New Forest East 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, ...

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 1997 by

Julian Lewis Julian Murray Lewis (born 26 September 1951) is a British Conservative Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP), representing New Forest East since 1997. Lewis has served as Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee s ...

, a member 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 industrial element and mid-density housing of the Southampton Water strip results in some or all Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors in this area at the local district elections from creation to date, and contributes strongly towards the latter party's peak performance leaving the winner a 9% majority in 2001. This contrasts with the Conservative winner's greatest majority to date in 2017 of 42.8% of the votes over his nearest rival which ranks Lewis among the top 10% of his party's MPs by majority. The history of district itself is typical of inherent suburban and retiree districts as it was largely created for the preservation of the National Park and to provide contrast in planning and ethos to the City of Southampton and the Bournemouth conurbation. The constituency covers the eastern half of the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

National Park in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

and land to the east adjoining

Southampton Water Southampton Water is a tidal estuary north of the Solent and the Isle of Wight in England. The city of Southampton lies at its most northerly point, where the estuaries of the River Test and River Itchen meet. Along its salt marsh-fringed wes ...

– almost the whole of its population live in the waterside settlements Totton,

Marchwood Marchwood is a village and civil parish located in Hampshire, England, United Kingdom. It lies between Totton and Hythe on the western shore of Southampton Water and directly east of the New Forest. The population of the village in the 20 ...

Hythe Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to: Places Australia * Hythe, Tasmania Canada *Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada England * T ...

and Fawley or the major forest villages of Lyndhurst,

Brockenhurst Brockenhurst is the largest village by population within the New Forest in Hampshire, England. The nearest city is Southampton some to the North East, while Bournemouth is also nearby, South West. Surrounding towns and villages include Beaul ...

and Beaulieu. For all areas the relevant local authority has a higher than average proportion of retired people, and a lower than national average extent of

social housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

and rented housing. Housing types include far above average detached and semi-detached properties.

Boundaries

1997–2010: The District of New Forest wards of Blackfield and Langley, Boldre, Brockenhurst, Colbury, Copythorne South, Dibden and Hythe North, Dibden Purlieu, Fawley Holbury, Forest North, Forest South, Hythe South, Lyndhurst, Marchwood, Netley Marsh, Totton Central, Totton North, and Totton South. 2010–present: The District of New Forest wards of Ashurst, Copythorne South and Netley Marsh, Boldre and Sway, Bramshaw, Copythorne North and Minstead, Brockenhurst and Forest South East, Butts Ash and Dibden Purlieu, Dibden and Hythe East, Fawley, Blackfield and Langley, Furzedown and Hardley, Holbury and North Blackfield, Hythe West and Langdown, Lyndhurst, Marchwood, Totton Central, Totton East, Totton North, Totton South, and Totton West.

History

This constituency was created when the old

constituency was divided for the 1997 general election. Election results but one since its creation suggest that it is a Conservative

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinat ...

. The 2001 election produced what could be considered a marginal result, when the Liberal Democrats came within 4,000 votes of winning, however no party has ever come near as that since then.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Notes

References

Sources

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

(Election Demon)

(Guardian) {{DEFAULTSORT:New Forest East (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in Hampshire Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1997 New Forest District