Crawley (UK Parliament constituency)

Crawley
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Interactive map of boundaries from 1997
Boundary of Crawley in South East England
County	West Sussex
Electorate	74,446 (2023) [1]
Major settlements	Crawley
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of Parliament	Peter Lamb (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Horsham and Crawley and Mid Sussex [2]

Crawley is a constituency ^{[n 1]} in West Sussex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Peter Lamb of the Labour Party. ^{[n 2]}

Constituency profile

The constituency covers the whole of the town and borough of Crawley in West Sussex, and London Gatwick Airport is a significant employment centre. Residents' health and wealth are around average for the UK. ^[3]

Boundaries

1983–1997: The Borough of Crawley, and the District of Mid Sussex wards of Balcombe, Copthorne and Worth, Crawley Down, Slaugham, and Turners Hill.

1997–present: The Borough of Crawley.

The Boundary Commission analysed population increase and recommended that changes to the constituency be made for the 2010 general election so the seat is now coterminous with the borough.

The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies left the boundaries unchanged. ^[4]

History

Contents and context

Before the 1983 general election, Crawley had been part of the Horsham & Crawley, Horsham, and Horsham & Worthing constituencies at times. Due to the growth of Crawley, which was a small town, into a substantial new town in the 1960s and 70s, the Boundary Commission took the decision to separate it from Horsham in 1983 and create a new seat.

Political history

The constituency of Crawley is a bellwether seat, having elected an MP from the Party which won each general election since its creation in 1983. Its first MP was Conservative Nicholas Soames, a grandson of former prime minister Sir Winston Churchill. Having been re-elected in 1987 and 1992, he stood down for the 1997 election and was selected for and won the neighbouring seat of Mid Sussex, which he continued to represent until his retirement in 2019.

The seat was subsequently won by Laura Moffatt of the Labour Party with majorities in 1997 and 2001 on the size of majority yardstick, but not yet the longevity measure, suggested a safe seat. The seat saw the most marginal result in 2005 with a margin of only 37 votes. Psephologists and editors have long identified^{[ citation needed ]} the marginality of most of the largest new towns and outer satellite cities in Southern England as to those seats with a workforce across diverse sectors (e.g. Bristol, Exeter, Gloucester, Milton Keynes, Hemel Hempstead, Reading, Southampton, Portsmouth, Dover). Few communities in these seats are rooted in Victorian villa toryism nor in Labour's heartlands that for decades depended on heavy industry (the main coalfields, the Lancashire Mill Towns, the Potteries/Black Country, steelworking, dockworking and shipbuilding areas).

In the 2010 election Conservative, Henry Smith, won the seat having twice failed, by 5,928 votes. He gained a not unprecedented (averaged two-party) swing of 6.3%. ^[5] Smith's later majorities have been 6,526 in 2015; and 2,459 in 2017, elections where the Liberal Democrats, Scepanovic, along with the 2017 candidate for East Worthing and Shoreham in West Sussex lost their deposits by failing to attract 5% of the vote. In 2019, the Liberal Democrat Candidate, Khalil Yousuf increased the Liberal Democrat vote share by 1.7% against the last election, keeping their deposit. ^[6]

Smith won again in 2019 with an increased majority over Labour candidate Peter Lamb. In 2024, Smith stood down and Lamb captured the seat after the Conservative vote more than halved.

Members of Parliament

Horsham & Crawley and Mid Sussex prior to 1983

Election		Member [7]	Party
	1983	Nicholas Soames	Conservative
	1997	Laura Moffatt	Labour
	2010	Henry Smith	Conservative
	2024	Peter Lamb	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Crawley ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Peter Lamb	17,453	38.2	+0.8
	Conservative	Zack Ali	12,218	26.8	−27.4
	Reform UK	Tim Charters	8,447	18.5	N/A
	Green	Iain Dickson	2,621	5.7	+2.8
	Workers Party	Linda Bamieh	2,407	5.3	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Lee Gibbs	2,205	4.8	−0.7
	TUSC	Robin Burnham	153	0.3	N/A
	Heritage	Dan Weir	138	0.3	N/A
Majority			5,235	11.5	−5.3
Turnout			45,642	59.6	−7.4
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Crawley ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Smith	27,040	54.2	+3.6
	Labour	Peter Lamb	18,680	37.4	−8.3
	Liberal Democrats	Khalil Yousuf	2,728	5.5	+1.8
	Green	Iain Dickson	1,451	2.9	New
Majority			8,360	16.8	+11.9
Turnout			49,899	67.2	−1.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.9

The Brexit Party announced Wayne Bayley as their candidate, but he was withdrawn as part of the UK-wide Brexit Party decision not to oppose sitting Conservative candidates. ^[10]

General election 2017: Crawley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Smith [11]	25,426	50.6	+3.6
	Labour	Tim Lunnon	22,969	45.7	+12.1
	Liberal Democrats	Marko Scepanovic	1,878	3.7	+0.9
Majority			2,457	4.9	−8.5
Turnout			50,273	68.5	+2.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	-4.25

The Green Party announced Richard Kail as their candidate, but he did not stand. UKIP also decided not to stand a candidate for the first time since 1997.

