South Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 50°34′00″N 2°27′15″W / 50.5666°N 2.4541°W / 50.5666; -2.4541

South Dorset
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of South Dorset in Dorset.
Location of Dorset within England.
County	Dorset
Electorate	73,499 (December 2010)^[1]
Major settlements	Weymouth and Swanage
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of parliament	Richard Drax (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Dorset
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South West England

South Dorset is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Richard Drax, a Conservative.^{[n 2]} The constituency was created as a consequence of the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, although the area covered has changed since then.

History

Formation

The constituency was created as a consequence of the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. The Act reduced the number of MPs.in Dorset from 10 to 4 (see Redistribution of Seats Act 1885#Redistributed seats: England). It was initially proposed to name the new constituencies after existing boroughs (Shaftesbury, Dorchester, Poole and Bridport) but, following an amendment in the Commons on 14 April 1885, the names were changed to the points of the compass (North Dorset, South Dorset, East Dorset, West Dorset).^[2]

The South Dorset constituency was divided into 7 polling districts. Dorchester was chosen as the place where the nomination of candidates would take place and the result would be declared.^[3] The area covered was:^[3]

Broadwey polling district: Bincombe, Broadwey, Buckland Ripers, Preston and Sutton Poyntz, Upwey
Chesilton polling district: Portland
Dorchester polling district: Bockhampton-cum-Stinsford, Bradford Peverell and Muckleford, Charminster, Dorchester All Saints, Dorchester Holy Trinity, Dorchester St Peter, Fordington, Stratton and Grimstone, West Knighton, West Stafford, Whitcombe, Winterborne Came, Winterborne Herringstone, Winterborne Monkton, Winterborne St Martin
Melcombe Regis polling district: Chickerell, Fleet, Melcombe Regis, Radipole, Weymouth, Wyke Regis
Poxwell polling district: Broadmayne, Osmington, Poxwell, Warmwell, Watercombe
Puddletown polling district: Affpuddle, Athelhampton, Burleston, Dewlish, Piddlehinton, Puddletown, Tincleton, Tolpuddle, Turners Puddle, Woodsford
Winfrith polling district: Chaldon Herring, Coombe Keynes, East Lulworth, Moreton, Owermoigne, West Lulworth, Winfrith Newburgh, Wool

Recent history

In the 1997 election the seat was won by Ian Bruce by a margin of only 77 votes, one of the smallest margins in the UK. The 2001 election saw the second Labour win in South Dorset's history with Labour's smallest majority in England, at 153. In the 2005 election this constituency was one of the few in which Labour significantly increased their majority. Conservative candidate Ed Matts was found to have doctored an image which was part of his campaign material. Matts changed a photo of a protest against the deportation of a South Dorset resident, so that it appeared to be a protest against "uncontrolled immigration". In both elections, the left-wing singer-songwriter Billy Bragg led an anti-Conservative tactical voting campaign in Dorset constituencies.

The 2010 election saw Conservative Richard Drax, a former soldier and journalist from a long line of Dorset representatives, defeating the incumbent Jim Knight, who ended his final year in parliament as the Minister (of State) for Employment and Welfare Reform. Richard Drax retained the seat in 2015 election with an increased majority.

Boundaries

1885–1918: The Municipal Boroughs of Dorchester, and Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, and parts of the Sessional Divisions of Dorchester and Wareham.

1918–1950: The Municipal Boroughs of Wareham, and Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, the Urban Districts of Portland and Swanage, the Rural District of Wareham and Purbeck, and the part of the Rural District of Weymouth that was not included in the Dorset West constituency (i.e. Bincombe, Broadwey, Chickerell, Fleet, Osmington, Owermoigne, Poxwell, Preston, Radipole, Upwey and Wyke Regis).

1950–1983: The Municipal Boroughs of Wareham, and Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, the Urban Districts of Portland and Swanage, the Rural District of Wareham and Purbeck, and in the Rural District of Dorchester the civil parishes of Bincombe, Chickerell, Fleet, Osmington, Owermoigne, and Poxwell.

1983–1997: The Borough of Weymouth and Portland, the District of Purbeck wards of Bere Regis, Castle, Langton, St Martin, Swanage North, Swanage South, Wareham, West Purbeck, Winfrith, and Wool, and the District of West Dorset ward of Owermoigne.

1997–2010: The Borough of Weymouth and Portland, the District of Purbeck wards of Castle, Langton, Swanage North, Swanage South, West Purbeck, Winfrith, and Wool, and the District of West Dorset ward of Owermoigne.

2010–present: The Borough of Weymouth and Portland, the District of Purbeck wards of Castle, Creech Barrow, Langton, Swanage North, Swanage South, West Purbeck, Winfrith, and Wool, and the District of West Dorset ward of Owermoigne.

