Witham (UK Parliament constituency)

Last updated

Witham
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Witham2007Constituency.svg
Boundary of Witham in Essex
EnglandEssex.svg
Location of Essex within England
County Essex
Electorate 67,451 (December 2010) [1]
Major settlements Hatfield Peverel, Kelvedon, Marks Tey, White Notley, Witham
Current constituency
Created 2010
Member of Parliament Dame Priti Patel (Conservative)
SeatsOne
Created from Braintree, Maldon and East Chelmsford, North Essex, Colchester

Witham is a parliamentary constituency in Essex represented by Dame Priti Patel in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation. She is a Conservative who was Home Secretary from 24 July 2019 until her resignation on 5 September 2022 following the announcement of the results of the Conservative Party leadership contest. [2]

Contents

Constituency profile

Witham is one of the safest Conservative seats in the country, although the town of Witham within it is the only area of real Labour strength in the region, being represented by one District Councillor alongside seven Conservative Councillors.

Witham itself is an industrial town, on the Great Eastern main line railway from London to Norwich, with some heavy industry and London commuter belt residential areas – the strength of the Labour vote here was just enough to turn the former Braintree seat red in 1997, and in 2001, on the previous boundaries.

However, the town is small, and the Witham seat extends to cover a huge part of rural central Essex, with affluent commuter villages and farming communities that show high levels of Conservative support.

History

The seat was created for the 2010 general election following a review of the Parliamentary representation of Essex by the Boundary Commission for England which resulted in radical alterations to existing constituencies to allow for an extra seat to be created due to increased population. As a consequence, the new seat of Witham was created which included parts of the constituencies of Braintree, Colchester, North Essex, and Maldon and East Chelmsford.

Boundaries

Witham (UK Parliament constituency)
Map of current boundaries

Current

The District of Braintree wards, which comprised approximately half the electorate, were transferred from the Braintree constituency; the District of Maldon wards from the abolished constituency of Maldon and Chelmsford East; and the Borough of Colchester wards from the abolished constituency of North Essex, except for Stanway ward which had been in the Colchester constituency.

Proposed

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the composition of the constituency from the next general election, due by January 2025, will be (as they existed on 1st December 2020):

Minor net gain from Braintree, primarily due to ward boundary changes.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMember [5] Party
2010 Priti Patel Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Next general election: Witham
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Rumi Chowdhury [6]
Conservative Priti Patel [7]
Majority
Turnout

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Witham [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Priti Patel 32,876 66.6 +2.3
Labour Martin Edobor8,79417.8–8.6
Liberal Democrats Sam North4,5849.3+3.8
Green James Abbott3,0906.3+2.6
Majority24,08248.8+10.9
Turnout 49,34470.1–1.4
Conservative hold Swing +5.5
General election 2017: Witham [9]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Priti Patel 31,670 64.3 +6.8
Labour Phil Barlow13,02426.4+10.6
Liberal Democrats Josephine Hayes2,7155.5–0.6
Green James Abbott1,8323.7–0.6
Majority18,64637.9–3.6
Turnout 49,40071.5+1.2
Conservative hold Swing –1.9
General election 2015: Witham [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Priti Patel 27,123 57.5 +5.3
UKIP Garry Cockrill [11] 7,56916.0+9.5
Labour John Clarke7,46715.8–2.7
Liberal Democrats Josephine Hayes2,8916.1–13.7
Green James Abbott [12] 2,0384.3+1.3
CPA Doreen Scrimshaw [13] 800.2New
Majority19,55441.5+9.1
Turnout 47,16870.3+0.1
Conservative hold Swing +9.5
General election 2010: Witham [14]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Priti Patel 24,448 52.2 +2.5
Liberal Democrats Margaret Phelps9,25219.8+4.6
Labour John Spademan8,65618.5–13.9
UKIP David Hodges3,0606.5New
Green James Abbott1,4193.0New
Majority15,19632.4
Turnout 46,83570.2+6.6
Conservative win (new seat)

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Witham</span> Human settlement in England

Witham is a town and civil parish in the Braintree district, in the county of Essex, England, with a population of 25,353. It is twinned with the town of Waldbröl, Germany. Witham stands between the city of Chelmsford and the city of Colchester, on the Roman road between the two. The River Brain runs through the town and joins the River Blackwater just outside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Braintree District</span> Non-metropolitan district in England

Braintree District is a local government district in Essex, England. The district is named after the town of Braintree, where the council is based. The district also includes the towns of Halstead and Witham and surrounding rural areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maldon District</span> Non-metropolitan district in England

