| Bristol East | |
|---|---|
| Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
Interactive map of boundary from 2024 | |
| Boundary of Bristol East in South West England | |
| County | City of Bristol |
| Population | 95,368 (2011 census) [1] |
| Electorate | 75,936 (2023) [2] |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 1983 |
| Member of Parliament | Kerry McCarthy (Labour) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Bristol South East Bristol South Bristol North East [3] |
| 1885–1950 | |
| Seats | One |
| Type of constituency | Borough constituency |
| Created from | Bristol |
| Replaced by | Bristol South East, Bristol Central and Bristol South |
Bristol East is a constituency [n 1] recreated in 1983 covering the eastern part of the city of Bristol, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Kerry McCarthy of the Labour Party. [n 2]
The Bristol East constituency is located within the city of Bristol in South West England. It is almost entirely urban or suburban and covers the neighbourhoods to the east and south-east of the city centre including Easton, St George, Brislington, Knowle and Stockwood. Bristol is a major port city and has a long history of trade, including the slave trade.
Compared to national averages, residents of Bristol East are younger and less religious and have average levels of income, education and professional employment. [4] Parts of the constituency close to the city centre around Easton are amongst the top 10% most deprived areas in England, although the suburban areas around St George and Brislington are wealthier. [5] The constituency is slightly more ethnically diverse than the rest of the country; 77% of the population are White, 10% are Black and 7% are Asian. [6] Local politics at the city council are mixed; the parts of the constituency near the city centre are represented by Green Party councillors similar to neighbouring Bristol Central, whilst Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative councillors were all elected in the suburban areas. Most voters in the constituency supported remaining in the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 56% opposed Brexit compared to 48% nationally. [4]
The seat was first created in 1885 [n 3] . Boundaries were slightly altered in 1918 and Bristol East was abolished in a comprehensive review of the local seats for the 1950 general election.
The most powerful representative of Bristol East in Parliament and H.M. Government was Sir Stafford Cripps, MP (Lab) 1931–1950, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1947 to 1950. The seat shifted from Liberal Party representation through to the Labour Party with the 1918-1923 period seeing a more centrist Liberal splinter group candidate elected. In the 1931 landslide result, the seat was one of 16 won by Labour outside of Glamorgan, the London Docklands, Manchester and the North Midlands coalfield (including some in Sheffield).
The seat was recreated in 1983 on much larger boundaries than before 1950, reflecting the lower occupation levels of the city centre and allocation of new seats elsewhere to reflect population expansion mainly in former rural and lightly populated suburban areas.
The 1983 election, the first in the recreated East seat, was a landslide victory for Margaret Thatcher's Conservatives following retention of the Falkland Islands in the Falklands War. Bristol East returned a Conservative MP, as Jonathan Sayeed defeated Tony Benn, the outgoing MP for Bristol South East and the leader of a large faction on the left-wing of the Labour Party. In 1992 Labour's Jean Corston gained the seat from Sayeed, which has been retained by Labour candidates at each subsequent general election, the Conservatives coming second, except in 2005, when the Liberal Democrats did so. [n 4] The 2015 result gave the seat the 42nd-smallest majority of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority; [7] however, in 2017, incumbent MP Kerry McCarthy more than tripled her majority, winning the largest share of the vote in the seat's history and by the biggest margin since 1997.
Turnout has ranged between 80.3% in 1992 to 57.4% in 2001.
Five parties' candidates achieved more than the deposit-retaining threshold of 5% of the vote in 2015. Prior to the 2024 election the largest third-party share of the vote had been won by Liberal Democrat candidate Philip James in the 2005 election with 25.2% of the vote. This record was beaten by the Green Party candidate Ani Stafford-Townsend who won 30.7% of the vote, the Green Party’s first second place in the seat since its creation.
The constituency covers the eastern part of the city of Bristol, from neighbourhoods of the City Centre to outer neighbourhoods (excluding surrounding settlements in local government administratively).
1885–1918: The Municipal Borough of Bristol ward of South, part of North ward, and the local government district of St George.
1918–1950: The County Borough of Bristol wards of St George East and St George West, and parts of Easton, and Somerset wards.
1983–1997: The City of Bristol wards of Brislington East, Brislington West, Easton, Eastville, Hengrove, Lawrence Hill, and Stockwood.
1997–2010: The City of Bristol wards of Brislington East, Brislington West, Easton, Eastville, Lawrence Hill, St George East, St George West, and Stockwood.
2010–2024: The City of Bristol wards of Brislington East, Brislington West, Eastville, Frome Vale, Hillfields, St George East, St George West, and Stockwood.
