Mid Sussex (UK Parliament constituency)

Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1974 onwards

This article is about the parliamentary constituency. For other uses, see Mid Sussex.

Mid Sussex

County constituency
for the House of Commons

Boundaries since 2024

Boundary of Mid Sussex in South East England

County| West Sussex
Electorate| 72,255 (2023)[1]
Major settlements|

* Haywards Heath
* Burgess Hill

Current constituency
Created| 1974 (1974)
Member of Parliament| Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrats)
Seats| One
Created from| East Grinstead and Lewes

Mid Sussex is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2024 by Alison Bennett, a Liberal Democrat.[2][n 2]

## Constituency profile

[edit]

The constituency is centred around the towns of Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill and takes in the southern half of the local government district of the same name. Located on the West Sussex side of the border with East Sussex, the constituency is well served by transport links, with rail connections to Brighton, Gatwick Airport, London and the Sussex coast, and the M23/A23 running through the west of the constituency. The south of the constituency lies within the South Downs National Park.

Income levels are on average considerably higher than the national average[3] and levels of rented[4] and social housing[3] are below the national average, particularly levels seen in cities.

## Boundaries

[edit]

Map of 2010–2024 boundaries

1974–1983: The Urban Districts of Burgess Hill and Cuckfield, and the Rural District of Cuckfield.

1983–1997: The District of Mid Sussex wards of Ardingly, Bolney, Burgess Hill Chanctonbury, Burgess Hill Franklands, Burgess Hill North, Burgess Hill St Andrews, Burgess Hill Town, Burgess Hill West, Clayton, Cuckfield, East Grinstead East, East Grinstead North, East Grinstead South, East Grinstead West, Haywards Heath Ashenground, Haywards Heath Bentswood, Haywards Heath Franklands, Haywards Heath Harlands, Haywards Heath Heath, Horsted Keynes, Hurstpierpoint, Keymer, Lindfield Rural, Lindfield Urban, and West Hoathly.

1997–2010: The District of Mid Sussex wards of Ardingly, Burgess Hill Chanctonbury, Burgess Hill Franklands, Burgess Hill North, Burgess Hill St Andrews, Burgess Hill Town, Burgess Hill West, Cuckfield, East Grinstead East, East Grinstead North, East Grinstead South, East Grinstead West, Haywards Heath Ashenground, Haywards Heath Bentswood, Haywards Heath Franklands, Haywards Heath Harlands, Haywards Heath Heath, Horsted Keynes, Lindfield Rural, Lindfield Urban, and West Hoathly.

2010–2024: The District of Mid Sussex wards of Ashurst Wood, Bolney, Burgess Hill Dunstall, Burgess Hill Franklands, Burgess Hill Leylands, Burgess Hill Meeds, Burgess Hill St Andrews, Burgess Hill Victoria, Cuckfield, East Grinstead Ashplats, East Grinstead Baldwins, East Grinstead Herontye, East Grinstead Imberhorne, East Grinstead Town, Haywards Heath Ashenground, Haywards Heath Bentswood, Haywards Heath Franklands, Haywards Heath Heath, Haywards Heath Lucastes, High Weald, and Lindfield.

2024–present: The District of Mid Sussex wards of Ardingly, Balcombe & Turners Hill (small part); Burgess Hill Dunstall; Burgess Hill Franklands; Burgess Hill Leylands; Burgess Hill Meeds & Hammonds; Burgess Hill St Andrews; Burgess Hill Victoria; Cuckfield, Bolney & Ansty; Downland Villages; Hassocks; Haywards Heath Ashenground; Haywards Heath Bentswood & Heath; Haywards Heath Franklands; Haywards Heath Lucastes & Bolnore; Haywards Heath North; Hurstpierpoint; Lindfield; Lindfield Rural & High Weald (small part).[5]

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, from the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the constituency changes described as following:

The electorate will be reduced to bring it within the permitted range by transferring northern parts, including the town of East Grinstead to the newly created constituency of East Grinstead and Uckfield. This will be partly offset by adding the Hassocks, and Hurstpierpoint and Downs wards from Arundel and South Downs.

## History

[edit]

The constituency was created in 1974 from parts of the seats of Lewes and East Grinstead, and has undergone significant boundary changes at every periodical review that it has been around for. Prior to 1973, the local government district had actually been a part of East Sussex, but as a result of delayed implementation of the Local Government Act 1972, it was almost wholly moved into West Sussex.

