Glastonbury and Somerton

Glastonbury and Somerton is a large rural constituency located in Somerset. The western part of the constituency lies within the Somerset Levels, a coastal plain and wetland area. The constituency is named after the small towns of Glastonbury and Somerton, although its largest settlement is the village of Street, which has a population of around 13,000.^[4] Other settlements include the small towns of Wincanton, Langport, Castle Cary and Bruton and the villages of Curry Rivel, Martock and Milborne Port. Glastonbury is a historic town known for its ruined abbey and the legends surrounding Glastonbury Tor. The town is perhaps best known for Glastonbury Festival, the world's largest green-field music festival,^[5] although it takes place outside the constituency boundaries. Most of the constituency is agricultural, and Wincanton has a large dairy industry.^[6][7] The constituency has average levels of deprivation and house prices are similar to the national average.^[8][9]

In general, residents are older and have average levels of education, income and professional employment compared to the rest of the country. White people made up 97% of the population at the 2021 census.^[9] At the county council, most of the constituency is represented by Liberal Democrats, although Conservatives were elected in Wincanton and Bruton. An estimated 53% of voters in the constituency supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, similar to the nationwide figure of 52%.^[9]

In its coverage of the 2024 general election, the BBC had calculated that the changed boundaries made the new seat notionally Conservative; thus, when Sarah Dyke won the seat during the election, her victory was categorised as "Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative".^[10]

Under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the constituency was defined as being composed of the following as they existed on 1 December 2020:

• The District of Mendip wards of: Butleigh and Baltonsborough; Glastonbury St. Benedict’s; Glastonbury St. Edmund’s; Glastonbury St. John’s; Glastonbury St. Mary’s; Street North; Street South; Street West.
• The District of South Somerset wards of: Blackmoor Vale; Bruton; Burrow Hill; Camelot; Cary; Curry Rivel, Huish & Langport; Hamdon; Islemoor; Martock; Milborne Port; Northstone, Ivelchester & St. Michael’s; Tower; Turn Hill; Wessex; Wincanton.^[11]

With effect from 1 April 2023, the Districts of Mendip and South Somerset were abolished and absorbed into the new unitary authority of Somerset.^[12] Consequently, the constituency now comprises the following electoral divisions of Somerset from the 2024 general election:

• Castle Cary; Curry Rivel and Langport; Glastonbury; Martock; Somerton; Street; Wincanton and Bruton; and small parts of Brympton, Coker, Mendip South, and South Petherton and Islemoor.^[13]

The seat is made up of the following areas of Somerset:^[13]

• Majority of the former Somerton and Frome constituency, including the communities of Bruton, Castle Cary, Langport, Martock, Somerton and Wincanton.
• Glastonbury and Street from the former Wells constituency.
• A small part transferred from the Yeovil constituency.