Witham (UK Parliament constituency)
| Witham | |
|---|---|
| County constituency for the House of Commons | |
 Boundaries since 2024 | |
 Boundary of Witham in the East of England | |
| County | Essex |
| Electorate | 75,064 (2023)[1] |
| Major settlements | Hatfield Peverel, Kelvedon, Marks Tey, White Notley, Witham |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2010 |
| Member of Parliament | Priti Patel (Conservative) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Braintree, Maldon and East Chelmsford, North Essex, Colchester |
Witham is a parliamentary constituency in Essex represented by Dame Priti Patel in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation. She is a Conservative who was Home Secretary from 24 July 2019 until her resignation on 5 September 2022 following the announcement of the results of the Conservative Party leadership contest.[2]
Constituency profile
[edit]Witham is one of the safest Conservative seats in the country. The town of Witham within it is the only area of real Labour strength in the region, being represented by one District Councillor alongside seven Conservative Councillors.
Witham itself is an industrial town, on the Great Eastern main line railway from London to Norwich, with some heavy industry and London commuter belt residential areas – the strength of the Labour vote here was just enough to turn the former Braintree seat red in 1997, and in 2001, on the previous boundaries.
However, the town is small, and the Witham seat extends to cover a huge part of rural central Essex, with affluent commuter villages and farming communities that show high levels of Conservative support.
History
[edit]The seat was created for the 2010 general election following a review of the Parliamentary representation of Essex by the Boundary Commission for England which resulted in radical alterations to existing constituencies to allow for an extra seat to be created due to increased population. As a consequence, the new seat of Witham was created which included parts of the constituencies of Braintree, Colchester, North Essex, and Maldon and East Chelmsford.
Boundaries
[edit]
2010–2024
[edit]- The District of Braintree wards of Black Notley and Terling, Bradwell, Silver End and Rivenhall, Coggeshall and North Feering, Hatfield Peverel, Kelvedon, Witham Chipping Hill and Central, Witham North, Witham South, and Witham West
- The District of Maldon wards of Great Totham, Tollesbury, Tolleshunt D'Arcy, and Wickham Bishops and Woodham
- The Borough of Colchester wards of Birch and Winstree, Copford and West Stanway, Marks Tey, Stanway and Tiptree[3]
The District of Braintree wards, which comprised approximately half the electorate, were transferred from the Braintree constituency; the District of Maldon wards from the abolished constituency of Maldon and Chelmsford East; and the Borough of Colchester wards from the abolished constituency of North Essex, except for Stanway ward which had been in the Colchester constituency.
Current
[edit]Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency is as follows (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
- The District of Braintree wards of: Coggeshall; Hatfield Peverel & Terling; Kelvedon & Feering; Silver End & Cressing; The Colnes; Witham Central; Witham North; Witham South; Witham West.
- The City of Colchester wards of: Marks Tey & Layer; Stanway; Tiptree.
- The District of Maldon wards of: Great Totham; Tollesbury; Tolleshunt D’arcy; Wickham Bishops and Woodham.[4]
Minor net gain from Braintree, primarily due to ward boundary changes.
Members of Parliament
[edit]Braintree, Maldon & Chelmsford East and North Essex prior to 2010
| Election | Member[5] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Priti Patel | Conservative | |
Elections
[edit]Elections in the 2020s
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Priti Patel | 18,827 | 37.2 | –29.5 | |
| Labour | Rumi Chowdhury | 13,682 | 27.0 | +9.5 | |
| Reform UK | Timothy Blaxill | 9,870 | 19.5 | N/A | |
| Green | James Abbott | 3,539 | 7.0 | +1.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Ashley Thompson | 3,439 | 6.8 | –3.2 | |
| Independent | Chelsey Jay | 1,246 | 2.5 | N/A | |
| Majority | 5,145 | 10.2 | –38.6 | ||
| Turnout | 50,603 | 64.0 | –5.4 | ||
| Registered electors | 79,072 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | –19.5 | |||
Elections in the 2010s
[edit]| 2019 notional result[7] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| Conservative | 34,777 | 66.7 | |
| Labour | 9,108 | 17.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 5,214 | 10.0 | |
| Green | 3,006 | 5.8 | |
| Turnout | 52,105 | 69.4 | |
| Electorate | 75,064 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Priti Patel | 32,876 | 66.6 | +2.3 | |
| Labour | Martin Edobor | 8,794 | 17.8 | –8.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Sam North | 4,584 | 9.3 | +3.8 | |
| Green | James Abbott | 3,090 | 6.3 | +2.6 | |
| Majority | 24,082 | 48.8 | +10.9 | ||
| Turnout | 49,344 | 70.1 | –1.4 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +5.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Priti Patel | 31,670 | 64.3 | +6.8 | |
| Labour | Phil Barlow | 13,024 | 26.4 | +10.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Josephine Hayes | 2,715 | 5.5 | –0.6 | |
| Green | James Abbott | 1,832 | 3.7 | –0.6 | |
| Majority | 18,646 | 37.9 | –3.6 | ||
| Turnout | 49,400 | 71.5 | +1.2 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | –1.9 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Priti Patel | 27,123 | 57.5 | +5.3 | |
| UKIP | Garry Cockrill[11] | 7,569 | 16.0 | +9.5 | |
| Labour | John Clarke | 7,467 | 15.8 | –2.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Josephine Hayes | 2,891 | 6.1 | –13.7 | |
| Green | James Abbott[12] | 2,038 | 4.3 | +1.3 | |
| CPA | Doreen Scrimshaw[13] | 80 | 0.2 | New | |
| Majority | 19,554 | 41.5 | +9.1 | ||
| Turnout | 47,168 | 70.3 | +0.1 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +9.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Priti Patel | 24,448 | 52.2 | +2.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Margaret Phelps | 9,252 | 19.8 | +4.6 | |
| Labour | John Spademan | 8,656 | 18.5 | –13.9 | |
| UKIP | David Hodges | 3,060 | 6.5 | New | |
| Green | James Abbott | 1,419 | 3.0 | New | |
| Majority | 15,196 | 32.4 | |||
| Turnout | 46,835 | 70.2 | +6.6 | ||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
See also
[edit]- List of parliamentary constituencies in Essex
- List of parliamentary constituencies in the East of England (region)
References
[edit]- ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – Eastern". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ "Priti Patel to step down as home secretary, ahead of new PM". BBC News. 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part 2 Eastern region.
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 4)
- ^ "Witham - General Election Results 2024 - BBC News". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
- ^ "Witham Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ Daynes, Steve. "Parliamentary Election Results". www.braintree.gov.uk.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Выставка Цветов Киев - Flower Expo Ukraine".
- ^ "Witham and Braintree Green Party | News". Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ^ "CPA Candidates for the General Election". Christian Peoples Alliance. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
External links
[edit]- Witham UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
- Witham UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK
