Bexhill and Battle (UK Parliament constituency)

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Coordinates: 50°53′10″N 0°28′12″E / 50.886°N 0.470°E / 50.886; 0.470

Bexhill and Battle
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Bexhill and Battle in East Sussex
Location of East Sussex within England
County	East Sussex
Population	100,727 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate	78,602 (December 2010)[2]
Major settlements	Battle, Bexhill
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of Parliament	Huw Merriman (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Eastbourne and Rye[3]

Bexhill and Battle (/ˈbɛkshɪl/) is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Huw Merriman of the Conservative Party.^{[n 2]}

Constituency profile[]

The constituency is predominantly rural, like Wealden to the west. The main towns are the shingle-beach resort of Bexhill-on-Sea and the historic town of Battle which has a largely Georgian and Victorian core.

Notable representative[]

The seat's first MP, Charles Wardle, served as a junior Home Office minister in the government of John Major; Wardle had the Conservative whip removed shortly before the 2001 general election. The seat was held by Gregory Barker 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.^[4]

Political history[]

At the 2015 general election, Huw Merriman 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.^[5]

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 in East Sussex.

Members of Parliament[]

Election	Member[6]	Party
1983	Charles Wardle		Conservative
2001			Independent
2001	Gregory Barker		Conservative
2015	Huw Merriman		Conservative

Elections[]

Elections in the 2010s[]

General election 2019: Bexhill & Battle^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Huw Merriman	37,590	63.6	+1.6
	Labour	Christine Bayliss	11,531	19.5	−5.2
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Saunders	7,280	12.3	+4.8
	Green	Jonathan Kent	2,692	4.6	+2.2
Majority			26,059	44.1	+6.8
Turnout			59,093	72.1	−1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.4

General election 2017: Bexhill & Battle

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Huw Merriman	36,854	62.0	+7.2
	Labour	Christine Bayliss	14,689	24.7	+10.6
	Liberal Democrats	Joel Kemp	4,485	7.5	−0.1
	UKIP	Geoffrey Bastin	2,006	3.4	−15.0
	Green	Jonathan Kent	1,438	2.4	−2.7
Majority			22,165	37.3	+0.9
Turnout			59,472	73.1	+3.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.7

General election 2015: Bexhill and Battle^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Huw Merriman[9]	30,245	54.8	+3.2
	UKIP	Geoffrey Bastin [10]	10,170	18.4	New
	Labour	Michelle Thew [10]	7,797	14.1	+2.1
	Liberal Democrats	Rachel Sadler [10]	4,199	7.6	−20.4
	Green	Jonathan Kent	2,807	5.1	New
Majority			20,075	36.4	+12.8
Turnout			55,218	70.1	+1.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

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.

General election 2010: Bexhill and Battle^[11][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gregory Barker	28,147	51.6	−2.6
	Liberal Democrats	Mary Varrall	15,267	28.0	+5.3
	Labour	James Royston	6,524	12.0	−5.9
	Trust	Stuart Wheeler	2,699	4.9	New
	BNP	Neil Jackson	1,950	3.6	New
Majority			12,880	23.6	−7.9
Turnout			54,587	68.9	+2.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.0

Elections in the 2000s[]

General election 2005: Bexhill and Battle^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gregory Barker	24,629	52.6	+4.5
	Liberal Democrats	Mary Varrall	11,180	23.9	−0.8
	Labour	Michael Jones	8,457	18.1	−1.3
	UKIP	Anthony Smith	2,568	5.5	-2.3
Majority			13,449	28.7	+5.3
Turnout			46,834	67.2	+2.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.7

General election 2001: Bexhill and Battle^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gregory Barker	21,555	48.1	0.0
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Hardy	11,052	24.7	−0.8
	Labour	Anne Moore-Williams	8,702	19.4	+1.3
	UKIP	Nigel Farage	3,474	7.8	+6.2
Majority			10,503	23.4	+0.8
Turnout			44,783	64.9	−9.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.4

Elections in the 1990s[]

General election 1997: Bexhill and Battle^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Wardle	23,570	48.1	−12.2
	Liberal Democrats	Kathryn M. Field	12,470	25.5	−3.4
	Labour	Robert D. Beckwith	8,866	18.1	+8.7
	Referendum	Vanessa Thompson	3,302	6.7	New
	UKIP	John Pankhurst	786	1.6	New
Majority			11,100	22.6	-8.8
Turnout			48,994	74.5	-4.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.4

General election 1992: Bexhill and Battle^[16][17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Wardle	31,380	60.3	−6.2
	Liberal Democrats	Susan M. Prochak	15,023	28.9	+3.1
	Labour	Frank W. Taylor	4,883	9.4	+1.7
	Green	Jonathan L. Prus	594	1.1	New
	Independent	Mary F. Smith	190	0.4	New
Majority			16,357	31.4	−9.3
Turnout			52,070	79.1	+1.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.6

Elections in the 1980s[]

General election 1987: Bexhill and Battle^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Wardle	33,570	66.5	−0.8
	SDP	Robert Kiernan	13,051	25.8	+2.3
	Labour	Derek Watts	3,903	7.7	−0.3
Majority			20,519	40.7	-3.1
Turnout			50,524	77.4	+4.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.6

General election 1983: Bexhill and Battle^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Wardle	30,329	67.3
	Liberal	Paul Smith	10,583	23.5
	Labour	Ian Pearson	3,587	8.0
	Ecology	Anne Rix	538	1.2
Majority			19,746	43.8
Turnout			45,037	72.9
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also[]

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in East Sussex

Notes and references[]

Notes

References

Sources[]

• Election result, 2005 (BBC)
• Election results, 1997 – 2001 (BBC)
• Election results, 1997 – 2001 Archived 2020-01-21 at the Wayback Machine (Election Demon)
• Election results, 1983 – 1992^{[permanent dead link]} (Election Demon) (Result is incorrect for 1992)
• Election results, 1992 – 2005 (Guardian)