Gosport (UK Parliament constituency)

Gosport
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Gosport in Hampshire.
Location of Hampshire within England.
County	Hampshire
Electorate	72,845 (December 2010)
Current constituency
Created	1974 (1974)
Member of Parliament	Caroline Dinenage (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Gosport & Fareham
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South East England

Gosport is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP), by the first-past-the-post voting system. Since 2010 the MP has been Caroline Dinenage of the Conservative Party.

Boundaries

The constituency is based around the town of Gosport, which is on the south coast of England, in Hampshire. It contains the whole of Gosport Borough including Lee-on-the-Solent. Stubbington and Hill Head from the neighbouring Fareham Borough also form part of the Gosport constituency.

History

The constituency was created for the February 1974 general election. The area had previously been part of the constituency of Gosport and Fareham.

It is a safe Conservative seat, though it has some stark social divisions; the large council estate of Rowner, for example, is one of the most deprived areas in the United Kingdom.

Following an historic Open Primary election where the Conservative Party asked all members of the Constituency to take part in chosing the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate, Caroline Dinenage was selected. At the general election on 6 May 2010, Caroline Dinenage was elected with 24,300 votes and a majority of 14,413.

Previously, the constituency had been represented since its creation by Sir Peter Viggers. He was told to step down by David Cameron after his infamous attempt to claim for a duck house during the MPs' expenses scandal.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	Feb 1974	Peter Viggers	Conservative
	2010	Caroline Dinenage	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: Gosport
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Caroline Dinenage	24,300	51.8	+7.0
	Liberal Democrat	Rob Hylands	9,887	21.1	+4.5
	Labour	Graham Giles	7,944	15.9	-14.5
	UKIP	Andrew Rice	1,496	3.2	-1.1
	BNP	Barry Bennett	1,004	2.1	+2.1
	English Democrats	Bob Shaw	622	1.3	+1.3
	Green	Claire Smith	573	1.2	-1.7
	Independent	Dave Smith	493	1.1	+1.1
	Independent	Charlie Read	331	0.7	+0.7
	Independent	Brian Hart	289	0.6	+0.6
Majority			14,413	30.7
Turnout			46,939	64.6	+3.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.3

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Gosport
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Viggers	19,268	44.8	+1.2
	Labour	Richard Williams	13,538	31.5	-5.6
	Liberal Democrat	Roger Roberts	7,145	16.6	+1.5
	UKIP	John Bowles	1,825	4.2	+1.3
	Green	Claire Smith	1,258	2.9	+2.9
Majority			5,730	13.3
Turnout			43,034	60.5	3.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.4

General Election 2001: Gosport
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Viggers	17,364	43.6	±
	Labour	Richard Williams	14,743	37.1	+6.4
	Liberal Democrat	Roger Roberts	6,011	15.1	-4.5
	UKIP	John Bowles	1,162	2.9	N/A
	Socialist Labour	Kevin Chetwynd	509	1.3	N/A
Majority			2,621	6.5
Turnout			39,789	57.1	-13.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.2

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1992: Gosport
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Viggers	31,094	58.1	−0.4
	Liberal Democrat	MG Russell	14,776	27.6	−3.9
	Labour	Mrs MF Angus	7,275	13.6	+3.7
	Independent	PFF Ettie	332	0.6	+0.6
Majority			16,318	30.5	+3.6
Turnout			53,477	76.6	+1.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.8

See also

• Fareham
• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Hampshire