18-817: South Dorset is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Lloyd Hatton , of the Labour Party. 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 in England, 1885 ). It was initially proposed to name the new constituencies after existing boroughs (Shaftesbury, Dorchester, Poole and Bridport) but, following an amendment in
36-528: 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
54-477: 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
72-593: A reduction of 13 seats. Primary legislation provides for the independence of the boundary commissions for each of the four parts of the UK, the number of seats for each of the countries, permissible factors to use in departing from any old boundaries, and a strong duty to consult. The Fifth Review was governed by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act of 1986 . Under the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 , as amended by
90-637: A sixth of Scotland, to the densely-populated London constituency of Islington North . As of the 2024 election there are 543 constituencies in England, 32 in Wales, 57 in Scotland and 18 in Northern Ireland. The "Region" of the table refers to the NUTS 1 statistical region of England , which coincides with the former European Parliament constituency in which the constituency was included until 31 January 2020. Following
108-560: Is no smaller than 69,724 and no larger than 77,062. The exceptions to this rule are five 'protected' constituencies for island areas: Orkney and Shetland , Na h-Eileanan an Iar , Ynys Mon , and two constituencies on the Isle of Wight . These consequently have smaller electorates than the lower limit for other constituencies. As the number of electors in each constituency is similar, the constituencies themselves vary considerably in area, ranging in 2019 from Ross, Skye and Lochaber , which occupies
126-528: The 2010 general election after proposals made by the boundary commissions for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies ) were adopted through statutory instruments . Constituencies in Scotland remained unchanged, as the Boundary Commission for Scotland had completed a review just before the 2005 general election , which had resulted in
144-633: The Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020 , the number of MPs is now fixed at 650. The Sainte-Laguë formula method is used to form groups of seats split between the four parts of the United Kingdom and the English regions (as defined by the NUTS 1 statistical regions of England ). The table below gives the number of eligible voters broken down by constituent country, including the average constituency size in each country. As of 2023, every recommended constituency must have an electorate as at 2 March 2020 that
162-462: The Commons on 14 April 1885, the names were changed to the points of the compass (North Dorset, South Dorset, East Dorset, West Dorset). 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. The area covered was: In the 1997 election the seat was won by Ian Bruce by
180-918: 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. 2010–2024 : 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. 2024–present : The District of Dorset wards of Chickerell , Crossways , Littlemoor & Preston , Melcombe Regis , Portland , Radipole , Rodwell & Wyke , South East Purbeck , Swanage , Upwey & Broadwey , polling districts WPU1 and WPU4 through to WPU13 in West Purbeck , and Westham Minor changes following re-organisation of local authorities and wards in Dorset. The seat includes
198-530: 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,
SECTION 10
#1732852638279216-542: The United Kingdom currently has 650 parliamentary constituencies across the constituent countries ( England , Scotland , Wales , and Northern Ireland ), each electing a single member of parliament (MP) to the House of Commons by the plurality ( first-past-the-post ) voting system, ordinarily every five years. Voting last took place in all 650 of those constituencies at the United Kingdom general election on 4 July 2024 . The number of seats rose from 646 to 650 at
234-548: 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,
252-538: The abandonment of the Sixth Periodic Review (the 2018 review), the Boundary Commissions formally launched the 2023 Review on 5 January 2021 and published their final proposals on 28 June 2023. See 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies and List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies (2024–present) by region for further details. Melcombe Regis (ward) Melcombe Regis
270-456: 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
288-831: 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; 50°34′00″N 2°27′15″W / 50.5666°N 2.4541°W / 50.5666; -2.4541 List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies King Charles III [REDACTED] William, Prince of Wales [REDACTED] Charles III ( King-in-Council ) [REDACTED] Starmer ministry ( L ) Keir Starmer ( L ) Angela Rayner ( L ) ( King-in-Parliament ) [REDACTED] Charles III [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Lord Reed The Lord Hodge Andrew Bailey Monetary Policy Committee The Parliament of
306-632: 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. The 2024 election saw Labour candidate Lloyd Hatton defeat Richard Drax. 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,
324-483: 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 . General Election 1939–40 : Another general election was required to take place before
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