Chichester (UK Parliament constituency)
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Chichester is a constituency in
West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...
, represented in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
of the
UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
since
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
by
Gillian Keegan Gillian Keegan (born 13 March 1968) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Education. A member of the Conservative Party, she previously served as Minister of State for Care and Mental Health from 2021 to 2022 and Parliamentar ...
, a
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
.


History

Chichester centres on the small medieval
cathedral city Cathedral city is a city status in the United Kingdom. Cathedral city may also refer to: * Cathedral City, California, a city in Southern California, United States * Cathedral City Cheddar, a brand of Cheddar cheese * Cathedral City High Scho ...
by the
South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the eas ...
National Park. It is one of the oldest constituencies in the UK, having been created when commoners were first called to the
Model Parliament The Model Parliament is the term, attributed to Frederic William Maitland, used for the 1295 Parliament of England of King Edward I. History This assembly included members of the clergy and the aristocracy, as well as representatives from the v ...
in 1295 as one of the original Parliamentary boroughs returning two members. The seat has sent one member since 1868, after the
Reform Act 1867 The Representation of the People Act 1867, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102 (known as the Reform Act 1867 or the Second Reform Act) was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised part of the urban male working class in England and Wales for the first ...
. In its various forms, Chichester has been a
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
stronghold A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere' ...
since 1868, and has been held by them continuously since 1924.


Boundaries

1885–1918: The Municipal Borough of Chichester, the Sessional Divisions of Arundel and Chichester, and part of the Sessional Division of Steyning. 1918–1950: The Municipal Boroughs of Arundel and Chichester, the Urban Districts of Bognor and Littlehampton, and the Rural Districts of East Preston, Midhurst, Petworth, Westbourne, and Westhampnett. 1950–1974: The Municipal Borough of Chichester, the Urban District of Bognor Regis, and the Rural District of Chichester. 1974–1983: The Municipal Borough of Chichester, the Rural Districts of Midhurst and Petworth, and part of the Rural District of Chichester. 1983–1997: The District of Chichester. The constituency boundaries remained unchanged. 1997–2010: All the wards of the District of Chichester except the Bury, Plaistow and Wisborough Green wards. 2010–present: The District of Chichester wards of Bosham, Boxgrove, Chichester East, Chichester North, Chichester South, Chichester West, Donnington, Easebourne, East Wittering, Fernhurst, Fishbourne, Funtington, Harting, Lavant, Midhurst, North Mundham, Plaistow, Rogate, Selsey North, Selsey South, Sidlesham, Southbourne, Stedham, Tangmere, West Wittering, and Westbourne. The seat forms a far western strip of
West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...
and covers most of the
Chichester district Chichester is a local government district in West Sussex, England. Its council is based in the city of Chichester and the district also covers a large rural area to the north. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Go ...
. Before the 1974 redistribution Chichester was a more compact seat, taking in the eastern towns of Arundel and Bognor Regis in latter years. Emergence of newer urban centres and modern cities meant that the area was expanded to the north to avoid
malapportionment Apportionment is the process by which seats in a legislative body are distributed among administrative divisions, such as states or parties, entitled to representation. This page presents the general principles and issues related to apportionmen ...
.


Constituency profile


Physical geography

The constituency runs from the county's border with Surrey, through a partly wooded broad swathe of the
South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the eas ...
, to the town of
Selsey Selsey is a seaside town and civil parish, about eight miles (12 km) south of Chichester in West Sussex, England. Selsey lies at the southernmost point of the Manhood Peninsula, almost cut off from mainland Sussex by the sea. It is bounde ...
and paired villages The Witterings on the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
. The small cathedral city
Chichester Chichester () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publi ...
and Selsey account for 6 of 24 wards but comprise a higher proportion of councillors as these are larger three-member wards. Another larger Ward comprises the Georgian market town of
Midhurst Midhurst () is a market town, parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother inland from the English Channel, and north of the county town of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first recorded in 1186 as ''Middeh ...
towards the north. The highest density of villages is near the Hampshire border, in the west.


Social geography

The city has relatively little social housing and few homes which are cheap to buy or rent, as epitomised in the National Park status of much of the land north of Chichester. In Chichester itself the percentage of social housing in 2011 was 20.5%, including 3% directly in local authority homes. The area is linked to London by train and the A3. Modestly deprived areas of Chichester, Selsey and the rural South Downs are dominated by the working poor and poorer pensioners with little generational unemployment. The local economy has many entry-level or intensive manual jobs in food production, retail, driving, warehousing as well as intermittent or traditionally low paid labour such as road repair and the care sector. Some of these workers commute from the outskirts of nearest major cities Brighton and Portsmouth. The contributory districts occupy the top two rankings out of all seven in terms of fuel poverty in West Sussex.


Results

The seat has been Conservative since 1924; in 2017 incumbent Keegan saw her vote share exceed that of 1992. The closest election since then was the 1997 general election, where a
Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...
took 29% of the vote. The best performances by a
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
candidates were in 2001 and 2017, with 21.4% and 22.4% of the vote, respectively. In terms of the fourth party since 2001, the three general elections to 2010 saw an increase in support for the
UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...
to their highest level to date, 6.8%.


Members of Parliament


MPs 1295–1660

* ''Constituency created 1295''


MPs 1660–1868


MPs since 1868


Elections


Elections in the 2010s


Elections in the 2000s


Elections in the 1990s

This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1992 and 1997 general elections and thus change in share of vote is based on a notional calculation.


Elections in the 1980s


Elections in the 1970s


Elections in the 1960s


Elections in the 1950s


Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1939–40: Another general election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected; *Conservative: John Courtauld *Labour: E A Weston *Liberal: Gerald KiddBognor Regis Observer 30 December 1939 *
British Union The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a British fascist political party formed in 1932 by Oswald Mosley. Mosley changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists in 1936 and, in 1937, to the British Union. In 1939, f ...
: Charles Hudson


Elections in the 1930s


Elections in the 1920s


Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1914–15: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected; *Unionist: Edmund Talbot *Liberal:


Elections in the 1900s


Elections in the 1890s


Elections in the 1880s

* Caused by Gordon-Lennox's resignation.


Elections in the 1870s

* Caused by Lennox's appointment as First Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings


Elections in the 1860s

'' Seat reduced to one member '' * Caused by Freeland's resignation.


Elections in the 1850s

* Caused by Gordon-Lennox's appointment as a
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...
. * Caused by Gordon-Lennox's appointment as a
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...
.


Elections in the 1840s

* Caused by Lennox's resignation by accepting the office of Steward of the Manor of Hempholme * Caused by Lennox's appointment as
Clerk of the Ordnance {{Infobox official post , post = Office of the Clerk of the Ordnance , body = , nativename = , insignia = File:Badge of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps on a RML 10 inch 18 ton gun in Gibraltar.jpg , insigniasize ...
* Caused by Lennox's appointment as a
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...


Elections in the 1830s


See also

* List of parliamentary constituencies in West Sussex


Notes


References


Sources


Election result, 2010
(BBC)
Election result, 2005
(BBC)
Election results, 1997 – 2001
(BBC)

(Election Demon)

(Election Demon)
Election results, 1992 – 2010
(Guardian) (UKIP result for 2001 is incorrect) * * * *


External links


nomis Constituency Profile for Chichester
— presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chichester (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in South East England Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1295 Politics of Chichester