South East Cornwall
UK Parliament constituency (since 1983)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
South East Cornwall is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Anna Gelderd, a Labour politician.[n 2]
| South East Cornwall | |
|---|---|
| County constituency for the House of Commons | |
Boundary of South East Cornwall in Cornwall | |
 Location of Cornwall within England | |
| County | Cornwall |
| Electorate | 72,654 (2024)[1] |
| Major settlements | Liskeard, Saltash, Lostwithiel and Callington |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 1983 |
| Member of Parliament | Anna Gelderd (Labour) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Bodmin, Cornwall North and Truro[2] |
Boundaries
1983–2010: The District of Caradon, the Borough of Restormel wards of Fowey, Lostwithiel, St Blaise, and Tywardreath, and the District of North Cornwall ward of Stoke Climsland.
2010–2024: The District of Caradon, and the Borough of Restormel ward of Lostwithiel.
2024–present: Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which became effective for the 2024 general election, the constituency is composed of the following electoral divisions of Cornwall (as they existed on 4 May 2021):
- Callington & St Dominic; Calstock; Liskeard Central; Liskeard South & Dobwalls; Looe East & Deviock; Looe West, Pelynt, Lansallos & Lanteglos; Lostwithiel & Lanreath; Lynher; Rame Peninsula & St Germans; St Cleer & Menheniot; Saltash Essa; Saltash Tamar; Saltash Trematon & Landrake; Torpoint.[3]
Very small change to align with revised electoral division boundaries.
The current constituency territory contains the location of several former borough constituencies which were abolished as 'rotten boroughs' by the Reform Act 1832:
History
The predecessor county division, Bodmin, serving the area from 1885 until 1983 had (during those 98 years) 15 members (two of whom had broken terms of office serving the area), seeing twelve shifts of preference between the Liberal, Liberal Unionist and Conservative parties, spread quite broadly throughout that period. Consistent with this, since 1983 the preference for an MP has alternated between Liberal Democrats and Conservatives. The Labour Party moved into second place in 2017 for the first time in the history of both constituencies, and captured the seat at the 2024 general election.
Constituency profile
The villages and towns in the South East of Cornwall often serve as a commuter base to the city of Plymouth, over the border in Devon. Farming and tourism are important.
Workless claimants were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.5% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.[4]
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member[5] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Robert Hicks | Conservative | |
| 1997 | Colin Breed | Liberal Democrat | |
| 2010 | Sheryll Murray | Conservative | |
| 2024 | Anna Gelderd | Labour | |
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Anna Gelderd | 15,670 | 31.8 | +11.5 | |
| Conservative | Sheryll Murray | 13,759 | 27.9 | –31.1 | |
| Reform | Paul Wadley | 9,311 | 18.9 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Colin Martin | 8,284 | 16.8 | +0.5 | |
| Green | Martin Corney | 1,999 | 4.1 | +1.4 | |
| Heritage | Graham Cowdry | 263 | 0.5 | N/A | |
| Majority | 1,911 | 3.9 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 49,286 | 67.8 | –5.0 | ||
| Registered electors | 72,728 | ||||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing |  21.3 |
|||
Elections in the 2010s
| 2019 notional result[8] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| Conservative | 30,839 | 59.0 | |
| Labour | 10,614 | 20.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 8,520 | 16.3 | |
| Green | 1,405 | 2.7 | |
| Others | 869 | 1.7 | |
| Turnout | 52,247 | 72.8 | |
| Electorate | 71,734 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Sheryll Murray | 31,807 | 59.3 | +3.9 | |
| Labour | Gareth Derrick | 10,836 | 20.2 | −2.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Colin Martin | 8,650 | 16.1 | −3.3 | |
| Green | Martha Green | 1,493 | 2.8 | +0.3 | |
| Liberal | Jay Latham | 869 | 1.6 | N/A | |
| Majority | 20,971 | 39.1 | +6.3 | ||
| Turnout | 53,655 | 74.7 | +0.7 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +3.2 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Sheryll Murray | 29,493 | 55.4 | +4.9 | |
