Witham (UK Parliament constituency)
Encyclopedia
Witham is a parliamentary constituency
represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
. It elects one Member of Parliament
(MP) by the first past the post system of election.
On 20 November 2006, Priti Patel
was selected as the Conservative Party
candidate for the seat at the 2010 election. She won the seat with a majority of 15,196; an increase against the notional Conservative majority of 7,241 votes (17.29%), (according to Media Guide To The New Parliamentary Constituencies, Rallings & Thrasher).
, the Boundary Commission for England made radical alterations to existing constituencies to allow for an extra seat to be created due to increased population. As a consequence, electoral wards from the districts of Braintree, Colchester and Maldon were used to create a new constituency of Witham.
From Braintree
From Maldon
From Colchester
Witham itself is an oft-forgotten town, on the Great Eastern main line railway from London to Norwich, with some heavy industry and down-at-heel residential areas - the strength of the Labour vote here was just enough to turn the former Braintree seat red in 1997 on the previous boundaries.
However, the town is small, and the Witham seat extends to cover a huge part of rural central Essex where affluent commuter villages and farming communities sit side by side, united in almost universal support for the Conservatives.
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. It elects one Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) by the first past the post system of election.
On 20 November 2006, Priti Patel
Priti Patel
Priti Patel is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. First elected in the 2010 general election, she is the Member of Parliament for the Witham constituency, and an officer of the Conservative Friends of Israel group....
was selected as the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate for the seat at the 2010 election. She won the seat with a majority of 15,196; an increase against the notional Conservative majority of 7,241 votes (17.29%), (according to Media Guide To The New Parliamentary Constituencies, Rallings & Thrasher).
Boundaries
Following a review of parliamentary representation in EssexEssex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, the Boundary Commission for England made radical alterations to existing constituencies to allow for an extra seat to be created due to increased population. As a consequence, electoral wards from the districts of Braintree, Colchester and Maldon were used to create a new constituency of Witham.
From Braintree
- Black Notley and Terling, Bradwell, Silver End and Rivenhall, Coggeshall and North Feering, Hatfield Peverel, Kelvedon, Witham Chipping Hill and Central, WithamWithamWitham is a town in the county of Essex, in the south east of England with a population of 22,500. It is part of the District of Braintree and is twinned with the town of Waldbröl, Germany. Witham stands between the larger towns of Chelmsford and Colchester...
North, Witham South, and Witham West
From Maldon
- Great Totham, TollesburyTollesburyTollesbury is a village in England, located on the Essex coast at the mouth of the River Blackwater. It is situated nine miles east of the historic port of Maldon and twelve miles south of Colchester....
, Tolleshunt D'ArcyTolleshunt D'ArcyTolleshunt D'Arcy is a village and civil parish in the county of Essex in the East of England.The Parish has a Parish council, and lies within the area of Maldon District Council....
, and Wickham Bishops and Woodham
From Colchester
- Birch and Winstree, Copford and West Stanway, Marks Tey, StanwayStanway, EssexStanway is a village and civil parish in Essex, England located near Colchester. It is now widely referred to as a suburb.Stanway is located approximately three miles west of Colchester town centre on the B1408 , near the junction of the A12 and the A1124 at Eight Ash Green...
and TiptreeTiptreeTiptree is a village in the English county of Essex, situated south-east of Colchester and around north-east of London. Surrounding villages include Messing, Tolleshunt Knights, Layer Marney, Inworth, Birch, Great Braxted, Great Totham and Little Totham....
Constituency Profile
One of the safest Conservative seats in the county, and by extension one of the safest in the UK, Essex's newest seat seems likely to return only Conservative members, though paradoxically, the town of Witham is the only area of real Labour strength in the region.Witham itself is an oft-forgotten town, on the Great Eastern main line railway from London to Norwich, with some heavy industry and down-at-heel residential areas - the strength of the Labour vote here was just enough to turn the former Braintree seat red in 1997 on the previous boundaries.
However, the town is small, and the Witham seat extends to cover a huge part of rural central Essex where affluent commuter villages and farming communities sit side by side, united in almost universal support for the Conservatives.
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Priti Patel Priti Patel Priti Patel is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. First elected in the 2010 general election, she is the Member of Parliament for the Witham constituency, and an officer of the Conservative Friends of Israel group.... |
Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
|