Constituency profile

The seat includes the coastal areas to the south of the county of Dorset, plus some rural Purbeck territory further inland. The port of Weymouth is one of the few large towns in Dorset and its suburbs extend onto the Wyke Regis peninsula and the isle of Portland, connected to the mainland by road (and, in the past, rail).

The constituency includes Bovington army camp, and further east, Corfe Castle, connected by the preserved Swanage Railway steam railway to the holiday resort of Swanage. This part of the seat is closer to Poole and Bournemouth than to Weymouth.

Workless claimants were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.8% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.^[4]

Members of Parliament

	Member^[5]	Party
1885	Henry Parkman Sturgis	Liberal
1886	Charles J. T. Hambro^[6]	Conservative
1891 by-election	William Ernest Brymer	Conservative
1906	Thomas Scarisbrick	Liberal
1910	Angus Hambro	Conservative
1918	Angus Hambro	Coalition Conservative
1922	Robert Yerburgh	Conservative
1929	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil^[7]	Conservative
1941 by-election	Victor Montagu^[8]	Conservative
1962 by-election	Guy Barnett	Labour
1964	Evelyn King	Conservative
1979	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil	Conservative
1987	Ian Bruce	Conservative
2001	Jim Knight	Labour
2010	Richard Drax	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2017: South Dorset^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Richard Drax	29,135	56.1	+7.2
	Labour	Tashi Warr	17,440	33.6	+9.4
	Liberal Democrat	Howard Legg	3,053	5.9	−0.1
	Green	Jon Orrell	2,278	4.4	−0.3
Majority			11,695	22.5	-1.8
Turnout			51,906	68.7	+0.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 2015: South Dorset^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Richard Drax	23,756	48.7	+3.6
	Labour	Simon Bowkett	11,762	24.2	-6.1
	UKIP	Malcolm Shakesby	7,304	15.0	+11.0
	Liberal Democrat	Howard Legg	2,901	6.0	-13.0
	Green	Jane Burnet	2,275	4.7	+3.5
	Independent	Mervyn Stewkesbury	435	0.9	N/A
	Movement for Active Democracy	Andy Kirkwood	164	0.3	-0.2
Majority			11,994	24.7
Turnout			48,737	68.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 2010: South Dorset^[11]^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Richard Drax	22,667	45.1	+7.1
	Labour	Jim Knight	15,224	30.3	-11.4
	Liberal Democrat	Ros Kayes	9,557	19.0	+3.2
	UKIP	Mike Hobson	2,034	4.0	+0.8
	Green	Brian Heatley	595	1.2	+1.2
	Movement for Active Democracy	Andy Kirkwood	233	0.5	+0.5
Majority			7,443	14.8
Turnout			50,310	68.1	-1.3
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+9.3

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: South Dorset^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Jim Knight	20,231	41.6	−0.4
	Conservative	Ed Matts	18,419	37.9	−3.7
	Liberal Democrat	Graham Oakes	7,647	15.7	+1.3
	UKIP	Hugh Chalker	1,571	3.2	+1.2
	Legalise Cannabis	Vic Hamilton	282	0.6	N/A
	Respect	Berny Parkes	219	0.5	N/A
	Personality and Rational Thinking? Yes! Party	Andy Kirkwood	107	0.2	N/A
	Wessex Regionalist	Colin Bex	83	0.2	N/A
	Socialist Labour	David Marchesi	25	0.1	N/A
Majority			1,812	3.7
Turnout			48,584	68.7	+3.2
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.7

General Election 2001: South Dorset^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Jim Knight	19,027	42.0	+6.0
	Conservative	Ian Bruce	18,874	41.6	+5.5
	Liberal Democrat	Andy Canning	6,531	14.4	-5.8
	UKIP	Laurie Moss	913	2.0	+0.3
Majority			153	0.4
Turnout			45,345	65.5	-8.5
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: South Dorset^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Ian Bruce	17,755	36.10
	Labour	Jim Knight	17,678	35.94
	Liberal Democrat	Michael Plummer	9,936	20.20
	Referendum	Patrick C. McAndrew	2,791	5.68
	UKIP	Malcolm Shakesby	861	1.75
	Natural Law	Gerald T.H. Napper	161	0.33
Majority			77	0.16
Turnout				73.97
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1992: South Dorset^[16]^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Ian Bruce	29,319	50.3	−4.5
	Liberal Democrat	Brian E.J. Ellis	15,811	27.1	−0.3
	Labour	Alan Chedzoy	12,298	21.1	+3.8
	Independent	JW Hagel	673	1.2	N/A
	Natural Law	MRF Griffiths	191	0.3	N/A
Majority			13,508	23.2	−4.2
Turnout			58,292	76.9	+1.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.1

