West Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency)
| West Suffolk | |
|---|---|
| County constituency | |
| for the House of Commons | |
 Boundary of West Suffolk in Suffolk. |
|
 Location of Suffolk within England. |
|
| County | Suffolk |
| Electorate | 76,158 (December 2010)[1] |
| Major settlements | Newmarket, Haverhill and Mildenhall |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 1997 |
| Member of Parliament | Matthew Hancock (Conservative) |
| Number of members | One |
| 1832–1885 | |
| Number of members | Two |
| Type of constituency | County constituency |
| Created from | Suffolk |
| Overlaps | |
| European Parliament constituency | East of England |
West Suffolk is a county 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 system of election.
Contents |
[edit] Boundaries
The constituency includes the town of Newmarket, famous for being the world headquarters of horse-racing, as well as the towns of Haverhill and Mildenhall. It contains the whole of Forest Heath district and part of St Edmundsbury borough.
The seat was represented from 1997 to 2010 by the Conservative Richard Spring, previously MP for the Bury St Edmunds seat, who announced on his blog on 23 November 2009 that he would not be contesting the West Suffolk constituency at the 2010 General Election.[2] It was won in 2010 by Matthew Hancock, who increased the Conservative vote.
[edit] Boundary review
Following their review of parliamentary representation in Suffolk, the Boundary Commission for England has recommended minor alterations to the existing constituency arrangement. The electoral wards used in the creation of this seat are:
- The district of Forest Heath
- The St Edmundsbury wards of Bardwell, Barningham, Barrow, Chedburgh, Haverhill East, Haverhill North, Haverhill South, Haverhill West, Hundon, Ixworth, Kedington, Risby, Stanton, Wickhambrook, and Withersfield.
[edit] Members of Parliament
[edit] MPs 1832–1885
[edit] MPs since 1997
| Election | Member [3] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Richard Spring | Conservative | |
| 2010 | Matthew Hancock | Conservative | |
[edit] Elections
[edit] Elections in the 2010s
| General Election 2010: West Suffolk [5][6] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Matthew Hancock | 24,312 | 50.6 | +1.7 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Belinda Brooks-Gordon | 11,262 | 23.4 | +6.2 | |
| Labour | Abul Monsur Ohid Ahmed | 7,089 | 14.7 | -14.2 | |
| UKIP | Ian Smith | 3,085 | 6.4 | +1.5 | |
| BNP | Ramon Johns | 1,428 | 3.0 | N/A | |
| Independent | Andrew Appleby | 540 | 1.1 | N/A | |
| Christian Peoples | Colin Young | 373 | 0.8 | N/A | |
| Majority | 13,050 | 27.1 | +6.9 | ||
| Turnout | 48,089 | 64.6 | +3.8 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | -2.3 | |||
[edit] Elections in the 2000s
| General Election 2005: West Suffolk | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Richard Spring | 21,682 | 49.0 | +1.4 | |
| Labour | Michael Jeffreys | 12,773 | 28.9 | −8.6 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Adrian Graves | 7,573 | 17.1 | +5.3 | |
| UKIP | Ian Smith | 2,177 | 4.9 | +1.8 | |
| Majority | 8,909 | 20.2 | +10.1 | ||
| Turnout | 44,205 | 60.7 | +0.2 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +5.0 | |||
| General Election 2001: West Suffolk | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Richard Spring | 20,201 | 47.6 | +6.7 | |
| Labour | Michael Jefferys | 15,906 | 37.5 | +0.4 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Robin Martlew | 5,017 | 11.8 | -2.2 | |
| UKIP | Will Burrows | 1,321 | 3.1 | N/A | |
| Majority | 4,295 | 10.1 | +6.3 | ||
| Turnout | 42,445 | 60.5 | -11.0 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +3.1 | |||
[edit] Elections in the 1990s
| General Election 1997: West Suffolk | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Richard Spring | 20,081 | 40.9 | N/A | |
| Labour | Michael Jefferys | 18,214 | 37.1 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrat | Adrian Graves | 6,892 | 14.0 | N/A | |
| Referendum Party | J Carver | 3,724 | 7.6 | N/A | |
| Natural Law | A Shearer | 171 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Majority | 1,867 | 3.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 49,082 | 71.5 | N/A | ||
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. http://www.boundarycommissionforengland.org.uk/electoral-figures/electoral-figures.htm. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- ^ So Long and Farewell, Richard Spring Blog
- ^ a b Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 6)
- ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 464–364. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
- ^ West Suffolk, UKPollingReport
- ^ Labour Party PPCs
