North East Fife (UK Parliament constituency)

Last updated

North East Fife
County constituency
for the House of Commons
NorthEastFifeConstituency.svg
Boundary of North East Fife in Scotland
Major settlementsSt Andrews, Cupar, Leuchars
Current constituency
Created 1983
Member of Parliament Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrats)
Created from East Fife

North East Fife is a county constituency in Fife, Scotland, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Wendy Chamberlain of the Liberal Democrats since the 2019 general election.

Contents

The seat was created in 1983, and was held by the Conservative Party for four years, before being represented by Menzies Campbell from 1987 to 2015. Campbell was elected as a member of the Liberal Party, which later merged with the Social Democratic Party to form the Liberal Democrats. At the 2015 general election, the seat was gained by Stephen Gethins of the Scottish National Party (SNP). Gethins held his seat at the 2017 general election by just two votes over Elizabeth Riches of the Liberal Democrats, making the seat the most marginal in the United Kingdom. At the 2019 general election, Chamberlain defeated Gethins to regain the seat for the Liberal Democrats; this was the SNP's only loss at the general election.

Boundaries

North East Fife (UK Parliament constituency)
Map of current boundaries

1983–2005: North East Fife District.

2005–present: The area of the Fife Council other than those parts in the constituencies of Dunfermline and West Fife, Glenrothes, and Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath.

North East Fife constituency is in the region of Fife in Scotland. Fife has the River Tay on its northern coast, and the Firth of Forth to the south. The famous golf and university town of St Andrews is the major settlement in the seat. Others include Cupar, Newport-on-Tay, Newburgh, Auchtermuchty, and Anstruther.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMember [1] Party
1983 Barry Henderson Conservative
1987 Menzies Campbell Liberal
1988 Liberal Democrats
2015 Stephen Gethins SNP
2019 Wendy Chamberlain Liberal Democrats

Election results

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: North East Fife [2] [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Wendy Chamberlain 23,384 54.7 +15.1
SNP Stefan Hoggan-Radu9,90523.2−17.8
Labour Jennifer Gallagher4,0269.4+3.9
Reform UK Matthew Wren2,0944.9+4.5
Conservative Bill Bowman 1,6663.9−9.8
Scottish Green Morven Ovenstone-Jones1,6533.9N/A
Majority13,47931.5+28.6
Turnout 42,72861.5−13.8
Liberal Democrats win (new boundaries)

On the notional boundaries of the 2019 general election the seat is an SNP hold; the Liberal Democrats therefore gain the seat despite previously holding it.

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: North East Fife [4] [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Wendy Chamberlain 19,763 43.1 +10.2
SNP Stephen Gethins 18,44740.2+7.3
Conservative Tony Miklinski5,96113.0−11.1
Labour Wendy Haynes1,7073.7−5.9
Majority1,3162.9N/A
Turnout 45,87875.3+4.0
Liberal Democrats gain from SNP Swing +1.5

North East Fife was notable in several respects in the 2019 general election: it was the SNP's only loss of the election, [6] had the largest decrease in vote share for the Conservative Party (after the special case of Chorley, where the party did not stand) and also had the smallest Labour share of the vote in the United Kingdom, at 3.7% (again excluding Chorley, where the party did not stand). [7] The seat went from the most marginal seat at the 2017 general election to the fortieth most marginal in 2019 (measured by percentage majority). [8] When measured by absolute majority, North East Fife was the second most marginal Lib Dem-held seat at the election (after Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross). [9]

General election 2017: North East Fife [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
SNP Stephen Gethins 13,743 32.86 −8.0
Liberal Democrats Elizabeth Riches13,74132.85+1.6
Conservative Tony Miklinski10,08824.1+7.8
Labour Rosalind Garton4,0269.6+1.9
Independent Sovereign Democratic BritainMike Scott-Hayward2240.5−0.2
Majority20.01−9.6
Turnout 41,82271.3−1.7
SNP hold Swing −4.8

North East Fife was the most marginal result in the country at the 2017 general election, with incumbent SNP MP Stephen Gethins seeing his majority cut from 4,344 votes (9.6%) to 2 votes (0.004%) ahead of the Liberal Democrat candidate, Elizabeth Riches. An alike result in Winchester at the 1997 general election was adjudicated and declared void and resulted in a legislative change in party naming rules (the Registration of Political Parties Act 1998). [11]