2024–present: The City of Bristol wards of: Brislington East; Brislington West; Easton; Knowle; Lawrence Hill; St. George Central; St. George Troopers Hill; St. George West; and Stockwood. [8]
The seat was subject to major boundary changes in the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election. It gained the Easton and Lawrence Hill wards from Bristol West and Knowle from Bristol South. [9] These gains were offset by the loss of Eastville, Frome Vale and Hillfields, which were included in the re-established Bristol North East constituency. [10]
| Election | Member [11] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1885 | Handel Cossham | Liberal | |
| 1890 by-election | Sir Joseph Dodge Weston | Liberal | |
| 1895 by-election | Sir William Wills, Bt | Liberal | |
| 1900 | Charles Hobhouse | Liberal | |
| 1918 | George Britton | Coalition Liberal | |
| 1922 | Harold Morris | National Liberal | |
| 1923 | Walter Baker | Labour | |
| 1931 by-election | Sir Stafford Cripps | Labour | |
| 1939 | Independent Labour | ||
| 1945 | Labour | ||
| 1950 | constituency abolished – see Bristol South East | ||
| Election | Member [12] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Jonathan Sayeed | Conservative | |
| 1992 | Jean Corston | Labour | |
| 2005 | Kerry McCarthy | Labour | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Kerry McCarthy | 20,748 | 45.0 | −13.4 | |
| Green | Ani Stafford-Townsend | 14,142 | 30.7 | +22.3 | |
| Conservative | Dan Conaghan | 6,435 | 14.0 | −9.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Tony Sutcliffe | 2,713 | 5.9 | −1.0 | |
| Independent | Farooq Siddique | 1,259 | 2.7 | N/A | |
| SDP | Clare Dunnage | 555 | 1.2 | N/A | |
| Independent | Wael Arafat | 257 | 0.6 | N/A | |
| Majority | 6,606 | 14.3 | −20.8 | ||
| Turnout | 46,109 | 60.7 | −12.1 | ||
| Registered electors | 75,917 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | −17.8 | |||
| 2019 notional result [14] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| Labour | 32,280 | 58.4 | |
| Conservative | 12,887 | 23.3 | |
| Green | 4,664 | 8.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 3,840 | 6.9 | |
| Brexit Party | 1,615 | 2.9 | |
| Turnout | 55,286 | 72.8 | |
| Electorate | 75,936 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Kerry McCarthy | 27,717 | 53.1 | −7.6 | |
| Conservative | Sarah Codling | 16,923 | 32.4 | −2.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Nicholas Coombes | 3,527 | 6.8 | +4.1 | |
| Green | Conan Connolly | 2,106 | 4.0 | +1.8 | |
| Brexit Party | Tim Page | 1,881 | 3.6 | N/A | |
| Majority | 10,794 | 20.7 | −5.6 | ||
| Turnout | 52,154 | 70.6 | +0.4 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | -2.9 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Kerry McCarthy | 30,847 | 60.7 | +21.4 | |
| Conservative | Theo Clarke | 17,453 | 34.4 | +3.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Chris Lucas | 1,389 | 2.7 | −3.1 | |
| Green | Lorraine Francis | 1,110 | 2.2 | −6.1 | |
| Majority | 13,394 | 26.3 | +17.7 | ||
| Turnout | 50,799 | 70.2 | +6.0 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +8.9 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Kerry McCarthy | 18,148 | 39.3 | +2.7 | |
| Conservative | Theo Clarke | 14,168 | 30.7 | +2.4 | |
| UKIP | James McMurray | 7,152 | 15.5 | +12.1 | |
| Green | Lorraine Francis [19] | 3,827 | 8.3 | +6.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Abdul Malik | 2,689 | 5.8 | −18.6 | |
| TUSC | Matt Gordon [20] | 229 | 0.5 | +0.1 | |
| Majority | 3,980 | 8.6 | +0.3 | ||
| Turnout | 46,213 | 64.2 | −0.6 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +0.2 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Kerry McCarthy | 16,471 | 36.6 | −8.9 | |
| Conservative | Adeela Shafi | 12,749 | 28.3 | +0.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Mike Popham | 10,993 | 24.4 | +4.7 | |
| BNP | Brian Jenkins | 1,960 | 4.4 | N/A | |
| UKIP | Philip Collins | 1,510 | 3.4 | +0.7 | |
| Green | Glenn Vowles | 803 | 1.8 | −0.9 | |
| English Democrat | Stephen Wright | 347 | 0.8 | N/A | |
| TUSC | Rae Lynch | 184 | 0.4 | N/A | |
| Majority | 3,722 | 8.3 | |||
