Sleaford and North Hykeham (UK Parliament constituency)

Sleaford and North Hykeham
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Sleaford and North Hykeham in Lincolnshire.
Location of Lincolnshire within England.
County	Lincolnshire
Electorate	85,561 (December 2010)
Current constituency
Created	1997 (1997)
Member of Parliament	Stephen Phillips (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Grantham, Lincoln
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	East Midlands

Sleaford and North Hykeham county constituency was formed in 1997 and is 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 system of election.

Boundaries

The constituency covers the towns of Sleaford and North Hykeham and an area of rural Lincolnshire. The constituency's boundaries roughly correspond to those of North Kesteven local government district. In their initial proposals, the Boundary Commission for England proposed calling the new constituency Mid Lincolnshire, however the name was changed to its current form during the local inquiry process. The inclusion of North Hykeham in the constituency title was criticised by author and psephologist Robert Waller on the grounds that North Hykeham was effectively an overspill area of Lincoln City.

Following a Boundary Commission review in 2001, the constituency boundaries with its neighbouring Lincoln borough constituency and Grantham and Stamford county constituency are expected to change following the 2005 general election. The recommendation is for a constituency size of 73,058 comprising twenty-eight wards of the District of North Kesteven: Ashby de la Launde, Bassingham, Billinghay, Branston and Mere, Brant Broughton, Cliff Villages, Cranwell and Byard’s Leap, Eagle and North Scarle, Heckington Rural, Heighington and Washingborough, Kyme, Leasingham and Roxholm, Martin, Metheringham, North Hykeham Forum, North Hykeham Memorial, North Hykeham Mill, North Hykeham Moor, North Hykeham Witham, Osbournby, Ruskington, Sleaford Castle, Sleaford Holdingham, Sleaford Mareham, Sleaford Navigation, Sleaford Quarrington, Sleaford Westholme, Waddington West; and seven wards of the District of South Kesteven: Barrowby, Ermine, Heath, Loveden, Peascliffe, Saxonwell and Witham Valley.

Local government

The whole constituency lies within Lincolnshire County Council. The north and eastern parts of the constituency are within North Kesteven District Council, with western parts served by South Kesteven District Council.

Members of Parliament

The MP since the seat's creation in 1997 was Douglas Hogg of the Conservative Party, who was previously MP for the former seat of Grantham from 1979. He stood down at the 2010 general election due to controversy over his expenses claims.

Election		Member	Party
	1997	Douglas Hogg PC QC	Conservative
	2010	Stephen Phillips QC	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: Sleaford and North Hykeham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stephen Phillips QC	30,719	51.6	+1.0
	Liberal Democrat	David Harding Price	10,814	18.2	+0.1
	Labour	James Normington	10,051	16.9	-9.5
	Lincolnshire Independents	Marianne Overton	3,806	6.4	+6.4
	UKIP	Roger Doughty	2,163	3.6	-1.3
	BNP	Mike Clayton	1,977	3.3	+3.3
Majority			19,905	33.4
Turnout			59,530	69.6	+2.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.5%

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Sleaford and North Hykeham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Douglas Hogg	26,855	50.3	+0.6
	Labour	Katrina Bull	14,150	26.5	−5.5
	Liberal Democrat	David Harding-Price	9,710	18.2	+2.0
	UKIP	Guy Croft	2,682	5.0	+2.8
Majority			12,705	23.8
Turnout			53,397	73.0	+8.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.0

General Election 2001: Sleaford and North Hykeham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Douglas Hogg	24,190	49.7	+5.7
	Labour	Elizabeth Donnelly	15,568	32.0	-2.3
	Liberal Democrat	Robert Arbon	7,894	16.2	+1.0
	UKIP	Michael Ward-Barrow	1,067	2.2	N/A
Majority			8,622	17.7
Turnout			48,719	649	-9.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Sleaford and North Hykeham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Douglas Hogg	23,358	43.9	N/A
	Labour	Sean Hariss	18,235	34.3	N/A
	Liberal Democrat	John Marriott	8,063	15.2	N/A
	Referendum Party	P. Clery	2,942	5.5	N/A
	Independent Conservative	R. Overton	578	1.1	N/A
Majority			5,123		N/A
Turnout				74.4	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Lincolnshire