Bexhill and Battle (UK Parliament constituency)

Bexhill and Battle (/ˈbɛkshɪl/) is a constituency[n 1] in East Sussex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Huw Merriman of the Conservative Party.[n 2]

Bexhill and Battle
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Bexhill and Battle in East Sussex
Outline map
Location of East Sussex within England
CountyEast Sussex
Population100,727 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate81,963 (December 2019)[2]
Major settlementsBattle, Bexhill
Current constituency
Created1983
Member of ParliamentHuw Merriman (Conservative Party)
SeatsOne
Created fromEastbourne and Rye[3]

Constituency profile

The constituency is predominantly rural, like Wealden to the west. The main towns are the shingle-beach resort of Bexhill-on-Sea and the historic town of Battle. Electoral Calculus describes the seat as "Strong Right" characterised by retired, socially conservative voters who strongly supported Brexit.[4]

Notable representatives

The seat's first MP, Charles Wardle, served as a junior Home Office minister in the government of John Major; Wardle had the Conservative whip removed shortly before the 2001 general election. The seat was held by Gregory Barker from 2001 until 2015; Barker was a junior minister at the Department for Energy and Climate Change between the formation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition after the 2010 general election and the major government reshuffle of July 2014, when he resigned and announced his intention to retire from Parliament at the next general election.[5]

Political history

At the 2015 general election, Huw Merriman was elected, and was re-elected in the 2017 general election. The closest it came to a non-Conservative victory was in 2001, when Barker, in the first of his three successful campaigns, was returned by a margin of 10,503 votes.

In June 2016, an estimated 57.7% of local adults voting in the EU membership referendum chose to leave the European Union instead of to remain. This was matched in two January 2018 votes in Parliament by its MP.[6]

Boundaries

1983–2010: The District of Rother wards of Ashburnham, Battle, Beckley and Peasmarsh, Bodiam and Ewhurst, Brede and Udimore, Burwash, Catsfield and Crowhurst, Central, Collington, Etchingham and Hurst Green, Northiam, Old Town, Sackville, St Mark's, St Michael's, St Stephen's, Salehurst, Sedlescombe and Whatlington, Sidley, Ticehurst, and Westfield, and the District of Wealden wards of Herstmonceux, Ninfield, and Pevensey and Westham.

2010–present: The District of Rother wards of Battle Town, Central, Collington, Crowhurst, Darwell, Ewhurst and Sedlescombe, Kewhurst, Old Town, Rother Levels, Sackville, St Mark's, St Michael's, St Stephen's, Salehurst, Sidley, and Ticehurst and Etchingham, and the District of Wealden wards of Cross In Hand/Five Ashes, Heathfield East, Heathfield North and Central, Herstmonceux, Ninfield and Hooe with Wartling, and Pevensey and Westham.

The seat almost matches the district of Rother in East Sussex.

Members of Parliament
ElectionMember[7] Party
1983 Charles Wardle Conservative
2001 Independent
2001 Gregory Barker Conservative
2015 Huw Merriman Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s
General election 2019: Bexhill & Battle[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Huw Merriman 37,590 63.6 +1.6
Labour Christine Bayliss 11,531 19.5 −5.2
Liberal Democrats Martin Saunders 7,280 12.3 +4.8
Green Jonathan Kent 2,692 4.6 +2.2
Majority 26,059 44.1 +6.8
Turnout 59,093 72.1 −1.0
Conservative hold Swing +3.4
General election 2017: Bexhill & Battle
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Huw Merriman 36,854 62.0 +7.2
Labour Christine Bayliss 14,689 24.7 +10.6
Liberal Democrats Joel Kemp 4,485 7.5 −0.1
UKIP Geoffrey Bastin 2,006 3.4 −15.0
Green Jonathan Kent 1,438 2.4 −2.7
Majority 22,165 37.3 +0.9
Turnout 59,472 73.1 +3.0
Conservative hold Swing −1.7
General election 2015: Bexhill and Battle[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Huw Merriman[10] 30,245 54.8 +3.2
UKIP Geoffrey Bastin [11] 10,170 18.4 New
Labour Michelle Thew [11] 7,797 14.1 +2.1
Liberal Democrats Rachel Sadler [11] 4,199 7.6 −20.4
Green Jonathan Kent 2,807 5.1 New
Majority 20,075 36.4 +12.8
Turnout 55,218 70.1 +1.2
Conservative hold Swing N/A

This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 2005 and 2010 general elections and thus change in share of vote is based on a notional calculation.

