel Holmes	619	1.6	−0.5
Majority			5,509	13.8	2.1
Turnout			39,881	58.1	4.5
Registered electors			68,929
	Reform UK gain from Conservative		Swing	24.1

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Ashfield ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lee Anderson	19,231	39.3	2.4
	Ashfield Ind.	Jason Zadrozny	13,498	27.6	18.4
	Labour	Natalie Fleet	11,971	24.4	18.2
	Brexit Party	Martin Daubney	2,501	5.1	New
	Liberal Democrats	Rebecca Wain	1,105	2.3	0.4
	Green	Rose Woods	674	1.4	0.6
Majority			5,733	11.7	10.8
Turnout			48,980	62.6	1.4
Registered electors			78,204
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	7.9

General election 2017: Ashfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gloria De Piero	21,285	42.6	1.6
	Conservative	Tony Harper	20,844	41.7	19.3
	Ashfield Ind.	Gail Turner	4,612	9.2	New
	UKIP	Ray Young	1,885	3.8	17.6
	Liberal Democrats	Bob Charlesworth	969	1.9	12.9
	Green	Arran Rangi	398	0.8	New
Majority			441	0.9	17.7
Turnout			49,993	64.0	5.5
Registered electors			78,076
	Labour hold		Swing	8.9

General election 2015: Ashfield ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gloria De Piero	19,448	41.0	7.3
	Conservative	Helen Harrison [13]	10,628	22.4	0.2
	UKIP	Simon Ashcroft	10,150	21.4	19.5
	Liberal Democrats	Philip Smith [14]	7,030	14.8	18.5
	Justice for Men and Boys	Mike Buchanan	153	0.3	New
Majority			8,820	18.6	18.2
Turnout			47,409	61.5	0.8
Registered electors			77,091
	Labour hold		Swing	3.6

The Liberal Democrats had again selected Jason Zadrozny as their prospective parliamentary candidate for the 2015 general election, but he was suspended by the party and removed as a candidate just weeks before the election after being arrested; he was later cleared. ^[15] He was replaced by Philip Smith. ^{[16] [17]}

General election 2010: Ashfield ^{[18] [19]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gloria De Piero	16,239	33.7	15.0
	Liberal Democrats	Jason Zadrozny	16,047	33.3	19.5
	Conservative	Garry Hickton	10,698	22.2	2.2
	BNP	Edward Holmes	2,781	5.8	New
	English Democrat	Tony Ellis	1,102	2.3	New
	UKIP	Terry Coleman	933	1.9	New
	Independent	Eddie Smith	396	0.8	New
Majority			192	0.4	23.9
Turnout			48,196	62.3	5.2
Registered electors			77,379
	Labour hold		Swing	17.2

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Ashfield ^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Geoff Hoon	20,433	48.6	9.5
	Conservative	Giles Inglis-Jones	10,220	24.3	0.1
	Liberal Democrats	Wendy Johnson	5,829	13.9	2.6
	Ashfield Ind.	Roy Adkins	2,292	5.5	New
	Independent	Kate Allsop	1,900	4.5	New
	Veritas	Sarah Hemstock	1,108	2.6	New
	Independent	Eddie Grenfell	269	0.6	New
Majority			10,213	24.3	9.4
Turnout			42,051	57.3	3.7
Registered electors			73,321
	Labour hold		Swing	4.7

General election 2001: Ashfield ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Geoff Hoon	22,875	58.1	7.0
	Conservative	Julian Leigh	9,607	24.4	4.1
	Liberal Democrats	William Smith	4,428	11.3	1.6
	Independent	Charlie Harby	1,471	3.7	New
	Socialist Alliance	George Watson	589	1.5	New
	Socialist Labour	Katrina R. Howse	380	1.0	New
Majority			13,268	33.7	11.1
Turnout			39,350	53.6	16.4
Registered electors			73,428
	Labour hold		Swing	5.6

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Ashfield ^{[22] [23]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Geoff Hoon	32,979	65.1	10.2
	Conservative	Mark Simmonds	10,251	20.3	12.3
	Liberal Democrats	William E. Smith	4,882	9.7	2.8
	Referendum	Martin I. Betts	1,896	3.8	New
	BNP	Steven E. Belshaw	595	1.2	New
Majority			22,728	44.8	21.5
Turnout			50,603	70.0	10.4
Registered electors			72,299
	Labour hold		Swing	11.3

General election 1992: Ashfield ^{[24] [25]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Geoff Hoon	32,018	54.9	13.2
	Conservative	Laurence Robertson	19,031	32.6	1.0
	Liberal Democrats	James S. Turton	7,291	12.5	12.2
Majority			12,987	22.3	14.2
Turnout			58,340	80.4	3.2
Registered electors			75,075
	Labour hold		Swing	7.1

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Ashfield ^{[23] [26]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Haynes	22,812	41.7	0.0
	Conservative	Barry Coleman	18,412	33.6	2.9
	Liberal	Frances Stein	13,542	24.7	2.1
Majority			4,400	8.1	2.9
Turnout			54,756	77.2	2.4
Registered electors			70,937
	Labour hold		Swing	1.5

