Sherwood Forest (constituency)

Sherwood Forest is a constituency in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands of England, covering parts of the Newark and Sherwood, Gedling and Ashfield districts. Its largest settlement is the town of Hucknall, which has a population of around 38,000.^[3] Other settlements include the town of New Ollerton and the villages of Calverton, Ravenshead, Blidworth, Rainworth, Farnsfield, Bilsthorpe, Clipstone and Edwinstowe. The constituency is named after the ancient Sherwood Forest, the remnants of which are located here.

This is a mostly rural constituency with most residents living in Hucknall or in large villages. Many of these settlements have a history of coal mining, especially Hucknall and its surroundings which hosted several mines.^[4] Hucknall today largely serves as a commuter town for Nottingham; it is located around 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Nottingham city centre. There is some deprivation in Hucknall and the former mining settlements of Blidworth and New Ollerton. The rural areas are wealthier, especially Ravenshead which is highly-affluent and contains many large, detached houses.^[5][6] House prices across the constituency are generally similar to the rest of the East Midlands but lower than the UK average.^[7]

Sherwood Forest has a below-average proportion of young adults and an above-average retired population.^[8] Residents have average rates of income, high levels of homeownership,^[7] and the child poverty rate is in line with the rest of the UK.^[9] They generally have below-average levels of education and a high proportion work in the health, accommodation and construction sectors.^[7][10] The percentage of residents claiming unemployment benefits is low.^[9] White people made up 95% of the population at the 2021 census.^[11]

At the local district council level, the former mining villages are mostly represented by the Labour Party, the wealthier rural villages by Conservatives and Hucknall by localists. At the county council, which held elections more recently (in 2025), most of the constituency elected Reform UK councillors. Voters in Sherwood Forest strongly supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 63% voted in favour of Brexit compared to the UK-wide figure of 52%.^[7]

On the constituency's creation in 1983, Andy Stewart gained the seat for the Conservatives in their landslide victory that year with a small majority of 658. The Nottinghamshire miners drifted further from Labour during the 1984 strike and Stewart was re-elected with an increased majority in 1987. However, in 1992 the seat was gained for Labour by Paddy Tipping, who held it until he retired in 2010, when the seat was regained for the Conservatives by Mark Spencer, by a majority of 214. In 2015, Spencer's lead over the second placed candidate increased to 4,647 votes. This further increased in 2017 and another big swing to the Conservatives in 2019 saw Spencer's majority increase to 16,186, the first time a Conservative had a five-figure majority in the seat.^[13]

Newark, Carlton and Ashfield prior to 1983

• Parliamentary constituencies in Nottinghamshire