Bexhill and Battle () is a

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremac ...

since

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Huw Merriman Huw William Merriman (born 13 July 1973) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bexhill and Battle in East Sussex since the 2015 general election. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as Minister o ...

of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

Constituency profile

The constituency is predominantly rural, like Wealden to the west. The main towns are the shingle-beach resort of

Bexhill-on-Sea Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) is a seaside town and civil parish situated in the county of East Sussex in South East England. An ancient town and part of the local government district of Rother, Bexhill is home to a number of arc ...

and the historic town of

Battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

Electoral Calculus Electoral Calculus is a political forecasting web site which attempts to predict future United Kingdom general election results. It considers national factors but excludes local issues. Main features The site was developed by Martin Baxter, w ...

describes the seat as "Strong Right" characterised by retired, socially conservative voters who strongly supported

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

Notable representative

The seat's first MP,

Charles Wardle Charles Frederick Wardle (born 23 August 1939) is a retired British businessman and politician who was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Bexhill and Battle from 1983 until 2001. In April 2001 for the last four weeks of his Parliamenta ...

, served as a junior Home Office minister in the government of

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...

; Wardle had the Conservative whip removed shortly before the 2001 general election. The seat was held by

Gregory Barker Gregory Leonard George Barker, Baron Barker of Battle, (born 8 March 1966) is a British Conservative Party politician and life peer. In May 2010 he was appointed Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, a role in which he served until ...

from 2001 until 2015; Barker was a junior minister at the Department for Energy and Climate Change between the formation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition after the 2010 general election and the major government reshuffle of July 2014, when he resigned and announced his intention to retire from Parliament at the next general election.

Political history

At the 2015 general election,

was elected, and was re-elected in the 2017 general election. The closest it came to a non-Conservative victory was in 2001, when Barker, in the first of his three successful campaigns, was returned by a margin of 10,503 votes. In June 2016, an estimated 57.7% of local adults voting in the EU membership referendum chose to leave the European Union instead of to remain. This was matched in two January 2018 votes in Parliament by its MP.

Boundaries

1983–2010: The District of Rother wards of Ashburnham, Battle, Beckley and Peasmarsh, Bodiam and Ewhurst, Brede and Udimore, Burwash, Catsfield and Crowhurst, Central, Collington, Etchingham and Hurst Green, Northiam, Old Town, Sackville, St Mark's, St Michael's, St Stephen's, Salehurst, Sedlescombe and Whatlington, Sidley, Ticehurst, and Westfield, and the District of Wealden wards of Herstmonceux, Ninfield, and Pevensey and Westham. 2010–present: The District of Rother wards of Battle Town, Central, Collington, Crowhurst, Darwell, Ewhurst and Sedlescombe, Kewhurst, Old Town, Rother Levels, Sackville, St Mark's, St Michael's, St Stephen's, Salehurst, Sidley, and Ticehurst and Etchingham, and the District of Wealden wards of Cross In Hand/Five Ashes, Heathfield East, Heathfield North and Central, Herstmonceux, Ninfield and Hooe with Wartling, and Pevensey and Westham. The seat almost matches the district of

Rother Rother may refer to: General *Rother (surname) (also sometimes spelled Röther) *Rother District, a local government district in East Sussex, England *Rother FM, an independent local radio station for Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England *Rother Kup ...

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 2005 and 2010 general elections and thus change in share of vote is based on a notional calculation.

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Notes

References

Sources

Election result, 2005
(BBC)
Election results, 1997 – 2001
(BBC)

(Election Demon)

(Election Demon) (Result is incorrect for 1992)

(Guardian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bexhill And Battle (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in South East England Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1983 Politics of East Sussex Rother District Battle, East Sussex