Melksham and Devizes

Melksham and Devizes is a constituency in Wiltshire. It is named after its two largest towns, Melksham and Devizes, which each have populations of around 20,000.^[4][5] Other settlements in the constituency include the town of Bradford-on-Avon and the villages of Bowerhill and Box.

The constituency is mostly rural with market towns and many small villages. Melksham and Devizes are historic towns with traditional rural industries like brewing and the trade of wool and cereal grains.^[6] Bradford-on-Avon contains many historic buildings and is popular with tourists due to its location close to the Cotswolds. The constituency is generally affluent with low levels of deprivation, especially so in the west around Bradford-on-Avon.^[7] House prices across the constituency are generally higher than the regional and national averages.^[8]

There is a large retiree population in the constituency,^[9] giving it a high average age.^[8] Residents have average levels of education and above-average rates of income and homeownership.^[8] The child poverty rate is low and few residents are unemployed,^[9] with a high proportion working in the manufacturing and agriculture sectors.^[10] White people made up 96% of the population at the 2021 census.^[11]

At the local unitary authority, most of the constituency is represented by Liberal Democrats, who were elected in the towns and the more affluent rural west. Some Conservative councillors were elected in the rural east. An estimated 52% of voters in the constituency supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, identical to the nationwide figure.^[8]

The constituency is composed of the following electoral districts of Wiltshire (as they existed on 4 May 2021):

• Bowerhill; Box & Colerne; Bradford-on-Avon North; Bradford-on-Avon South; Bromham, Rowde & Roundway; Calne South; Devizes East; Devizes North; Devizes Rural West; Devizes South; Holt; Melksham East; Melksham Forest; Melksham South; Melksham Without North & Shurnhold; Melksham Without West & Rural; The Lavingtons; Urchfont & Bishops Cannings; Winsley & Westwood.^[12]

It comprises the following areas:^[13]

• The towns of Melksham and Bradford-on-Avon, transferred from Chippenham
• The town of Devizes, transferred from the constituency of Devizes (the majority of which was incorporated into the new constituency of East Wiltshire)
• Rural parishes east of Trowbridge, transferred from South West Wiltshire
• The wards of Box and Colerne, and Calne South, transferred from the abolished North Wiltshire constituency