Wells and Mendip Hills (UK Parliament constituency)

Wells and Mendip Hills
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Map of constituency
Boundary of Wells and Mendip Hills in South West England
CountySomerset
Electorate69,843 (2023)[1]
Major settlementsWells, Shepton Mallet
Current constituency
Created2024
Member of ParliamentTessa Munt (Liberal Democrats)
SeatsOne
Created fromWells, Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset & Bridgwater and West Somerset

Wells and Mendip Hills is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament.[2] It was first contested at the 2024 general election.[3] It is currently represented by Liberal Democrat Tessa Munt, who was previously MP for Wells from 2010 to 2015.

Boundaries

Map
Map of boundaries from 2024

Under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the constituency was defined as being composed of the following as they existed on 1 December 2020:

  • The District of Mendip wards of: Chewton Mendip and Ston Easton; Croscombe and Pilton; Moor; Rodney and Westbury; St. Cuthbert Out North; Shepton East; Shepton West; Wells Central; Wells St. Cuthbert's; Wells St. Thomas'; Wookey and St. Cuthbert Out West.
  • The District of North Somerset wards of: Banwell & Winscombe; Blagdon & Churchill; Congresbury & Puxton; Yatton.
  • The District of Sedgemoor wards of: Axevale; Cheddar and Shipham; East Polden; Knoll; Wedmore and Mark; West Polden.[4]

With effect from 1 April 2023, the Districts of Mendip and Sedgemoor were abolished and absorbed into the new unitary authority of Somerset.[5] Consequently, the constituency now comprises the following from the 2024 general election:

  • The District of North Somerset wards of: Banwell & Winscombe; Blagdon & Churchill; Congresbury & Puxton; Yatton.
  • The Somerset electoral divisions of: Brent (majority); Cheddar; Huntspill (part); King Alfred (most); Mendip Hills (part); Mendip South (small part); Mendip West; Shepton Mallet; Wells.[6]

The following areas of Somerset make up the constituency:[6]

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Wells and Mendip Hills[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Tessa Munt[8] 23,622 46.9 +16.1
Conservative Meg Powell-Chandler[9] 12,501 24.8 −31.3
Reform UK Helen Hims[10] 6,611 13.1 N/A
Labour Co-op Joe Joseph[11] 3,527 7.0 −3.8
Green Peter Welsh[12] 2,068 4.1 +2.9
Independent Abi McGuire[13] 1,849 3.7 N/A
Independent Craig Clarke 190 0.4 N/A
Majority 11,121 22.1 N/A
Turnout 50,368 69.9 −10.9
Registered electors 72,051
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing +23.7

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result[14]
Party Vote %
Conservative 31,678 56.1
Liberal Democrats 17,383 30.8
Labour 6,076 10.8
Green 661 1.2
Others 643 1.2
Turnout 56,441 80.8
Electorate 69,843

See also

References

  1. ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – South West". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  2. ^ "South West | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  3. ^ "Shake-up revealed for Somerset MPs' boundaries". BBC News. 2022-11-08. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  4. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 7 South West region.
  5. ^ "The Somerset (Structural Changes) Order 2022".
  6. ^ a b "New Seat Details – Wells and Mendip Hills". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  7. ^ "Notice of Poll and Persons Nominated". Somerset Council. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidates". Mark Pack. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  9. ^ Meg Powell-Chandler [@meg4wells] (June 3, 2024). "I'm delighted to have been selected as the Parliamentary Candidate for the beautiful Wells and Mendip Hills Constituency. If elected on 4th July I will work tirelessly for the residents and make sure their voice is heard in Westminster" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "Wells and Mendip Hills Constituency". Reform UK. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  11. ^ "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Stand at the next general election". South West Green Party. 17 September 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Abi McGuire for Wells and Mendip Hills". Abi McGuire. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  14. ^ "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.