West Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)
50°47′20″N 2°35′53″W / 50.7889°N 2.5980°W
| West Dorset | |
|---|---|
| County constituency for the House of Commons | |
 Boundary of West Dorset in Dorset | |
 Location of Dorset within England | |
| County | Dorset |
| Electorate | 76,779 (December 2010)[1] |
| Major settlements | Dorchester, Bridport and Sherborne |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 1885 |
| Member of Parliament | Oliver Letwin (Conservative) |
| Seats | One |
West Dorset is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Oliver Letwin, a Conservative.[n 2]
History
The seat was created under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.
- Political history
West Dorset has been served only by Conservative MPs. Historically there have mostly been large majorities; thus the seat can be considered a safe seat. The closest result in recent years was in 2001, when the present member, Oliver Letwin, only just held his seat, with a majority of 2.8% over the Liberal Democrat candidate, Simon Green. The Liberal Democrats have come second since then.
- Prominent frontbenchers
Oliver Letwin, with a settled background in policy formulation, was appointed Minister of State for Policy (a Cabinet Office role) in the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition on 12 May 2010.
Boundaries
1885–1918: The Municipal Boroughs of Bridport and Lyme Regis, the Sessional Divisions of Bridport and Cerne, and part of the Sessional Divisions of Dorchester and Sherborne.
1918–1950: The Municipal Boroughs of Bridport, Dorchester, and Lyme Regis, the Rural Districts of Beaminster, Bridport, Cerne, and Dorchester, and part of the Rural District of Weymouth.
1950–1983: The Municipal Boroughs of Bridport, Dorchester, and Lyme Regis, the Urban District of Sherborne, the Rural Districts of Beaminster, Bridport, and Sherborne, and part of the Rural District of Dorchester.
1983–present: The District of West Dorset except the ward of Owermoigne.
The West Dorset constituency covers most of the West Dorset district and includes the towns of Dorchester, the county town of Dorset; Bridport, Lyme Regis and Beaminster to the west; and Sherborne to the north.
Constituency profile
Aside from tourist areas, including the Jurassic Coast which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the seat draws on managerial and advanced professional skills in sectors such as mechanical engineering, manufacturing, reconditioning, defence, art and design, which support local trades and retail. A slightly greater than average proportion of people are retired.[2] Workless claimants who were registered jobseekers were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 1.4% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.[3]
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member[4] | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1885 | Henry Farquharson | Conservative | Died 1895 |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1895 by-election | Robert Williams | Conservative | |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1922 | Philip Colfox | Conservative | Resigned 1941 |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1941 by-election | Simon Digby | Conservative | |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Feb 1974 | Jim Spicer | Conservative | |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1997 | Oliver Letwin | Conservative | |
Elections
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Andy Canning | ||||
| Green | Kelvin Clayton | ||||
| Conservative | Oliver Letwin | ||||
| Labour | Lee Rhodes | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Oliver Letwin | 28,329 | 50.2 | +2.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Ros Kayes | 12,199 | 21.6 | −19.1 | |
| UKIP | David Glossop | 7,055 | 12.5 | +8.7 | |
| Labour | Rachel Rogers | 5,633 | 10.0 | +3.3 | |
| Green | Peter Barton | 3,242 | 5.7 | +4.6 | |