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: South Dorset^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Ian Cameron Bruce	30,184	54.84
	Liberal	Brian Eric James Ellis	15,117	27.47
	Labour	Brenda Ruth Dawn Dench	9,494	17.25
	Independent	Alistair Edwin Hayler	244	0.44
Majority			15,067	27.38
Turnout				75.55
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1983: South Dorset^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil	28,631	57.10
	Social Democratic	S.A. Head	13,533	26.99
	Labour	D.J. Hewitt	7,831	15.62
	Independent	B.O. Smith	151	0.30
Majority			15,098	30.11
Turnout				72.68
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: South Dorset
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil	32,372	55.67
	Labour	Alan Chedzoy	17,133	29.46
	Liberal	P St. J Howe	8,649	14.87
Majority			15,239	26.20
Turnout				78.33
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: South Dorset
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Evelyn King	24,351	45.88
	Labour	Alan Chedzoy	17,652	33.26
	Liberal	C Sandy	11,075	20.87
Majority			6,699	12.62
Turnout				75.38
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election February 1974: South Dorset
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Evelyn King	26,933	46.93
	Labour	Alan Chedzoy	18,318	31.92
	Liberal	DT Broomfield	12,140	21.15
Majority			8,615	15.01
Turnout				82.19
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1970: South Dorset
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Evelyn King	27,580	52.06
	Labour	Richard May	20,716	39.10
	Liberal	Keith Searby	4,680	8.83
Majority			6,864	12.96
Turnout				78.98
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: South Dorset
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Evelyn King	22,997	46.01
	Labour	Frederick W Morgan	21,120	42.26
	Liberal	Geoffrey Maxwell Goode	5,862	11.72
Majority			1,877	3.76
Turnout				81.00
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1964: South Dorset
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Evelyn King	21,209	43.66
	Labour	Guy Barnett	20,274	41.73
	Liberal	Terence Bourke	7,100	14.61
Majority			935	1.92
Turnout				81.02
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

South Dorset by-election, 1962
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Guy Barnett	13,783	33.51	-1.16
	Conservative	Angus Maude	13,079	31.79	-17.99
	Liberal	Lawrence I Norbury-Williams	8,910	21.66	+6.11
	Anti Common Market	Piers Debenham	5,057	12.29	N/A
	Independent	P. Burn	181	0.44	N/A
	Independent	M. Fudge	82	0.20	N/A
	Independent	J.C. O'Connor	45	0.11	N/A
Majority			704	1.71
Turnout			41,137
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: South Dorset
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Victor Montagu	22,050	49.78
	Labour	Conrad F Ascher	15,357	34.67
	Liberal	Lawrence I Norbury-Williams	6,887	15.55
Majority			6,693	15.11
Turnout				78.82
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1955: South Dorset
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Victor Montagu	22,119	50.71
	Labour	Frederick Newman Stacey	16,702	38.29
	Liberal	Geoffrey Maxwell Goode	4,798	11.00
Majority			5,417	12.42
Turnout				79.25
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1951: South Dorset
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Victor Montagu	21,679	48.25
	Labour	Frederick Newman Stacey	18,244	40.61
	Liberal	Wilfred Ewart Ward	5,005	11.14
Majority			3,435	7.65
Turnout				83.98
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1950: South Dorset
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Victor Montagu	20,014	45.51
	Labour	Frederick Newman Stacey	17,471	39.73
	Liberal	Wyatt Trevelyan Rawson Rawson	6,489	14.76
Majority			2,543	5.78
Turnout				84.38
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

Hinchingbrooke

General Election 1945: Dorset Southern
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Victor Montagu	14,626	42.72
	Labour	Philip Sidney Eastman	12,460	36.40
	Liberal	Wilfred Ewart Ward	7,149	20.88
Majority			2,166	6.33
Turnout				73.60
	Conservative hold		Swing

South Dorset by-election, 1941
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Victor Montagu	unopposed	n/a	n/a
	Conservative hold		Swing	n/a

General Election 1939/40:

Another general election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;

Conservative: Robert Gascoyne-Cecil
Liberal: Frederick William King
Labour: Philip Sidney Eastman

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1935: Dorset Southern
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil	17,637	57.88
	Labour	Arthur William Wiltshire	8,580	28.16
	Liberal	Frederick William King	4,255	13.96
Majority			9,057	29.72
Turnout				70.05
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1931: Dorset Southern
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil	21,284	70.73
	Labour	Arthur William Wiltshire	8,809	29.27
Majority			12,475	41.45
Turnout				73.29
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1929: Dorset South ^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil	14,632	49.2	−21.3
	Liberal	Cuthbert Plaistowe	8,168	27.4	N/A
	Labour	Arthur William Wiltshire	6,950	23.4	−6.1
Majority			6,464	21.8	−19.2
Turnout			29,750	75.5	+9.4
Registered electors			39,396
	Unionist hold		Swing	−7.6

