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Eastbourne 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 (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...
for 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. T ...
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 suprem ...
. It was created as one of nine in
Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...
in
1885 Events January–March * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 4 &n ...
, since when it has reduced in geographic size reflecting the growth of its main settlement,
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
. The seat was re-won in 2019 by
Caroline Ansell Caroline Julie Porte Ansell (born 12 January 1971) is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Eastbourne since the 2019 general election. She was first elected as Eastbourne's MP at t ...
, a
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
who ousted Liberal Democrat
Stephen Lloyd Stephen Anthony Christopher Lloyd (born 15 June 1957) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who was twice Member of Parliament (MP) for the seat of Eastbourne. Born in Kenya, he was privately educated in Surrey, before working first as ...
; she earlier did so in 2015. Since the seat's creation it has been won by candidates from either of these two political parties (and their early forebears, the Liberal Party and the Unionist Party). The seat has had four by-elections, lastly in 1990. For 94 years of the 20th Century, the seat was represented by
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
MPs. The seat in the 1930s saw three unopposed candidates: in 1932, March 1935 and November 1935. Eastbourne has been considered relative to others a very marginal seat, as well as a swing seat, since 1997 as its winner's majority has been at most 7.86% of the vote. A 8.9% majority
Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...
re-gain took place in 1992 and since 2010 the seat has changed hands (between the two parties mentioned) all four possible times.


Members of Parliament


Constituency profile

The constituency contains urban and suburban developments, including the whole of the Eastbourne Borough Council administrative area, as well as the village of Willingdon on its outskirts, which forms a small part of the Wealden District Council administrative area.
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
itself is on the edge of the
London Commuter Belt The London metropolitan area is the metropolitan area of London, England. It has several definitions, including the London Travel to Work Area, and usually consists of the London urban area, settlements that share London's infrastructure, and ...
and is a coastal resort town. The Eastbourne seat has narrowed at every Boundary Commission Periodic Review, as the population of the core town has grown. Chris Hanretty, the Professor of Politics at Royal Holloway, estimated that Eastbourne voted 57.6% to 42.4% in favour of leaving the European Union during the 2016 referendum.


History


Origin

This seat was created by the
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...
. This zone had been in the East Sussex constituency, which in turn had been created with two seats by the
Reform Act 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...
as a division of the 13th century-founded Sussex parliamentary county which had two seats (returned two
knights of the shire Knight of the shire ( la, milites comitatus) was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistribution ...
).


Boundaries

1885–1918: The Corporate Towns of Pevensey and Seaford, the Sessional Divisions of Hailsham and Uckfield (except the parishes of East Hoathly and Waldron), and part of the Sessional Division of Lewes. 1918–1950: The Borough of Eastbourne, the Rural District of Eastbourne, and in the Rural District of Hailsham the parishes of Arlington, Chalvington, Chiddingly, Hailsham, Hellingly, Laughton, and Ripe. 1950–1955: The Boroughs of Eastbourne and Bexhill, and in the Rural District of Hailsham the parishes of East Dean, Friston, Hooe, Jevington, Ninfield, Pevensey, Polegate, Wartling, Westham, and Willingdon. 1955–1974: The Borough of Eastbourne, and part of the Rural District of Hailsham. 1974–1983: The Borough of Eastbourne, and in the Rural District of Hailsham the parishes of East Dean, Friston, Jevington, Pevensey, Polegate, Westdean, Westham, and Willingdon. 1983–1997: The Borough of Eastbourne, and the District of Wealden wards of Polegate North, Polegate South, and Willingdon. 1997–2010: As prior, substituting East Dean for the Polegate wards. 2010–present: As prior, less East Dean.


From safe seat to marginal seat

From 1910 until 1987 the seat returned Conservative Party candidates at every election. The large rural vote within the seat, until boundary changes in 1983, resulted in strong Conservative support – rural English voters tended to be richer and more right-wing (anti-
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
, pro-Empire before 1960s, pro-Established Church and pro-defence) compared to other voters. The seat became a marginal, or swing seat, from the 1990 by-election onwards, being closely fought for between the two locally dominant parties. A Liberal Democrat gained the seat at the 2010 general election, in a vote which saw Eastbourne return the sixth-lowest Labour share of the vote of the 631 candidates who stood at the election, with only 4.8%. In 2015, the seat was the 9th most marginal of the Conservative Party's 331 seats, by share of the vote.


By-elections

* 1925 Eastbourne by-election (Con, hold), following the resignation of the Conservative MP Sir George Ambrose Lloyd * 1932 Eastbourne by-election (Con, hold), following the death of the Conservative MP Edward Marjoribanks * 1935 Eastbourne by-election (Con, hold), following the death of the Conservative MP
John Slater John Slater may refer to: Business and government *John Slater (industrialist) (1776–1843), (American) father of John Fox Slater, brother and partner of Samuel Slater *John Fox Slater (1815–1884), American philanthropist, son of John Slater ( ...
* 1990 Eastbourne by-election ( LD, gain), following the assassination of the Conservative MP
Ian Gow Ian Reginald Edward Gow (; 11 February 1937 – 30 July 1990) was a British politician and solicitor. As a member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Eastbourne from 1974 until his assassination by the P ...
by members of the
Provisional IRA The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish re ...
.


Proposal to change constituency name

In 2016 incumbent
Ansell Ansell is an Australian company which manufactures protective industrial and medical gloves. It was previously well known as a condom manufacturer but sold that division in 2017. History Early years Ansell was formed as Dunlop Pneumatic T ...
made better known via the local press some voters wished the seat's name be changed to add "and Willingdon". Had this met with enough public support Ansell confirmed she (or anyone else) could apply to the Boundary Commission to request the change.


Election results by decade


Elections in the 2010s


Elections in the 2000s


Elections in the 1990s

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.


Elections in the 1980s


Elections in the 1970s


Elections in the 1960s


Elections in the 1950s


Election in the 1940s


Elections in the 1930s


Elections in the 1920s


Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1914–15: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected; *Unionist:
Rupert Gwynne Rupert Sackville Gwynne (2 August 187312 October 1924), was a British Conservative politician. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Eastbourne from 1910 to 1924. He was the father of cookery writer Elizabeth David. Early years Gwynne was th ...
*Liberal:


Elections in the 1900s


Elections in the 1890s


Elections in the 1880s


See also

* List of parliamentary constituencies in East Sussex *
Boundary Commissions (United Kingdom) The boundary commissions in the United Kingdom are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of constituencies for elections to the House of Commons. There are four boundary commissions: * Boundary Commission fo ...
* Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies


Notes


References


Sources


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

(Election Demon)

(Guardian)

(Keele University) * * * {{Authority control Parliamentary constituencies in South East England Politics of Eastbourne Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1885