Eastbourne (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 50°46′41″N 0°17′10″E / 50.778°N 0.286°E

Eastbourne
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Eastbourne in East Sussex.
Location of East Sussex within England.
County	East Sussex
Electorate	78,262 (May 2015)[1]
Major settlements	Eastbourne
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of parliament	Caroline Ansell (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	East Sussex
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South East England

Eastbourne is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since May 2015 by Caroline Ansell (Conservative).^{[n 2]}

Constituency profile

Before 1990 almost always a safe Conservative seat, and with larger borders, Eastbourne since 1983 has been narrowed to the town and its immediate outskirts, primarily in the South Downs National Park. The town is towards the edge of the reasonable London Commuter Belt and is a coastal resort town that has had only marginal majorities following the 1990 by-election between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats for many years. A Liberal Democrat gained the seat at the 2010 general election, in an election which saw the 6th lowest Labour share of the vote of the 631 candidates who stood at the election, on 4.8%.^[2]

Boundaries

The constituency comprises all nine electoral wards of Eastbourne Borough, as well as the wards of Willingdon and Wannock in the Wealden district.

History

This seat was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. Its territory had previously been incorporated in the East Sussex constituency, which in turn had been created by the Reform Act 1832 as a division of the Sussex constituency.

There have been four by-elections in the constituency:

• Eastbourne by-election, 1925 (held by the Conservatives), following the resignation of the Conservative MP Sir George Ambrose Lloyd
• Eastbourne by-election, 1932 (held by the Conservatives), following the death of the Conservative MP Edward Marjoribanks
• Eastbourne by-election, 1935 (held by the Conservatives), following the death of the Conservative MP John Slater
• Eastbourne by-election, 1990 (won by the Liberal Democrats), following the assassination of the Conservative MP Ian Gow

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[3]	Party
	1885	Edward Field	Conservative
	1900	Sir Lindsay Hogg	Conservative
	1906	Hubert Beaumont	Liberal
	Jan 1910	Rupert Gwynne	Conservative
	1924	Sir George Lloyd	Conservative
	1925 by-election	Sir William Hall	Conservative
	1929	Edward Marjoribanks	Conservative
	1932 by-election	John Slater	Conservative
	1935	Sir Charles Taylor	Conservative
	Feb 1974	Ian Gow	Conservative
	1990 by-election	David Bellotti	Liberal Democrat
	1992	Nigel Waterson	Conservative
	2010	Stephen Lloyd	Liberal Democrat
	2015	Caroline Ansell	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Eastbourne[4][5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Caroline Ansell	20,934	39.6	-1.1
	Liberal Democrat	Stephen Lloyd	20,201	38.2	-9.1
	UKIP	Nigel Jones	6,139	11.6	+9.1
	Labour	Jake Lambert[6]	4,143	7.8	+3.0
	Green	Andrew Durling[7]	1,351	2.6	+2.6
	Independent	Paul Howard	139	0.3	+0.3
Majority			733	1.4
Turnout			52,907	67.6
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrat		Swing	+4.0

General Election 2010: Eastbourne[8][9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Stephen Lloyd	24,658	47.3	+5.6
	Conservative	Nigel Waterson	21,223	40.7	−2.3
	Labour	Dave Brinson	2,497	4.8	−6.0
	Independent	Stephen Shing	1,327	2.5	N/A
	UKIP	Roger Needham	1,305	2.5	+0.0
	BNP	Colin Poulter	939	1.8	N/A
	Independent	Michael Baldry	101	0.2	N/A
	Independent	Keith Gell	74	0.1	N/A
Majority			3,435	6.6
Turnout			52,124	67.0	+3.8
	Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative		Swing	+4.0