General Election 1924: South Dorset^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Robert Yerburgh	13,900	70.5	+17.0
	Labour	W Ridson	5,821	29.5	+12.0
Majority			8,079	41.0	+15.5
Turnout			19,721	66.1	−5.5
Registered electors			29,845
	Unionist hold		Swing	+2.5

General Election 1923: South Dorset ^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Robert Yerburgh	11,057	53.5	−3.7
	Liberal	Robert Comben	5,973	29.0	+7.0
	Labour	David Wyndham Thomas	3,602	17.5	−3.3
Majority			5,084	24.5	−10.7
Turnout			20,632	71.6	−3.6
Registered electors			28,810
	Unionist hold		Swing	−5.4

General Election 1922 : South Dorset^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Robert Yerburgh	12,121	57.2	−11.2
	Liberal	Fred Maddison	4,657	22.0	N/A
	Labour	Henry Pavely	4,394	20.8	−10.8
Majority			7,464	35.2	−1.6
Turnout			21,172	75.2	+17.3
Registered electors			28,149
	Unionist hold		Swing	−0.2

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1918 South Dorset ^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Coalition Unionist	Angus Hambro	11,175	68.4	N/A
	Labour	Brette Morgan	5,159	31.6	N/A
Majority			6,016	36.8	N/A
Turnout			16,334	57.9	N/A
Registered electors			28,224
	Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

General Election December 1910 South Dorset
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Angus Hambro	Unopposed
	Unionist hold

General Election January 1910 South Dorset
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Angus Hambro	5,811
	Liberal	Thomas Scarisbrick	4,379
Majority			1,432
Turnout
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Elections in the 1900s

Tom Scarisbrick

General Election 1906 South Dorset^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Thomas Scarisbrick	5,035	53.3
	Conservative	William Brymer	4,411	46.7
Majority			624	6.6
Turnout				87.1	+4.9
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

Leslie Renton

General Election 1900 South Dorset
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	William Brymer	3,884
	Liberal	Leslie Renton	3,519
Majority			365
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1890s

General Election 1895 South Dorset
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	William Brymer	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing	n/a

William Brymer

General Election 1892 South Dorset
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	William Brymer	3,657
	Liberal	Robert Edgcumbe	3,489
Majority			168
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing

South Dorset by-election, 1891^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	William Brymer	3,284
	Liberal	Robert Edgcumbe	3,244
Majority			40
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1880s

General Election 1886 South Dorset
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Charles J. T. Hambro	3,477
	Liberal	Henry Parkman Sturgis	2,486
Majority			991
Turnout
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

General Election 1885 South Dorset
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Henry Parkman Sturgis	3,128
	Conservative	Charles J. T. Hambro	3,095
Majority			33
Turnout
	Liberal win (new seat)

Notes and references

Notes

↑ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
↑ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

References

↑ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
↑ "The Redistribution Bill". The Times. 15 April 1885. p. 6.
1 2 "Official Announcements – County of Dorset". Western Gazette. 17 July 1885. Retrieved 21 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
↑ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 2)
↑ Died 1891
↑ Called to the House of Lords, by a writ in acceleration, as Lord Cecil of Essendon in 1941
↑ Succeeded as the 10th Earl of Sandwich
↑ "General election 8 June 2017". Dorsetforyou.com. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
↑ Grainger, Tom (20 April 2010). "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll" (PDF). Acting Returning Officer. Weymouth & Portland Borough Council. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
↑ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
↑ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
↑ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
↑ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
↑ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
↑ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
↑ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
1 2 3 4 5 Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
↑ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
↑ The Constitutional Year Book, 1904, published by Conservative Central Office, page 143 (167 in web page), Dorsetshire

Sources

BBC News article on the 2001 South Dorset election

Constituencies in South West England (55)
Conservative (46)	Bournemouth East Bournemouth West Bridgwater and West Somerset Camborne and Redruth Central Devon Cheltenham Chippenham Christchurch Devizes East Devon Filton and Bradley Stoke Forest of Dean Gloucester Kingswood Mid Dorset and North Poole North Cornwall North Devon North Dorset North East Somerset North Somerset North Swindon North Wiltshire Plymouth Moor View Poole Salisbury Somerton and Frome South Dorset South East Cornwall South Swindon South West Devon South West Wiltshire St Austell and Newquay St Ives Taunton Deane Tewkesbury The Cotswolds Thornbury and Yate Tiverton and Honiton Torbay Torridge and West Devon Totnes Truro and Falmouth Wells West Dorset Weston-super-Mare Yeovil
Labour (7)	Bristol East Bristol North West Bristol South Bristol West Exeter Plymouth Sutton and Devonport Stroud
Liberal Democrats (1)	Bath
Independent (1)	Newton Abbot
South West England European constituency: Conservative (2) Green (1) Labour (1) UKIP (2)

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