The county of Somerset is currently divided into 7 parliamentary constituencies, which are all county constituencies. Three seats cross the county boundary - two are shared with Avon and one with Devon.
† Conservative ‡ Labour ¤ Liberal Democrat
Constituency [nb 1] | Electorate [1] | Majority [2] [nb 2] | Member of Parliament [2] | Nearest opposition [2] | Electoral wards [3] [4] | Map | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bridgwater CC | 71,418 | 1,349 | Ashley Fox† | Leigh Redman‡ | Sedgemoor District Council: Berrow, Bridgwater Dunwear, Bridgwater Eastover, Bridgwater Fairfax, Bridgwater Hamp, Bridgwater Victoria, Bridgwater Westover, Bridgwater Wyndham, Burnham Central, Burnham North, Cannington and Wembdon, Highbridge and Burnham Marine, Huntspill and Pawlett, King's Isle, North Petherton, Puriton and Woolavington, Quantocks. | |||
Frome and East Somerset CC (part) | 70,177 | 5,415 | Anna Sabine¤ | Lucy Trimnell† | Bath and North East Somerset Council: Bathavon South, Midsomer Norton North, Midsomer Norton Redfield, Peasedown, Radstock, Westfield. Mendip District Council: Ammerdown, Ashwick, Chilcompton and Stratton, Beckington and Selwood, Coleford and Holcombe, Cranmore, Doulting and Nunney, Creech, Frome Berkley Down, Frome College, Frome Keyford, Frome Market, Frome Oakfield, Frome Park, Postlebury, Rode and Norton St. Philip, The Pennards and Ditcheat. | |||
Glastonbury and Somerton CC | 70,015 | 6,611 | Sarah Dyke¤ | Faye Purbrick† | Mendip District Council: Butleigh and Baltonsborough, Glastonbury St. Benedict's, Glastonbury St. Edmund's, Glastonbury St. John's, Glastonbury St. Mary's, Street North, Street South, Street West. South Somerset District Council: Blackmoor Vale, Bruton, Burrow Hill, Camelot, Cary, Curry Rivel, Huish & Langport, Hamdon, Islemoor, Martock, Milborne Port, Northstone, Ivelchester & St. Michael's, Tower, Turn Hill, Wessex, Wincanton. | |||
Taunton and Wellington CC | 76,059 | 11,939 | Gideon Amos¤ | Rebecca Pow† | Somerset West and Taunton Council: Blackbrook & Holway, Comeytrowe & Bishop's Hull, Creech St. Michael, Halcon & Lane, Hatch & Blackdown, Manor & Tangier, Monument, North Curry & Ruishton, North Town, Norton Fitzwarren & Staplegrove, Priorswood, Rockwell Green, Trull, Pitminster & Corfe, Victoria, Vivary, Wellington East, Wellington North, Wellington South, Wellsprings & Rowbarton, West Monkton & Cheddon Fitzpaine, Wilton & Sherford. | |||
Tiverton and Minehead CC (part) | 70,829 | 3,507 | Rachel Gilmour¤ | Ian Liddell-Grainger† | Mid Devon District Council: Canonsleigh, Castle, Clare and Shuttern, Cranmore, Halberton, Lower Culm, Lowman, Upper Culm, Westexe. Somerset West and Taunton Council: Alcombe, Cotford St. Luke & Oake, Dulverton & District, Exmoor, Milverton & District, Minehead Central, Minehead North, Old Cleeve & District, Periton & Woodcombe, Porlock & District, Quantock Vale, South Quantock, Watchet & Williton, Wiveliscombe & District. | |||
Wells and Mendip Hills CC (part) | 69,843 | 11,121 | Tessa Munt¤ | Meg Powell-Chandler† | Mendip District Council: Chewton Mendip and Ston Easton, Croscombe and Pilton, Moor, Rodney and Westbury, Shepton East, Shepton West, St. Cuthbert Out North, Wells Central, Wells St. Cuthbert's, Wells St. Thomas', Wookey and St. Cuthbert Out West. North Somerset Council: Banwell & Winscombe, Blagdon & Churchill, Congresbury & Puxton, Yatton. Sedgemoor District Council: Axevale, Cheddar and Shipham, East Polden, Knoll, Wedmore and Mark, West Polden. | |||
Yeovil CC | 76,056 | 12,286 | Adam Dance¤ | Marcus Fysh† | South Somerset District Council: Blackdown & Tatworth, Brympton, Chard Avishayes, Chard Combe, Chard Crimchard, Chard Holyrood, Chard Jocelyn, Coker, Crewkerne, Eggwood, Ilminster, Neroche, Parrett, South Petherton, Windwhistle, Yeovil College, Yeovil Lyde, Yeovil Summerlands, Yeovil Westland, Yeovil without. |
See 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies for further details.
