Hastings and Rye (UK Parliament constituency)

Template:UK constituency infobox Hastings and Rye is a 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.

Boundaries

The main settlements in the constituency are the larger town of Hastings and smaller nearby town of Rye. It includes the whole of the Borough of Hastings and the four wards of the District of Rother: Brede Valley, Eastern Rother, Marsham, and Rye.

The constituency is set in a relatively isolated part of Sussex and so does not enjoy some of the more general affluence of this part of the country. Hastings is a traditional seaside resort, but with some light industry. Rye is a largely historic tourist town, though with a small port. The seat is considered a deprived area.

History

The constituency was created in 1983 by the merger of the former seats of Hastings & Rye. The Conservative MP for Hastings since 1970, Kenneth Warren, contested and won the new merged seat, while the Conservative MP for Rye since 1955, Bryant Godman Irvine, retired. Warren held the seat until his retirement in 1992; it was formerly a Conservative stronghold, with the Liberal Party (now the Liberal Democrats) regularly coming second. Jacqui Lait held the seat for the Conservatives on Warren's retirement. However, the 1997 general election proved to be a dramatic watershed: aided by boundary changes, the Labour candidate Michael Foster narrowly defeated Lait, becoming the second-least expected Labour MP in the landslide of that year and turning the seat into a three-way marginal. Foster held the seat, again with slim majorities over the Conservatives, at the 2001 and 2005 general elections, and since 2009 has served as a junior Equalities minister in the government of Gordon Brown. The Liberal Democrat vote has fallen considerably, leaving them in a distant third place.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	1983	Kenneth Warren	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	1992	Jacqui Lait	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	1997	Michael Foster	Labour

Elections

Confirmed candidates for the next UK general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Jabez Foster
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Perry
	Conservative	Amber Rudd

General Election 2005: Hastings and Rye

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
Turnout			43,004	67.8	9.5
	Labour hold		Swing	-2.9

General Election 2001: Hastings and Rye

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Foster	19,402	47.1	+12.7
	Conservative	Mark Coote	15,094	36.6	+7.5
	Liberal Democrats	Graem Peters	4,266	10.3	−17.6
	UKIP	Alan Coomber	911	2.2	+1.2
	Green	Sally Phillips	721	1.7	N/A
	Independent (politician)	Gillian Bargery	486	1.2	N/A
	Monster Raving Loony	John Ord-Clarke	198	0.5	+0.2
	Rock 'n' Roll Loony	Brett McLean	140	0.3	N/A
Majority			4,308	10.5
Turnout			41,218	58.3	−11.4
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1997: Hastings and Rye

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Foster	16,867	34.4	+18.6
	Conservative	Jacqui Lait	14,307	29.2	−18.4
	Liberal Democrats	Monroe Palmer	13,717	28.0	−7.3
	Referendum	Christopher McGovern	2,511	5.1	N/A
	Liberal	Jane Amstad	1,046	2.1	N/A
	UKIP	W N Andrews	472	1.0	N/A
	Monster Raving Loony	Derek Tiverton	149	0.3	0.0
Majority			2,560	5.2
Turnout			49,069	69.7	−5.2
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+18.5

General Election 1992: Hastings and Rye

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

General Election 1987: Hastings and Rye

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth Warren	26,163	50.1	−3.2
	Liberal	David J Amies	18,816	36.0	+5.5
	Labour	Richard Stevens	6,825	13.1	−2.1
	Monster Raving Loony	Derek Tiverton	242	0.4	N/A
	Independent (politician)	S P Davies	194	0.4	N/A
Majority			7,347	14.1
Turnout			52,240	71.8	+2.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	-4.4

General Election 1983: Hastings and Rye

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

Sources

• Election result, 2005 (BBC)
• Election results, 1997 - 2001 (BBC)
• Election results, 1997 - 2001 (Election Demon)
• Election results, 1983 - 1992 (Election Demon)
• Election results, 1992 - 2005 (Guardian)

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in East Sussex