Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (UK Parliament constituency)

Bognor Regis and Littlehampton
Bognor Regis and Littlehampton
County constituency; for the House of Commons
	Boundaries since 2024
	Boundary of Bognor Regis and Littlehampton in South East England
County	West Sussex
Population	98,433 (2011 census)
Electorate	76,985 (2023)
Major settlements	Bognor Regis, Felpham and Littlehampton
Current constituency
Created	1997
Member of Parliament	Alison Griffiths (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	Arundel

Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (contemp. RP [/ˈbɒɡnə ɹʷiːd͡ʒɪs ænd lɪtl̩hæmptn̩/, /-æmtn̩/]) is a constituency^{[n 1]} in West Sussex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Alison Griffiths, a Conservative.^{[n 2]}

Boundaries

Map of boundaries 2010–2024

The constituency is elongated along the south coast of England. It includes the towns of Bognor Regis and Littlehampton.

1997–2010: The District of Arun wards of Aldwick East, Aldwick West, Bersted, Felpham East, Felpham West, Hotham, Littlehampton Beach, Littlehampton Central, Littlehampton Ham, Littlehampton River, Littlehampton Wick, Marine, Middleton on Sea, Orchard, Pagham, and Pevensey.

2010–2024: The District of Arun wards of Aldwick East, Aldwick West, Beach, Bersted, Brookfield, Felpham East, Felpham West, Ham, Hotham, Marine, Middleton-on-Sea, Orchard, Pagham and Rose Green, Pevensey, River, Wick with Toddington, and Yapton.

2024–present: The District of Arun wards of: Aldwick East; Aldwick West; Beach; Brookfield; Courtwick with Toddington; Felpham East (most); Felpham West; Hotham; Marine; Middleton-on-Sea; Orchard; Pevensey; River; Rustington East; Rustington West; Yapton.^[3]

The electorate was reduced to bring it within the permitted range by transferring Bersted and Pagham to Chichester. To partly compensate, Rustington was added from Worthing West.

Constituency profile

The constituency has a diverse economy. Small-scale agriculture, manufacturing, and trades make up most of the local economy, supplemented by services and tourism.

The population of the constituency is a mixture of young families, supporting the constituency's sporting facilities, public services, golf courses and general domestic spending. People in retirement are also a notable demographic, who have moved to the coast from London and other British urban areas to live by the South Coast of England.

The proportion of social housing is lower than the UK average.^[4]

History

Political history

The vote share and majority for the Conservative MP, Nick Gibb, who won the first six general elections in this seat, grew since 2001 to reach over 22,000 votes.

At the first three general elections, the Labour Party candidate was runner-up, notably denting Gibb's winning margin to 5,632 votes in 2001. In 2010, the Liberal Democrat candidate took second place, more than 4,000 votes ahead of Labour and 13,063 short of Gibb's total. Mirroring nationwide performance, the Lib Dem vote share fell in 2015, whilst the UKIP vote share rose in this constituency, becoming the runner-up, but 13,944 votes short of Gibb's tally.

In June 2016, an estimated 64.8% of local adults voting in the EU membership referendum voted to Leave the European Union. This was matched in two January 2018 votes in Parliament by MP Nick Gibb.^[5]

In 2017, Labour's candidate of 2015 was reselected to stand and took second place.

The year 2017 saw an independent candidate, Paul Sanderson, the chaplain of The Littlehampton Academy come within 1% of retaining his political deposit and ahead of the UKIP and Green candidates.

Gibb was re-elected for a seventh time in 2019, with an increased majority of 22,503 votes and a vote share of 63.5%. He did not stand at the 2024 general election and his successor as the Conservative candidate, Alison Griffiths, was elected with a drastically reduced majority of 1,765, having suffered an adverse swing of 19.8%.

Contents and regional context

The seat was created from the western, more populous part of the Arundel seat on its 1997 abolition. Before the latter's creation in 1974, Bognor Regis was part of the Chichester seat and Littlehampton part of the Arundel and Shoreham seat.

