Wealden 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 ...

represented in the House of Commons 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 ...

since 2015 by

Nus Ghani Nusrat Munir Ul-Ghani (born 1 September 1972) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Wealden in East Sussex since 2015. She is serving as Minister of State in the Department for Business, Energy a ...

, a Conservative. Ghani is the first Muslim woman to be elected as a Conservative member of Parliament.

History

This seat was created in the third periodic review of constituencies in 1983, from a mixture of the previous Mid and Northern divisions of

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 ...

(also known as Lewes and East Grinstead). ;Political history The seat's history is that of a

safe A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body and ...

Conservative seat. Before the 2015 election, the Liberal Democrats, including their two predecessor parties, were represented by the main opposition candidate, but they then fell to fourth place. The best result for the Labour Party was in 2017, though it was 39% below the winning vote share. ;Prominent frontbenchers Locally born

Charles Hendry Charles Hendry (born 6 May 1959 in Cuckfield, Sussex) is a British Conservative Party politician. Formerly the member of parliament for High Peak between the 1992 and 1997 general elections, he was returned as the MP for Wealden in 2 ...

served as a Minister of State in the Department of Energy and Climate Change from 2010 to 2012 following two years in the shadow role in opposition.

Boundaries

1983–1997: The District of Wealden wards of Buxted, Chiddingly and East Hoathly, Crowborough East, Crowborough North, Crowborough West, Danehill, Fletching, Forest Row, Framfield, Frant, Hailsham Central and North, Hailsham East, Hailsham South and West, Hartfield, Heathfield, Hellingly, Horam, Maresfield, Mayfield, Rotherfield, Uckfield, Wadhurst, Waldron, and Withyam. 1997–2010: The District of Wealden wards of Buxted, Chiddingly and East Hoathly, Crowborough East, Crowborough North, Crowborough St John's, Crowborough West, Danehill, Fletching, Forest Row, Framfield, Frant, Hailsham Central and North, Hailsham East, Hailsham South and West, Hartfield, Heathfield, Hellingly, Horam, Maresfield, Mayfield, Rotherfield, Uckfield, Wadhurst, Waldron, and Withyam. 2010–present: The District of Wealden wards of Buxted and Maresfield, Chiddingly and East Hoathly, Crowborough East, Crowborough Jarvis Brook, Crowborough North, Crowborough St John's, Crowborough West, Danehill/Fletching/Nutley, Forest Row, Framfield, Frant/Withyham, Hailsham Central and North, Hailsham East, Hailsham South and West, Hartfield, Hellingly, Horam, Mayfield, Rotherfield, Uckfield Central, Uckfield New Town, Uckfield North, Uckfield Ridgewood, and Wadhurst. The constituency covers much of the Wealden district of

. However, some of the district in the south falls into the constituencies of Lewes, Bexhill and Battle and

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 ...

Constituency profile

Approximately half of the population in the constituency lives in the area's three main towns: Crowborough, Hailsham and Uckfield. The rest of the seat is predominantly rural and has many small towns, villages and hamlets. The Wealden landscape is varied, ranging from the Ashdown Forest in the north to the South Downs and the coastal part is included in seats to the south. A considerable portion of the population is retired or work in London, Brighton or other regional employment bases at a managerial or advanced professional level. Electoral Calculus 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 from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 Greenwich Mean Time, GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 Central Eur ...

.Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Wealden

Members of Parliament

Elections

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

Notes

References

Sources

Election result, 2017
(BBC)
Election result, 2010
(BBC)
Election result, 2005
(BBC)
Election results, 1997 - 2001
(BBC)

(Election Demon)

(Election Demon)

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