West Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency)

Not to be confused with Western Division of Suffolk.

West Suffolk is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Nick Timothy, a Conservative.^{[n 2]}

West Suffolk
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundaries since
Boundary of West Suffolk in the East of England
County	Suffolk
Electorate	76,243 (2023)[1]
Major settlements	Newmarket, Haverhill and Mildenhall
Current constituency
Created	1997
Member of Parliament	Nick Timothy (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	Bury St Edmunds South Suffolk
1832–1885
Seats	Two
Type of constituency	County constituency
Created from	Suffolk
Replaced by	Bury St Edmunds (also succeeded itself) North-Western or 'Stowmarket' Division South or 'Sudbury' Division

Between 1832 and 1885 there had also been a constituency, the Western Division of Suffolk, also known as West Suffolk, although on different boundaries.

Constituency profile

This area includes a slightly older demographic profile than the national average, with a significant proportion of semi-detached and detached homes and a higher than average proportion of retired people.^[2]

Major economic sectors include defence (RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath), agriculture/food (including for major products as well as regional specialities such as ales, Suffolk cider and cured meats), tourism and leisure (such as Newmarket racecourse) and particularly in Haverhill, a range of industries. These include chemicals (such as International Flavors and Fragrances), waste processing, transport, construction and pharmaceuticals.

Workless claimants who were registered jobseekers were in November 2012 lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.5% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.^[3]

History

The seat's current version was created with Parliamentary approval of the Boundary Commission's fourth periodic review of Westminster constituencies in time for the 1997 general election.

Political history

The seat has only been represented by the Conservative Party, with the narrowest majority having been 3.8% in 1997. Since then, the Conservative majority has gradually increased to a level suggesting a safe seat for the party.

For the 2010 general election, the transition was planned six months before, on 23 November 2009, when the incumbent announced he would not stand again.^[4]

Prominent frontbenchers

Richard Spring^{[n 3]} was an opposition spokesman for Foreign Affairs (2000-2004) (shadowing a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister) then Shadow Minister for the Treasury (2004-2005), before being a vice-chairman of his party and being elevated to the House of Lords as Lord Risby. Several of his ancestors had previously represented Suffolk in the House of Commons.

Matt Hancock, Spring's successor, became a government minister, serving under various positions from 2012 until the 2015 general election, when he was promoted to the Cabinet as Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office. After a short stint outside the Cabinet between 2016 and 2018, as a minister at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Hancock rejoined the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. He was promoted in July 2018, to serve as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care; this ended in 2021, when he resigned from this position following an affair with his aide Gina Coladangelo, which at the time breached COVID-19 social distancing rules.^[5] As he had announced in December 2022, he stood down from parliament at the dissolution in advance of the 2024 United Kingdom general election.

Boundaries and boundary changes

Map of boundaries 2010–2024

1997–2010

• The District of Forest Heath; and
• The Borough of St Edmundsbury wards of Barningham, Barrow, Cangle, Castle, Chalkstone, Chevington, Clements, Honington, Horringer, Hundon, Ixworth, Kedington, Risby, St Mary's and Helions, Stanton, Wickhambrook, and Withersfield.^[6]

The new county constituency was formed primarily from the majority (including Newmarket) of the constituency of Bury St Edmunds, which was reconfigured. It was extended southwards, incorporating westernmost areas of South Suffolk, including Haverhill.

2010–2024

• The District of Forest Heath; and
• The Borough of St Edmundsbury wards of Bardwell, Barningham, Barrow, Chedburgh, Haverhill East, Haverhill North, Haverhill South, Haverhill West, Hundon, Ixworth, Kedington, Risby, Stanton, Wickhambrook, and Withersfield.^[7]

Marginal changes due to revision of local authority wards.

With effect from 1 April 2019, the District of Forest Heath and the Borough of St Edmundsbury were abolished and absorbed into the District of West Suffolk.^[8]

Current boundaries

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency is as follows (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

• The District of West Suffolk wards of: Barrow; Brandon Central; Brandon East; Brandon West; Chedburgh & Chevington; Clare, Hundon & Kedington; Exning; Haverhill Central; Haverhill East; Haverhill North; Haverhill South; Haverhill South East; Haverhill West; Horringer; Iceni; Kentford & Moulton; Lakenheath; Manor; Mildenhall Great Heath; Mildenhall Kingsway & Market; Mildenhall Queensway; Newmarket East; Newmarket North; Newmarket West; Risby; The Rows; Whepstead & Wickhambrook; Withersfield.^[9]

The four wards (Bardwell, Barningham, Ixworth and Stanton) in the north east corner of the seat were moved to the newly named constituency of Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, partly offset by small transfers in from Bury St Edmunds and South Suffolk.

The constituency includes the town of Newmarket, a global centre of horse racing, as well as the towns of Haverhill and Mildenhall, with a farmed landscape, interspersed with patches of forest^{[n 4]} and small villages.

