Sutton and Cheam

For other uses, see Sutton and Cheam (disambiguation).

Sutton and Cheam
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Interactive map of boundaries from 2024
Location within Greater London
County	Greater London
Electorate	71,284 (March 2020) [1]
Current constituency
Created	1945
Member of Parliament	Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrats)
Created from	Mid Surrey or more commonly 'Epsom' (as eastern offshoot seat)

Sutton and Cheam is a constituency ^{[n 1]} in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Luke Taylor, a Liberal Democrat. ^{[n 2]}

Constituency profile

Sutton town centre

Sutton and Cheam is a constituency in Greater London in England, within the Borough of Sutton. It covers the areas of Sutton, Cheam, Belmont and part of Worcester Park.

This is a suburban constituency on the edge of Greater London, located around 10 miles (16 km) south of the centre of the capital. Sutton is a historic settlement that was traditionally a stopping point on the road between London and Brighton. It grew into a town during the 19th century upon the arrival of railways and was absorbed into London's suburban sprawl during the 20th century. Today, the area is a major retail and economic centre for Outer London. Sutton has average levels of wealth with most residents living in flats, whilst Cheam and Belmont are highly-affluent with many large detached and semi-detached properties. ^{[2] [3]} House prices across the constituency are generally higher than the UK average but lower than the rest of London. ^[4]

Sutton and Cheam has a large population of middle-aged adults with families and low proportions of young adults and retirees. ^[5] Residents have high levels of income and homeownership, ^[4] and the child poverty rate is less than half the overall UK figure. ^[6] They are generally well-educated and a high proportion work in the health, retail and construction sectors. ^{[4] [7]} The percentage of residents claiming unemployment benefits is low. ^[6] White people made up 68% of the population at the 2021 census, around one-fifth of whom were of non-British origin. Asians were the largest ethnic minority group at 19%, including large communities of Indian, Chinese and Sri Lankan origin. ^[8]

At the local borough council, all seats in this constituency are represented by Liberal Democrats. An estimated 51% of voters in Sutton and Cheam supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, similar to the UK-wide figure of 52%. ^[4]

Political history

The area's voters produced a 32.6% swing to the Liberal Party in the 1972 by-election. ^[9] In the nine prior elections it only returned Conservative MPs and the Liberal candidate polled third behind Labour six times and none stood three times.

The seat is a marginal seat which has since 1970 frequently flipped between electing Conservative and Liberal/Liberal Democrat candidates. During the Conservative Government 1979–1990, the seat was won by a sufficient majority to be branded a Conservative safe seat. It was regained by the Liberal Democrats in the 1997 general election and subsequently held in the 2001, 2005 and 2010 general elections. In the 2015 general election the seat was regained by the Conservatives. In June 2016, an estimated 51.28% of local adults voting in the EU membership referendum chose to leave the European Union instead of to remain. ^[10] This was matched in two January 2018 votes in Parliament by its MP. ^[11]

At the 2017 general election, the incumbent Conservative MP, Paul Scully, gained an 8.3% swing which moved the seat away from the typical "marginal" band of analysis: Scully won by a 24.4% majority. Due to the secret ballot only opinion polls can determine if this rise in popularity had more to do with the campaign of the Liberal Democrat candidate and/or the Conservatives picking up votes from the non-standing party UKIP, whose withdrawal was common in 2017 nationwide, following the vote to leave the EU. UKIP had 378 candidates across the UK, 346 fewer than in 2015. ^[12] Also not standing, and having lost their deposits in 2015, were two left-wing minor candidates. An 11.6% extra vote share was on hand for four parties as the candidate list fell from seven to four.

The seat had ranked from 2015 to 2017 the 39th-slimmest margin of majority, specifically in share of the vote as opposed to number of votes, among the 331 Conservative seats. ^[13] Labour achieved their highest in Sutton and Cheam since 1970 but still finished third; a swing of several percentage points would have been required to make Labour the closest challengers to the Conservatives. The Conservatives finished in fourth place in the European Election 2019, trailing significantly behind the Liberal Democrats, the Brexit Party, and the Labour Party. ^[14]

Prominent members

Richard Sharples, the constituency's Conservative MP from 1954, was a former major in the army, and served as a Home Office Minister, before resigning his seat in 1972 to become Governor of Bermuda.

Boundaries

Historic

1945–1950: The Municipal Borough of Sutton and Cheam.

Map of boundaries 2010-2024

1950–1964: as above (from 1965 becoming wards of the London Borough of Sutton but not described as such in boundary legislation itself for a time).