Notable representatives

From its creation in 1997 until 2024, the seat was represented by Nick Gibb of the Conservative Party. Gibb had worked for the party for over ten years, and became an MP at his third attempt. After thirteen years in opposition, he joined David Cameron's coalition government after the 2010 general election, becoming Minister of State for School Standards, working under Education Secretary Michael Gove. He left the government in a 2012 reshuffle, being replaced by David Laws. He then returned to the same department, now run by Nicky Morgan, as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Childcare, Education and School Reform in 2014. The following year, he again took up his previous post, which he then held under three Prime Ministers (Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson) and five Education Secretaries (Gove, Morgan, Justine Greening, Damian Hinds and Gavin Williamson). He was dismissed from this position in 2021.

Members of Parliament

Arundel prior to 1997

Election		Member^[6]	Party
	1997	Nick Gibb	Conservative
	2024	Alison Griffiths	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Bognor Regis and Littlehampton^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alison Griffiths	15,678	32.8	–29.4
	Labour	Clare Walsh	13,913	29.1	+10.1
	Reform UK	Sandra Daniells	10,262	21.5	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Henry Jones	5,081	10.6	–2.7
	Green	Carol Birch	2,185	4.6	+1.3
	Heritage	David Kurten	708	1.5	N/A
Majority			1,765	3.7	–39.5
Turnout			47,827	61.7	–6.5
Registered electors			77,565
	Conservative hold		Swing	–19.8

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result^[8]
Party		Vote	%
	Conservative	32,645	62.2
	Labour	9,963	19.0
	Liberal Democrats	6,978	13.3
	Green	1,711	3.3
	Others	1,213	2.3

Turnout		52,510	68.2
Electorate		76,985

General election 2019: Bognor Regis and Littlehampton ^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nick Gibb	32,521	63.5	+4.5
	Labour	Alan Butcher	10,018	19.6	−5.3
	Liberal Democrats	Francis Oppler	5,645	11.0	+4.5
	Green	Carol Birch	1,826	3.6	+1.7
	UKIP	David Kurten	846	1.7	−1.9
	Independent	Andrew Elston	367	0.7	New
Majority			22,503	43.9	+9.8
Turnout			51,223	66.1	−1.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.9

General election 2017: Bognor Regis and Littlehampton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nick Gibb	30,276	59.0	+7.7
	Labour	Alan Butcher	12,782	24.9	+11.1
	Liberal Democrats	Francis Oppler	3,352	6.5	−2.5
	Independent	Paul Sanderson	2,088	4.1	New
	UKIP	Patrick Lowe	1,861	3.6	−18.1
	Green	Andrew Bishop	993	1.9	−2.2
Majority			17,494	34.1	+4.5
Turnout			51,352	67.7	+3.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.75

General election 2015: Bognor Regis and Littlehampton^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nick Gibb	24,185	51.3	−0.1
	UKIP	Graham Jones	10,241	21.7	+15.2
	Labour	Alan Butcher	6,508	13.8	−0.2
	Liberal Democrats	Francis Oppler	4,240	9.0	−14.5
	Green	Simon McDougall	1,942	4.1	New
Majority			13,944	29.6	+1.7
Turnout			47,116	64.5	−1.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 2010: Bognor Regis and Littlehampton^[11]^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nick Gibb	24,087	51.4	+6.8
	Liberal Democrats	Simon McDougall	11,024	23.5	+1.6
	Labour	Michael Jones	6,580	14.0	−11.4
	UKIP	Douglas Denny	3,036	6.5	−1.5
	BNP	Andrew Moffat	1,890	4.0	New
	Independent	Melissa Briggs	235	0.5	New
Majority			13,063	27.9	+8.7
Turnout			46,852	66.2	+3.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Bognor Regis and Littlehampton^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nick Gibb	18,183	44.6	−0.6
	Labour	George O'Neill	10,361	25.4	−5.3
	Liberal Democrats	Simon McDougall	8,927	21.9	+4.3
	UKIP	Adrian Lithgow	3,276	8.0	+3.4
Majority			7,822	19.2	+4.7
Turnout			40,747	62.1	+3.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.3

General election 2001: Bognor Regis and Littlehampton^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nick Gibb	17,602	45.2	+1.0
	Labour	George O’Neill	11,959	30.7	+2.2
	Liberal Democrats	Pamela Peskett	6,846	17.6	−6.4
	UKIP	George Stride	1,779	4.6	+1.3
	Green	Lilius Cheyne	782	2.0	New
Majority			5,643	14.5	−1.2
Turnout			38,968	58.2	−11.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.6

