Horsham () is a

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

, centred on the eponymous town in

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

. The seat was won in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

by John Milne of the Liberal Democrats, making it the first time since 1876 that a non-Conservative Party candidate has held the seat.

History

Horsham has existed as a constituency for three distinct periods. It first sent members to Parliament in 1295. However, the constituency was abolished in 1918 to make way for Horsham and Worthing. In 1945 the constituency was recreated, until 1974 when Horsham and Crawley was created. In 1983 the constituency of Horsham was again created and has existed since. Until the 1885, the seat was constituted as a

Parliamentary Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

, sending two MPs (burgesses) to the House of Commons up to 1832, when its representation was reduced to one member by the

Reform Act 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), enacted by the Whig government of Pri ...

. Under the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 23) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (sometimes called the "Reform Act of 1885"). It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that r ...

, the parliamentary borough was abolished, but the name of Horsham was retained as a division of the parliamentary county of

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, covering northern areas of what is now

. Further to the

Representation of the People Act 1918 The Representation of the People Act 1918 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 5. c. 64) was an act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The act extended the franchise in pa ...

, the seat was abolished and largely absorbed into the new constituency of Horsham and Worthing, which also incorporated the coastal towns of

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

Shoreham-by-Sea Shoreham-by-Sea (often shortened to Shoreham) is a coastal town and port in the Adur District, Adur district, in the county of West Sussex, England. In 2011 it had a population of 20,547. The town is bordered to its north by the South Downs, to ...

and Southwick – previously part of the

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

division of Sussex. By the 1940s, the Horsham and Worthing seat had an electorate of over 100,000 and, for the 1945 general election, the seat was divided in two with the re-establishment of Horsham and the creation of a separate constituency of

. For the following election in 1950, Horsham lost Shoreham and Southwick to the new seat of Arundel and Shoreham. Under the Second Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the February 1974 election, the seat was renamed Horsham and Crawley to reflect the growing proportion of the electorate coming from the new town of

Crawley Crawley () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a populat ...

. Under the Third Periodic Review, the Boundary Commission decided

now justified a constituency in its own right and Horsham was again re-created as a constituency for the 1983 general election.

Political history

The constituency (including the two versions under other names) was held by members of the Conservative Party from 1880 to 2024, when it was taken by the Liberal Democrats at the 4th July general election. Edward Turnour held the seat for 47 years from a 1904 byelection until the 1951 general election, which included the whole period of Horsham and Worthing's existence. Similarly, Peter Hordern held the seat for 33 years from 1964 to 1997, including the whole period of Horsham and Crawley's existence. Its Member of Parliament (MP) was

Francis Maude Francis Anthony Aylmer Maude, Baron Maude of Horsham, (born 4 July 1953) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who served as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2010 to 2015. He also served ...

between

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

; followed by fellow Conservative

Jeremy Quin Sir Jeremy Mark Quin (born 24 September 1968) is a British Conservative politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Horsham from 2015–2024. He served as Minister of State for Defence Procurement from February 2020 to September ...

until

when the seat was taken from Quin by John Milne of the Liberal Democrats, making it the first time since 1876 that a non-Conservative Party candidate has won the seat. The Liberal Democrats (or one of its predecessors, the Social Democratic Party) had come second to the Conservatives at every general election from 1983 to 2019, except 2015 (

UKIP 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 Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...

) and 2017 (Labour).

Boundaries

Historic

1885–1918: The Sessional Divisions of Horsham, Midhurst, Petworth, the civil parish of Crawley. 1945–1950: The Urban Districts of Horsham, Shoreham-by-Sea, Southwick, the Rural Districts of Chanctonbury and Horsham. 1950–1974: The Urban District of Horsham, the Rural Districts of Horsham, Midhurst, Petworth. 1983–1997: The District of Horsham. 1997–2010: The District of Horsham wards of Billingshurst, Broadbridge Heath, Cowfold, Denne, Forest, Holbrook, Itchingfield and Shipley, Nuthurst, Riverside, Roffey North, Rudgwick, Rusper, Slinfold, Southwater, Trafalgar, Warnham, the District of Mid Sussex wards of Balcombe, Copthorne and Worth, Crawley Down, Slaugham, Turners Hill, the District of Chichester wards of Plaistow and Wisborough Green. 2010–2024: The District of Horsham wards of Billingshurst and Shipley, Broadbridge Heath, Denne, Forest, Holbrook East, Holbrook West, Horsham Park, Itchingfield, Slinfold and Warnham, Nuthurst, Roffey North, Roffey South, Rudgwick, Rusper and Colgate, Southwater, and Trafalgar, and the District of Mid Sussex wards of Ardingly and Balcombe, Copthorne and Worth, and Crawley Down and Turners Hill. 2024–present: The District of Horsham wards of Billingshurst, Broadbridge Heath, Colgate & Rusper, Cowfold, Shermanbury & West Grinstead, Denne, Forest, Holbrook East, Holbrook West, Itchingfield, Slinfold & Warnham, Nuthurst & Lower Beeding, Roffey North, Roffey South, Rudgwick, Southwater North, Southwater South & Shipley, and Trafalgar. :''Electorate reduced to bring it within the permitted range by transferring rural wards to the east and south of

to the newly created constituency of East Grinstead and Uckfield. The Cowfold, Shermanbury & West Grinstead ward was added from Arundel and South Downs.''

Members of Parliament

MPs before 1660

MPs 1660–1832

* ''Representation reduced to one'' (1832)

MPs 1832–1918

MPs 1945–1974

MPs since 1983

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

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

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1900s

= ''N/A''

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1880s

* Caused by Aubrey-Fletcher's appointment as a Groom in Waiting.

Elections in the 1870s

* Caused by the by-election being declared void on petition. * Caused by Vesey-FitzGerald's appointment as

Chief Charity Commissioner for England and Wales The Charity Commission for England and Wales is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's Government that regulates registered charities in England and Wales and maintains the Central Register of Charities. Its counterparts in Scotland and ...

Elections in the 1860s

* Both candidates received the same number of votes, and both were declared elected, with petitions lodged against both. However, on 3 May 1869, Aldridge withdrew his claim to the seat allowing Hurst to be the sole MP.

Elections in the 1850s

Elections in the 1840s

* Held due to the 1847 general election result being declared void on petition, due to treating, on 23 March 1848. After a further petition arising from the by-election, Vesey-Fitzgerald was declared unduly elected, due to bribery and treating by both him and his agents, and Fitzalan-Howard was declared elected on 8 September 1848. * Caused by Scarlett's succession to the peerage, becoming 2nd Baron Abinger

Elections in the 1830s

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)

External links

(boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at ''MapIt UK''

(boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at ''MapIt UK''

(boundaries from June 2024) at ''MapIt UK'' {{coord, 51.04, -0.33, region:GB, display=title Parliamentary constituencies in West Sussex Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1295 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1918 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1945 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1974 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1983