Former name | Boundaries 2010–2024 | Current name | Boundaries 2024–present |
---|---|---|---|
For the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which redrew the constituency map ahead of the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the Boundary Commission for England opted to combine Somerset with Avon and Devon as a sub-region of the South West Region, resulting in significant change to the existing pattern of constituencies. In Somerset, only the constituency of Yeovil retained its name with relatively minor changes. The boundary changes created the cross-county boundary constituencies of Frome and East Somerset, Wells and Mendip Hills, and Tiverton and Minehead. Bridgwater was re-established as a constituency, replacing Bridgwater and West Somerset, while the new constituency of Glastonbury and Somerton largely replaced Somerton and Frome. Taunton Deane was renamed Taunton and Wellington. [5] [6]
The boundary commission recommended the following seats within Somerset:
Containing electoral wards from Mendip
Containing electoral wards from Sedgemoor
Containing electoral wards from Somerset West and Taunton
Containing electoral wards from South Somerset
1Also contains electoral wards in the District of Bath and North East Somerset
2Also contains electoral wards in the District of North Somerset
3Also contains electoral wards in the Devon District of Mid Devon
Primary data source: House of Commons research briefing - General election results from 1918 to 2019 [7]
The number of votes cast for each political party who fielded candidates in constituencies comprising Somerset in the 2024 general election were as follows: [nb 3]
Party | Votes | % | Change from 2019 | Seats | Change from 2019 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | 114,443 | 36.5% | 7.5% | 6 | 6 |
Conservative | 88,408 | 28.2% | 28.5% | 1 | 4 |
Reform | 53,160 | 17.0% | New | 0 | 0 |
Labour | 34,865 | 11.1% | 0.7% | 0 | 0 |
Green | 18,076 | 5.8% | 3.6% | 0 | 0 |
Others | 4,314 | 1.4% | 0.1% | 0 | 0 |
Total | 313,266 | 100.0 | 7 |
Note that before 1983 Somerset was analysed under its Ceremonial definition (including the southern part of what became analysed at boundary reviews as Avon, see Avon's list of seats).
