Witham_(UK_Parliament_constituency)
Witham (UK Parliament constituency)
Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom since 2010
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]
| Witham | |
|---|---|
| County constituency for the House of Commons | |
Boundary of Witham in Essex | |
Location of Essex within England | |
| County | Essex |
| Electorate | 67,451 (December 2010)[1] |
| Major settlements | Hatfield Peverel, Kelvedon, Marks Tey, White Notley, Witham |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2010 |
| Member of Parliament | Dame Priti Patel (Conservative) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Braintree, Maldon and East Chelmsford, North Essex, Colchester |
Witham is one of the safest Conservative seats in the country, although 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.
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.
Current
- 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.
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 (as they existed on 1st 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.
Elections in the 2020s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Rumi Chowdhury[6] | ||||
| Conservative | Priti Patel[7] | ||||
| Majority | |||||
| Turnout | |||||
Elections in the 2010s
| 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) | |||||
- "Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- "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.
- Labour East [@EoELabour] (2 April 2024). "Congratulations, Rumi Chowdhury, Labour's Parliamentary candidate for Witham!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "Priti re-adopted for next General Election campaign". Witham Conservatives. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- "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.
- "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.