At the 1983 general election, it gained some of the wards (including East Grinstead itself) previously contained in the East Grinstead constituency (which disappeared at that election, its last MP Geoffrey Johnson Smith contested and won the new seat of Wealden in East Sussex), and at the 1997 election, it gained many of the semi-rural wards with smaller communities between East Grinstead and Crawley.

From its creation in 1983 to the present, it has been a Conservative seat, with the primary opposition until the 2015 election being the Liberal Democrats and their predecessors the Liberal Party. In 2015, there was a severe fall in Liberal Democrats support. Labour's candidate come second in the seat for the first time in its history. In 2017, Labour consolidated this lead at the 2017 General Election by gaining almost double the votes of the Liberal Democrats.

In the 2016 European Union referendum, Mid Sussex voted for the United Kingdom to remain a member of the European Union. Despite this, Soames called for MPs to back Theresa May's withdrawal agreement. However, he was one of the 21 Conservative rebels who voted to allow Parliament to vote to legislate to prevent a no deal Brexit on 3 September 2019, and subsequently became an independent, after the rebels had the Conservative whip removed. He then decided not to stand for re-election although he had the whip restored before dissolution.[6]

The Liberal Democrats regained a clear second place in the 2019 General Election, and won the seat in 2024 following boundary changes.

## Members of Parliament

[edit]

East Grinstead and Lewes prior to 1974

Election | Member[7] | Party

|
|

| Feb 1974 | Tim Renton | Conservative
| 1997 | Sir Nicholas Soames | Conservative
| 2019 | Independent
| Conservative
| 2019 | Mims Davies | Conservative
| 2024 | Alison Bennett | Liberal Democrats

## Elections

[edit]

### Elections in the 2020s

[edit]

General election 2024: Mid Sussex  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Liberal Democrats | Alison Bennett[8] | 21,136  | 39.6  | +14.1
| Conservative | Kristy Adams[9] | 14,474  | 27.1  | −24.2
| Labour | Dave Rowntree[10] | 9,397  | 17.6  | −0.4
| Reform UK | Gary Johnson[11] | 5,921  | 11.1  | N/A
| Green | Deanna Nicholson[11] | 2,048  | 3.8  | −0.3
| Monster Raving Loony | Baron Von Thunderclap[12] | 352  | 0.7  | −0.3
Majority  | 6,662  | 12.5  | N/A
Turnout | 53,328  | 70.2  | −3.1
Registered electors | 75,969  |  |
| Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | 19.2  |

### Elections in the 2010s

[edit]

2019 notional result[13]

Party  | Vote  | %
| Conservative | 27,154 | 51.3
| Liberal Democrats | 13,489 | 25.5
| Labour | 9,530 | 18.0
| Green | 2,179 | 4.1
| Others | 597 | 1.1
Turnout | 52,949  | 73.3
Electorate | 72,255
General election 2019: Mid Sussex[14] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Mims Davies | 33,455  | 53.3  | −3.6
| Liberal Democrats | Robert Eggleston  | 15,258  | 24.3  | +11.6
| Labour | Gemma Bolton  | 11,218  | 17.9  | −7.1
| Green | Deanna Nicholson  | 2,234  | 3.6  | +1.1
| Monster Raving Loony | Baron Von Thunderclap  | 550  | 0.9  | +0.1
| Advance | Brett Mortensen  | 47  | 0.1  | N/A
Majority  | 18,197  | 29.0  | −2.9
Turnout | 62,762  | 73.7  | +0.9
| Conservative hold | Swing | −7.6  |

* Davies had served as Member of Parliament for Eastleigh from 2015 until the 2019 election was called.

