The location of Dorset relative to England.
The ceremonial county of Dorset (which comprises the two unitary authorities of Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole )
is divided into 8 parliamentary constituencies : 3 borough constituencies
and 5 county constituencies .
Constituencies
† Conservative
‡ Labour
¤ Liberal Democrat
Constituency[ nb 1]
Electorate[ 1]
Majority
Member of Parliament [ 2]
Nearest opposition[ 2]
Map
Bournemouth East BC
73,173
5,479
Tom Hayes ‡
Tobias Ellwood †
Bournemouth West BC
72,094
3,224
Jessica Toale ‡
Conor Burns †
Christchurch CC
71,598
7,455
Christopher Chope †
Mike Cox¤
Mid Dorset and North Poole CC
74,305
1,352
Vikki Slade ¤
Michael Tomlinson †
North Dorset CC
72,109
1,589
Simon Hoare †
Gary Jackson¤
Poole BC
72,162
18
Neil Duncan-Jordan ‡
Robert Syms †
South Dorset CC
76,640
1,048
Lloyd Hatton ‡
Richard Drax †
West Dorset CC
75,390
7,789
Edward Morello ¤
Chris Loder †
Boundary changes
2024
See 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies for further details.
Following the abandonment of the Sixth Periodic Review (the 2018 review), the Boundary Commission for England formally launched the 2023 Review on 5 January 2021.[ 3] Initial proposals were published on 8 June 2021 and, following two periods of public consultation, revised proposals were published on 8 November 2022. The final recommendations were published on 28 June 2023.
The commission proposed retaining the eight current constituencies in Dorset, with minor boundary changes to reflect changes to ward boundaries following the reorganisation of local government authorities within the county.[ 4]
Containing electoral wards from Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
Containing electoral wards from Dorset (unitary authority)
Results history
Primary data source: House of Commons research briefing - General election results from 1918 to 2019[ 5]
2024
The number of votes cast for each political party who fielded candidates in constituencies comprising Dorset in the 2024 general election were as follows:[ 2]
Party
Votes
%
Change from 2019
Seats
Change from 2019
Conservative
127,188
33.7%
24.6%
2
6
Liberal Democrats
95,463
25.3%
6.4%
2
2
Labour
82,652
21.9%
3.5%
4
4
Reform
45,367
12.0%
New
0
Greens
18,400
4.9%
1.0%
0
Others
8,287
2.2%
1.7%
0
Total
377,357
100.0
8
Percentage votes
Note that before 1983 Dorset did not include the Bournemouth and Christchurch areas (see below).
Election year
1922
1923
1924
1929
1931
1935
1945
1950
1951
1955
1959
1964
1966
1970
1974(F)
1974(O)
1979
1983
1987
1992
1997
2001
2005
2010
2015
2017
2019
2024
Conservative
39.1
51.7
60.1
46.2
56.8
54.0
45.2
47.6
52.2
53.9
52.4
46.6
47.3
54.2
48.1
48.0
58.4
58.6
57.8
54.5
41.8
45.3
44.1
48.3
51.7
58.7
58.3
33.7
Liberal Democrat 1
18.0
28.9
21.9
36.8
16.3
28.7
24.0
14.5
15.8
13.6
18.9
23.6
20.2
17.0
30.9
28.4
20.9
29.7
30.8
31.2
34.1
31.5
32.8
32.8
12.9
12.8
18.9
25.3
Labour
21.4
19.4
18.0
17.0
12.3
16.0
30.8
37.9
32.0
32.6
28.7
29.8
32.5
28.8
21.0
23.6
20.4
10.2
11.3
13.4
18.8
21.1
18.3
12.2
13.0
25.2
18.4
21.9
Reform
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
12.0
Green Party
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
*
*
*
*
*
0.5
5.3
2.6
3.9
4.9
UKIP
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
*
*
*
5.6
16.2
0.3
*
*
Other
21.5
-
-
-
14.6
1.4
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.3
1.4
0.1
0.9
5.3
2.1
4.7
0.6
0.9
0.4
0.5
2.2
1 1950-1979: Liberal Party ; 1983 & 1987 - SDP-Liberal Alliance
* Included in Other
Accurate vote percentages are not applicable for the 1918 election because one candidate stood unopposed.
Seats
1 1950-1979: Liberal Party ; 1983 & 1987 - SDP-Liberal Alliance
Maps
1885-1910
1885
1886
1892
1895
1900
1906
Jan 1910
Dec 1910
1918-1945
1918
1922
1923
1924
1929
1931
1935
1945
1950-1979
1950
1951
1955
1959
1964
1966
1970
Feb 1974
Oct 1974
1979
1983-present
1983
1987
1992
1997
2001
2005
2010
2015
2017
2019
2024
Historical representation by party
A cell marked → (with a different colour background to the preceding cell) indicates that the previous MP continued to sit under a new party name.
Before 1885
1885 to 1918
Conservative
Liberal
1 original candidate, F. Guest (Lib), disqualified; fresh by-election held June 1910
1918 to 1950
Coalition Liberal (1918-22) / National Liberal (1922-23)
Conservative
Independent Conservative
Liberal
1950 to 1983
Conservative
Labour
1983 to present (7, then 8 MPs)
Conservative
Independent
Labour
Liberal Democrats
See also
Notes
^ BC denotes borough constituency, CC denotes county constituency.
References
UK regions and nations English counties Historic counties History of constituency boundaries in By years