Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (UK Parliament constituency)

Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (Contemp. RP) /ˈbɒɡnə ɹʷiːd͡ʒɪs ænd lɪtl̩hæmptn̩/, /-æmtn̩/ is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Nick Gibb, a Conservative.[n 2]

Bognor Regis and Littlehampton
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Bognor Regis and Littlehampton in West Sussex for the 2010 general election
Location of West Sussex within England
CountyWest Sussex
Population98,433 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate70,535 (December 2010)[2]
Major settlementsBognor Regis, Felpham and Littlehampton
Current constituency
Created1997
Member of ParliamentNick Gibb (Conservative)
Number of membersOne
Created fromArundel

Boundaries and constituency profile

1997–2010: The District of Arun wards of Aldwick East, Aldwick West, Bersted, Felpham East, Felpham West, Hotham, Littlehampton Beach, Littlehampton Central, Littlehampton Ham, Littlehampton River, Littlehampton Wick, Marine, Middleton on Sea, Orchard, Pagham, and Pevensey.

2010–present: The District of Arun wards of Aldwick East, Aldwick West, Beach, Bersted, Brookfield, Felpham East, Felpham West, Ham, Hotham, Marine, Middleton-on-Sea, Orchard, Pagham and Rose Green, Pevensey, River, Wick with Toddington, and Yapton.

The constituency is elongated along the south coast of England. It includes the towns of Bognor Regis and Littlehampton.

The constituency has a diverse economy. Small-scale agriculture, manufacturing, and trades make up most of the local economy, supplemented by services and tourism.

The population of the constituency is a mixture of young families, supporting the constituency's sporting facilities, public services, golf courses and general domestic spending. People in retirement are also a notable demographic, who have moved to the coast from London and other British urban areas to live by the South Coast of England.

The proportion of social housing is lower than the UK average.[3]

History

Political history

The vote share and majority for the Conservative MP, Nick Gibb, who won the first six general elections in this seat, has grown since 2001, to reach over 17,000 votes.

At the first three general elections, the Labour Party candidate was runner-up, notably denting Gibb's winning margin to 5,632 votes in 2001. In 2010, the Liberal Democrat candidate took second place, more than 4,000 votes ahead of Labour and 13,063 short of Gibb's total. Mirroring nationwide performance, the Lib Dem vote share fell in 2015, whilst the UKIP vote share rose in this constituency, becoming the runner-up, but 13,944 votes short of Gibb's tally.

In June 2016, an estimated 64.8% of local adults voting in the EU membership referendum voted to Leave the European Union. This was matched in two January 2018 votes in Parliament by MP Nick Gibb.[4]

In 2017, Labour's candidate of 2015 was reselected to stand and took second place.

The year 2017 saw an independent candidate, Paul Sanderson, the chaplain of The Littlehampton Academy come within 1% of retaining his political deposit and ahead of the UKIP and Green candidates.

Gibb was re-elected for a seventh time in 2019, with an increased majority of 22,503 votes and a vote share of 63.5%.

Contents and regional context

The seat was created from the western, more populous part of the Arundel seat on its 1997 abolition. Before the latter's creation in 1974, Bognor Regis was part of the Chichester seat and Littlehampton part of the Arundel and Shoreham seat.

Notable representatives

Since its creation, the seat has been represented by Nick Gibb of the Conservative Party. Gibb had worked for the party for over ten years, and became an MP at his third attempt. After thirteen years in opposition, he joined David Cameron's coalition government after the 2010 general election, becoming Minister of State for School Standards, working under Education Secretary Michael Gove. He left the government in a 2012 reshuffle, being replaced by David Laws. He then returned to the same department, now run by Nicky Morgan, as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Childcare, Education and School Reform in 2014. The following year, he again took up his previous post, which he has now held under three Prime Ministers (Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson) and five Education Secretaries (Gove, Morgan, Justine Greening, Damian Hinds and Gavin Williamson).

