Coordinates: 50°46?41?N 0°17?10?E / 50.778°N 0.286°E / 50.778; 0.286

Eastbourne
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Eastbourne in East Sussex
Location of East Sussex within England
County	East Sussex
Electorate	78,262 (May 2015)[1]
Major settlements	Eastbourne
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of Parliament	Caroline Ansell (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	East Sussex
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South East England

Eastbourne is a constituency (also known as a seat) for the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was created as one of nine in Sussex in 1885, since when the seat has reduced in geographic size reflecting the growth of its main settlement, Eastbourne.^{[n 1]}

The seat was re-won in 2017 by Stephen Lloyd for the Liberal Democrats; he had first won it in 2010. The 2015 election was won by a Conservative.^{[n 2]} 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).

For 94 years of the 20th Century, the seat was represented by Conservative 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 not exceeded 6.6% of the vote since the 8.9% majority won in 1992 and the seat has changed hands four times from and including the year 1992.

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 itself is on the edge of the London Commuter Belt 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.^[3]

History

Origin

This seat was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. Its territory had previously been incorporated in the East Sussex constituency, which in turn had been created with two seats by the Reform Act 1832 as a division of the medieval-founded Sussex constituency which had two seats.

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, bolstered support for the Conservative Party - since rural voters in South East England tended to be wealthier and more right-wing than urban 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%.^[4] In 2015, the seat was the 9th most marginal of the Conservative Party's 331 seats, by share of the vote.^[5]

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
• 1990 Eastbourne by-election (LD, gain), following the assassination of the Conservative MP Ian Gow by members of the Provisional IRA.

Proposal to change constituency name

In 2016, the incumbent MP Caroline Ansell, publicly floated a proposal to change the constituency name from Eastbourne to Eastbourne & Willingdon.^[6] However, the idea appeared to gain no significant public support and the MP did not formally apply to the Boundary Commission to make any change.

Election results by decade

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Eastbourne^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Caroline Ansell	26,951	48.9	4.8
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Lloyd	22,620	41.0	5.9
	Labour	Jake Lambert	3,848	7.0	1.2
	Brexit Party	Stephen Gander	1,530	2.8	New
	Independent	Ken Pollock	185	0.3	New
Majority			4,331	7.9
Turnout			55,134	69.5	3.4
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	5.3

General election 2017: Eastbourne^[8][9][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Lloyd	26,924	46.9	8.7
	Conservative	Caroline Ansell	25,315	44.1	4.5
	Labour	Jake Lambert	4,671	8.1	0.3
	Green	Alex Hough	510	0.9	1.7
Majority			1,609	2.8
Turnout			57,420	72.9	5.3
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	2.1

General election 2015: Eastbourne^[11][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Caroline Ansell	20,934	39.6	1.1
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Lloyd	20,201	38.2	9.1
	UKIP	Nigel Jones	6,139	11.6	9.1
	Labour	Jake Lambert	4,143	7.8	3.0
	Green	Andrew Durling	1,351	2.6	N/A
	Independent	Paul Howard	139	0.3	N/A
Majority			733	1.4
Turnout			52,907	67.6
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	4.0

General election 2010: Eastbourne^[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Lloyd	24,658	47.3	5.6
	Conservative	Nigel Waterson	21,223	40.7	2.3
	Labour	Dave Brinson	2,497	4.8	6.0
	Independent	Stephen Shing	1,327	2.5	N/A
	UKIP	Roger Needham	1,305	2.5	0.0
	BNP	Colin Poulter	939	1.8	N/A
	Independent	Michael Baldry	101	0.2	N/A
	Independent	Keith Gell	74	0.1	N/A
Majority			3,435	6.6
Turnout			52,124	67.0	3.8
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	4.0

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

Gwynne

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
• Liberal:

Morison

Elections in the 1900s

Beaumont

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1880s

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in East Sussex
• Boundary Commissions (United Kingdom)
• Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies

Notes and references

Notes

References

Sources

• Election result, 2005 (BBC)
• Election results, 1997-2001 (BBC)
• Election results, 1997-2001 (Election Demon)
• Election results, 1983-1992
• Election results, 1992-2005 (Guardian)
• Election results, 1950-2001 (Keele University)
• The Times House of Commons 1945. The Times. 1945.
• Iain Dale, ed. (2003). The Times House of Commons 1929, 1931, 1935. Politico's (reprint). ISBN 1-84275-033-X.
• Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.