Maldon District is a local government district in Essex, England. The district is managed by Maldon District Council, which is based in Maldon, the largest town in the district. The district also includes the town of Burnham-on-Crouch and numerous villages, including Heybridge, Wickham Bishops, Southminster, Tolleshunt D'Arcy and Tollesbury. The district covers the Dengie peninsula to the south of Maldon and the Thurstable Hundred area to the north of the Blackwater Estuary, a total area of 358.78 km2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiptree</span> Village in Essex, England

Tiptree is a village and civil parish in the English county of Essex, situated 10 miles (16 km) south-west of Colchester and around 50 miles (80 km) north-east of London. Surrounding villages include Messing, Tolleshunt Knights, Tolleshunt Major, Layer Marney, Inworth, Birch, Great Braxted, Great Totham and Little Totham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feering</span> Human settlement in England

Feering is a village and civil parish in the Braintree district of Essex, England. The parish is between Colchester and Witham. The village, which lies at the south-west edge of the parish, is conjoined to the neighbouring village of Kelvedon. Within the parish are the hamlets of Stocks Green, Skye Green and Langley Green.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Braintree (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom since 1974

Braintree is a constituency in Essex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by James Cleverly, a member of the Conservative Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colchester (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom 1801-1983 & 1997 onwards

Colchester is a constituency in Essex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Will Quince, a Conservative. In June 2023 Quince announced that he would not be standing for re-election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Essex (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1832-1868 & 1997–2010

North Essex was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom between 1997 and 2010. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelvedon railway station</span> Railway station in Essex, England

Kelvedon railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) in the East of England, serving the villages of Kelvedon and Feering, Essex. It is also the closest station to the settlements of Coggeshall and Tiptree. Kelvedon is 42 miles 18 chains (68.0 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street. It is situated between Witham to the west and Marks Tey and to the east. Its three-letter station code is KEL.

Braintree District Council in Essex, England is elected every four years. Since the last comprehensive boundary changes in 2015, 49 councillors have been elected from 26 wards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maldon (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom 1801-1983 & 2010 onwards

Maldon is a constituency in Essex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its recreation in 2010 by Sir John Whittingdale, a Conservative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelvedon</span> Human settlement in England

Kelvedon is a village and civil parish in the Braintree District of Essex in England, between Chelmsford and Colchester. It had a population of 4,717 in 2001, reducing to 3,587 at the 2011 Census. It is now home to several businesses including Knight Group and Lysanda. Brockwell Meadows Local Nature Reserve is south-east of the village between a housing estate and the River Blackwater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tolleshunt D'Arcy</span> Village in Essex, England

Tolleshunt D'Arcy is a village situated on the Blackwater estuary in the Maldon District of Essex, England. The village is 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Colchester, 19 miles (31 km) east of Chelmsford and 30 miles (48 km) north of Southend-on-Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tolleshunt Major</span> Village in Essex, England

Tolleshunt Major is a small village approximately five miles north east of Maldon, in the Maldon District of Essex, England. It forms part of the electoral ward of Tolleshunt D'Arcy and is situated on the northern bank of the River Blackwater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Totham</span> Village in Essex, England

Great Totham is a village and civil parish in Maldon district, Essex, England, and midway between Chelmsford and Colchester. The village includes the Island of Osea in the Blackwater estuary and is separated into two parts, north and south. The north side and the south side are about a mile and a half apart, distributed along the B1022. The parish contains the hamlet of Totham Hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Braintree District Council election</span> Local election held in the United Kingdom

The 2015 Braintree District Council election was scheduled to take place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of Braintree District Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections.

References

  1. ↑ "Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  2. ↑ "Priti Patel to step down as home secretary, ahead of new PM". BBC News. 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  3. ↑ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  4. ↑ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part 2 Eastern region.
  5. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 4)
  6. ↑ Labour East [@EoELabour] (2 April 2024). "Congratulations, Rumi Chowdhury, Labour's Parliamentary candidate for Witham!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ↑ "Priti re-adopted for next General Election campaign". Witham Conservatives. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  8. ↑ "Witham Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  9. ↑ Daynes, Steve. "Parliamentary Election Results". www.braintree.gov.uk.
  10. ↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "Выставка Цветов Киев - Flower Expo Ukraine".
  12. ↑ "Witham and Braintree Green Party | News". Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  13. ↑ "CPA Candidates for the General Election". Christian Peoples Alliance. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  14. ↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

51°48′N0°39′E / 51.80°N 0.65°E / 51.80; 0.65

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