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Eastbourne[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nigel Waterson	21,033	43.5	−0.6
	Liberal Democrat	Stephen Lloyd	19,909	41.1	+1.8
	Labour	Andrew Jones	5,268	10.9	−2.4
	UKIP	Andrew Meggs	1,233	2.5	+0.5
	Green	Clive Gross	949	2.0	N/A
Majority			1,124	2.3
Turnout			48,392	64.8	+5.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 2001: Eastbourne[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nigel Waterson	19,738	44.1	+2.0
	Liberal Democrat	Chris Berry	17,584	39.3	+0.9
	Labour	Gillian Roles	5,967	13.3	+0.8
	UKIP	Barry Jones	907	2.0	+1.5
	Liberal	Theresia Williamson	574	1.3	−0.1
Majority			2,154	4.8
Turnout			44,770	59.6	−13.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Eastbourne[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nigel Waterson	22,183	42.1	−10.9
	Liberal Democrat	Chris Berry	20,189	38.3	−2.9
	Labour	David Lines	6,576	12.5	+7.8
	Referendum	Trevor Lowe	2,724	5.2	N/A
	Liberal	Theresia Williamson	741	1.4
	UKIP	John Dawkins	254	0.5	N/A
Majority			1,994	3.8
Turnout			52,667	72.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1992 and 1997 general elections and thus change in share of vote is based on a notional calculation.

General Election 1992: Eastbourne[13][14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nigel Waterson	31,792	51.6	−8.3
	Liberal Democrat	David Bellotti	26,311	42.7	+13.0
	Labour	Ivan A. Gibbons	2,834	4.6	−4.2
	Green	David Aherne	391	0.6	−0.9
	Liberal	Mrs MT Williamson	296	0.5	−29.3
Majority			5,481	8.9	−21.3
Turnout			61,624	80.9	+5.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	−10.7

By-election 1990: Eastbourne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	David Bellotti	23,415	50.8
	Conservative	Richard Hickmet	18,865	41.0
	Labour	Charlotte Atkins	2,308	5.0
	Green	David Aherne	553	1.2
	Liberal	Theresia Williamson	526	1.1
	Corrective Party	Lady Whiplash	216	0.5
	National Front	John McAuley	154	0.3
	Ironside Party	Eric Page	35	0.1
Majority			4,550	9.8
Turnout			46,072	60.7
	Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Eastbourne[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Gow	33,587	59.9
	Liberal	Peter Driver	16,664	29.7
	Labour	Ash Patel	4,928	8.8
	Green	Ruth Addison	867	1.6
Majority			16,923	30.2
Turnout			56,046	75.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1983: Eastbourne[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Gow	31,501	59.1
	Liberal	Peter Driver	18,015	33.8
	Labour	Charles Clark	3,790	7.1
Majority			13,486	25.3
Turnout			53,306	73.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Eastbourne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Gow	37,168	63.05
	Liberal	David Bellotti	11,084	18.80
	Labour	Len Caine	10,166	17.24
	National Front	C Mitchell	533	0.90
Majority			26,084	44.25
Turnout			58,951	76.68
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: Eastbourne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Gow	30,442	54.66
	Liberal	Gurth Hoyer-Millar	14,417	25.89
	Labour	Len Caine	10,830	19.45
Majority			16,025	28.78
Turnout			55,689	74.55
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election February 1974: Eastbourne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Gow	31,462	51.31
	Liberal	Stephen Terrell	23,987	39.12
	Labour	David Dawson	5,874	9.58
Majority			7,475	12.19
Turnout			61,323	82.60
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1970: Eastbourne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Charles Stuart Taylor	30,296	48.80
	Liberal	Stephen Terrell	23,308	37.55	+7.8
	Labour	Cyril G Abley	8,475	13.65
Majority			6,988	11.26
Turnout			62,079	73.67
	Conservative hold		Swing	-

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Eastbourne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Taylor	26,039	46.26
	Liberal	Stephen Terrell	16,746	29.75
	Labour	J H High	12,620	22.42
	Independent	V H Petty	883	1.57
Majority			9,293	16.51
Turnout			56,288	77.24
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1964: Eastbourne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Taylor	26,410	49.01
	Liberal	Stephen Terrell	15,441	28.66
	Labour	J E M Baker	12,034	22.33
Majority			10,969	20.36
Turnout			53,885	76.70
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Eastbourne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Stuart Taylor	27,874	57.28
	Labour	A A Dumont	11,837	24.32
	Liberal	Ronald Gardner-Thorpe	8,955	18.40
Majority			16,037	32.95
Turnout			48,666	77.28
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Eastbourne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Taylor	29,779	65.68
	Labour	J.A. Lewis	15,561	34.32
Majority			14,218	31.36
Turnout				75.81
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Eastbourne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Taylor	39,278	67.15
	Labour	Christopher Attlee	19,217	32.85
Majority			20,061	34.30
Turnout				81.93
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1950: Eastbourne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Taylor	35,425	59.54
	Labour	Reginald Groves	18,304	30.77
	Liberal	Cecil Herbert Louis Douglas Bate	5,766	9.69
Majority			17,121	28.78
Turnout				85.08
	Conservative hold		Swing