Members of Parliament
ElectionMember[5] Party
1997 Nick Gibb Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s
General election 2019: Bognor Regis and Littlehampton [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nick Gibb 32,521 63.5 +4.5
Labour Alan Butcher 10,018 19.6 -5.3
Liberal Democrats Francis Oppler 5,645 11.0 +4.5
Green Carol Birch 1,826 3.6 +1.6
UKIP David Kurten 846 1.7 -2.0
Independent Andrew Elston 367 0.7 N/A
Majority 22,503 43.9 9.9
Turnout 51,223 66.1 1.6
Conservative hold Swing 4.9
General election 2017: Bognor Regis and Littlehampton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nick Gibb 30,276 59.0 +7.6
Labour Alan Butcher 12,782 24.9 +11.1
Liberal Democrats Francis Oppler 3,352 6.5 -2.5
Independent Paul Sanderson 2,088 4.1 N/A
UKIP Patrick Lowe 1,861 3.6 -18.1
Green Andrew Bishop 993 1.9 -2.2
Majority 17,494 34.1 +4.5
Turnout 51,352 67.7 +3.2
Conservative hold Swing -1.75
See also: Opinion polling in United Kingdom constituencies, 2010–15 § Bognor Regis and Littlehampton
General election 2015: Bognor Regis and Littlehampton[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nick Gibb 24,185 51.3 −0.1
UKIP Graham Jones 10,241 21.7 +15.3
Labour Alan Butcher 6,508 13.8 −0.2
Liberal Democrats Francis Oppler 4,240 9.0 −14.5
Green Simon McDougall 1,942 4.1 +4.1
Majority 13,944 29.6 +1.7
Turnout 47,116 64.5 -1.7
Conservative hold Swing
General election 2010: Bognor Regis and Littlehampton[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nick Gibb 24,087 51.4 +6.8
Liberal Democrats Simon McDougall 11,024 23.5 +1.6
Labour Michael Jones 6,580 14.0 −11.4
UKIP Douglas Denny 3,036 6.5 −1.5
BNP Andrew Moffat 1,890 4.0 N/A
Independent Melissa Briggs 235 0.5 N/A
Majority 13,063 27.9 +8.7
Turnout 46,852 66.2 +3.1
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 2000s
General election 2005: Bognor Regis and Littlehampton[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nick Gibb 18,183 44.6 −0.6
Labour George O'Neill 10,361 25.4 −5.3
Liberal Democrats Simon McDougall 8,927 21.9 +4.3
UKIP Adrian Lithgow 3,276 8.0 +3.4
Majority 7,822 19.2 +4.7
Turnout 40,747 62.1 +3.9
Conservative hold Swing +2.3
General election 2001: Bognor Regis and Littlehampton[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nick Gibb 17,602 45.2 +1.0
Labour George O’Neill 11,959 30.7 +2.2
Liberal Democrats Pamela Peskett 6,846 17.6 −6.4
UKIP George Stride 1,779 4.6 +1.3
Green Lilius Cheyne 782 2.0 N/A
Majority 5,643 14.5 -1.3
Turnout 38,968 58.2 −11.4
Conservative hold Swing −0.6

Elections in the 1990s
General election 1997: Bognor Regis and Littlehampton[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nick Gibb 20,537 44.2 −12.6
Labour Roger A. Nash 13,216 28.5 +15.0
Liberal Democrats James M.M. Walsh 11,153 24.0 −2.7
UKIP George Stride 1,537 3.3 N/A
Majority 7,321 15.8 N/A
Turnout 46,443 69.6 N/A
Conservative hold Swing −13.8

See also

Notes and references
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.
References
  1. "Bognor Regis and Littlehampton: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  2. "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  3. "Local statistics - Office for National Statistics". neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk.
  4. https://www.theyworkforyou.com/divisions/pw-2018-01-17-104-commons/mp/10241
  5. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 4)
  6. http://www.arun.gov.uk/download.cfm?doc=docm93jijm4n14617.pdf&ver=14967
  7. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  8. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  9. Arun District Council Archived August 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  10. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  11. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  12. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
Sources
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