General election 2010: Bexhill and Battle[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Gregory Barker 28,147 51.6 −2.6
Liberal Democrats Mary Varrall 15,267 28.0 +5.3
Labour James Royston 6,524 12.0 −5.9
Trust Stuart Wheeler 2,699 4.9 New
BNP Neil Jackson 1,950 3.6 New
Majority 12,880 23.6 −7.9
Turnout 54,587 68.9 +2.1
Conservative hold Swing −4.0

Elections in the 2000s
General election 2005: Bexhill and Battle[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Gregory Barker 24,629 52.6 +4.5
Liberal Democrats Mary Varrall 11,180 23.9 −0.8
Labour Michael Jones 8,457 18.1 −1.3
UKIP Anthony Smith 2,568 5.5 -2.3
Majority 13,449 28.7 +5.3
Turnout 46,834 67.2 +2.3
Conservative hold Swing +2.7
General election 2001: Bexhill and Battle[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Gregory Barker 21,555 48.1 0.0
Liberal Democrats Stephen Hardy 11,052 24.7 −0.8
Labour Anne Moore-Williams 8,702 19.4 +1.3
UKIP Nigel Farage 3,474 7.8 +6.2
Majority 10,503 23.4 +0.8
Turnout 44,783 64.9 −9.6
Conservative hold Swing +0.4

Elections in the 1990s
General election 1997: Bexhill and Battle[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Wardle 23,570 48.1 −12.2
Liberal Democrats Kathryn M. Field 12,470 25.5 −3.4
Labour Robert D. Beckwith 8,866 18.1 +8.7
Referendum Vanessa Thompson 3,302 6.7 New
UKIP John Pankhurst 786 1.6 New
Majority 11,100 22.6 -8.8
Turnout 48,994 74.5 -4.6
Conservative hold Swing −4.4
General election 1992: Bexhill and Battle[17][18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Wardle 31,380 60.3 −6.2
Liberal Democrats Susan M. Prochak 15,023 28.9 +3.1
Labour Frank W. Taylor 4,883 9.4 +1.7
Green Jonathan L. Prus 594 1.1 New
Independent Mary F. Smith 190 0.4 New
Majority 16,357 31.4 −9.3
Turnout 52,070 79.1 +1.7
Conservative hold Swing −4.6

Elections in the 1980s
General election 1987: Bexhill and Battle[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Wardle 33,570 66.5 −0.8
SDP Robert Kiernan 13,051 25.8 +2.3
Labour Derek Watts 3,903 7.7 −0.3
Majority 20,519 40.7 -3.1
Turnout 50,524 77.4 +4.5
Conservative hold Swing −1.6
General election 1983: Bexhill and Battle[20]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Wardle 30,329 67.3
Liberal Paul Smith 10,583 23.5
Labour Ian Pearson 3,587 8.0
Ecology Anne Rix 538 1.2
Majority 19,746 43.8
Turnout 45,037 72.9
Conservative win (new seat)

See also

Notes
  1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
  2. 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
  1. "Bexhill and Battle: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 30 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  2. "Election history of Bexhill and Battle". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  3. "'Bexhill and Battle', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  4. Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Lewes
  5. "As it happened: PM reshuffles cabinet". 14 July 2014. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  6. TheyWorkForYou (17 January 2018). "European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — Reject Third Reading — Membership of the European Union: Recent Votes". TheyWorkForYou. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  7. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 3)
  8. "Bexhill & Battle Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  9. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  10. "Cllr Huw Merriman is selected for Bexhill and Battle". Conservative Home. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  11. "BEXHILL & BATTLE 2015". electionresults.blogspot.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  12. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  13. "BBC News – Election 2010 – Constituency – Bexhill & Battle". news.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  14. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  15. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  16. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  17. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  18. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  19. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  20. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

Sources

50.886°N 0.470°E / 50.886; 0.470

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