Louth and Horncastle 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 ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

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 ...

since

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 ...

Victoria Atkins Victoria Mary Atkins (born 22 March 1976) is a British politician who served in various ministerial positions under Prime Ministers Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak between 2017 and 2024, lastly as Secretary of State for Health and S ...

, a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Boundaries

History of boundaries

From 1885 to 1983,

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia ** Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

and

Horncastle Horncastle is a market town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district in Lincolnshire, England. It is east of Lincoln. Its population was 6,815 at the 2011 census and estimated at 7,123 in 2019. A section of the ancient Roman walls rema ...

both existed as separate constituencies. Then in 1983, Horncastle was moved into the new seat of

Gainsborough and Horncastle Gainsborough and Horncastle is a former county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parl ...

, while

was moved into the newly formed

East Lindsey East Lindsey is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Lincolnshire, England. Its council is based in Horncastle and the largest town is Skegness. Other towns include Alford, Lincolnshire, Alford, Burgh le Marsh, Coningsby, L ...

constituency. These boundaries remained the same until 1997, when the current Louth and Horncastle constituency was formed.

1997–2010

The District of East Lindsey wards of Alford, Chapel St Leonards, Coningsby, Donington on Bain, Fotherby, Grimoldby, Halton Holegate, Hogsthorpe, Holton le Clay, Horncastle, Hundleby, Legbourne, Mablethorpe, Mareham le Fen, Marshchapel, New Leake, North Holme, North Somercotes, North Thoresby, Partney, Priory, Roughton, St James', St Margaret's, St Mary's, St Michael's, Spilsby, Sutton and Trusthorpe, Tattershall, Tetford, Tetney, Theddlethorpe St Helen, Trinity, Willoughby with Sloothby, Withern with Stain, and Woodhall Spa.

2010–2024

The District of East Lindsey wards of Alford, Binbrook, Chapel St Leonards, Coningsby and Tattershall, Grimoldby, Halton Holegate, Holton le Clay, Horncastle, Hundleby, Legbourne, Ludford, Mablethorpe Central, Mablethorpe East, Mablethorpe North, Mareham le Fen, Marshchapel, North Holme, North Somercotes, North Thoresby, Priory, Roughton, St James', St Margaret's, St Mary's, St Michael's, Skidbrooke with Saltfleet Haven, Spilsby, Sutton on Sea North, Sutton on Sea South, Tetford, Tetney, Trinity, Trusthorpe and Mablethorpe South, Willoughby with Sloothby, Withern with Stain, and Woodhall Spa.

Current

Further to the

2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency b ...

, which came into effect for the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

, the composition of the constituency is as follows (as they existed on 1 December 2020): * The District of East Lindsey wards of: Alford; Binbrook; Coningsby & Mareham; Fulstow; Grimoldby; Hagworthingham; Halton Holegate; Holton-le-Clay & North Thoresby; Horncastle; Legbourne; Mablethorpe; Marshchapel & Somercotes; North Holme; Priory & St. James’; Roughton; St. Margaret’s; St. Mary’s; St. Michael’s; Spilsby; Sutton on Sea; Tetford & Donington; Tetney; Trinity; Withern & Theddlethorpe; Woodhall Spa; Wragby. ''The two wards of Chapel St Leonards and Willoughby with Sloothby were transferred to

Boston and Skegness Boston and Skegness is a Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency in Lincolnshire represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Richard Tice of Reform UK since the ...

, whilst the previously orphaned ward of Wragby was added from

Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, Saskatchewan, Ca ...

.''

Constituency profile

This large stretch of Lincolnshire coastline includes the seaside resorts of

Mablethorpe Mablethorpe is a seaside town in the civil parish of Mablethorpe and Sutton, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.OS Explorer map 283:Louth and Mablethorpe: (1:25 000): In 1961 the civil parish had a population of 3,611. On 1 Ap ...

and

Sutton-on-Sea Sutton-on-Sea (originally Sutton in the Marsh or Sutton le Marsh) is a seaside town in the civil parish of Mablethorpe and Sutton, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, beside a long sandy beach along the Lincolnshire Coast a ...

, this immediate coastline has a minority of small output areas with severe deprivation following the decline of the tourism industry apart from holiday cottages, being further north than popular family resorts in

Skegness Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 21,128 as of 2021 ...

. The seat's eponymous towns of

and

lie inland amid a rural area of the Lincolnshire Wolds where farming is an important sector, with most constituents on modest to mid-level income and low

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

History

The seat was created in 1997.

s have been dominant in the area for decades, the closest result was in 1997, when a Labour Party candidate came the closest of any opponents to being elected.

Members of Parliament

The MP for this seat is

. She succeeded Peter Tapsell at the 2015 general election. He previously represented the predecessor seats of

and

from 1966 to 1997, and before that represented Nottingham West from 1959 to 1964 before being defeated by Labour. Prior to standing down, he was the longest-serving Conservative MP, albeit with the break in service, and from 2001, he was the only MP of any party first elected in the 1950s. Following the retirement of Alan Williams, Tapsell became, on his re-election in 2010,

Father of the House Father of the House is a title that has been traditionally bestowed, unofficially, on certain members of some legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the title refers to the longest continuously ...

. He was succeeded in the honorific position in 2015 by Sir Gerald Kaufman. ''Before 1997, see

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Notes

References

External links

Louth and Horncastle UK Parliament constituency
(boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at ''MapIt UK''

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

(boundaries from June 2024) at ''MapIt UK'' {{Coord, 53.30, 0.00, dim:60000_region:GB, display=title Parliamentary constituencies in Lincolnshire Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1997