Election in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Eastbourne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Stuart Taylor	18,173	53.24
	Labour	Duncan Newman Smith	12,637	37.02
	Liberal	John Stafford Gowland	2,797	8.19
	Independent National	William Reginald Hipwell	524	1.54
Majority			5,536	16.22
Turnout				77.35
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1935: Eastbourne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Taylor	Unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

Eastbourne by-election 1932
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Slater	Unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1931: Eastbourne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Marjoribanks	31,240	85.31
	Labour	A.J. Marshall	5,379	14.69
Majority			25,861	70.62
Turnout				71.86
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

1929 General Election: Eastbourne [17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Edward Marjoribanks	18,157	49.9	-8.5
	Labour	R S Chatfield	8,204	22.5	+5.6
	Liberal	Clive Stuart Saxon Burt	7,812	21.4	-3.3
	Independent Unionist	P E Hurst	2,277	6.2	n/a
Majority			9,953	27.4	-6.3
Turnout			36,450	74.5
	Unionist hold		Swing	-7.0

Eastbourne by-election, 1925 [18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Sir William Reginald Hall	12,741	58.4	-9.5
	Liberal	Harcourt Johnstone	5,386	24.7	+8.6
	Labour	Thomas Samuel Beauchamp Williams	3,696	16.9	+0.9
Majority			7,355	33.7	-18.1
Turnout			21,823	60.7	-14.9
	Unionist hold		Swing	-9.0

1924 General Election: Eastbourne [19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Rt Hon. Sir George Ambrose Lloyd	17,533	67.9	+14.1
	Liberal	J J Davies	4,168	16.1	-30.1
	Labour	D J Davis	4,138	16.0	n/a
Majority			13,365	51.8	+44.2
Turnout			25,839	77.6
	Unionist hold		Swing	+22.1

General Election 1923: Eastbourne[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Rupert Sackville Gwynne	13,276	53.8	-6.7
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Thomas Wiles	11,396	46.2	+6.7
Majority			1,880	7.6	-13.4
Turnout				77.0
	Unionist hold		Swing	-6.7

General Election 1922 : Eastbourne[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Rupert Sackville Gwynne	14,601	60.5	-3.1
	Liberal	Edward Duke	9,550	39.5	+29.1
Majority			5,051	21.0	-16.6
Turnout				77.2
	Unionist hold		Swing	-16.1

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1918 Eastbourne [22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Rupert Sackville Gwynne	11,357	63.6
	Labour	Thomas Burleigh Hasdell	4,641	26.0
	Liberal	Sir Alfred John Callaghan	1,852	10.4
Majority			6,716	37.6
Turnout				59.8
	Unionist hold		Swing

• endorsed by Coalition Government

Elections in the 1900s

General Election 1906 Eastbourne[23] Electorate 12,913
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Hubert George Beaumont	5,933	52.8	+6.6
	Conservative	Sir L. Hogg	5,303	47.2	-6.6
Majority			630	5.6	-2.0
Turnout				87.0
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+6.6

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in East Sussex

Notes and references

Notes

1. A borough 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. "Eastbourne - Election Results". House of Commons Library. May 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
2. General Election Results from the Electoral Commission
3. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "E" (part 1)
4. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
5. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000684
6. http://eastbournelabour.blogspot.co.uk/p/parliamentary-selection.html
7. http://www.eastbourneherald.co.uk/news/local/green-party-announces-eastbourne-candidate-1-6526449
8. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
9. "Eastborne election results". BBC. 20 April 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
10. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
11. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
12. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
13. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
14. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
15. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
16. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
17. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
18. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
19. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
20. Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
21. Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
22. Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
23. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)

Sources

• Election result, 2005 (BBC)
• Election results, 1997 - 2001 (BBC)
• Election results, 1997 - 2001 (Election Demon)
• Election results, 1983 - 1992
• Election results, 1992 - 2005 (Guardian)
• Election results, 1950 - 2001 (Keele University)
• The Times House of Commons 1945. The Times. 1945.
• Iain Dale, ed. (2003). The Times House of Commons 1929, 1931, 1935. Politico's (reprint). ISBN 1-84275-033-X.
• Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.