Bridgwater and West Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)
| Bridgwater and West Somerset | |
|---|---|
| County constituency for the House of Commons | |
 Boundary of Bridgwater and West Somerset in Somerset | |
 Location of Somerset within England | |
| County | Somerset |
| Population | 106,450 (2011 census)[1] |
| Electorate | 82,936 (December 2010)[2] |
| Major settlements | Bridgwater |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2010 |
| Member of Parliament | None |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Bridgwater, Taunton |
Bridgwater and West Somerset was a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Ian Liddell-Grainger, a Conservative.[n 2]
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be subject to boundary changes, with the loss of the area comprising the former District of West Somerset to the newly created constituency of Tiverton and Minehead. This will be partly offset by the addition of the communities of Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge. As a consequence of these changes, the constituency will revert to its former name of Bridgwater, to be first contested at the 2024 general election.
History
Bridgwater was one of the original parliamentary borough constituencies in England[n 3] (with fifteen years of non-existence in the late 19th century after the seat was abolished for corruption in 1870 and being subsumed into a slightly larger seat on a review of Somerset's representation by the Boundary Commission[3] in 1885).
In 2010 seven candidates stood. The second placed candidate was a Liberal Democrat, Theo Butt Philip, 11.2% ahead of the candidate from the Labour Party. The incumbent, Ian Liddell-Grainger, is a former Major in the Territorial Army, farmer and defence advisor.
In the snap election of 2017 Liddell-Grainger increased his majority to 15,000, the largest in the constituency's history, and Labour finished second in the seat for the first time.
Boundaries
2010–2024: The District of Sedgemoor wards of Bridgwater Bower, Bridgwater Eastover, Bridgwater Hamp, Bridgwater Quantock, Bridgwater Sydenham, Bridgwater Victoria, Cannington and Quantocks, East Poldens, Huntspill and Pawlett, King's Isle, North Petherton, Puriton, Sandford, West Poldens, and Woolavington, and the District of West Somerset.
Members of Parliament
See also: Bridgwater constituency
| Election | Member[4] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Ian Liddell-Grainger | Conservative | |
| 2024 | constituency abolished | ||
Elections
Elections in the 2010s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Ian Liddell-Grainger | 35,827 | 62.1 | +7.0 | |
| Labour | Oliver Thornton | 11,388 | 19.8 | –8.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Bill Revans | 7,805 | 13.5 | +2.6 | |
| Green | Mickie Ritchie | 1,877 | 3.3 | +1.5 | |
| Liberal | Fares Moussa | 755 | 1.3 | New | |
| Majority | 24,439 | 42.3 | +15.8 | ||
| Turnout | 57,652 | 67.9 | +2.6 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +7.9 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Ian Liddell-Grainger | 32,111 | 55.1 | +9.1 | |
| Labour | Wes Hinckes | 16,663 | 28.6 | +11.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Marcus Kravis | 6,332 | 10.9 | –1.5 | |
| UKIP | Simon Smedley | 2,102 | 3.6 | –15.6 | |
| Green | Kay Powell | 1,059 | 1.8 | –3.0 | |
| Majority | 15,448 | 26.5 | –0.3 | ||
| Turnout | 58,267 | 65.3 | –2.3 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | –0.9 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Ian Liddell-Grainger | 25,020 | 46.0 | +0.7 | |
| UKIP | Stephen Fitzgerald | 10,437 | 19.2 | +14.4 | |
| Labour | Michael Lerry | 9,589 | 17.6 | +0.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Theo Butt Philip | 6,765 | 12.4 | –15.9 | |
| Green | Julie Harvey-Smith | 2,636 | 4.8 | +3.2 | |
| Majority | 14,583 | 26.8 | +9.8 | ||
| Turnout | 54,447 | 67.6 | –3.6 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | –6.9 | |||
The Liberal Democrats initially selected Justine Baker as their candidate.[9] After being accepted for Bridgwater and West Somerset, Baker resigned in order to apply to stand as the candidate for Taunton Deane, a more 'winnable' seat; she was not successful,[10] and ultimately was not a candidate anywhere at the 2015 general election. She was replaced by Theo Butt Philip, who had been the Liberal Democrat candidate at the 2010 general election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Ian Liddell-Grainger* | 24,675 | 45.3 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Theo Butt Philip | 15,426 | 28.3 | ||
| Labour | Kathy Pearce | 9,332 | 17.1 | ||
| UKIP | Peter Hollings | 2,604 | 4.8 | ||
| BNP | Donna Treanor | 1,282 | 2.4 | ||
| Green | Charles Graham | 859 | 1.6 | ||
| Independent | Bob Cudlipp | 315 | 0.6 | ||
| Majority | 9,249 | 17.0 | |||
| Turnout | 54,493 | 71.2 | |||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
- * Served as the MP for Bridgwater 2001–2010
See also
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.
- ^ Original is usually classified as sending representatives to the Model Parliament of 1295.
References
- ^ "Bridgwater and West Somerset: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
- ^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- ^ "New Parliamentary Constituencies for England SN/PC/04297" (PDF). House of Commons Library. 5 November 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ "Ian Liddell-Grainger". Parliament UK. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
- ^ "General Election 2019". www.sedgemoor.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "Bridgwater & Somerset West". BBC. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Bridgwater & Somerset West - Election 2015". BBC News.
- ^ "Justine Baker". Lib Dems. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ^ "Rejected! Bridgwater Lib Dem candidate is lame duck after she fails to get better seat". Somerset Labour. 7 December 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
External links
- nomis Constituency Profile for Bridgwater and West Somerset – presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.
- Bridgwater and West Somerset UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
