The ceremonial county of Dorset (which comprises the two unitary authorities of Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole) is divided into 8 parliamentary constituencies: 3 borough constituencies and 5 county constituencies.
Constituencies
edit† Conservative ‡ Labour ¤ Liberal Democrat
| Constituency[nb 1] | Electorate[1] | Majority | Member of Parliament[2] | Nearest opposition[2] | Map | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bournemouth East BC | 73,173 | 5,479 | Tom Hayes‡ | Tobias Ellwood† |  | ||
| Bournemouth West BC | 72,094 | 3,224 | Jessica Toale‡ | Conor Burns† |  | ||
| Christchurch CC | 71,598 | 7,455 | Christopher Chope† | Mike Cox¤ |  | ||
| Mid Dorset and North Poole CC | 74,305 | 1,352 | Vikki Slade¤ | Michael Tomlinson† |  | ||
| North Dorset CC | 72,109 | 1,589 | Simon Hoare† | Gary Jackson¤ |  | ||
| Poole BC | 72,162 | 18 | Neil Duncan-Jordan‡ | Robert Syms† |  | ||
| South Dorset CC | 76,640 | 1,048 | Lloyd Hatton‡ | Richard Drax† |  | ||
| West Dorset CC | 75,390 | 7,789 | Edward Morello¤ | Chris Loder† |  | ||
Boundary changes
edit2024
editSee 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies for further details.
Following the abandonment of the Sixth Periodic Review (the 2018 review), the Boundary Commission for England formally launched the 2023 Review on 5 January 2021.[3] Initial proposals were published on 8 June 2021 and, following two periods of public consultation, revised proposals were published on 8 November 2022. The final recommendations were published on 28 June 2023.
The commission proposed retaining the eight current constituencies in Dorset, with minor boundary changes to reflect changes to ward boundaries following the reorganisation of local government authorities within the county.[4]
Containing electoral wards from Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
Containing electoral wards from Dorset (unitary authority)
Results history
editPrimary data source: House of Commons research briefing - General election results from 1918 to 2019[5]
2024
editThe number of votes cast for each political party who fielded candidates in constituencies comprising Dorset in the 2024 general election were as follows:[2]
| Party | Votes | % | Change from 2019 | Seats | Change from 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 127,188 | 33.7% |  24.6%
|
2 | 6
|
| Liberal Democrats | 95,463 | 25.3% |  6.4%
|
2 | 2
|
| Labour | 82,652 | 21.9% | 3.5%
|
4 | 4
|
| Reform | 45,367 | 12.0% | New | 0 | 
|
| Greens | 18,400 | 4.9% | 1.0%
|
0 |
|
| Others | 8,287 | 2.2% | 1.7%
|
0 |
|
| Total | 377,357 | 100.0 | 8 |
Percentage votes
editNote that before 1983 Dorset did not include the Bournemouth and Christchurch areas (see below).
| Election year | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1929 | 1931 | 1935 | 1945 | 1950 | 1951 | 1955 | 1959 | 1964 | 1966 | 1970 | 1974(F) | 1974(O) | 1979 | 1983 | 1987 | 1992 | 1997 | 2001 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 39.1 | 51.7 | 60.1 | 46.2 | 56.8 | 54.0 | 45.2 | 47.6 | 52.2 | 53.9 | 52.4 | 46.6 | 47.3 | 54.2 | 48.1 | 48.0 | 58.4 | 58.6 | 57.8 | 54.5 | 41.8 | 45.3 | 44.1 | 48.3 | 51.7 | 58.7 | 58.3 | 33.7 |
| Liberal Democrat1 | 18.0 | 28.9 | 21.9 | 36.8 | 16.3 | 28.7 | 24.0 | 14.5 | 15.8 | 13.6 | 18.9 | 23.6 | 20.2 | 17.0 | 30.9 | 28.4 | 20.9 | 29.7 | 30.8 | 31.2 | 34.1 | 31.5 | 32.8 | 32.8 | 12.9 | 12.8 | 18.9 | 25.3 |
| Labour | 21.4 | 19.4 | 18.0 | 17.0 | 12.3 | 16.0 | 30.8 | 37.9 | 32.0 | 32.6 | 28.7 | 29.8 | 32.5 | 28.8 | 21.0 | 23.6 | 20.4 | 10.2 | 11.3 | 13.4 | 18.8 | 21.1 | 18.3 | 12.2 | 13.0 | 25.2 | 18.4 | 21.9 |
| Reform | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12.0 |
| Green Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | * | * | * | * | * | 0.5 | 5.3 | 2.6 | 3.9 | 4.9 |
| UKIP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | * | * | * | 5.6 | 16.2 | 0.3 | * | * |
| Other | 21.5 | - | - | - | 14.6 | 1.4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.3 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 5.3 | 2.1 | 4.7 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 2.2 |
11950-1979: Liberal Party; 1983 & 1987 - SDP-Liberal Alliance
* Included in Other
Accurate vote percentages are not applicable for the 1918 election because one candidate stood unopposed.