1964–1978: The London Borough of Sutton wards of Belmont, Cheam North, Cheam South, Cheam West, Sutton Central, Sutton East, Sutton North, Sutton North East, Sutton South, Sutton South East, Worcester Park North, and Worcester Park South.

1978–2002: The London Borough of Sutton wards of Belmont, Cheam South, Cheam West, North Cheam, Rosehill, Sutton Central, Sutton Common, Sutton East, Sutton South, Sutton West, Worcester Park North, and Worcester Park South.

2002–2024: The London Borough of Sutton wards of Belmont, Cheam, Nonsuch, Stonecot, Sutton Central, Sutton North, Sutton South, Sutton West, and Worcester Park.

Current

Further to the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the boundaries of the constituency are virtually unchanged. Taking into account the local authority boundary review which came into effect on 4 May 2022, the seat is now composed of the following London Borough of Sutton wards:

• Belmont, Cheam, North Cheam, Stonecot, Sutton Central, Sutton North, Sutton South, Sutton West & East Cheam, Worcester Park North, and Worcester Park South. ^[15]

Members of Parliament

Election	Member [16]	Party		Notes
1945	Sir Sidney Marshall		Conservative	Resigned 1954
1954 by-election	Richard Sharples		Conservative	Resigned 1972
1972 by-election	Graham Tope		Liberal
February 1974	Sir Neil Macfarlane		Conservative
1992	Lady Olga Maitland		Conservative
1997	Paul Burstow		Liberal Democrats
2015	Paul Scully		Conservative
2024	Luke Taylor		Liberal Democrats

Elections

Election results 1945-2024

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Sutton and Cheam ^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Luke Taylor	17,576	36.9	+3.5
	Conservative	Tom Drummond	13,775	28.9	−21.1
	Labour	Chrishni Reshekaron	8,430	17.7	+3.4
	Reform	Ryan Powell	5,787	12.2	N/A
	Green	Aasha Anam	1,721	3.6	+1.3
	Independent	Hamilton Action-Man Kingsley	317	0.7	N/A
Majority			3,801	8.0	N/A
Turnout			47,606	66.0	−4.4
Registered electors			72,303
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	+12.3

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Sutton and Cheam ^{[18] [19]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Scully	25,235	50.0	−1.1
	Liberal Democrats	Hina Bokhari	16,884	33.4	+6.7
	Labour	Bonnie Craven	7,200	14.3	−6.2
	Green	Claire Jackson-Prior	1,168	2.3	+0.6
Majority			8,351	16.6	−7.8
Turnout			50,487	70.4	−3.4
Registered electors			71,760
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.9

General election 2017: Sutton and Cheam ^{[20] [21]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Scully	26,567	51.1	+9.6
	Liberal Democrats	Amna Ahmad	13,869	26.7	−7.0
	Labour	Bonnie Craven	10,663	20.5	+9.4
	Green	Claire Jackson-Prior	871	1.7	−0.4
Majority			12,698	24.4	+16.6
Turnout			51,970	73.8	+1.7
Registered electors			70,404
	Conservative hold		Swing	+8.3

General election 2015: Sutton and Cheam ^{[22] [23]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Scully	20,732	41.5	−0.8
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Burstow	16,811	33.7	−12.0
	Labour	Emily Brothers	5,546	11.1	+4.1
	UKIP	Angus Dalgleish	5,341	10.7	+8.7
	Green	Maeve Tomlinson	1,051	2.1	+1.6
	NHA	Dave Ash	345	0.7	New
	TUSC	Pauline Gorman	79	0.2	New
Majority			3,921	7.8	N/A
Turnout			49,905	72.1	−0.7
Registered electors			69,228
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	+5.6

See also: Opinion polling in United Kingdom constituencies, 2010–15 § Sutton and Cheam

General election 2010: Sutton and Cheam ^{[24] [25]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Burstow	22,156	45.7	−1.2
	Conservative	Philippa Stroud	20,548	42.4	+1.7
	Labour	Kathy Allen	3,376	7.0	−4.9
	BNP	John Clarke	1,014	2.1	New
	UKIP	David Pickles	950	2.0	New
	Green	Peter Hickson	246	0.5	New
	English Democrat	John Dodds	106	0.2	New
	CPA	Matthew Connolly	52	0.1	New
	Libertarian	Martin Cullip	41	0.1	New
	Independents Federation UK	Brian Hammond	19	0.0	New
Majority			1,608	3.3	−2.9
Turnout			48,508	72.8	+5.5
Registered electors			66,658
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	−1.5