| Turnout | 45,017 | 64.8 | +1.8 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | −4.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Kerry McCarthy | 19,152 | 45.9 | −9.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Philip James | 10,531 | 25.2 | +8.1 | |
| Conservative | Julia Manning | 8,787 | 21.1 | −0.7 | |
| Green | Arjuna Krishna-Das | 1,586 | 3.8 | +1.0 | |
| UKIP | Jean Smith | 1,132 | 2.7 | +1.3 | |
| Respect | Paulette North | 532 | 1.3 | N/A | |
| Majority | 8,621 | 20.7 | −12.5 | ||
| Turnout | 41,720 | 61.3 | +3.9 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | −8.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Jean Corston | 22,180 | 55.0 | −1.9 | |
| Conservative | Jack Lopresti | 8,788 | 21.8 | −1.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Brian Niblett | 6,915 | 17.1 | +2.3 | |
| Green | Geoff Collard | 1,110 | 2.8 | N/A | |
| UKIP | Roger Marsh | 572 | 1.4 | N/A | |
| Socialist Labour | Michael Langley | 438 | 1.1 | −0.5 | |
| Socialist Alliance | Andrew Pryor | 331 | 0.8 | N/A | |
| Majority | 13,392 | 33.2 | −0.3 | ||
| Turnout | 40,334 | 57.4 | −12.3 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Jean Corston | 27,418 | 56.9 | +10.3 | |
| Conservative | Ed Vaizey | 11,259 | 23.4 | −15.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Peter Tyzack | 7,121 | 14.8 | −0.9 | |
| Referendum | Gerry Philip | 1,479 | 3.1 | N/A | |
| Socialist Labour | Paul Williams | 766 | 1.6 | N/A | |
| Natural Law | John McLaggan | 158 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Majority | 16,159 | 33.5 | +28.1 | ||
| Turnout | 48,201 | 69.7 | −11.6 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +13.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Jean Corston | 22,418 | 44.6 | +9.2 | |
| Conservative | Jonathan Sayeed | 19,726 | 39.2 | −4.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | John Francis Kiely | 7,903 | 15.7 | −4.7 | |
| National Front | Ian Anderson | 270 | 0.5 | −0.1 | |
| Majority | 2,692 | 5.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 50,317 | 80.3 | +1.6 | ||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +6.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Jonathan Sayeed | 21,906 | 43.6 | +3.1 | |
| Labour | Ronald Thomas | 17,783 | 35.4 | −1.5 | |
| Liberal | Don Foster | 10,247 | 20.4 | −0.9 | |
| National Front | Philip Kingston | 286 | 0.6 | −0.1 | |
| Majority | 4,123 | 8.2 | +4.6 | ||
| Turnout | 50,222 | 78.7 | +4.8 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +2.3 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Jonathan Sayeed | 19,844 | 40.5 | ||
| Labour | Tony Benn | 18,055 | 36.9 | ||
| Liberal | Peter Tryer | 10,404 | 21.3 | ||
| National Front | Ernest Andrews | 343 | 0.7 | ||
| Ecology | Gundula Dorey | 311 | 0.6 | ||
| Majority | 1,789 | 3.6 | |||
| Turnout | 48,957 | 73.9 | |||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Stafford Cripps | 27,975 | 73.5 | +14.2 | |
| Conservative | T.D. Corpe | 10,073 | 26.5 | New | |
| Majority | 17,902 | 47.0 | +28.4 | ||
| Turnout | 37,768 | 76.3 | +0.5 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Stafford Cripps | 22,009 | 59.3 | +8.7 | |
| National Labour | Archibald Church | 15,126 | 40.7 | N/A | |
| Majority | 6,883 | 18.6 | +17.4 | ||
| Turnout | 37,135 | 75.8 | −4.4 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Stafford Cripps | 19,435 | 50.6 | −15.2 | |
| Conservative | James Spreull | 19,006 | 49.4 | N/A | |
| Majority | 429 | 1.2 | −30.4 | ||
| Turnout | 38,441 | 80.2 | +2.0 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Stafford Cripps | 19,261 | 61.7 | −4.1 | |
| Conservative | Peter Chapman-Walker | 7,937 | 25.4 | New | |
| Liberal | Edward Baker | 4,010 | 12.8 | −21.4 | |
| Majority | 11,324 | 36.3 | +4.7 | ||
| Turnout | 31,208 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Walter Baker | 24,197 | 65.8 | +7.6 | |
| Liberal | Charles Gordon-Spencer | 12,576 | 34.2 | −7.6 | |
| Majority | 11,621 | 31.6 | +15.2 | ||
| Turnout | 36,773 | 78.2 | −1.6 | ||
| Registered electors | 47,039 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | +7.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Walter Baker | 16,920 | 58.2 | +4.5 | |
| Liberal | Herbert John Maggs | 12,143 | 41.8 | −4.5 | |
| Majority | 4,777 | 16.4 | +9.0 | ||
| Turnout | 29,063 | 79.8 | +3.3 | ||
