Ely and East Cambridgeshire

Ely and East Cambridgeshire is a rural constituency located in Cambridgeshire. Its largest settlement is the small cathedral city of Ely, which has a population of around 19,000.^[3] Other settlements include the towns of Soham and Littleport and the villages of Sutton-in-the-Isle, Cottenham, Milton and Burwell. Ely is the seat of a diocese and was historically an island in the Fens, an area of marshland which was drained in the 18th and 19th centuries. Deprivation in the constituency is low and the area is generally affluent.^[4] House prices are higher than the national average.^[5]

In general, residents are older, well-educated and more likely to work in professional occupations compared to the rest of the country. Household income is high. White people made up 94% of the population at the 2021 census.^[5] At the local council level, most of the constituency is represented by Liberal Democrats, although Conservatives were elected in Soham and Littleport. An estimated 51% of voters in the constituency supported remaining in the European Union in the 2016 referendum compared to 48% nationwide.^[5]

The constituency was created by the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies and was first contested at the 2024 general election. It is composed of the following:

• The District of East Cambridgeshire

• The District of South Cambridgeshire wards of Cottenham, and Milton & Waterbeach.^[6]

The bulk of the electorate, including the city of Ely and the town of Soham, was derived from about two-thirds of the abolished constituency of South East Cambridgeshire, with the addition of areas from North East Cambridgeshire (Littleport, Sutton-in-the-Isle and Downham Villages) and South Cambridgeshire (Cottenham).

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Cambridgeshire