General election 2017: Mid Sussex[15][16] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Nicholas Soames | 35,082  | 56.9  | +0.8
| Labour | Greg Mountain  | 15,409  | 25.0  | +11.1
| Liberal Democrats | Sarah Osborne  | 7,855  | 12.7  | +1.2
| Green | Chris Jerrey  | 1,571  | 2.5  | −1.8
| UKIP | Toby Brothers  | 1,251  | 2.0  | −10.0
| Monster Raving Loony | Baron Von Thunderclap  | 464  | 0.8  | +0.2
Majority  | 19,673  | 31.9  | −10.3
Turnout | 61,632  | 72.8  | +0.5
| Conservative hold | Swing | −5.15  |
General election 2015: Mid Sussex[17][18] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Nicholas Soames | 32,268  | 56.1  | +5.4
| Labour | Greg Mountain  | 7,982  | 13.9  | +7.3
| UKIP | Toby Brothers  | 6,898  | 12.0  | +9.5
| Liberal Democrats | Daisy Cooper[19] | 6,604  | 11.5  | −26.0
| Green | Miranda Diboll[20] | 2,453  | 4.3  | +3.1
| Independent | Beki Adam[21] | 958  | 1.7  | N/A
| Monster Raving Loony | Baron Von Thunderclap  | 329  | 0.6  | +0.1
Majority  | 24,286  | 42.2  | +29.0
Turnout | 57,492  | 72.3  | −0.1
| Conservative hold | Swing | −0.95  |
General election 2010: Mid Sussex[22] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Nicholas Soames | 28,329  | 50.7  | +2.5
| Liberal Democrats | Serena Tierney  | 20,927  | 37.5  | +1.8
| Labour | David Boot  | 3,689  | 6.6  | –6.2
| UKIP | Marc Montgomery  | 1,423  | 2.5  | –0.7
| Green | Paul Brown  | 645  | 1.2  | N/A
| BNP | Stuart Minihane  | 583  | 1.0  | N/A
| Monster Raving Loony | Baron von Thunderclap  | 259  | 0.5  | N/A
Majority  | 7,402  | 13.2  | +0.7
Turnout | 55,855  | 72.4  | +0.35
| Conservative hold | Swing | +1.3  |

### Elections in the 2000s

[edit]

General election 2005: Mid Sussex  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Nicholas Soames | 23,765  | 48.0  | +1.8
| Liberal Democrats | Serena Tierney  | 17,875  | 36.1  | +5.0
| Labour | Robert Fromant  | 6,280  | 12.7  | −6.3
| UKIP | Harold Piggott  | 1,574  | 3.2  | +0.7
Majority  | 5,890  | 11.9  | −3.2
Turnout | 49,494  | 68.6  | +3.7
| Conservative hold | Swing | −1.6  |
General election 2001: Mid Sussex  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Nicholas Soames | 21,150  | 46.2  | +2.7
| Liberal Democrats | Lesley Wilkins  | 14,252  | 31.1  | +0.5
| Labour | Paul Mitchell  | 8,693  | 19.0  | +0.4
| UKIP | Petrina Holdsworth | 1,126  | 2.5  | +1.4
| Monster Raving Loony | Baron Von Thunderclap Berry  | 601  | 1.3  | N/A
Majority  | 6,898  | 15.1  | +2.2
Turnout | 45,822  | 64.9  | −12.7
| Conservative hold | Swing |  |

### Elections in the 1990s

[edit]

General election 1997: Mid Sussex[23] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Nicholas Soames | 23,231  | 43.5  | −15.5
| Liberal Democrats | Margaret Collins  | 16,377  | 30.6  | +2.4
| Labour | Mervyn Hamilton  | 9,969  | 18.6  | +8.0
| Referendum | Tam Large  | 3,146  | 5.9  | N/A
| UKIP | J.V. Barnett  | 606  | 1.1  | N/A
| Justice and Renewal Independent Party  | Ernest Tudway  | 134  | 0.3  | N/A
Majority  | 6,854  | 12.9  | −17.9
Turnout | 53,463  | 77.6  |
| Conservative hold | Swing |  |

This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1992 and 1997 general elections and thus change in share of vote is based on a notional calculation.

General election 1992: Mid Sussex[24] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Tim Renton | 39,524  | 59.0  | −2.1
| Liberal Democrats | Margaret Collins  | 18,996  | 28.4  | −3.1
| Labour | L C Gregory  | 6,951  | 10.4  | +3.0
| Green | H G Stevens  | 772  | 1.1  | N/A
| Monster Raving Loony | P B Berry  | 392  | 0.6  | N/A
| Independent | P D Hodkin  | 246  | 0.4  | N/A
| Natural Law | A M A Hankey  | 89  | 0.1  | N/A
Majority  | 20,528  | 30.6  | +1.0
Turnout | 66,970  | 82.9  | +5.7
| Conservative hold | Swing |  |

