Sleaford and North Hykeham is a

parliamentary 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 ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

which elects a single Member of Parliament (MP) to 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 ...

. It has been represented since 2016 by Dr Caroline Johnson, who is a member of the Conservative Party. The seat was created in 1997 and has always been represented by Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Conservative Party; like all British constituencies, it elects one candidate by the

first-past-the-post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...

voting system. Johnson became the MP for the constituency after a by-election in December 2016, following the resignation of the previous MP for the seat,

Stephen Phillips Stephen Phillips (28 July 1864 – 9 December 1915) was an English poet and dramatist, who enjoyed considerable popularity early in his career. Biography He was born at Summertown near Oxford, the son of the Rev. Stephen Phillips, precento ...

. The constituency is considered a

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both. With such seats, there is very little chance of a seat changing h ...

for the Conservatives.

Boundaries

1997–2010

The District of

North Kesteven North Kesteven is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Lincolnshire, England. The council is based in Sleaford. The district also contains the town of North Hykeham, which adjoins the neighbouring city of Lincoln, England, L ...

except for the

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

Bracebridge Heath Bracebridge Heath is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is south of Lincoln, England, Lincoln and straddles the border with the Lincoln and North Kesteven district boundaries. It lies at the ...

, and the District of

South Kesteven South Kesteven is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Lincolnshire, England, forming part of the traditional Kesteven division of the county. Its council is based in Grantham. The district also includes the towns of Bourne, ...

wards of Ermine, Heath, Loveden, Saxonwell, and Witham Valley. The

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 ...

covers the towns of

Sleaford Sleaford is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. On the edge of the The Fens, Fenlands, it is north-east of Grantham, west of Boston, Lincolnshire, Boston, and sou ...

and

North Hykeham North Hykeham is an industrial town and civil parish in the North Kesteven, North Kesteven District of Lincolnshire, England. It is located directly south of the city of Lincoln, England, Lincoln, where it forms the southern part of the wider L ...

and a large area of rural

south west of

Lindsey Lindsey may refer to : Places Canada * Lindsey Lake, Nova Scotia England * Parts of Lindsey, one of the historic Parts of Lincolnshire and an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 ** East Lindsey, an administrative district in Lincolnshire, ...

. The constituency's boundaries roughly correspond to those of

local government district. In their formative proposals for 1997, the

Boundary Commission for England In the United Kingdom, the boundary commissions are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of parliamentary constituencies for elections to the House of Commons. There are four boundary commissions: one each f ...

proposed calling the new constituency Mid Lincolnshire, however the name was changed to its current form during the local inquiry process. The inclusion of North Hykeham in the constituency title was criticised by the author and psephologist Robert Waller in 1995, on the grounds that North Hykeham was effectively an overspill area of the City of Lincoln; however, not on the grounds of its actual inclusion, as its local government authority has long been seen as linked with the villages to the south in this seat, and wholly separate from the city.

2010–2024

The District of North Kesteven wards of Ashby de la Launde, Bassingham, Billinghay, Branston and Mere, Brant Broughton, Cliff Villages, Cranwell and Byard's Leap, Eagle and North Scarle, Heckington Rural, Heighington and Washingborough, Kyme, Leasingham and Roxholm, Martin, Metheringham, North Hykeham Forum, North Hykeham Memorial, North Hykeham Mill, North Hykeham Moor, North Hykeham Witham, Osbournby, Ruskington, Sleaford Castle, Sleaford Holdingham, Sleaford Mareham, Sleaford Navigation, Sleaford Quarrington, Sleaford Westholme, and Waddington West, and the District of South Kesteven wards of Barrowby, Ermine, Heath, Loveden, Peascliffe, Saxonwell, and Witham Valley. Following another Boundary Commission review, the

boundaries with two of its neighbouring seats Lincoln and Grantham and Stamford were changed for the 2010 general election.