Election year | 1918 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1929 | 1931 | 1935 | 1945 | 1950 | 1951 | 1955 | 1959 | 1964 | 1966 | 1970 | 1974(F) | 1974(O) | 1979 | 1983 | 1987 | 1992 | 1997 | 2001 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2024 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrat 1 | 13.5 | 29.6 | 42.0 | 30.5 | 32.3 | 13.7 | 19.2 | 8.8 | 12.7 | 1.8 | 4.6 | 14.2 | 20.2 | 16.1 | 11.6 | 28.1 | 26.9 | 22.7 | 37.0 | 37.6 | 40.2 | 40.6 | 39.6 | 40.1 | 45.1 | 23.9 | 25.4 | 29.0 | 36.5 |
Conservative | 61.5 | 51.1 | 47.4 | 52.9 | 45.4 | 66.6 | 55.4 | 45.5 | 47.0 | 55.0 | 54.8 | 51.4 | 45.9 | 45.8 | 53.2 | 44.7 | 43.8 | 52.3 | 51.2 | 50.6 | 45.3 | 36.5 | 40.9 | 41.4 | 41.5 | 47.2 | 53.9 | 56.7 | 28.2 |
Reform | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 17.0 |
Labour | 24.3 | 19.3 | 10.6 | 16.6 | 22.3 | 19.7 | 25.4 | 39.8 | 38.3 | 43.2 | 40.6 | 34.4 | 33.3 | 38.1 | 35.0 | 27.0 | 28.6 | 24.0 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 12.9 | 17.4 | 16.5 | 14.9 | 7.7 | 9.5 | 17.0 | 10.6 | 11.1 |
Green Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | * | * | * | * | * | 0.5 | 5.3 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 5.8 | |
UKIP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | * | * | * | 3.7 | 12.9 | 1.2 | * | - |
Other | 0.8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.9 | 2.0 | - | - | - | 0.7 | - | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.1 | - | 1.5 | 5.4 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 1.4 |
1pre-1979: Liberal Party; 1983 & 1987: SDP-Liberal Alliance
* Included in Other
Election year | 1950 | 1951 | 1955 | 1959 | 1964 | 1966 | 1970 | 1974(F) | 1974(O) | 1979 | 1983 | 1987 | 1992 | 1997 | 2001 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2024 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrat 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Conservative | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
Total | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 |
11983 & 1987 - SDP-Liberal Alliance
A cell marked → (with a different colour background to the preceding cell) indicates that the previous MP continued to sit under a new party name.
Conservative Liberal Liberal Unionist
Constituency | 1885 | 1886 | 87 | 1892 | 1895 | 96 | 99 | 1900 | 1906 | 09 | Jan 1910 | Dec 1910 | 11 | 12 | 18 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bath | Blaine | Laurie | Murray | Maclean | A. Thynne | Foxcroft | |||||||||
Wodehouse | → | Gooch | Hunter | ||||||||||||
Bridgwater | Stanley | Montgomery | Sanders | ||||||||||||
Frome | Baker | T. Thynne | Barlow | T. Thynne | Barlow | ||||||||||
Somerset Eastern | Hobhouse | → | Thompson | Jardine | → | ||||||||||
Somerset Northern | Llewellyn | Warner | Llewellyn | Hope | King | ||||||||||
Somerset Southern | Lambart | Strachey | Herbert | ||||||||||||
Taunton | S. Allsopp | A. Allsopp | Welby | Boyle | Peel | Wills | |||||||||
Wellington | Dyke Acland | Elton | Fuller-Acland-Hood | Boles | |||||||||||
Wells | Paget | Jolliffe | Dickinson | Silcock | Sandys |
Common Wealth Conservative Independent Progressive Labour Liberal
Constituency | 1918 | 21 | 1922 | 23 | 1923 | 1924 | 29 | 1929 | 1931 | 34 | 1935 | 38 | 39 | 42 | 1945 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bath | Foxcroft | Raffety | Foxcroft | Baillie-Hamilton | Guinness | Pitman | |||||||||
Bridgwater | Sanders | Morse | Wood | Croom-Johnson | Bartlett | → | → | ||||||||
Frome | Hurd | Gould | Peto | Gould | Thynne | Tate | Farthing | ||||||||
Taunton | Boles | Griffith-Boscawen | Simpson | Gault | Wickham | Collins | |||||||||
Wells | Greer | Bruford | Hobhouse | Sanders | Muirhead | Boles | |||||||||
Weston-super-Mare | Wills | Erskine | Murrell | Erskine | Orr-Ewing | ||||||||||
Yeovil | Herbert | Davies | Kingsmill |
Constituency | 1950 | 1951 | 1955 | 56 | 58 | 1959 | 1964 | 1966 | 69 | 70 | 1970 | Feb 74 | Oct 74 | 1979 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bath | Pitman | Brown | Patten | |||||||||||
Bridgwater | Wills | King | ||||||||||||
Somerset North | Leather | Dean | ||||||||||||
Taunton | Hopkinson | du Cann | ||||||||||||
Wells | Boles | Maydon | Boscawen | |||||||||||
Weston-super-Mare | Orr-Ewing | Webster | Wiggin | |||||||||||
Yeovil | Kingsmill | Peyton |
Conservative Independent Liberal Liberal Democrats
