Esher and Walton (UK Parliament constituency)

Esher and Walton (/ˌiːʃər  ...  ˈwɔːltən/) is a constituency in Surrey represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.[n 1] Since 2010, it has been represented by Dominic Raab of the Conservative Party, who served as deputy prime minister before resigning from that role in April 2023 due to bullying allegations.[2] In May he announced he would be standing down as an MP at the next general election.[3]

Esher and Walton
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Esher and Walton in Surrey
Outline map
Location of Surrey within England
CountySurrey
Electorate76,962 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlementsEsher, Walton-on-Thames, Claygate
Current constituency
Created1997
Member of ParliamentDominic Raab (Conservative)
SeatsOne
Created fromEsher
Chertsey & Walton

Constituency profile

The constituency is in the north of Surrey in the affluent London commuter belt. It is partly rural, with heathland and reservoirs, as well as towns such as Esher and Walton-on-Thames, and lower density Cobham, Claygate and Molesey and the villages of Oxshott, Thames Ditton and Hinchley Wood. The constituency occupies all but the far west of the Borough of Elmbridge. A majority of its housing is on private planned estates.[4] The South West Main Line passes through the middle of the seat, with fast trains to central London. The constituency has low unemployment[5] and has traditionally been regarded as one of the Conservative Party's safest seats in the UK. The area of the seat includes the last non-tidal section of the River Thames, wooded Esher Commons, the River Mole and Sandown Park racecourse.[6]

Boundaries

Since the constituency's creation in 1997 it has consisted of the Borough of Elmbridge wards of Claygate, Cobham and Downside, Cobham Fairmile, Esher, Hersham North, Hersham South, Hinchley Wood, Long Ditton, Molesey East, Molesey North, Molesey South, Oxshott and Stoke D'Abernon, Thames Ditton, Walton Ambleside, Walton Central, Walton North, Walton South, Weston Green.

Members of Parliament

Ian Taylor held the seat from 1997 to 2010, having held the previous Esher seat from 1987. Taylor stood down at the 2010 election, and Dominic Raab was elected as the new Conservative MP for this seat.

ElectionMember[7] Party
1997 Ian Taylor Conservative
2010 Dominic Raab Conservative

History

The last time a component of this area voted for an MP who was not Conservative was in 1906, when a Liberal MP served the four-year term to 1910 for Chertsey, representing the Walton-on-Thames part of the current seat.[8][9]

In the 2019 general election, 60 seats, including this seat, were written into the Remain Alliance, an agreement between the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Plaid Cymru not to vie against one another in those seats.[10] These were parties opposed to Britain's departure from the European Union. In consequence, Laura Harmour,[11] who had been lined up to fight the seat for the Green Party, did not stand. Axel Thill,[12] the candidate selected for the Brexit Party, was one of those withdrawn by party leader Nigel Farage before nominations closed,[13] when Farage decided not to field candidates in Conservative-held seats. This was done to avoid the potential for pro-Remain parties winning seats and holding a People's Vote on Brexit.

The seat, long considered safe for the Conservatives, was heavily targeted by the Liberal Democrats, particularly because the incumbent Conservative, Dominic Raab, had campaigned for a Leave vote in the EU referendum. The constituency itself voted in favour of remaining in the EU and is socially similar to the two Greater London seats it borders, namely Twickenham and Kingston & Surbiton, which are both strongholds for the Lib Dems. This resulted in a large swing to the Liberal Democrats of 18.5%, reducing the seat's majority to make it a marginal for the first time since its creation.

Elections
Esher and Walton election results

Elections in the 2010s

In 2019, Esher and Walton was one[14] of five English seats (the others being Cheltenham, East Devon, Westmorland and Lonsdale, and Winchester) where the Labour candidate failed to get over 5% votes cast so lost the deposit.

