Hastings and Rye (UK Parliament constituency)

Hastings and Rye is a constituency^{[n 1]} in East Sussex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Sally-Ann Hart of the Conservative Party. From 2010 until 2019, it was represented by Amber Rudd, who served as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Minister for Women and Equalities, Secretary of State for the Home Department and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under the governments of David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson.

Hastings and Rye
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Hastings and Rye in East Sussex
Location of East Sussex within England
County	East Sussex
Electorate	80,524 (December 2019)^[1]
Major settlements	Hastings, Ore, Rye, St Leonards-on-Sea, Winchelsea
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of Parliament	Sally-Ann Hart (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	Hastings, Rye

Since 2001 (inclusive) election campaigns have resulted in a minimum of 35.1% of votes at each election consistently for the same two parties' choice for candidate, the next-placed party's having fluctuated between 3.3% and 15.7% of the vote—such third-placed figures attained higher percentages in 1992 and 1997.

The result in 2017 was the 24th-closest nationally (of 650 seats), whereby 174 voters would have been capable of changing the outcome by their choice of candidate, the margin of votes being 346.^[2]

Boundaries

• 1983–2010: The Borough of Hastings, the District of Rother wards of Camber, Fairlight, Guestling and Pett, Rye, Winchelsea
• 2010–present: The Borough of Hastings, the District of Rother wards of Brede Valley, Eastern Rother, Marsham, Rye

Constituency profile

 

Map of current boundaries

As its name suggests, the main settlements in the constituency are the seaside resort of Hastings and smaller nearby tourist town of Rye. The constituency also includes the Cinque Port of Winchelsea and the villages of Fairlight, Winchelsea Beach, Three Oaks, Guestling, Icklesham, Playden, Iden, Rye Harbour, East Guldeford, Camber, and Pett.

The constituency is set in a relatively isolated part of the southeast from the railways perspective and so does not enjoy some of the more general affluence of this part of the country. In the 2000 index of multiple deprivation a majority of wards fell within the bottom half of rankings so it can arguably be considered a deprived area.^[3] Hastings has some light industry, while Rye has a small port, which includes hire and repair activities for leisure vessels and fishing. Hastings is mostly Labour-voting, whereas Rye and the rest of the areas from Rother council are Conservative.

Property prices in the villages are however rising and are in affluent areas, unlike residential estates in the towns. Three Oaks does enjoy a nearby train station for its residents, which has services allowing connecting services to London.

History

The constituency was created in 1983 by combining most of Hastings with a small part of Rye. The Conservative MP for Hastings since 1970, Kenneth Warren, won the new seat.^{[n 2]}. Warren held Hastings and Rye until he chose to retire in 1992; during this period its large majorities suggested it was a Conservative safe seat, with the Liberal Party (now the Liberal Democrats) regularly coming second. Jacqui Lait won the seat on Warren's retirement, but in 1997 the Labour candidate Michael Foster narrowly defeated Lait, becoming the second-least expected (on swing) Labour MP in the landslide of that year^{[citation needed]} and since 2001 setting a pattern that suggests the seat is a two-way Labour-Conservative marginal. Foster held the seat, again with slim majorities over Conservatives, in 2001 and 2005, but lost it to Conservative Amber Rudd in 2010. Rudd was re-elected with an increased majority in 2015.

In the 2017 general election, the Green Party declined to contest the seat and instead called on its supporters to back the Labour candidate.^[4] Rudd held the seat with a slim majority of 346.

Members of Parliament

Election	Member^[5]	Party
1983	Kenneth Warren		Conservative
1992	Jacqui Lait		Conservative
1997	Michael Foster		Labour
2010	Amber Rudd		Conservative
September 2019			Independent
2019	Sally-Ann Hart		Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

2019 general election: Hastings and Rye ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sally-Ann Hart	26,896	49.6	+2.7
	Labour	Peter Chowney	22,853	42.1	-4.1
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Perry	3,960	7.3	+3.9
	Independent	Paul Crosland	565	1.0	New
Majority			4,043	7.5	+6.8
Turnout			54,274	67.4	-4.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.4

2017 general election: Hastings and Rye

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Amber Rudd	25,668	46.9	+2.4
	Labour	Peter Chowney	25,322	46.2	+11.1
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Perry	1,885	3.4	+0.2
	UKIP	Michael Phillips	1,479	2.7	-10.6
	Independent	Nicholas Wilson	412	0.8	New
Majority			346	0.7	-8.7
Turnout			54,766	71.6	+3.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	-4.4

2015 general election: Hastings and Rye^[7][8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Amber Rudd	22,686	44.5	+3.4
	Labour	Sarah Owen	17,890	35.1	−2.0
	UKIP	Andrew Michael	6,786	13.3	+10.5
	Green	Jake Bowers	1,951	3.8	+3.8
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Perry	1,614	3.2	−12.5
Majority			4,796	9.4	+5.4
Turnout			50,927	68.0	+4.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.7