Constituency | 1983 | 1987 | 88 | 1992 | 1997 | 2001 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 22 | 23 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bridgwater / Bridgwater and West Somerset (2010-) | King | Liddell-Grainger | |||||||||||
Somerton and Frome | Boscawen | Robinson | Heath | Warburton | → | Dyke | |||||||
Taunton / Taunton Deane (2010-) | du Cann | Nicholson | Ballard | Flook | Browne | Pow | |||||||
Wells | Heathcoat-Amory | Munt | Heappey | ||||||||||
Yeovil | Ashdown | → | Laws | Fysh |
Conservative Liberal Democrats
Constituency | 2024 |
---|---|
Bridgwater | Fox |
Frome and East Somerset 1 | Sabine |
Glastonbury and Somerton | Dyke |
Taunton and Wellington | Amos |
Tiverton and Minehead 2 | Gilmour |
Wells and Mendip Hills 1 | Munt |
Yeovil | Dance |
Somerset, archaically Somersetshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east and the north-east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. The largest settlement is the city of Bath, and the county town is Taunton.
Bridgwater is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2024 by Ashley Fox of the Conservative Party. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Somerton and Frome was a constituency in Somerset represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.
Wells was a constituency in Somerset in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Apart from between 2010–2015, Wells was represented by members of the Conservative Party since 1924.
Yeovil is a constituency in Somerset created in 1918 and represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since the 2024 General Election, the constituency has been represented by Liberal Democrat MP Adam Dance.
Bridgwater and West Somerset was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Ian Liddell-Grainger, a Conservative.
Taunton Deane was a constituency in Somerset represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.
East Somerset was the name of a parliamentary constituency in Somerset, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom between 1832 and 1918.
Somerset and North Devon was a European Parliament constituency covering all of Somerset in England, plus northern Devon and south-western Avon. With Cornwall and West Plymouth, it was one of the first two seats to elect a Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament.
Somerset and Dorset West was a European Parliament constituency covering all of Somerset in England, plus parts of Avon and western Dorset.
The region of South West England is divided into 58 parliamentary constituencies, which are made up of 16 borough constituencies and 42 county constituencies. Since the general election of July 2024, 24 are represented by Labour MPs, 22 by Liberal Democrat MPs, 11 by Conservative MPs, and 1 by a Green MP.
The 2017 Somerset County Council election took place on 4 May 2017 as part of the 2017 local elections in the United Kingdom. All 55 councilors were elected from 54 electoral divisions, which each returned either one or two county councilors by first-past-the-post voting for a four-year term of office.
The 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency boundaries were approved by the Privy Council on 15 November 2023 and came into law on 29 November.
The 2022 Somerset Council election took place on 5 May 2022 to elect members of Somerset County Council. The number of councillors was doubled from 55 to 110 at this election, in preparation for the county council becoming a unitary authority on 1 April 2023, when it was renamed Somerset Council.
Tiverton and Minehead is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election. Its first MP is Liberal Democrat Rachel Gilmour, who defeated Ian Liddell-Grainger, the Conservative MP for Bridgwater then Bridgwater and West Somerset from 2001 to 2024.
Glastonbury and Somerton is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election. It has been represented since 2024 by Sarah Dyke of the Liberal Democrats.
Frome and East Somerset is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. It was first contested at the 2024 general election. It was created from the parts of the former constituencies of Somerton and Frome and North East Somerset as a result of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. It has been represented since 2024 by Anna Sabine of the Liberal Democrats.
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