Seats
edit| Election year | 1950-1979 | 1983-1992 | 1997 | 2001-2005 | 2010 | 2015-2019 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Conservative | 4 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 2 |
| Liberal Democrat1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 4 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
11950-1979: Liberal Party; 1983 & 1987 - SDP-Liberal Alliance
Maps
edit1885-1910
edit-
1885 -
1886 -
1892 -
1895
-
1900
-
1906
-
Jan 1910 -
Dec 1910
1918-1945
edit-
1918 -
1922 -
1923 -
1924 -
1929 -
1931
-
1935
-
1945
1950-1979
edit-
1950 -
1951
-
1955
-
1959
-
1964
-
1966
-
1970
-
Feb 1974
-
Oct 1974
-
1979
1983-present
edit-
1983 -
1987
-
1992
-
1997 -
2001 -
2005
-
2010 -
2015 -
2017
-
2019
-
2024
Historical representation by party
editA cell marked → (with a different colour background to the preceding cell) indicates that the previous MP continued to sit under a new party name.
Before 1885
edit| Constituency | Established | Abolished |
|---|---|---|
| Bridport | 1295 | Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 |
| Corfe Castle | 1572 | Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 |
| Dorchester | 1295 | Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 |
| Dorset | 1290 | Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 |
| Lyme Regis | 1572 | Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 |
| Poole | 1362 | Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 |
| Shaftesbury | 1295 | Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 |
| Weymouth and Melcombe Regis | 1572 | Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 |
| Wareham | 1302 | Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 |
1885 to 1918
edit| Constituency | 1885 | 1886 | 91 | 1892 | 95 | 1895 | 1900 | 04 | 05 | 1906 | Jan 10 | Dec 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorset East | Glyn | Bond | Napier Sturt | Lyell | H. Guest1 | F. Guest | ||||||
| Dorset North | Portman | Wingfield-Digby | Wills | Baker | ||||||||
| Dorset South | Sturgis | C. Hambro | Brymer | Scarisbrick | A. Hambro | |||||||
| Dorset West | Farquharson | Williams | ||||||||||
1original candidate, F. Guest (Lib), disqualified; fresh by-election held June 1910
1918 to 1950
editCoalition Liberal (1918-22) / National Liberal (1922-23) Conservative Independent Conservative Liberal
| Constituency | 1918 | 1922 | 23 | 1923 | 1924 | 1929 | 1931 | 1935 | 37 | 41 | 1945 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorset East | → | Caine | → | Glassey | Caine | Wheatley | |||||
| Dorset North | Colfox | Emlyn-Jones | Hanbury | A. Hambro | Byers | ||||||
| Dorset South | A. Hambro | Yerburgh | Gascoyne-Cecil | Montagu | |||||||
| Dorset West | Williams | Colfox | Digby | ||||||||
1950 to 1983
edit| Constituency | 1950 | 1951 | 1955 | 57 | 1959 | 62 | 1964 | 1966 | 1970 | Feb 1974 | Oct 1974 | 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorset North | Crouch | Glyn | James | Baker | ||||||||
| Dorset South | Montagu | Barnett | King | Gascoyne-Cecil | ||||||||
| Dorset West | Digby | Spicer | ||||||||||
| Poole | Wheatley | Pilkington | Murton | Ward | ||||||||
1983 to present (7, then 8 MPs)
editConservative Independent Labour Liberal Democrats
| Constituency | 1983 | 1987 | 1992 | 93 | 1997 | 2001 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2017 | 19 | 2019 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bournemouth East | Atkinson | Ellwood | Hayes | ||||||||||
| Bournemouth West | Butterfill | Burns | Toale | ||||||||||
| Christchurch | Adley | Maddock | Chope | ||||||||||
| North Dorset | Baker | Walter | Hoare | ||||||||||
| Poole | Ward | Syms | Duncan-Jordan | ||||||||||
| South Dorset | Gascoyne-Cecil | Bruce | Knight | Drax | Hatton | ||||||||
| West Dorset | Spicer | Letwin | → | Loder | Morello | ||||||||
| Mid Dorset and North Poole | Seat not created | Fraser | Brooke | Tomlinson | Slade | ||||||||
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ BC denotes borough constituency, CC denotes county constituency.
References
edit- ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries - Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ a b c "Constituencies A-Z - Election 2014". BBC News. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ "2023 Review | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. paras 1179-1203. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ Watson, Christopher; Uberoi, Elise; Loft, Philip (17 April 2020). "General election results from 1918 to 2019".
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