Crawley (constituency)
UK Parliament constituency (since 1983)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Crawley is a constituency[n 1] in West Sussex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Peter Lamb of the Labour Party.[n 2]
| Crawley | |
|---|---|
| Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
 Interactive map of boundaries from 1997 | |
Boundary of Crawley in South East England | |
| County | West Sussex |
| Electorate | 74,446 (2023)[1] |
| Major settlements | Crawley |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 1983 |
| Member of Parliament | Peter Lamb (Labour) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Horsham and Crawley and Mid Sussex[2] |
Constituency profile
The Crawley constituency is located in West Sussex. It covers the large town of Crawley and is coterminous with its borough. Traditionally a rural market town, Crawley grew rapidly after World War II when it was designated as a new town to accommodate the London overspill. The constituency includes Gatwick Airport, the country's second-busiest airport and a significant local employer.[3] Deprivation in the town is above average,[4] particularly in the neighbourhoods of Broadfield and Bewbush, whilst the village of Worth is in the 10% least-deprived areas of England.[5]
On average, residents of Crawley are young and have low levels of education and professional employment compared to nationwide figures.[4] In the 2021 census, 73% of residents were White. Asians formed the largest ethnic minority group at 15%, concentrated in the Langley Green area where they made up around a third of the population.[6] At the local council level, most of the town is represented by Labour Party councillors whilst the wealthier areas in the south-east of the town elected Conservatives. An estimated 58% of voters in Crawley favoured leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, a higher percentage than the country as a whole (52%).[4]
Boundaries
1983–1997: The Borough of Crawley, and the District of Mid Sussex wards of Balcombe, Copthorne and Worth, Crawley Down, Slaugham, and Turners Hill.
1997–present: The Borough of Crawley.
The Boundary Commission analysed population increase and recommended that changes to the constituency be made for the 2010 general election so the seat is now coterminous with the borough.
The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies left the boundaries unchanged.[7]
History
Contents and context
Before the 1983 general election, Crawley had been part of the Horsham & Crawley, Horsham, and Horsham & Worthing constituencies at times. Due to the growth of Crawley, which was a small town, into a substantial new town in the 1960s and 70s, the Boundary Commission took the decision to separate it from Horsham in 1983 and create a new seat.
Political history
The constituency of Crawley is a bellwether seat, having elected an MP from the Party which won each general election since its creation in 1983. Its first MP was Conservative Nicholas Soames, a grandson of former prime minister Sir Winston Churchill. Having been re-elected in 1987 and 1992, he stood down for the 1997 election and was selected for and won the neighbouring seat of Mid Sussex, which he continued to represent until his retirement in 2019.
The seat was subsequently won by Laura Moffatt of the Labour Party with 'safe' majorities in 1997 and 2001. Labour retained the seat with the most marginal result in 2005 with a margin of only 37 votes.
In the 2010 election Conservative, Henry Smith, won the seat having twice failed, by 5,928 votes. He gained a not unprecedented (averaged two-party) swing of 6.3%.[8] Smith's later majorities have been 6,526 in 2015; and 2,459 in 2017, elections where the Liberal Democrats, Scepanovic, along with the 2017 candidate for East Worthing and Shoreham in West Sussex lost their deposits by failing to attract 5% of the vote. In 2019, the Liberal Democrat Candidate, Khalil Yousuf increased the Liberal Democrat vote share by 1.7% against the last election, keeping their deposit.[9]
Smith won again in 2019 with an increased majority over Labour candidate Peter Lamb. In 2024, Smith stood down and Lamb captured the seat after the Conservative vote more than halved.
Members of Parliament
Horsham & Crawley and Mid Sussex prior to 1983
| Election | Member[10] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Nicholas Soames | Conservative | |
| 1997 | Laura Moffatt | Labour | |
| 2010 | Henry Smith | Conservative | |
| 2024 | Peter Lamb | Labour | |
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Peter Lamb | 17,453 | 38.2 | +0.8 | |
| Conservative | Zack Ali | 12,218 | 26.8 | −27.4 | |
| Reform | Tim Charters | 8,447 | 18.5 | N/A | |
| Green | Iain Dickson | 2,621 | 5.7 | +2.8 | |
| Workers Party | Linda Bamieh | 2,407 | 5.3 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Lee Gibbs | 2,205 | 4.8 | −0.7 | |
| TUSC | Robin Burnham | 153 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Heritage | Dan Weir | 138 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Majority | 5,235 | 11.5 | −5.3 | ||
| Turnout | 45,642 | 59.6 | −7.4 | ||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +14.1 | |||
Elections in the 2010s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Henry Smith | 27,040 | 54.2 | +3.6 | |