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Sutton and Cheam ^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Burstow	19,768	47.1	−1.7
	Conservative	Richard Willis	16,922	40.4	+2.4
	Labour	Anand Shukla	4,954	11.8	−1.4
	Rainbow Dream Ticket	Rainbow George Weiss	288	0.7	New
Majority			2,846	6.7	−4.1
Turnout			41,932	66.2	+3.8
Registered electors			62,885
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	-2.0

General election 2001: Sutton and Cheam ^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Burstow	19,382	48.8	+6.5
	Conservative	Olga Maitland	15,078	38.0	+0.2
	Labour	Lisa Homan	5,263	13.2	−2.3
Majority			4,304	10.8	+6.4
Turnout			39,723	62.4	−12.5
Registered electors			63,648
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	+3.2

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Sutton and Cheam ^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Burstow	19,919	42.3	+8.5
	Conservative	Olga Maitland	17,822	37.9	−17.3
	Labour	Mark Allison	7,280	15.5	+5.6
	Referendum	Peter Atkinson	1,784	3.8	New
	UKIP	Simon Mckie	191	0.4	New
	Natural Law	Deborah Wright	96	0.2	−0.1
Majority			2,097	4.4	N/A
Turnout			47,092	74.9	−7.5
Registered electors			62,824
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	-12.9

General election 1992: Sutton and Cheam ^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Olga Maitland	27,710	55.2	−5.6
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Burstow	16,954	33.8	+5.2
	Labour	G. C. Martin	4,980	9.9	−0.7
	Green	J. Duffy	444	0.9	New
	Natural Law	A. Hatchard	133	0.3	New
Majority			10,756	21.4	−10.8
Turnout			50,221	82.4	+5.8
Registered electors			60,949
	Conservative hold		Swing	-5.4

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Sutton and Cheam ^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Neil Macfarlane	29,710	60.8	+3.7
	Liberal	Robert Greig	13,992	28.6	−6.6
	Labour	Loraine Monk	5,202	10.6	+3.0
Majority			15,718	32.2	+10.3
Turnout			48,904	76.6	+2.3
Registered electors			63,850
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.1

General election 1983: Sutton and Cheam ^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Neil Macfarlane	26,782	57.1	−0.9
	Liberal	Christopher Caswill	16,518	35.2	+8.8
	Labour	Geoffrey Dixon	3,568	7.6	−6.7
Majority			10,264	21.9	−9.7
Turnout			46,868	74.3	−4.5
Registered electors			63,099
	Conservative hold		Swing	-4.0

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Sutton and Cheam

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Neil Macfarlane	28,842	58.0	+10.4
	Liberal	Christopher Caswill	13,136	26.4	−10.1
	Labour	Nancy Irwin [32]	7,126	14.3	−1.0
	National Front	John Hunt [32]	465	0.9	New
	Independent	John Smoker [32]	128	0.2	New
Majority			15,706	31.6	+20.5
Turnout			49,277	78.8	+1.9
Registered electors			63,038
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Sutton and Cheam

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Neil Macfarlane	22,156	47.6	+2.2
	Liberal	Graham Tope	16,995	36.5	−5.5
	Labour	James Kenneth Rhodes	7,118	15.3	+2.7
	Women's Rights	Una Kroll	298	0.6	New
Majority			5,161	11.1	+7.7
Turnout			46,567	76.9	−5.7
Registered electors			60,559
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Sutton and Cheam

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Neil Macfarlane	22,555	45.4	−12.7
	Liberal	Graham Tope	20,836	42.0	+27.4
	Labour	James Kenneth Rhodes	6,270	12.6	−14.7
Majority			1,719	3.4	N/A
Turnout			49,661	82.6	+15.0
Registered electors			60,109
	Conservative hold		Swing

1972 Sutton and Cheam by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Graham Tope	18,328	53.6	+39.0
	Conservative	Neil Macfarlane	10,911	31.9	−26.2
	Labour	David Miller	2,937	8.6	−18.7
	Anti-Common Market	Chris Frere-Smith	1,332	3.9	New
	National Independence	Edgar Scruby	660	1.9	New
Majority			7,417	21.7	N/A
Turnout			34,194	56.3	−11.3
Registered electors
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+32.6

