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South Dorset (UK Parliament constituency) - Wikipedia

South Dorset
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Map of constituency

Boundary of South Dorset in South West England

CountyDorset
Electorate76,640 (2023)[1]
Major settlementsWeymouth, Swanage, Fortuneswell
Current constituency
Created1885
Member of ParliamentLloyd Hatton (Labour)
SeatsOne
Created fromDorset

South Dorset is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Lloyd Hatton, of the Labour Party.[n 2]

The constituency was created as a consequence of the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. The Act reduced the number of MPs in Dorset from 10 to 4 (see Redistribution of Seats in England, 1885). It was initially proposed to name the new constituencies after existing boroughs (Shaftesbury, Dorchester, Poole and Bridport) but, following an amendment in the Commons on 14 April 1885, the names were changed to the points of the compass (North Dorset, South Dorset, East Dorset, West Dorset).[2]

The South Dorset constituency was divided into 7 polling districts. Dorchester was chosen as the place where the nomination of candidates would take place and the result would be declared.[3] The area covered was:[3]

In the 1997 election the seat was won by Ian Bruce by a margin of only 77 votes, one of the smallest margins in the UK. The 2001 election saw the second Labour win in South Dorset's history with Labour's smallest majority in England, at 153. In the 2005 election this constituency was one of the few in which Labour significantly increased their majority. Conservative candidate Ed Matts was found to have doctored an image which was part of his campaign material. Matts changed a photo of a protest against the deportation of a South Dorset resident, so that it appeared to be a protest against "uncontrolled immigration". In both elections, the left-wing singer-songwriter Billy Bragg led an anti-Conservative tactical voting campaign in Dorset constituencies.[4]

The 2010 election saw Conservative Richard Drax, a former soldier and journalist from a long line of Dorset representatives, defeating the incumbent Jim Knight, who ended his final year in parliament as the Minister (of State) for Employment and Welfare Reform. Richard Drax retained the seat in 2015 election with an increased majority.

The 2024 election saw Labour candidate Lloyd Hatton defeat Richard Drax.[5]

Map

Map of boundaries 2010–2024

1885–1918: The Municipal Boroughs of Dorchester, and Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, and parts of the Sessional Divisions of Dorchester and Wareham.

1918–1950: The Municipal Boroughs of Wareham, and Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, the Urban Districts of Portland and Swanage, the Rural District of Wareham and Purbeck, and the part of the Rural District of Weymouth that was not included in the Dorset West constituency (i.e. Bincombe, Broadwey, Chickerell, Fleet, Osmington, Owermoigne, Poxwell, Preston, Radipole, Upwey and Wyke Regis).

1950–1983: The Municipal Boroughs of Wareham, and Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, the Urban Districts of Portland and Swanage, the Rural District of Wareham and Purbeck, and in the Rural District of Dorchester the civil parishes of Bincombe, Chickerell, Fleet, Osmington, Owermoigne, and Poxwell.

1983–1997: The Borough of Weymouth and Portland, the District of Purbeck wards of Bere Regis, Castle, Langton, St Martin, Swanage North, Swanage South, Wareham, West Purbeck, Winfrith, and Wool, and the District of West Dorset ward of Owermoigne.

1997–2010: The Borough of Weymouth and Portland, the District of Purbeck wards of Castle, Langton, Swanage North, Swanage South, West Purbeck, Winfrith, and Wool, and the District of West Dorset ward of Owermoigne.

2010–2024: The Borough of Weymouth and Portland, the District of Purbeck wards of Castle, Creech Barrow, Langton, Swanage North, Swanage South, West Purbeck, Winfrith, and Wool, and the District of West Dorset ward of Owermoigne.

2024–present: The District of Dorset wards of Chickerell, Crossways, Littlemoor & Preston, Melcombe Regis, Portland, Radipole, Rodwell & Wyke, South East Purbeck, Swanage, Upwey & Broadwey, polling districts WPU1 and WPU4 through to WPU13 in West Purbeck, and Westham[6]

Minor changes following re-organisation of local authorities and wards in Dorset.

Constituency profile

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The seat includes the coastal areas to the south of the county of Dorset, plus some rural Purbeck territory further inland. The port of Weymouth is one of the few large towns in Dorset and its suburbs extend onto the Wyke Regis peninsula and the isle of Portland, connected to the mainland by road (and, in the past, rail).

The constituency includes Bovington army camp, and further east, Corfe Castle, connected by the preserved Swanage Railway steam railway to the holiday resort of Swanage. This part of the seat is closer to Poole and Bournemouth than to Weymouth.

Workless claimants were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.8% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.[7]

Members of Parliament

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Election Member[8] Party
1885 Henry Parkman Sturgis Liberal
1886 Charles J. T. Hambro[9] Conservative
1891 by-election William Brymer Conservative
1906 Thomas Scarisbrick Liberal
1910 Angus Hambro Conservative
1918 Coalition Conservative
1922 Robert Yerburgh Conservative
1929 Robert Gascoyne-Cecil[10] Conservative
1941 by-election Victor Montagu[11] Conservative
1962 by-election Guy Barnett Labour
1964 Evelyn King Conservative
1979 Robert Gascoyne-Cecil Conservative
1987 Ian Bruce Conservative
2001 Jim Knight Labour
2010 Richard Drax Conservative
2024 Lloyd Hatton Labour

Elections in the 2020s

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Elections in the 2010s

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2019 notional result[13]
Party Vote %
Conservative 31,209 59.2
Labour 13,062 24.8
Liberal Democrats 5,628 10.7
Green 2,335 4.4
Others 485 0.9
Turnout 52,719 68.8
Electorate 76,640

Elections in the 2000s

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Elections in the 1990s

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Elections in the 1980s

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Elections in the 1970s

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Elections in the 1960s

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Elections in the 1950s

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Elections in the 1940s

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Hinchingbrooke

General Election 1939–40:

Another general election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;

Elections in the 1930s

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Elections in the 1920s

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Elections in the 1910s

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Elections in the 1900s

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Tom Scarisbrick
Leslie Renton

Elections in the 1890s

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William Brymer

Elections in the 1880s

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  1. ^ A county 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.
  1. ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – South West". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  2. ^ "The Redistribution Bill". The Times. 15 April 1885. p. 6.
  3. ^ a b "Official Announcements – County of Dorset". Western Gazette. 17 July 1885. Retrieved 21 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ Ward, Lucy (19 April 2001). "Billy Bragg drives in voting wedge". The Guardian.
  5. ^ "Recount drama in Poole as Dorset's Tory stalwarts lose seats". BBC News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  6. ^ "UK Parliament".
  7. ^ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
  8. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 2)
  9. ^ Died 1891
  10. ^ Called to the House of Lords, by a writ in acceleration, as Lord Cecil of Essendon in 1941
  11. ^ Succeeded as the 10th Earl of Sandwich
  12. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated, Notice of Poll and Situation of Polling Stations". Archived from the original on 7 June 2024.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF).
  15. ^ "Dorset South Results". BBC News. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  16. ^ "South Dorset". 2017 Election Results. UK Gov. 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  17. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  18. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  19. ^ Grainger, Tom (20 April 2010). "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll" (PDF). Acting Returning Officer. Weymouth & Portland Borough Council. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  20. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  21. ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  22. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  23. ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  24. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  25. ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  26. ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  27. ^ a b c d e Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  28. ^ Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1922
  29. ^ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  30. ^ a b c d e Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
  31. ^ The Constitutional Year Book, 1904, published by Conservative Central Office, page 143 (167 in web page), Dorsetshire
  • BBC News article on the 2001 South Dorset election

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