| Labour | Peter Lamb | 18,680 | 37.4 | −8.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Khalil Yousuf | 2,728 | 5.5 | +1.8 | |
| Green | Iain Dickson | 1,451 | 2.9 | New | |
| Majority | 8,360 | 16.8 | +11.9 | ||
| Turnout | 49,899 | 67.2 | −1.3 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +5.9 | |||
The Brexit Party announced Wayne Bayley as their candidate, but he was withdrawn as part of the UK-wide Brexit Party decision not to oppose sitting Conservative candidates.[13]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Henry Smith[14] | 25,426 | 50.6 | +3.6 | |
| Labour | Tim Lunnon | 22,969 | 45.7 | +12.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Marko Scepanovic | 1,878 | 3.7 | +0.9 | |
| Majority | 2,457 | 4.9 | −8.5 | ||
| Turnout | 50,273 | 68.5 | +2.8 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | -4.25 | |||
The Green Party announced Richard Kail as their candidate, but he did not stand. UKIP also decided not to stand a candidate for the first time since 1997.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Henry Smith[14] | 22,829 | 47.0 | +2.2 | |
| Labour | Chris Oxlade [14] | 16,303 | 33.6 | +1.3 | |
| UKIP | Christopher Brown[16] | 6,979 | 14.4 | +11.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Sarah Osborne[17] | 1,339 | 2.8 | −11.6 | |
| Green | Guy Hudson[18] | 1,100 | 2.3 | +1.0 | |
| Majority | 6,526 | 13.4 | +0.9 | ||
| Turnout | 48,550 | 65.7 | +0.4 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +0.5 | |||
The Christian Peoples Alliance announced Katherine Mills as candidate,[19] but she did not stand.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Henry Smith | 21,264 | 44.8 | +5.8 | |
| Labour | Chris Oxlade | 15,336 | 32.3 | −6.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | John Vincent | 6,844 | 14.4 | −1.1 | |
| BNP | Richard Trower | 1,672 | 3.5 | +0.5 | |
| UKIP | Chris French | 1,382 | 2.9 | +0.7 | |
| Green | Phil Smith | 598 | 1.3 | New | |
| Justice Party | Arshad Khan | 265 | 0.6 | +0.1 | |
| Independent | Andrew Hubner | 143 | 0.3 | New | |
| Majority | 5,928 | 12.5 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 47,504 | 65.3 | +6.9 | ||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +6.3 | |||
Elections in the 2000s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Laura Moffatt | 16,411 | 39.1 | −10.2 | |
| Conservative | Henry Smith | 16,374 | 39.0 | +6.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Rupert Sheard | 6,503 | 15.5 | +2.8 | |
| BNP | Richard Trower | 1,277 | 3.0 | New | |
| UKIP | Ronald Walters | 935 | 2.2 | −0.7 | |
| Democratic Socialist Alliance – People Before Profit | Robin Burnham | 263 | 0.6 | New | |
| Justice Party | Arshad Khan | 210 | 0.5 | −0.2 | |
| Majority | 37 | 0.1 | −17.0 | ||
| Turnout | 41,973 | 58.4 | +3.2 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | −8.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Laura Moffatt | 19,488 | 49.3 | −5.8 | |
| Conservative | Henry Smith | 12,718 | 32.2 | +0.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Linda Seekings | 5,009 | 12.7 | +4.5 | |
| UKIP | Brian Galloway | 1,137 | 2.9 | +2.3 | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Claire Staniford | 383 | 1.0 | New | |
| Justice Party | Arshad Khan | 271 | 0.7 | +0.2 | |
| Socialist Labour | Karl Stewart | 260 | 0.7 | New | |
| Socialist Alliance | Muriel Hirsch | 251 | 0.6 | New | |
| Majority | 6,770 | 17.1 | −6.2 | ||
| Turnout | 39,517 | 55.2 | −17.7 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | −3.1 | |||
Elections in the 1990s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Laura Moffatt | 27,750 | 55.1 | +14.7 | |
| Conservative | Josephine Crabb | 16,043 | 31.8 | −12.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Harold De Souza | 4,141 | 8.2 | −6.3 | |
| Referendum | Ronald Walters | 1,931 | 3.8 | New | |
| UKIP | Eric Saunders | 322 | 0.6 | New | |
| Justice Party | Arshad Khan | 230 | 0.5 | New | |
| Majority | 11,707 | 23.3 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 50,417 | 72.9 | −6.3 | ||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +13.4 | |||
This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1992 and 1997 general
elections and thus change in share of vote is based on a notional calculation.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Nicholas Soames | 30,204 | 48.8 | −0.7 | |
| Labour | Laura Moffatt | 22,439 | 36.2 | +7.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Gordon Seekings | 8,558 | 13.8 | −7.7 | |
| Green | Mark Wilson | 766 | 1.2 | New | |
| Majority | 7,765 | 12.6 | −7.9 | ||
| Turnout | 61,967 | 79.2 | +2.1 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −4.0 | |||
Elections in the 1980s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Nicholas Soames | 29,259 | 49.5 | +1.4 | |
| Labour | Paul Leo | 17,121 | 29.0 | +2.8 | |
| SDP | David Simmons | 12,674 | 21.5 | −4.2 | |
| Majority | 12,138 | 20.5 | −1.4 | ||
| Turnout | 59,054 | 77.1 | +0.7 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −0.7 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Nicholas Soames | 25,963 | 48.1 | ||
| Labour | Leslie Allen | 14,149 | 26.2 | ||
| SDP | Tom Forrester | 13,900 | 25.7 | ||
| Majority | 11,814 | 21.9 | |||
| Turnout | 54,012 | 76.4 | |||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
See also
Notes
- A borough 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.