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Bognor Regis and Littlehampton^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nick Gibb	20,537	44.2	−12.6
	Labour	Roger A. Nash	13,216	28.5	+15.0
	Liberal Democrats	James M.M. Walsh	11,153	24.0	−2.7
	UKIP	George Stride	1,537	3.3	New
Majority			7,321	15.7
Turnout			46,443	69.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	−13.8

Notes

^ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
^ 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

^ "Bognor Regis and Littlehampton: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – South East". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 6 South East region.
^ "Local statistics - Office for National Statistics". neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 11 February 2003. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
^ TheyWorkForYou (17 January 2018). "European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — Reject Third Reading — Membership of the European Union: Recent Votes". TheyWorkForYou. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 4)
^ "Statement of Persons Nominated, Notice of Poll and Situation of Polling Stations". Arun District Council. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
^ "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.
^ http://www.arun.gov.uk/download.cfm?doc=docm93jijm4n14617.pdf&ver=14967 ^{[dead link‍]}
^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^ Arun District Council Archived August 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

Sources

Election result, 2005 (BBC)
Election results, 1997 - 2001 (BBC)
Election results, 1997 - 2001 Archived 2020-01-21 at the Wayback Machine (Election Demon)
Election results, 1997 - 2005 (Guardian)

External links

nomis Constituency Profile for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton — presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.
Bognor Regis and Littlehampton UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
Bognor Regis and Littlehampton UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
Bognor Regis and Littlehampton UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK

50°48′N 0°36′W / 50.8°N 0.6°W / 50.8; -0.6

[3] A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)

[4] 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.

[1] "Bognor Regis and Littlehampton: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2015.

[2] "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – South East". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 23 June 2024.

[5] "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 6 South East region.

[6] "Local statistics - Office for National Statistics". neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 11 February 2003. Retrieved 31 January 2015.

[7] TheyWorkForYou (17 January 2018). "European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — Reject Third Reading — Membership of the European Union: Recent Votes". TheyWorkForYou. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2022.

[rayment-8] Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 4)

[9] "Statement of Persons Nominated, Notice of Poll and Situation of Polling Stations". Arun District Council. Retrieved 9 June 2024.

[10] "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.

[Statement_of_persons_nominated-11] ttp://www.arun.gov.uk/download.cfm?doc=docm93jijm4n14617.pdf&ver=14967 ^{[dead link‍]}

[electoralcalculus-12] "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus2010-13] "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

[14] Arun District Council Archived August 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine

[electoralcalculus2005-15] "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus2001-16] "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[electoralcalculus1997-17] "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

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v t e Constituencies in South East England (91)
Labour (36)	Aldershot Ashford Aylesbury Banbury Basingstoke Bracknell Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven Buckingham and Bletchley Chatham and Aylesford Crawley Dartford Dover and Deal Earley and Woodley East Thanet East Worthing and Shoreham Folkestone and Hythe Gillingham and Rainham Gravesham Hastings and Rye Hove and Portslade Isle of Wight West Milton Keynes Central Milton Keynes North Oxford East Portsmouth North Portsmouth South Reading Central Reading West and Mid Berkshire Rochester and Strood Sittingbourne and Sheppey Slough Southampton Itchen Southampton Test Worthing West Wycombe
Conservative (30)	Arundel and South Downs Beaconsfield Bexhill and Battle Bognor Regis and Littlehampton East Grinstead and Uckfield East Hampshire East Surrey Fareham and Waterlooville Farnham and Bordon Faversham and Mid Kent Godalming and Ash Gosport Hamble Valley Havant Herne Bay and Sandwich Isle of Wight East Maidstone and Malling Mid Buckinghamshire New Forest East New Forest West North West Hampshire Reigate Romsey and Southampton North Runnymede and Weybridge Sevenoaks Spelthorne Sussex Weald Tonbridge Weald of Kent Windsor
Liberal Democrats (24)	Bicester and Woodstock Chesham and Amersham Chichester Didcot and Wantage Dorking and Horley Eastbourne Eastleigh Epsom and Ewell Esher and Walton Guildford Henley and Thame Horsham Lewes Maidenhead Mid Sussex Newbury North East Hampshire Oxford West and Abingdon Surrey Heath Tunbridge Wells Winchester Witney Woking Wokingham
Green (1)	Brighton Pavilion
Independent (1)	Canterbury