General election 1970: Sutton and Cheam ^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Sharples	23,957	58.1	+7.00
	Labour	John Dowsett	11,261	27.3	−2.99
	Liberal	Nicholas DM McGeorge	6,023	14.6	−4.01
Majority			12,696	30.8	+9.99
Turnout			41,241	67.6	−8.76
Registered electors			61,050
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Sutton and Cheam ^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Sharples	22,331	51.10	−1.55
	Labour	Frank J Ward	13,235	30.29	+3.16
	Liberal	Nicholas DM McGeorge	8,134	18.61	−1.62
Majority			9,096	20.81	−4.71
Turnout			43,700	76.36	+2.09
Registered electors			57,227
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1964: Sutton and Cheam ^[35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Sharples	22,975	52.65	−5.67
	Labour	Paul Derrick	11,839	27.13	+1.65
	Liberal	John Montgomerie	8,827	20.23	+4.02
Majority			11,136	25.52	−7.32
Turnout			43,641	74.27	−5.34
Registered electors			58,898
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Sutton and Cheam ^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Sharples	27,344	58.32	−7.70
	Labour	Frank Judd	11,946	25.48	−8.50
	Liberal	John Montgomerie	7,600	16.21	New
Majority			15,398	32.84	+0.81
Turnout			46,890	79.61	+3.16
Registered electors			58,763
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1955: Sutton and Cheam ^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Sharples	29,538	66.02	+3.25
	Labour	Ronald M Lewis	15,205	33.98	−3.25
Majority			14,333	32.04	+6.51
Turnout			44,743	76.45	−5.23
Registered electors			58,529
	Conservative hold		Swing

1954 Sutton and Cheam by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Sharples	21,930	66.55	+3.78
	Labour	N. T. Poulter	11,023	33.45	−3.78
Majority			10,907	33.10	+7.57
Turnout			32,953	55.60	−26.08
Registered electors			59,292
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1951: Sutton and Cheam ^[38]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sidney Marshall	30,684	62.77	+5.84
	Labour	Eric KI Hurst	18,202	37.23	+2.71
Majority			12,482	25.54	+3.13
Turnout			58,886	81.68	−5.05
Registered electors			59,848
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1950: Sutton and Cheam

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sidney Marshall	29,200	56.93	+10.89
	Labour	Helen O. Judd	17,706	34.52	−6.45
	Liberal	Henry Joseph Wheeler	4,389	8.56	−4.45
Majority			11,494	22.41	+17.34
Turnout			51,295	86.73	+11.01
Registered electors			59,141
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Sutton and Cheam

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sidney Marshall	19,431	46.04
	Labour	Helen O. Judd	17,293	40.97
	Liberal	John Pickering Hughes	5,483	12.99
Majority			2,138	5.07
Turnout			42,207	75.72
Registered electors			55,742
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in London

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 – London". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
2. "Constituency data: Deprivation in England". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
3. "Accommodation type - Census Maps, ONS". ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
4. "Seat Details - Sutton and Cheam". electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
5. "Constituency data: Population, by age". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
6. "Constituency dashboard". House of Commons Library. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
7. "Constituency data: businesses and industries". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
8. "2021 census results: Ethnic groups in your constituency". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. 4 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
9. "BBC NEWS – UK – UK Politics – Memorable by-election results". bbc.co.uk. 22 May 2008.
10. "Constituency Referendum Results". Archived from the original on 8 March 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
11. "European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — Reject Third Reading — Membership of the European Union: Recent Votes".
12. Library, House of Commons (8 June 2017). "Who stood in the General Election 2017?".
13. "Conservative Members of Parliament 2015". UK Political.info. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
14. Dempsey, Noel (6 February 2017). "Estimated 2019 European Parliament election results by constituency" . Retrieved 20 September 2019.
15. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 3 London region.
16. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 6)
17. "Statement of Person Nominated and Notice of Poll: Sutton and Cheam Constituency". Sutton Council. 7 June 2024.
18. "Statement of Persons Nominated & Notice of Poll - Sutton & Cheam 2019". Sutton Council. Retrieved 19 November 2019.^{[ dead link ]}
19. "Sutton & Cheam parliamentary constituency". Election 2019. BBC News. 13 December 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
20. "Sutton & Cheam parliamentary constituency". Election 2017. BBC News. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
21. Research briefing
22. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
23. "Election Results". Sutton Council. 7 May 2015. Archived from the original on 15 May 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
24. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
25. Martin, Paul (20 April 2010). "Sutton & Cheam Constituency - Statement as to Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll". Sutton Council. Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
26. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
27. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
28. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
29. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
30. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
31. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
32. Election Expenses. Parliament of the United Kingdom. 1980. p. 21. ISBN   0102374805.
33. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1970.
34. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1966.
35. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1964.
36. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1959.
37. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1955.
38. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1951.

External links

• Politics Resources (Election results from 1922 onwards)
• Electoral Calculus (Election results from 1955 onwards)
• Sutton and Cheam UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
• Sutton and Cheam UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
• Sutton and Cheam UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK

51°21′43″N0°12′32″W / 51.362°N 0.209°W / 51.362; -0.209