Eastbourne_(UK_Parliament_constituency)

Eastbourne (UK Parliament constituency)

UK Parliament constituency since 1885

Eastbourne is a constituency for the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was created as one of nine in Sussex in 1885, since when it has reduced in geographic size reflecting the growth of its main settlement, Eastbourne.^{[n 1]}

Quick Facts County, Electorate ...

Eastbourne
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Eastbourne in East Sussex
Location of East Sussex within England
County	East Sussex
Electorate	79,307 (December 2019)^[1]
Major settlements	Eastbourne
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of Parliament	Caroline Ansell (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	East Sussex

The seat was re-won in 2019 by Caroline Ansell, a Conservative and the constituencies first female MP, who ousted Liberal Democrat Stephen Lloyd; she earlier did so in 2015.^{[n 2]} Since the seat's creation it has been won by candidates from either of these two political parties (and their early forebears, the Liberal Party and the Unionist Party). The seat has had four by-elections, lastly in 1990.

For 94 years of the 20th Century, the seat was represented by Conservative MPs. The seat in the 1930s saw three unopposed candidates: in 1932, March 1935 and November 1935. Eastbourne has been considered relative to others a very marginal seat, as well as a swing seat, since 1997 as its winner's majority has been at most 7.86% of the vote. A 8.9% majority Tory re-gain took place in 1992 and since 2010 the seat has changed hands (between the two parties mentioned) all four possible times.

Members of Parliament

More information Election, Member ...

Election	Member^[2]
1885	Edward Field	Conservative
1900	Sir Lindsay Hogg	Conservative
1906	Hubert Beaumont	Liberal
January 1910	Rupert Gwynne	Conservative
1924	Sir George Lloyd	Conservative
1925 by-election	Sir Reginald Hall	Conservative
1929	Edward Marjoribanks	Conservative
1932 by-election	John Slater	Conservative
1935 by-election	Sir Charles Taylor	Conservative
February 1974	Ian Gow	Conservative
1990 by-election	David Bellotti	Liberal Democrats
1992	Nigel Waterson	Conservative
2010	Stephen Lloyd	Liberal Democrats
2015	Caroline Ansell	Conservative
2017	Stephen Lloyd	Liberal Democrats
December 2018		Independent
September 2019		Liberal Democrats
2019	Caroline Ansell	Conservative

Constituency profile

The constituency contains urban and suburban developments, including the whole of the Eastbourne Borough Council administrative area, as well as the village of Willingdon on its outskirts, which forms a small part of the Wealden District Council administrative area.

Eastbourne itself is on the edge of the London Commuter Belt and is a coastal resort town. The Eastbourne seat has narrowed at every Boundary Commission Periodic Review, as the population of the core town has grown.

Chris Hanretty, the Professor of Politics at Royal Holloway, estimated that Eastbourne voted 57.6% to 42.4% in favour of leaving the European Union during the 2016 referendum.^[3]

History

Origin

This seat was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. This zone had been in the East Sussex constituency, which in turn had been created with two seats by the Reform Act 1832 as a division of the 13th century-founded Sussex parliamentary county which had two seats (returned two knights of the shire).

Boundaries

Map of present boundaries

1885–1918: The Corporate Towns of Pevensey and Seaford, the Sessional Divisions of Hailsham and Uckfield (except the parishes of East Hoathly and Waldron), and part of the Sessional Division of Lewes.

1918–1950: The Borough of Eastbourne, the Rural District of Eastbourne, and in the Rural District of Hailsham the parishes of Arlington, Chalvington, Chiddingly, Hailsham, Hellingly, Laughton, and Ripe.

1950–1955: The Boroughs of Eastbourne and Bexhill, and in the Rural District of Hailsham the parishes of East Dean, Friston, Hooe, Jevington, Ninfield, Pevensey, Polegate, Wartling, Westham, and Willingdon.

1955–1974: The Borough of Eastbourne, and part of the Rural District of Hailsham.

1974–1983: The Borough of Eastbourne, and in the Rural District of Hailsham the parishes of East Dean, Friston, Jevington, Pevensey, Polegate, Westdean, Westham, and Willingdon.

1983–1997: The Borough of Eastbourne, and the District of Wealden wards of Polegate North, Polegate South, and Willingdon.

1997–2010: As prior, substituting East Dean for the Polegate wards.

2010–present: As prior, less East Dean.

Proposed

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the composition of the constituency from the next general election, due by January 2025, will be reduced to bring its electorate within the permitted range by transferring the parts within District of Wealden to the Lewes constituency. The boundaries will now be coterminous with those of the Borough of Eastbourne.^[4]

From safe seat to marginal seat

Results of all deposit-keeping candidates in their bid be the MP for Eastbourne (UK House of Commons), from and including the 1990 result

From 1910 until 1987 the seat returned Conservative Party candidates at every election. The large rural vote within the seat, until boundary changes in 1983, resulted in strong Conservative support – rural English voters tended to be richer and more right-wing (anti-socialist, pro-Empire before 1960s, pro-Established Church and pro-defence) compared to other voters.

The seat became a marginal, or swing seat, from the 1990 by-election onwards, being closely fought for between the two locally dominant parties. A Liberal Democrat gained the seat at the 2010 general election, in a vote which saw Eastbourne return the sixth-lowest Labour share of the vote of the 631 candidates who stood at the election, with only 4.8%.^[5] In 2015, the seat was the 9th most marginal of the Conservative Party's 331 seats, by share of the vote.^[6]