| Registered electors | 36,441 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | +4.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Walter Baker | 14,828 | 53.7 | +4.0 | |
| Liberal | Harold Morris | 12,788 | 46.3 | −4.0 | |
| Majority | 2,040 | 7.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 27,616 | 76.5 | −1.0 | ||
| Registered electors | 36,105 | ||||
| Labour gain from National Liberal | Swing | +4.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Liberal | Harold Morris | 13,910 | 50.3 | +0.7 | |
| Labour | Luke Bateman | 13,759 | 49.7 | +6.9 | |
| Majority | 151 | 0.6 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 27,669 | 77.5 | +21.0 | ||
| Registered electors | 35,704 | ||||
| National Liberal gain from National Liberal | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Liberal | George Britton | 9,434 | 49.6 | −13.3 | |
| Labour | Luke Bateman | 8,135 | 42.8 | New | |
| Liberal | Charles Hobhouse | 1,447 | 7.6 | −53.3 | |
| Majority | 1,299 | 6.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 19,016 | 56.5 | −20.4 | ||
| National Liberal gain from Liberal | Swing | ||||
General Election 1914–15: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Charles Hobhouse | 4,913 | 62.8 | −0.1 | |
| Independent | Walter Moore | 2,913 | 37.2 | New | |
| Majority | 2,000 | 25.6 | −0.2 | ||
| Turnout | 7,826 | 52.3 | −24.6 | ||
| Registered electors | 14,951 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Charles Hobhouse | 7,229 | 62.9 | +10.9 | |
| Conservative | Patrick Hannon | 4,263 | 37.1 | +6.3 | |
| Majority | 2,966 | 25.8 | +4.6 | ||
| Turnout | 11,492 | 76.9 | −10.0 | ||
| Registered electors | 15,060 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −2.3 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Charles Hobhouse | 6,804 | 52.0 | −19.7 | |
| Conservative | Thomas Henry Batten | 4,033 | 30.8 | +2.5 | |
| Labour | Frank Sheppard | 2,255 | 17.2 | New | |
| Majority | 2,771 | 21.2 | −22.2 | ||
| Turnout | 13,092 | 86.9 | +10.8 | ||
| Registered electors | 15,060 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −11.1 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Charles Hobhouse | 7,935 | 71.7 | +15.3 | |
| Liberal Unionist | Thomas Bertram Johnston | 3,129 | 28.3 | −15.3 | |
| Majority | 4,806 | 43.4 | +30.6 | ||
| Turnout | 11,064 | 76.1 | +9.1 | ||
| Registered electors | 14,543 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +15.3 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Charles Hobhouse | 4,979 | 56.4 | −12.4 | |
| Conservative | Robert Sanders | 3,848 | 43.6 | New | |
| Majority | 1,131 | 12.8 | −24.8 | ||
| Turnout | 8,827 | 67.0 | +13.7 | ||
| Registered electors | 13,181 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | William Wills | 4,129 | 68.8 | +17.6 | |
| Ind. Labour Party | Samuel George Hobson | 1,874 | 31.2 | New | |
| Majority | 2,255 | 37.6 | +35.2 | ||
| Turnout | 6,003 | 53.3 | −11.5 | ||
| Registered electors | 11,254 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | William Wills | 3,740 | 51.2 | N/A | |
| Independent Labour | Hugh Holmes Gore [n 5] | 3,558 | 48.8 | New | |
| Majority | 182 | 2.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 7,298 | 64.8 | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 11,254 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Joseph Dodge Weston | Unopposed | |||
| Liberal hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Joseph Dodge Weston | 4,775 | 65.6 | +0.1 | |
| Conservative | James Inskip | 1,900 | 26.1 | −8.4 | |
| Independent Labour | Havelock Wilson | 602 | 8.3 | New | |
| Majority | 2,875 | 39.5 | +8.5 | ||
| Turnout | 7,277 | 70.6 | +11.6 | ||
| Registered electors | 10,310 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +4.3 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Handel Cossham | 3,672 | 65.5 | −0.6 | |
| Conservative | James Inskip | 1,936 | 34.5 | +0.6 | |
| Majority | 1,736 | 31.0 | −1.2 | ||
| Turnout | 5,608 | 59.0 | −15.0 | ||
| Registered electors | 9,506 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -0.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Handel Cossham | 4,647 | 66.1 | ||
| Conservative | James Broad Bissell | 2,383 | 33.9 | ||
| Majority | 2,264 | 32.2 | |||
| Turnout | 7,030 | 74.0 | |||
| Registered electors | 9,506 | ||||
| Liberal win (new seat) | |||||