General election 2015: Crawley ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Smith [11]	22,829	47.0	+2.2
	Labour	Chris Oxlade [11]	16,303	33.6	+1.3
	UKIP	Christopher Brown [13]	6,979	14.4	+11.5
	Liberal Democrats	Sarah Osborne [14]	1,339	2.8	−11.6
	Green	Guy Hudson [15]	1,100	2.3	+1.0
Majority			6,526	13.4	+0.9
Turnout			48,550	65.7	+0.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.5

The Christian Peoples Alliance announced Katherine Mills as candidate, ^[16] but she did not stand.

General election 2010: Crawley ^{[17] [5]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Smith	21,264	44.8	+5.8
	Labour	Chris Oxlade	15,336	32.3	−6.8
	Liberal Democrats	John Vincent	6,844	14.4	−1.1
	BNP	Richard Trower	1,672	3.5	+0.5
	UKIP	Chris French	1,382	2.9	+0.7
	Green	Phil Smith	598	1.3	New
	Justice Party	Arshad Khan	265	0.6	+0.1
	Independent	Andrew Hubner	143	0.3	New
Majority			5,928	12.5	N/A
Turnout			47,504	65.3	+6.9
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+6.3

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Crawley ^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Laura Moffatt	16,411	39.1	−10.2
	Conservative	Henry Smith	16,374	39.0	+6.8
	Liberal Democrats	Rupert Sheard	6,503	15.5	+2.8
	BNP	Richard Trower	1,277	3.0	New
	UKIP	Ronald Walters	935	2.2	−0.7
	Democratic Socialist Alliance – People Before Profit	Robin Burnham	263	0.6	New
	Justice Party	Arshad Khan	210	0.5	−0.2
Majority			37	0.1	−17.0
Turnout			41,973	58.4	+3.2
	Labour hold		Swing	−8.5

General election 2001: Crawley ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Laura Moffatt	19,488	49.3	−5.8
	Conservative	Henry Smith	12,718	32.2	+0.4
	Liberal Democrats	Linda Seekings	5,009	12.7	+4.5
	UKIP	Brian Galloway	1,137	2.9	+2.3
	Monster Raving Loony	Claire Staniford	383	1.0	New
	Justice Party	Arshad Khan	271	0.7	+0.2
	Socialist Labour	Karl Stewart	260	0.7	New
	Socialist Alliance	Muriel Hirsch	251	0.6	New
Majority			6,770	17.1	−6.2
Turnout			39,517	55.2	−17.7
	Labour hold		Swing	−3.1

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Crawley ^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Laura Moffatt	27,750	55.1	+14.7
	Conservative	Josephine Crabb	16,043	31.8	−12.1
	Liberal Democrats	Harold De Souza	4,141	8.2	−6.3
	Referendum	Ronald Walters	1,931	3.8	New
	UKIP	Eric Saunders	322	0.6	New
	Justice Party	Arshad Khan	230	0.5	New
Majority			11,707	23.3	N/A
Turnout			50,417	72.9	−6.3
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+13.4

This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1992 and 1997 general
elections and thus change in share of vote is based on a notional calculation.

General election 1992: Crawley ^{[21] [22]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nicholas Soames	30,204	48.8	−0.7
	Labour	Laura Moffatt	22,439	36.2	+7.2
	Liberal Democrats	Gordon Seekings	8,558	13.8	−7.7
	Green	Mark Wilson	766	1.2	New
Majority			7,765	12.6	−7.9
Turnout			61,967	79.2	+2.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.0

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Crawley ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nicholas Soames	29,259	49.5	+1.4
	Labour	Paul Leo	17,121	29.0	+2.8
	SDP	David Simmons	12,674	21.5	−4.2
Majority			12,138	20.5	−1.4
Turnout			59,054	77.1	+0.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.7

General election 1983: Crawley ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nicholas Soames	25,963	48.1
	Labour	Leslie Allen	14,149	26.2
	SDP	Tom Forrester	13,900	25.7
Majority			11,814	21.9
Turnout			54,012	76.4
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in West Sussex
• List of parliamentary constituencies in the South East England (region)

Notes

1. A borough 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.

References

1. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – South East". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
2. "'Crawley', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
3. Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Crawley
4. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 6 South East region.
5. "BBC News – Election 2010 – Constituency – Crawley". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
6. "Crawley parliamentary constituency - Election 2019 - BBC News" . Retrieved 19 October 2024.
7. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 6)
8. "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll" (PDF). Crawley Borough Council. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
9. "Crawley Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
10. "General election 2019: Brexit Party candidate Wayne Bayley's 'attack' on Nigel Farage exposed as a fraud". 12 November 2019.
11. "CRAWLEY 2015". electionresults.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
12. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
13. "Website". Chris Brown. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
14. "Crawley Liberal Democrats have announced that Sarah Osborne will be their 2015 Parliamentary Candidate". crawley-libdems.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
15. "Meet the candidates". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
16. "CPA Candidates for the General Election". Christian Peoples Alliance. Archived from the original on 10 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
17. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
18. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
19. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
20. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
21. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
22. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
23. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
24. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

Sources

• Election result, 2005 (BBC)
• Election results, 1997 – 2001 (BBC)
• Election results, 1997 – 2001 (Election Demon)
• Election results, 1983 – 1992 Archived 19 August 2000 at the Wayback Machine (Election Demon)
• Election results, 1992 – 2005 Archived 29 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine (Guardian)

External links

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

51°07′48″N0°10′59″W / 51.13°N 0.183°W / 51.13; -0.183