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, the composition of the constituency was defined as follows (as they existed on 1 December 2020): * The District of North Kesteven wards of: Ashby de la Launde and Cranwell; Bassingham and Brant Broughton; Billinghay, Martin and North Kyme; Branston; Cliff Villages; Eagle, Swinderby and Witham St. Hughs; Heighington and Washingborough; Kirkby la Thorpe and South Kyme; Leasingham and Rauceby; Metheringham; North Hykeham Forum; North Hykeham Memorial; North Hykeham Mill; North Hykeham Moor; North Hykeham Witham; Ruskington; Sleaford Castle; Sleaford Holdingham; Sleaford Navigation; Sleaford Quarrington and Mareham; Sleaford Westholme; Waddington West. ''In order to bring the electorate within the permitted range, the parts in the District of South Kesteven and the two North Kesteven wards of Heckington Rural and Osbournby were transferred to the new constituency of Grantham and Bourne.'' Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023, the constituency now comprises the following wards of the District of North Kesteven from the 2024 general election: * Ashby de la Launde, Digby & Scopwick; Bassingham Rural; Billinghay Rural; Branston; Cranwell, Leasingham & Wilsford (most); Heighington & Washingborough; Hykeham Central; Hykeham Fosse; Hykeham Memorial; Kirkby la Thorpe & South Kyme; Metheringham Rural; Navenby & Brant Broughton; Ruskington; Skellingthorpe & Eagle (part); Sleaford Castle; Sleaford Holdingham; Sleaford Navigation; Sleaford Quarrington & Mareham; Sleaford Westholme; Waddington Rural (part); Witham St Hughs & Swinderby. The areas within the constituency of Sleaford and North Hykeham are under the control and come under the responsibility of

Lincolnshire County Council Lincolnshire County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the latter additionally includes North Lincolnshire and No ...

for the provision of certain public services, such as roads and local authority education.

History

1997–2015

Douglas Hogg moved to represent Sleaford and North Hykeham from the previously existing Grantham constituency, a safe Conservative seat, which he had held since 1979. At the 1997 general election, Hogg won 43.9% of the vote, giving him a majority of 5,123 votes (9.6%) ahead of the second-placed Labour Party. At the 2001 general election, the Conservatives increased their vote share by 5.7%, while the Labour Party's vote share decreased; the seat had a majority of 8,622 votes (17.7%), which was the 104th-smallest percentage majority out of the 166 seats won by the Conservatives. At the 2005 general election, Hogg won a majority of 12,705 votes (23.8%); this was the 35th-largest absolute majority (number of votes) and 52nd-largest percentage majority of the 198 seats won by the Conservative Party.

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 ...

, a minor party, won 5% of the vote in the constituency (coming fourth), retaining its deposit. He stood down at the 2010 general election owing to controversy over his expenses claims, making him the first MP to resign because of the scandal. Hogg was replaced by fellow Conservative

. In 2010, he won a majority of 19,905 votes (33.4%); the Liberal Democrats came second. Out of the 650 UK Parliament constituencies contested at the election, Sleaford and North Hykeham had the 14th-largest absolute majority and the 72nd-largest percentage majority. The Lincolnshire Independents, a minor party, won 6.4% of the vote in the seat and came fourth; as this was more than 5%, the party retained its deposit. At the 2015 general election, Phillips won a majority of 24,115 votes (38.9%), with the Labour Party coming second in the seat. This made the constituency the 34th-safest by absolute majority, and the 99th-safest by percentage majority, out of the 650 constituencies.

2016 by-election

Phillips stood down as an MP on 4 November 2016, owing to "irreconcilable differences" with the Government over the issue of

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

. This triggered a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

within the constituency, which was held on 8 December; Caroline Johnson retained the seat for the Conservatives with a large majority.

2017–present

At the 2017 general election, Johnson won a majority of 25,237 votes; this was the second-largest majority of any seat in the East Midlands region (after Leicester South. Johnson's 42,245 votes were the greatest tally for her party in that election. Results of the 2017 United Kingdom general election The majority in percentage was surpassed by six candidates of the same party. At the 2019 general election, the Conservatives increased their majority further to 32,565. This was the largest Conservative majority (measured by number of votes) at the election, and the largest majority of any seat in the East Midlands. The seat was overweight in electorate meaning each elector's potential vote counts for about 15% less than the smallest mainland seats and each potential vote has 24.4% of the potential effect as the remote seat covering

Na h-Eileanan an Iar The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islands form part ...

(the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides). A seat consisting of the latter seat multiplied by four times its electorate would, narrowly, be smaller than this seat's adult eligible voters (electorate).

Members of Parliament

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

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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 ...

, Douglas Hogg ,

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 ...

, - , style="color:inherit;background-color: " , ,

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, - , style="color:inherit;background-color: " , , 2016 by-election , Caroline Johnson ,

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

References

Notes

Citations

Works cited

* * * * * * *

External links

Sleaford and North Hykeham 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, 53.05, -0.50, dim:40000_region:GB, display=title Parliamentary constituencies in Lincolnshire Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1997