| Majority | 16,130 | 28.6 | |||
| Turnout | 56,643 | 72.6 | −2.0 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +10.9 | |||
Past elections
| Election | Political result | Candidate | Party | Votes | % | ±% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General election, May 2010[6] Electorate: 76,869 Turnout: 57,337 (74.6%) −1.8 | Conservative hold Majority: 3,923 (6.8%) Swing: 1.1% from Lib Dem to Con | Oliver Letwin | Conservative | 27,287 | 47.6 | +1.1 | ||
| Sue Farrant | Liberal Democrats | 23,364 | 40.7 | −1.2 | ||||
| Steve Bick | Labour | 3,815 | 6.7 | −1.1 | ||||
| Oliver Chisholm | UKIP | 2,196 | 3.8 | +1.8 | ||||
| Susan Greene | Green | 675 | 1.2 | −0.6 | ||||
| General election, May 2005[7] Electorate: 69,643 Turnout: 53,225 (74.6%) +6.8 | Conservative hold Majority: 2,461 (4.6%) Swing: 0.9% from Lib Dem to Con | Oliver Letwin | Conservative | 24,763 | 46.5 | +1.9 | ||
| Justine McGuinness | Liberal Democrats | 22,302 | 41.9 | +0.1 | ||||
| Dave Roberts | Labour | 4,124 | 7.7 | −5.9 | ||||
| Linda Guest | UKIP | 1,084 | 2.0 | n/a | ||||
| Susan Greene | Green | 952 | 1.8 | n/a | ||||
| General election, June 2001[8] Electorate: 71,291 Turnout: 49,571 (69.5%) −6.6 | Conservative hold Majority: 1,414 (2.8%) Swing: 0.3% from Con to Lib Dem | Oliver Letwin | Conservative | 22,126 | 44.6 | +3.5 | ||
| Simon Green | Liberal Democrats | 20,712 | 41.8 | +4.1 | ||||
| Richard Hyde | Labour | 6,733 | 13.6 | −4.1 | ||||
| General election, May 1997[8] Electorate: 70,369 Turnout: 53,552 (76.1%) −5.1 | Conservative hold Majority: 1,840 (3.4%) Swing: 5.6% from Con to Lib Dem | Oliver Letwin | Conservative | 22,036 | 41.1 | −9.7 | ||
| Robin Legg | Liberal Democrats | 20,196 | 37.7 | +1.5 | ||||
| Robert Bygraves | Labour | 9,497 | 17.7 | +4.7 | ||||
| P Jenkins | UKIP | 1,590 | 3.0 | n/a | ||||
| Mark Griffiths | Natural Law | 239 | 0.4 | n/a | ||||
| General election, April 1992[9] Electorate: 67,256 Turnout: 54,604 (81.2%) +2.9 | Conservative hold Majority: 8,010 (14.7%) Swing: 5.0% from Con to Lib Dem | James Spicer | Conservative | 27,766 | 50.8 | −5.4 | ||
| Robin Legg | Liberal Democrats | 19,756 | 36.2 | +4.5 | ||||
| JPB Mann | Labour | 7,082 | 13.0 | +0.8 | ||||
| General election, June 1987[10] Electorate: 64,360 Turnout: 78.3% (+4.1) | Conservative hold Majority: 12,364 (24.6%) Swing: 3.2% from Con to Lib | James Spicer | Conservative | 28,305 | 56.2 | −3.5 | ||
| David Trevor Jones | Liberal | 15,941 | 31.7 | +2.8 | ||||
| John David Watson | Labour | 6,123 | 12.2 | +3.4 | ||||
| General election, June 1983[11] Electorate: 60,997 Turnout: 74.2% (−4.8) | Conservative hold Majority: 13,952 (30.1%) Swing: 4.1% from Con to Lib | James Spicer | Conservative | 27,030 | 59.7 | +1.0 | ||
| Trevor Jones | Liberal | 13,078 | 28.9 | +7.1 | ||||
| D Cash | Labour | 5,168 | 8.8 | −19.1 | ||||
| General election, May 1979[12] Electorate: 56,658 Turnout: 79.0% (+1.2) | Conservative hold Majority: 16,505 (36.9%) Swing: 8.1% from Lib to Con | James Spicer | Conservative | 26,281 | 58.7 | +9.5 | ||
| Trevor Jones | Liberal | 9,776 | 21.8 | −6.6 | ||||
| HJ Skevington | Labour | 7,999 | 17.9 | −4.5 | ||||
| J Tillotson | National Front | 514 | 1.2 | n/a | ||||
| G McEwan | Wessex Regionalist | 192 | 0.4 | n/a | ||||
| General election, October 1974[13] Electorate: 53,569 Turnout: 77.8% (−5.3) | Conservative hold Majority: 8,685 (20.8%) Swing: 2.0% from Lib to Con | James Spicer | Conservative | 20,517 | 49.2 | +0.2 | ||
| RM Angus | Liberal | 11,832 | 28.4 | −3.7 | ||||
| PJ Dawe | Labour | 9,350 | 22.4 | −3.5 | ||||
| General election, February 1974[14] Electorate: 53,116 Turnout: 83.1% (+6.3) | Conservative hold Majority: 7,451 (16.9%) Swing: 9.2% from Con to Lib | James Spicer | Conservative | 21,634 | 49.0 | −5.1 | ||
| RM Angus | Liberal | 14,183 | 32.1 | +13.3 | ||||
| MF Cross | Labour | 8,333 | 18.9 | −8.2 | ||||