2010 general election: Hastings and Rye^[9][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Amber Rudd	20,468	41.1	+3.0
	Labour	Michael Foster	18,475	37.1	−3.5
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Perry	7,825	15.7	+0.6
	UKIP	Anthony Smith	1,397	2.8	+0.1
	BNP	Nick Prince	1,310	2.6	+2.6
	English Democrat	Rod Bridger	339	0.7	+0.7
Majority			1,993	4.0	N/A
Turnout			49,814	63.9	+4.9
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+3.3

Elections in the 2000s

2005 general election: Hastings and Rye^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Foster	18,107	42.1	−5.0
	Conservative	Mark Coote	16,081	37.4	+0.8
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Stevens	6,479	15.1	+4.8
	UKIP	Terry Grant	1,098	2.6	+0.4
	Green	Sally Phillips	1,032	2.4	+0.7
	Monster Raving Loony	Viscount Clarkey of Rochdale Canal Ord-Clarke	207	0.5	0.0
Majority			2,026	4.7	-5.8
Turnout			43,004	59.1	+0.7
	Labour hold		Swing	-2.9

2001 general election: Hastings and Rye^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Foster	19,402	47.1	+12.7
	Conservative	Mark Coote	15,094	36.6	+7.4
	Liberal Democrats	Graem Peters	4,266	10.3	−17.7
	UKIP	Alan Coomber	911	2.2	+1.2
	Green	Sally Phillips	721	1.7	New
	Independent	Gillian Bargery	486	1.2	New
	Monster Raving Loony	John Ord-Clarke	198	0.5	+0.2
	Rock 'n' Roll Loony	Brett McLean	140	0.3	New
Majority			4,308	10.5	+5.3
Turnout			41,218	58.4	-11.3
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.6

Elections in the 1990s

1997 general election: Hastings and Rye^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Foster	16,867	34.4	+18.7
	Conservative	Jacqui Lait	14,307	29.2	-18.4
	Liberal Democrats	Monroe Palmer	13,717	28.0	−7.2
	Referendum	Christopher J.M. McGovern	2,511	5.1	New
	Liberal	Jane M.E. Amstad	1,046	2.1	New
	UKIP	W.N. Andrews	472	1.0	New
	Monster Raving Loony	Derek Tiverton	149	0.3	0.0
Majority			2,560	5.2	N/A
Turnout			49,069	69.7	−5.2
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+18.5

1992 general election: Hastings and Rye^[14][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jacqui Lait	25,573	47.6	−2.5
	Liberal Democrats	Monroe Palmer	18,939	35.2	−0.8
	Labour	Richard D. Stevens	8,458	15.7	+2.6
	Green	Sally Philips	640	1.2	New
	Monster Raving Loony	Lord of Howell Derek Tiverton	168	0.3	−0.1
Majority			6,634	12.4	-1.7
Turnout			53,778	74.9	+3.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.9

Elections in the 1980s

1987 general election: Hastings and Rye^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Warren	26,163	50.1	−3.2
	Liberal	David Amies	18,816	36.0	+5.5
	Labour	Joy Hurcombe	6,825	13.1	−2.1
	Monster Raving Loony	Lord of Howell Derek Tiverton	242	0.4	New
	Independent	Stanley Davies	194	0.4	New
Majority			7,347	14.1	-12.7
Turnout			52,240	71.8	+2.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.4

1983 general election: Hastings and Rye^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Warren	25,626	53.3	N/A
	Liberal	David Amies	14,646	30.5	N/A
	Labour	N. Knowles	7,304	15.2	N/A
	Independent	G.L. McNally	503	1.0	N/A
Majority			10,980	22.8	N/A
Turnout			48,079	68.9	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in East Sussex

Notes

1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. The Conservative MP for the abolished seat of Rye (since 1955) Bryant Godman Irvine retired

References

1. "Election history of Hastings and Rye". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
2. "GE2017: Marginal seats and turnout". House of Commons Library. UK Parliament. 23 June 2017.
3. . Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 11 February 2003. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
4. Khan, Shebab (2 July 2017). "Election 2017: Labour say they have 'every chance of winning' Home Secretary Amber Rudd's seat". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022.
6. Jane Hartnell - Acting Returning Officer (14 November 2019). "Election of a Member of Parliament - Hastings and Rye Constituency" (PDF). Hastings Borough Council.
7. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
8. . Hastings Borough Council. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
9. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
10. . Hastings District Council. 16 June 2010. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011.
11. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
12. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
13. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
14. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
15. . Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
16. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
17. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

Sources

• Election 2005 Result: Hastings & Rye BBC News, 23 May 2005
• Vote 2001 - Hastings & Rye BBC News, 8 June 2001
• Election results, 1997 – 2001 2020-01-21 at the Wayback Machine Election Demon
• Election results, 1983 – 1992 2000-08-19 at the Wayback Machine Election Demon

50°54′36″N 0°39′25″E / 50.910°N 0.657°E / 50.910; 0.657