Witham (UK Parliament constituency)

Witham
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Witham in Essex
Location of Essex within England
County	Essex
Electorate	67,451 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Hatfield Peverel, Kelvedon, Marks Tey, White Notley, Witham
Current constituency
Created	2010
Member of Parliament	Priti Patel (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	Braintree, Maldon and East Chelmsford, North Essex, Colchester

Witham is a parliamentary constituency represented by Priti Patel in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation. Patel is a Conservative who became Home Secretary in July 2019 in the Johnson ministry.

History

The seat was created for the 2010 general election following a review of the Parliamentary representation of Essex by the Boundary Commission for England which resulted in radical alterations to existing constituencies to allow for an extra seat to be created due to increased population. As a consequence, the new seat of Witham was created which included parts of the constituencies of Braintree, Colchester, North Essex, and Maldon and East Chelmsford.

Boundaries

• The District of Braintree wards of Black Notley and Terling, Bradwell, Silver End and Rivenhall, Coggeshall and North Feering, Hatfield Peverel, Kelvedon, Witham Chipping Hill and Central, Witham North, Witham South, and Witham West
• The District of Maldon wards of Great Totham, Tollesbury, Tolleshunt D'Arcy, and Wickham Bishops and Woodham
• The Borough of Colchester wards of Birch and Winstree, Copford and West Stanway, Marks Tey, Stanway and Tiptree

The District of Braintree wards, which comprised approximately half the electorate, were transferred from the Braintree constituency; the District of Maldon wards from the abolished constituency of Maldon and Chelmsford East; and the Borough of Colchester wards from the abolished constituency of North Essex, except for Stanway ward which had been in the Colchester constituency.

Constituency profile

Witham is one of the safest Conservative seats in the country, although the town of Witham within it is the only area of real Labour strength in the region, being represented by one District Councillor alongside seven Conservative Councillors.

Witham itself is an industrial town, on the Great Eastern main line railway from London to Norwich, with some heavy industry and London commuter belt residential areas – the strength of the Labour vote here was just enough to turn the former Braintree seat red in 1997, and in 2001, on the previous boundaries.

However, the town is small, and the Witham seat extends to cover a huge part of rural central Essex, with affluent commuter villages and farming communities that show high levels of Conservative support.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	2010	Priti Patel	Conservative

Elections

General election 2019: Witham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Priti Patel	32,876	66.6	+2.3
	Labour	Martin Edobor	8,794	17.8	–8.6
	Liberal Democrats	Sam North	4,584	9.3	+3.8
	Green	James Abbott	3,090	6.3	+2.6
Majority			24,082	48.8	+10.9
Turnout			49,344	70.1	–1.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.5

General election 2017: Witham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Priti Patel	31,670	64.3	+6.8
	Labour	Phil Barlow	13,024	26.4	+10.6
	Liberal Democrats	Josephine Hayes	2,715	5.5	–0.6
	Green	James Abbott	1,832	3.7	–0.6
Majority			18,646	37.9	–3.6
Turnout			49,400	71.5	+1.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	–1.9

General election 2015: Witham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Priti Patel	27,123	57.5	+5.3
	UKIP	Garry Cockrill	7,569	16.0	+9.5
	Labour	John Clarke	7,467	15.8	–2.7
	Liberal Democrats	Josephine Hayes	2,891	6.1	–13.7
	Green	James Abbott	2,038	4.3	+1.3
	CPA	Doreen Scrimshaw	80	0.2	New
Majority			19,554	41.5	+9.1
Turnout			47,168	70.3	+0.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+9.5

General election 2010: Witham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Priti Patel	24,448	52.2	+2.5
	Liberal Democrats	Margaret Phelps	9,252	19.8	+4.6
	Labour	John Spademan	8,656	18.5	–13.9
	UKIP	David Hodges	3,060	6.5	New
	Green	James Abbott	1,419	3.0	New
Majority			15,196	32.4
Turnout			46,835	70.2	+6.6
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Essex