| General election, June 1970[15] Electorate: 50,716 Turnout: 38,931 (76.8%) −4.1 | Conservative hold Majority: 10,545 (27.1%) Swing: 5.6% from Lab to Con | Simon Wingfield Digby | Conservative | 21,081 | 54.2 | +6.5 | ||
| George Sakwa | Labour | 10,536 | 27.1 | −4.6 | ||||
| Allan Percival | Liberal | 7,314 | 18.8 | −1.9 | ||||
| General election, March 1966[16] Electorate: 45,937 Turnout: 80.9% (−0.8) | Conservative hold Majority: 5,952 (16.0%) Swing: 1.8% from Con to Lab | Simon Wingfield Digby | Conservative | 17,709 | 47.7 | −0.9 | ||
| Donald Shirreff | Labour | 11,757 | 31.7 | +2.7 | ||||
| Aza Pinney | Liberal | 7,676 | 20.7 | −1.8 | ||||
| General election, October 1964[17] Electorate: 44,951 Turnout: 81.7% (−0.2) | Conservative hold Majority: 7,210 (19.6%) Swing: 4.5% from Con to Lab | Simon Wingfield Digby | Conservative | 17,841 | 48.6 | −6.1 | ||
| Leslie King | Labour | 10,631 | 29.0 | −2.9 | ||||
| Aza Pinney | Liberal | 8,242 | 22.5 | +9.1 | ||||
| General election, October 1959[18] Electorate: 44,109 Turnout: 81.9% (+1.8) | Conservative hold Majority: 8,211 (22.7%) Swing: 6.7% from Lab to Con | Simon Wingfield Digby | Conservative | 19,747 | 54.7 | −4.9 | ||
| Leslie King | Labour | 11,536 | 31.9 | −8.5 | ||||
| John Goodden | Liberal | 4,850 | 13.4 | n/a | ||||
| General election, May 1955[19] Electorate: 44,026 Turnout: 80.1% (−2.0) | Conservative hold Majority: 6,763 (19.2%) Swing: 0.7% from Con to Lab | Simon Wingfield Digby | Conservative | 21,007 | 59.6 | −0.7 | ||
| Leslie King | Labour | 14,244 | 40.4 | +0.7 | ||||
| General election, October 1951[20] Electorate: 43,900 Turnout: 82.1% (−1.9) | Conservative hold Majority: 7,431 (20.6%) Swing: 7.6% from Lab to Con | Simon Wingfield Digby | Conservative | 21,739 | 60.3 | +8.5 | ||
| Cambreth John Kane | Labour | 14,308 | 39.7 | +6.7 | ||||
| General election, February 1950[21] Electorate: 43,202 Turnout: 84.0% (+9.3) | Conservative hold Majority: 6,804 (18.8%) Swing: 2.0% from Con to Lab | Simon Wingfield Digby | Conservative | 18,771 | 51.8 | +1.7 | ||
| Cambreth John Kane | Labour | 11,967 | 33.0 | +2.2 | ||||
| Colin Grant Cameron | Liberal | 5,531 | 15.3 | −3.8 | ||||
| General election, July 1945[22] Electorate: 35,780 Turnout: 74.7% | Conservative hold Majority: 5,184 (19.3%) | Simon Wingfield Digby | Conservative | 13,399 | 50.1 | n/a | ||
| Cambreth John Kane | Labour | 8,215 | 30.8 | n/a | ||||
| George Harold Newsom | Liberal | 5,098 | 19.1 | n/a | ||||
| By-election, June 1941 Resignation of Philip Colfox | Conservative hold | Simon Wingfield Digby | Conservative | unopposed | ||||
| General election, November 1935[23] Electorate: 32,817 Turnout: 77.9% (−3.7) | Conservative hold Majority: 2,090 (8.2%) Swing: 6.1% from Con to Lib | Philip Colfox | Conservative | 13,825 | 54.1 | −6.1 | ||
| George Chappell | Liberal | 11,735 | 45.9 | +6.1 | ||||
| General election, October 1931[24] Electorate: 31,590 Turnout: 81.6% (+1.0) | Conservative hold Majority: 5,239 (20.4%) | Philip Colfox | Conservative | 15,510 | 60.2 | +11.1 | ||
| George Chappell | Liberal | 10,271 | 39.8 | +8.0 | ||||
| General election, May 1929[25] Electorate: 30,946 Turnout: 80.6% (+7.4) | Unionist hold Majority: 4,326 (17.3%) | Philip Colfox | Unionist | 12,247 | 49.1 | +19.2 | ||
| George Chappell | Liberal | 7,921 | 31.8 | n/a | ||||
| Thomas Robins | Labour | 4,770 | 19.1 | −12.6 | ||||
| General election, October 1924[25] Electorate: 24,852 Turnout: 73.2% (+2.3) | Unionist hold Majority: 6,662 (36.6%) | Philip Colfox | Unionist | 12,426 | 68.3 | +9.5 | ||
| Louie Simpson | Labour | 5,764 | 31.7 | −9.5 | ||||
| General election, December 1923[25] Electorate: 24,242 Turnout: 70.9% (−7.6) | Unionist hold Majority: 3,013 (17.6%) | Philip Colfox | Unionist | 10,100 | 58.8 | −3.3 | ||
| Louie Simpson | Labour | 7,087 | 41.2 | +3.3 | ||||
| General election, November 1922[25] Electorate: 23,885 Turnout: 78.5% | Unionist hold Majority: 4,548 (24.2%) | Philip Colfox | Unionist | 11,649 | 62.1 | n/a | ||