| Labour | Gareth Derrick | 12,050 | 22.6 | +13.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Phil Hutty | 10,346 | 19.4 | +2.5 | |
| Green | Martin Corney | 1,335 | 2.5 | −2.9 | |
| Majority | 17,443 | 32.8 | −0.8 | ||
| Turnout | 53,224 | 74.0 | +2.9 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | -4.2 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Sheryll Murray | 25,516 | 50.5 | +5.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Phil Hutty | 8,521 | 16.9 | −21.7 | |
| UKIP | Bradley Monk | 7,698 | 15.2 | +9.0 | |
| Labour | Declan Lloyd | 4,692 | 9.3 | +2.2 | |
| Green | Martin Corney | 2,718 | 5.4 | +3.7 | |
| Mebyon Kernow | Andrew Long | 1,003 | 2.0 | +0.7 | |
| Independent | George Trubody | 350 | 0.7 | N/A | |
| Majority | 16,995 | 33.6 | +28.1 | ||
| Turnout | 50,498 | 71.1 | +2.4 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +13.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Sheryll Murray | 22,390 | 45.1 | +10.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Karen Gillard | 19,170 | 38.6 | −8.1 | |
| Labour | Michael Sparling | 3,507 | 7.1 | −3.4 | |
| UKIP | Stephanie McWilliam | 3,083 | 6.2 | +1.1 | |
| Green | Roger Creagh-Osborne | 826 | 1.7 | N/A | |
| Mebyon Kernow | Roger Holmes | 641 | 1.3 | −0.4 | |
| Majority | 3,220 | 6.5 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 49,617 | 68.7 | +1.0 | ||
| Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | +9.1 | |||
Elections in the 2000s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Colin Breed | 24,986 | 46.7 | +0.8 | |
| Conservative | Ashley Gray | 18,479 | 34.6 | −0.9 | |
| Labour | Colin Binley | 6,069 | 11.4 | −1.0 | |
| UKIP | David Lucas | 2,693 | 5.0 | +1.2 | |
| Mebyon Kernow | Graham Sandercock | 769 | 1.4 | −0.9 | |
| Veritas | Anne Assheton-Salton | 459 | 0.9 | N/A | |
| Majority | 6,507 | 12.1 | +1.7 | ||
| Turnout | 53,455 | 66.2 | +0.8 | ||
| Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | +0.9 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Colin Breed | 23,756 | 45.9 | −1.2 | |
| Conservative | Ashley Gray | 18,381 | 35.5 | −0.3 | |
| Labour | William Stevens | 6,429 | 12.4 | −0.4 | |
| UKIP | Graham Palmer | 1,978 | 3.8 | +1.3 | |
| Mebyon Kernow | Kenneth George | 1,209 | 2.3 | +1.3 | |
| Majority | 5,375 | 10.4 | −0.9 | ||
| Turnout | 51,753 | 65.4 | −10.3 | ||
| Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | −0.5 | |||
Elections in the 1990s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Colin Breed | 27,044 | 47.1 | +9.0 | |
| Conservative | Warwick Lightfoot | 20,564 | 35.8 | −15.1 | |
| Labour | Dorothy M. Kirk | 7,358 | 12.8 | +3.6 | |
| UKIP | James Wonnacott | 1,428 | 2.5 | N/A | |
| Mebyon Kernow | Paul Dunbar | 573 | 1.0 | N/A | |
| Liberal | Bill Weights | 268 | 0.5 | −0.6 | |
| Natural Law | Margot Hartley | 197 | 0.3 | 0.0 | |
| Majority | 6,480 | 11.3 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 57,432 | 75.7 | −6.4 | ||
| Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | +12.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Robert Hicks | 30,565 | 51.0 | −0.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Robin Teverson | 22,861 | 38.1 | −1.6 | |
| Labour Co-op | Linda Gilroy | 5,536 | 9.2 | +0.5 | |
| Liberal | Maureen Cook | 644 | 1.1 | N/A | |
| Anti-Federalist League | Anthony Quick | 227 | 0.4 | N/A | |
| Natural Law | Rosaleen Allen | 155 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Majority | 7,704 | 12.9 | +1.0 | ||
| Turnout | 59,988 | 82.1 | +2.6 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +0.5 | |||
Elections in the 1980s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Robert Hicks | 28,818 | 51.6 | −3.7 | |
| Liberal | Ian Tunbridge | 22,211 | 39.7 | +0.8 | |
| Labour | Paul Clark | 4,847 | 8.7 | +3.8 | |
| Majority | 6,607 | 11.9 | −4.5 | ||
| Turnout | 55.876 | 79.5 | +0.9 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −2.3 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Robert Hicks | 28,326 | 55.3 | ||
| Liberal | David Blunt | 19,972 | 38.9 | ||
| Labour | Andrew Bebb | 2,507 | 4.9 | ||
| Ecology | John Chadwick | 337 | 0.7 | ||
| Independent | Joy Dent | 94 | 0.2 | ||
| Majority | 8,354 | 16.4 | |||
| Turnout | 51,236 | 78.6 | |||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
See also
Notes
- A county 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.