### Elections in the 1980s

[edit]

General election 1987: Mid Sussex  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Tim Renton | 37,781  | 61.1  | −0.3
| Liberal | Nicholas Westbrook  | 19,489  | 31.5  | −0.8
| Labour | Robert Hughes  | 4,573  | 7.4  | +1.4
Majority  | 18,292  | 29.6  | +0.5
Turnout | 61,843  | 77.2  | +2.5
| Conservative hold | Swing |  |
General election 1983: Mid Sussex  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Tim Renton | 35,310  | 61.4  |
| Liberal | Jack Campbell  | 18,566  | 32.3  |
| Labour | Patricia Hawkes  | 3,470  | 6.0  |
| Independent | J Bray  | 196  | 0.3  |
Majority  | 16,744  | 29.1  |
Turnout | 57,542  | 74.7  |
| Conservative hold | Swing |  |

This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1979 and 1983 general elections and thus calculation of the change in share of vote is not possible.

### Elections in the 1970s

[edit]

General election 1979: Mid Sussex  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Tim Renton | 32,548  | 61.2  | +7.3
| Liberal | Jack Campbell  | 11,705  | 22.0  | −6.1
| Labour | Des Turner | 8,260  | 15.5  | −2.5
| Ind. Conservative | S M H Haslett  | 697  | 1.3  | N/A
Majority  | 20,843  | 39.2  | +13.4
Turnout | 53,210  | 78.0  | +1.6
| Conservative hold | Swing |  |
General election October 1974: Mid Sussex  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Tim Renton | 25,126  | 53.9  | −0.2
| Liberal | Bob Symes | 13,129  | 28.1  | −1.9
| Labour | M R Fraser  | 8,404  | 18.0  | +2.2
Majority  | 11,997  | 25.8  | +1.7
Turnout | 46,659  | 76.4  | −6.9
| Conservative hold | Swing |  |
General election February 1974: Mid Sussex  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Tim Renton | 27,317  | 54.1  |
| Liberal | Bob Symes | 15,162  | 30.0  |
| Labour | M R Fraser  | 7,993  | 15.8  |
Majority  | 12,155  | 24.1  |
Turnout | 50,472  | 83.3  |
| Conservative win (new seat)

## See also

[edit]

* List of parliamentary constituencies in West Sussex
* List of parliamentary constituencies in the South East England (region)

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. ^ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – South East". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
2. ^ "Sussex Mid Parliamentary constituency". BBC.
3. ^ a b "Local statistics – Office for National Statistics". ons.gov.uk.
4. ^ "2011 census interactive maps". Archived from the original on 29 January 2016.
5. ^ "New Seat Details - Mid Sussex". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
6. ^ Tan, Rebecca (4 September 2019). "Winston Churchill's grandson to be expelled from Tory Party for voting against Boris Johnson". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022.
7. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 6)
8. ^ "Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidates". Mark Pack. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
9. ^ "Mid Sussex Conservatives select parliamentary candidate for next general election". Sussex Express. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
10. ^ "Blur drummer Dave Rowntree selected as Labour candidate for general election". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
11. ^ a b "Blur drummer new Labour candidate for Mid Sussex". BBC News. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
12. ^ "Mid Sussex". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
13. ^ "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
14. ^ "Sussex Mid Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
15. ^ "Loony Party Candidates". Retrieved 7 May 2017.
16. ^ "Sussex Mid". Election 2017. BBC. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
17. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
18. ^ "Sussex Mid parliamentary constituency – Election 2017". BBC.
19. ^ "Daisy Cooper PPC page". Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
20. ^ "Mid Sussex and Crawley Green Party | Local party elects Prospective Parliamentary Candidates for Horsham and Mid Sussex". Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
21. ^ "Mid Sussex". YourNextMP. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
22. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
23. ^ "'Sussex Mid', May 1997 -". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
24. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.

## Sources

[edit]

* Election result, 2015 (BBC)
* Election result, 2010 (BBC)
* Election result, 2005 (BBC)
* Election results, 1997–2001 (BBC)
* Election results, 1997–2001 (Election Demon)
* Election results, 1983–1997 (Election Demon)
* Election results, 1974–2001 (Political Science Resources)

## External links

[edit]

* Mid Sussex UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
* Mid Sussex UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK

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