| TC Duke | Labour | 7,101 | 37.9 | n/a | ||||
| General election, December 1918[26] Electorate: 23,621 | Unionist hold | Robert Williams | Unionist | unopposed | ||||
| General election, December 1910[26] Electorate: 7,576 | Unionist hold | Robert Williams | Unionist | unopposed | ||||
| General election, January 1910[26] Electorate: 7,576 | Unionist hold Majority: 1,252 (18.3%) | Robert Williams | Unionist | 4,011 | 59.2 | +3.2 | ||
| WS Edwards | Liberal | 2,759 | 40.8 | −3.2 | ||||
| General election, 1906[26] Electorate: 7,413 | Unionist hold Majority: 837 (12.9%) | Robert Williams | Unionist | 3,671 | 56.4 | n/a | ||
| JJ Haye | Liberal | 2,834 | 43.6 | n/a | ||||
| General election, 1900[26] Electorate: 7,448 | Conservative hold | Robert Williams | Conservative | unopposed | ||||
| General election, 1895[26] | Conservative hold | Robert Williams | Conservative | unopposed | ||||
| By-election, May 1895[26] Death of Henry Richard Farquharson | Conservative hold Majority: 1,213 (20.7%) | Robert Williams | Conservative | 3,538 | 60.3 | +3.6 | ||
| GW Homer | Independent Liberal | 2,325 | 39.7 | −3.6 | ||||
| General election, 1892[26] Electorate: 7,747 | Conservative hold Majority: 878 (13.5%) | Henry Richard Farquharson | Conservative | 3,691 | 56.7 | −3.1 | ||
| CT Gatty | Liberal | 2,813 | 43.3 | +3.1 | ||||
| General election, 1886[26] Electorate: 7,914 | Conservative hold Majority: 1,205 (19.6%) | Henry Richard Farquharson | Conservative | 3,672 | 59.8 | +8.3 | ||
| HCG Batten | Liberal | 2,467 | 40.2 | −8.3 | ||||
| General election, 1885[26] new seat | Conservative win Majority: 202 (3.0%) | Henry Richard Farquharson | Conservative | 3,507 | 51.5 | n/a | ||
| H Carey Batten | Liberal | 3,305 | 48.5 | n/a | ||||
See also
Notes and references
- Notes
- ^ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
- ^ 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
- ^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- ^ 2011 Census
- ^ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 2)
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "UK General Election results May 2010". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "UK General Election results May 2005". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ a b "UK General Election results 1997 & 2001: Dorset West". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "UK General Election results June 1987". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "UK General Election results June 1983". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "UK General Election results May 1979". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "UK General Election results October 1974". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "UK General Election results February 1974". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "UK General Election results June 1970". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "UK General Election results March 1966". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "UK General Election results October 1964". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "UK General Election results October 1959". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "UK General Election results May 1955". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "UK General Election results October 1951". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "UK General Election results February 1950". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "UK General Election results July 1945". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "UK General Election results November 1935". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "UK General Election results October 1931". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ a b c d Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 337. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 266. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.