General election 2019: Esher and Walton[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Dominic Raab 31,132 49.4 Decrease 9.2
Liberal Democrats Monica Harding 28,389 45.0 Increase 27.7
Labour Peter Ashurst 2,838 4.5 Decrease 15.2
Independent Kylie Keens 347 0.6 New
Monster Raving Loony Baron Badger 326 0.5 Steady 0.0
Advance Kyle Taylor 52 0.1 New
Majority 2,743 4.4 Decrease34.5
Turnout 63,084 77.7 Increase3.8
Conservative hold Swing Decrease 18.5
General election 2017: Esher and Walton[16][17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Dominic Raab 35,071 58.6 Decrease 4.3
Labour Lana Hylands 11,773 19.7 Increase 7.0
Liberal Democrats Andrew Davis 10,374 17.3 Increase 7.9
Green Olivia Palmer 1,074 1.8 Decrease 2.3
UKIP David Ions 1,034 1.7 Decrease 8.0
Monster Raving Loony Baron Badger 318 0.5 New
Independent Della Reynolds 198 0.3 Decrease 0.1
Majority 23,298 38.9 Decrease 11.3
Turnout 59,842 73.9 Increase 2.6
Conservative hold Swing Decrease 5.6
General election 2015: Esher and Walton[18][19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Dominic Raab 35,845 62.9 +4.0
Labour Francis Eldergill 7,229 12.7 +2.0
UKIP Nicholas Wood 5,551 9.7 +6.4
Liberal Democrats Andrew Davis 5,372 9.4 −15.4
Green Olivia Palmer 2,355 4.1 New
CISTA Matthew Heenan 396 0.7 New
Independent Della Reynolds 228 0.4 New
Majority 28,616 50.2 +16.1
Turnout 56,976 71.3 −0.7
Conservative hold Swing
General election 2010: Esher and Walton[20]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Dominic Raab 32,134 58.9 +13.2
Liberal Democrats Lionel Blackman 13,541 24.8 −4.8
Labour Francis Eldergill 5,829 10.7 −8.7
UKIP Bernard Collignon 1,783 3.3 0.0
Independent Tony Popham 378 0.7 New
Monster Raving Loony Chinners Chinnery 341 0.6 −0.7
English Democrat Mike Kearsley 307 0.6 New
Best of a Bad Bunch Andy Lear 230 0.4 New
Majority 18,593 34.1 +18.0
Turnout 54,543 72.0 +9.8
Conservative hold Swing +9.0

Elections in the 2000s
General election 2005: Esher and Walton[21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Ian Taylor 21,882 45.7 −3.3
Liberal Democrats Mark Marsh 14,155 29.6 +7.1
Labour Richard C.H. Taylor 9,309 19.4 −4.2
UKIP Bernard Collignon 1,582 3.3 −1.6
Monster Raving Loony Chinners Chinnery 608 1.3 New
Socialist Labour Richard G. Cutler 342 0.7 New
Majority 7,727 16.1 -9.3
Turnout 47,878 62.2 +0.3
Conservative hold Swing −5.2
General election 2001: Esher and Walton[22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Ian Taylor 22,296 49.0 −0.8
Labour Joe McGowan 10,758 23.6 +0.8
Liberal Democrats Mark Marsh 10,241 22.5 +2.1
UKIP Bernard Collignon 2,236 4.9 +3.9
Majority 11,538 25.4 -1.6
Turnout 45,531 61.9 −12.4
Conservative hold Swing −0.9

Elections in the 1990s
General election 1997: Esher and Walton[23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Ian Taylor 26,747 49.8 −10.9
Labour Julie A. Reay 12,219 22.8 +5.4
Liberal Democrats Gary M. Miles 10,937 20.4 −1.6
Referendum Andrew A.C. Cruickshank 2,904 5.4 New
UKIP Bernard Collignon 558 1.0 New
Rainbow Dream Ticket Simone Kay 302 0.6 New
Majority 14,528 27.0
Turnout 53,667 74.3
Conservative win (new seat)

See also

Notes
  1. As with all constituencies, Esher and Walton elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at most every five years.

References
  1. "Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  2. "Dominic Raab resigns as UK deputy prime minister over bullying claims". Financial Times. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  3. "Dominic Raab to stand down as MP at next election". The Guardian. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  4. Latest published Physical Environment: Land Use Statistics by constituency Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
  5. Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
  6. "2010 post-revision map non-metropolitan areas and unitary authorities of England" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  7. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "E" (part 2)
  8. Youngs, Frederic A Jr. (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol.I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0-901050-67-9.(1979) pp. 764-766
  9. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  10. "FULL LIST: All the seats being targeted by the cross-party anti-Brexit Unite to Remain group". PoliticsHome.com. 7 November 2019.
  11. "General Election Candidates 2019 | Green Party". Green Party Members' Website.
  12. "Home". Axel Thill PPC.
  13. Ferguson, Emily (11 November 2019). "Election 2019 LIVE: Corbyn INVISIBLE on Labour leaflets -Leader's unpopularity hurts party". Express.co.uk.
  14. "Election results 2019: Greens lose the most deposits". BBC News. 13 December 2019.
  15. "Esher & Walton Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  16. "Loony Party Candidates". Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  17. "Esher and Walton Candidates". Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  18. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  19. "Esher & Walton parliamentary constituency – Election 2017" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  20. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  21. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  22. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  23. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

Sources

51.35°N 0.37°W / 51.35; -0.37

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