General election 1983: Ashfield ^{[23] [27]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Haynes	21,859	41.7	11.1
	Conservative	Roderick Seligman	15,772	30.7	9.7
	Liberal	Frances Stein	13,812	26.8	20.6
Majority			6,087	11.0	1.4
Turnout			51,443	74.8	5.8
Registered electors			69,791
	Labour hold		Swing	0.7

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Ashfield ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Haynes	33,116	52.8	10.6
	Conservative	Tim Smith	25,319	40.4	18.1
	Liberal	Hampton Flint	3,914	6.2	8.1
	National Front	W. Annable	397	0.6	N/A
Majority			7,797	12.4	28.7
Turnout			62,746	80.6	5.9
Registered electors			77,878
	Labour hold		Swing	14.4

By-election 1977: Ashfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tim Smith	19,616	43.1	20.8
	Labour	Michael Cowan	19,352	42.5	20.9
	Liberal	Hampton Flint	4,380	9.6	4.7
	National Front	George Herrod	1,734	3.8	New
	Socialist Workers	June Hall	453	1.0	New
Majority			264	0.6	N/A
Turnout			45,535
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	20.8

General election October 1974: Ashfield ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Marquand	35,367	63.4	4.1
	Conservative	Richard Kemm	12,452	22.3	1.1
	Liberal	Hampton Flint	7,959	14.3	3.0
Majority			22,915	41.1	5.2
Turnout			55,778	74.7	12.7
Registered electors			74,701
	Labour hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Ashfield ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Marquand	35,994	59.3	11.0
	Conservative	Richard Kemm	14,206	23.4	6.3
	Liberal	Hampton Flint	10,534	17.3	New
Majority			21,788	35.9	0.5
Turnout			60,734	82.0	11.8
Registered electors			74,064
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1970: Ashfield ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Marquand	32,372	68.2	5.4
	Conservative	Richard Kemm	15,089	31.8	5.4
Majority			17,283	36.4	11.4
Turnout			47,461	70.2	3.1
Registered electors			67,681
	Labour hold		Swing	5.4

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Ashfield ^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Marquand	33,477	73.6	0.8
	Conservative	E.T. Gibbons	11,991	26.4	0.8
Majority			21,486	47.8	2.1
Turnout			45,468	73.3	3.9
Registered electors			62,030
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1964: Ashfield ^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Warbey	34,841	72.8	2.1
	Conservative	T.L. Wright	12,989	27.2	2.1
Majority			21,852	45.7	4.3
Turnout			47,830	77.2	4.8
Registered electors			61,960
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Ashfield ^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Warbey	35,432	70.7	1.2
	Conservative	Julian G.W. Sandys	14,690	29.3	1.2
Majority			20,742	41.4	2.5
Turnout			50,122	82.0	5.5
Registered electors			61,139
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1955: Ashfield ^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Warbey	32,905	71.9	N/A
	Conservative	Alan S. Plane	12,836	28.1	N/A
Majority			20,069	43.9	N/A
Turnout			45,741	76.5	N/A
Registered electors			59,820
	Labour win (new seat)

See also

• 1977 Ashfield by-election
• List of parliamentary constituencies in Nottinghamshire

References

1. "Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
2. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – East Midlands". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
3. "EU Referendum: Ashfield votes to LEAVE the EU". ITV News. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
4. "The Electoral Calculus' profile of Ashfield". Electoral Calculus. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
5. LGBCE. "Mansfield | LGBCE". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
6. "The Mansfield (Electoral Changes) Order 2022".
7. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part I.
8. "New Seat Details – Ashfield". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
9. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "A" (part 3)
10. "Ashfield - General election results 2024". BBC News . Retrieved 26 August 2024.
11. "Ashfield Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
12. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
13. "Conservatives choose Ashfield candidate for General Election". www.chad.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
14. "Ashfield Liberal Democrats name new candidate". Nottingham Post . 2 April 2015. Archived from the original on 5 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
15. Sherdley, Rebecca (30 October 2017). "Cleared councillor Jason Zadrozny vows to sue police over sex abuse claims". NottinghamshireLive.
16. Mason, Rowena (26 March 2015). "Lib Dem election candidate arrested on suspicion of child sexual abuse". The Guardian.
17. "Nottinghamshire councillor Jason Zadrozny's child sex case thrown out". BBC News. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
18. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
19. "BBC News – Election 2010 – Constituency – Ashfield". news.bbc.co.uk.
20. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
21. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
22. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
23. "Ashfield [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
24. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
25. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
26. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
27. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
28. "UK General Election results: March 1966 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
29. "UK General Election results: October 1964 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
30. "UK General Election results: October 1959 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
31. "UK General Election results: May 1955 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2010.

Sources

• Youngs, Frederic A., Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol II, Northern England, London, 1991

External links

• Ashfield UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
• Ashfield UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
• Ashfield UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK

53°07′N1°16′W / 53.12°N 1.27°W / 53.12; -1.27