Members of Parliament

Bury St Edmunds and South Suffolk prior to 1997

Election		Member[10]	Party
	1997	Richard Spring	Conservative
	2010	Matt Hancock	Conservative
	2022		Independent[11]
	2024		Conservative
	2024	Nick Timothy	Conservative

Elections

Election results 1997-2024

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: West Suffolk^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nick Timothy	15,814	34.3	−30.0
	Labour	Rebecca Denness	12,567	27.2	+5.0
	Reform UK	David Bull	9,623	20.8	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Henry Batchelor	4,284	9.3	+0.3
	Green	Mark Ereira-Guyer	2,910	6.3	+1.8
	Independent	Katie Parker	485	1.1	N/A
	Independent	Luke O'Brien	345	0.7	N/A
	SDP	Ivan Kinsman	133	0.3	N/A
Majority			3,247	7.1	−35.1
Turnout			46,331	60.1	−4.6
Registered electors			77,149
	Conservative hold		Swing	−17.5

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result[13]
Party		Vote	%
	Conservative	31,738	64.3
	Labour	10,941	22.2
	Liberal Democrats	4,462	9.0
	Green	2,199	4.5
Turnout		49,340	64.7
Electorate		76,243

General election 2019: West Suffolk^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Matt Hancock	33,842	65.8	+4.6
	Labour	Claire Unwin	10,648	20.7	−7.5
	Liberal Democrats	Elfreda Tealby-Watson	4,685	9.1	+4.9
	Green	Donald Allwright	2,262	4.4	+2.6
Majority			23,194	45.1	+12.1
Turnout			51,437	64.1	−2.8
Registered electors			80,192		+3.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+6.1

General election 2017: West Suffolk^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Matt Hancock	31,649	61.2	+9.0
	Labour	Michael Jefferys	14,586	28.2	+10.7
	UKIP	Julian Flood	2,396	4.6	−17.1
	Liberal Democrats	Elfreda Tealby-Watson	2,180	4.2	−0.8
	Green	Donald Allwright	935	1.8	−1.8
Majority			17,063	33.0	+2.5
Turnout			51,746	66.9	+2.3
Registered electors			77,348
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.9

General election 2015: West Suffolk^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Matt Hancock	25,684	52.2	+1.6
	UKIP	Julian Flood[17]	10,700	21.7	+15.3
	Labour	Michael Jefferys	8,604	17.5	+2.8
	Liberal Democrats	Elfreda Tealby-Watson[18]	2,465	5.0	−18.4
	Green	Niall Pettitt[19]	1,779	3.6	N/A
Majority			14,984	30.5	+3.3
Turnout			49,232	64.6	−0.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−6.9

General election 2010: West Suffolk^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Matt Hancock	24,312	50.6	+1.7
	Liberal Democrats	Belinda Brooks-Gordon	11,262	23.4	+6.2
	Labour	Ohid Ahmed	7,089	14.7	−14.2
	UKIP	Ian Smith	3,085	6.4	+1.5
	BNP	Ramon Johns	1,428	3.0	N/A
	Independent	Andrew Appleby	540	1.1	N/A
	CPA	Colin Young	373	0.8	N/A
Majority			13,050	27.2	+7.0
Turnout			48,089	64.7	+3.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.3

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: West Suffolk^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Spring	21,682	49.0	+1.4
	Labour	Michael Jeffreys	12,773	28.9	−8.6
	Liberal Democrats	Adrian Graves	7,573	17.1	+5.3
	UKIP	Ian Smith	2,177	4.9	+1.8
Majority			8,909	20.1	+10.0
Turnout			44,205	60.7	+0.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.0

General election 2001: West Suffolk^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Spring	20,201	47.6	+6.7
	Labour	Michael Jefferys	15,906	37.5	+0.4
	Liberal Democrats	Robin Martlew	5,017	11.8	−2.2
	UKIP	Will Burrows	1,321	3.1	N/A
Majority			4,295	10.1	+6.3
Turnout			42,445	60.5	−11.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.1

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: West Suffolk^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Spring	20,081	40.9
	Labour	Michael Jefferys	18,214	37.1
	Liberal Democrats	Adrian Graves	6,892	14.0
	Referendum	James Carver	3,724	7.6
	Natural Law	Alistair Shearer	171	0.3
Majority			1,867	3.8
Turnout			49,082	71.5
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Suffolk
• List of parliamentary constituencies in the East of England (region)

Notes

1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. 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.
3. Previously MP for the Bury St Edmunds seat
4. For example Thetford Forest, synonymous with Breckland.

References

1. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – Eastern". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
2. "Local statistics". Office for National Statistics.
3. Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
4. So Long and Farewell, Richard Spring Blog
5. Lawrence, Felicity (1 December 2021). "Pressure on Hancock over pub landlord's Covid deal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
6. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
7. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
8. "The West Suffolk (Local Government Changes) Order 2018".
9. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part 2 Eastern region.
10. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 6)
11. "Matt Hancock suspended as Tory MP for joining I'm a Celeb cast". BBC News. November 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
12. "West Suffolk - General Election Results". BBC News. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
13. "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
14. "Suffolk West Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
15. "West Suffolk - 2017 Election Results - General Elections Online". electionresults.parliament.uk. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
16. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
17. "Haverhill councillor reveals hopes for West Suffolk following selection as constituency candidate". Cambridge News. Archived from the original on 19 January 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
18. "General Election 2015 Candidates - Liberal Democrats". Archived from the original on 13 April 2014.
19. "Green Party announces a full slate of seven parliamentary candidates for Suffolk". midsuffolk.greenparty.org.uk.
20. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
21. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
22. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
23. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

External links

• West Suffolk UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
• West Suffolk UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
• West Suffolk UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK

52.25°N 0.54°E / 52.25; 0.54