General election 2015: North East Fife [12] [13]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
SNP Stephen Gethins 18,523 40.9 +26.7
Liberal Democrats Tim Brett14,17931.3−13.0
Conservative Huw Bell7,37316.3−5.5
Labour Brian Thomson3,4767.7−9.4
Scottish Green Andrew Collins1,3873.1New
Independent Mike Scott-Hayward3250.7−1.9
Majority4,3449.6N/A
Turnout 45,26373.0+6.4
SNP gain from Liberal Democrats Swing +19.9
General election 2010: North East Fife [14]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Menzies Campbell 17,763 44.3 −7.8
Conservative Miles Briggs 8,71521.8+2.3
Labour Mark Hood6,86917.1+4.3
SNP Roderick Campbell 5,68514.2+3.8
UKIP Mike Scott-Hayward1,0322.6+1.2
Majority9,04822.5−10.1
Turnout 40,06463.6+1.5
Liberal Democrats hold Swing −5.0

Elections in the 2000s

In 2005 the ward of Leven East was incorporated into this constituency from what was Central Fife.

General election 2005: North East Fife (new boundaries) [15]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Menzies Campbell 20,088 52.1 +3.0
Conservative Mike Scott-Hayward7,51719.5−3.4
Labour Tony King4,92012.8−1.6
SNP Roderick Campbell 4,01110.4−0.3
Scottish Green James Park1,0712.8New
UKIP Duncan Pickard5331.4New
Scottish Socialist Jack Ferguson4161.1−0.7
Majority12,57132.6N/A
Turnout 38,55662.1N/A
Liberal Democrats win (new boundaries)
General election 2001: North East Fife [16]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Menzies Campbell 17,926 51.7 +0.5
Conservative Mike Scott-Hayward8,19023.6−2.9
Labour Claire Brennan3,95011.4+1.1
SNP Kris Murray-Browne3,59610.4−0.4
Scottish Socialist Keith White6101.8New
Legalise Cannabis Leslie Von Goetz4201.2New
Majority9,73628.1+3.4
Turnout 34,69256.0−14.5
Liberal Democrats hold Swing +1.7

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: North East Fife [17]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Menzies Campbell 21,432 51.2 +4.8
Conservative Adam Bruce11,07626.5−12.0
SNP Colin Welsh4,54510.8+2.2
Labour Charles Milne4,30110.3+4.8
Referendum William Stewart4851.2New
Majority10,35624.7+16.8
Turnout 41,83970.5−7.3
Liberal Democrats hold Swing +8.4
General election 1992: North East Fife [18]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Menzies Campbell 19,430 46.4 +1.6
Conservative Mary Scanlon 16,12238.5−2.7
SNP David Roche3,5898.6+2.0
Labour Lynda Clark 2,3195.5−1.9
Scottish Green Tim Flynn2940.7New
Liberal David Senior850.2N/A
Majority3,3087.9+4.3
Turnout 41,83977.8+1.6
Liberal Democrats hold Swing +2.1

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: North East Fife [19]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Menzies Campbell 17,868 44.8 +4.6
Conservative Barry Henderson 16,42141.2−4.9
Labour Anthony Michael Edward Gannon2,9477.4+0.9
SNP Francis David Roche2,6166.60.0
Majority1,4473.6N/A
Turnout 39,85276.2+2.5
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +4.8
General election 1983: North East Fife [20]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Barry Henderson 17,129 46.1 −2.2
Liberal Menzies Campbell 14,94440.2+14.0
SNP John Hulbert2,4426.6−6.6
Labour David Caldwell2,4296.5−5.8
Ecology Timothy Flinn2420.6New
Majority2,1855.9−14.1
Turnout 37,18673.7−5.3
Conservative win (new seat)

See also

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References

  1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "F"
  2. "North East Fife - UK General election 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  3. "UK Parliamentary election results - July 2024". Fife Council. 10 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  4. "General Election 12 December 2019". Fife Council. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  5. "Fife North East parliamentary constituency - Election 2019" . Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  6. Uberoi, Cracknell & McGuiness 2020, p. 92.
  7. Uberoi, Cracknell & McGuiness 2020, p. 10.
  8. Uberoi, Cracknell & McGuiness 2020, pp. 71–72.
  9. Uberoi, Cracknell & McGuiness 2020, p. 16.
  10. "UK parliamentary election statement of persons nominated and notice of poll for the constituencies of Dunfermline and West Fife; Glenrothes; Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath; and North-East Fife" (PDF). Fife Council. 8 May 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017. The following persons have been and now stand nominated for election as a Member to serve in the UK Parliament for the above constituencies:
  11. "General election 2017: SNP wins Fife North East seat by just two votes". BBC. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  12. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  13. Fife Council, Elections (7 July 2014). "Elections - The Scottish Independence Referendum Results 2014". www.fifedirect.org.uk.
  14. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  15. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  16. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  17. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  18. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  19. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  20. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

Works cited

56°18′57″N2°57′55″W / 56.31583°N 2.96528°W / 56.31583; -2.96528