List of parliamentary constituencies in Dorset

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			Map
Bournemouth East BC	73,173	5,479	Tom Hayes‡	Tobias Ellwood†	100px
Bournemouth West BC	72,094	3,224	Jessica Toale‡	Conor Burns†	100px
Christchurch CC	71,598	7,455	Christopher Chope†	Mike Cox¤	100px
Mid Dorset and North Poole CC	74,305	1,352	Vikki Slade¤	Michael Tomlinson†	100px
North Dorset CC	72,109	1,589	Simon Hoare†	Gary Jackson¤	100px
Poole BC	72,162	18	Neil Duncan-Jordan‡	Robert Syms†	100px
South Dorset CC	76,640	1,048	Lloyd Hatton‡	Richard Drax†	100px
West Dorset CC	75,390	7,789	Edward Morello¤	Chris Loder†	100px

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 Democrat¹	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

¹1950-1979: 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

Election year	1950-1979	1983-1992	1997	2001-2005	2010	2015-2019	2024
Labour	0	0	0	1	0	0	4
Conservative	4	7	8	6	7	8	2
Liberal Democrat¹	0	0	0	1	1	0	2
Total	4	7	8	8	8	8	8

¹1950-1979: Liberal Party; 1983 & 1987 - SDP-Liberal Alliance

Maps

1885-1910

DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1885Results.svg

1885
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1886Results.svg

1886
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1892Results.svg

1892
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1892Results.svg

1895
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1892Results.svg

1900
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1885Results.svg

1906
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1910Results.svg

Jan 1910
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1910Results.svg

Dec 1910

1918-1945

DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1918Results.svg

1918
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1922Results.svg

1922
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1923Results.svg

1923
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1924Results.svg

1924
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1929Results.svg

1929
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1924Results.svg

1931
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1924Results.svg

1935
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1929Results.svg

1945

1950-1979

DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1950Results.svg

1950
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1950Results.svg

1951
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1950Results.svg

1955
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1950Results.svg

1959
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1950Results.svg

1964
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1950Results.svg

1966
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1950Results.svg

1970
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1950Results.svg

Feb 1974
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1950Results.svg

Oct 1974
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1950Results.svg

1979

1983-present

DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1983Results.svg

1983
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1983Results.svg

1987
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1983Results.svg

1992
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency1997Results.svg

1997
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency2005Results.svg

2001
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency2005Results.svg

2005
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency2010Results.svg

2010
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency2015Results.svg

2015
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency2015Results.svg

2017
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency2015Results.svg

2019
DorsetParliamentaryConstituency2024Results.svg

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

Constituency	Established	Abolished
Bridport	1295	Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
Corfe Castle	1572	Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832
Dorchester	1295	Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
Dorset	1290	Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
Lyme Regis	1572	Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832
Poole	1362	Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
Shaftesbury	1295	Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
Weymouth and Melcombe Regis	1572	Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
Wareham	1302	Redistribution of Seats Act 1885

1885 to 1918

Conservative Liberal

Constituency	1885	1886	91	1892	95	04	05	1906	Jan 10	Dec 10
Dorset East	Glyn	Bond	Napier Sturt			Lyell			H. Guest¹	F. Guest
Dorset North	Portman			Wingfield-Digby			Wills		Baker
Dorset South	Sturgis	C. Hambro	Brymer					Scarisbrick	A. Hambro
Dorset West	Farquharson				Williams

¹original 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

Constituency	1918	1922	23	1924	1929	1931	37	41	1945
Dorset East	→	Caine	→		Glassey	Caine			Wheatley
Dorset North	Colfox	Emlyn-Jones		Hanbury			A. Hambro		Byers
Dorset South	A. Hambro	Yerburgh			Gascoyne-Cecil			Montagu
Dorset West	Williams	Colfox						Digby

1950 to 1983

Conservative Labour

Constituency	1950	1951	57	62	1964	1970	Feb 1974	1979
Dorset North	Crouch		Glyn			James		Baker
Dorset South	Montagu			Barnett	King			Gascoyne-Cecil
Dorset West	Digby						Spicer
Poole	Wheatley	Pilkington			Murton			Ward

1983 to present (7, then 8 MPs)

Conservative Independent Labour Liberal Democrats

Constituency	1983	1987	93	1997	2001	2005	2010	2015	19	2019	2024
Bournemouth East	Atkinson					Ellwood					Hayes
Bournemouth West	Butterfill						Burns				Toale
Christchurch	Adley		Maddock	Chope
North Dorset	Baker			Walter				Hoare
Poole	Ward			Syms							Duncan-Jordan
South Dorset	Gascoyne-Cecil	Bruce			Knight		Drax				Hatton
West Dorset	Spicer			Letwin					→	Loder	Morello
Mid Dorset and North Poole	Seat not created			Fraser	Brooke			Tomlinson			Slade

Notes

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References

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v t e United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies
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England	Avon Bedfordshire Berkshire Buckinghamshire Cambridgeshire Cheshire Cleveland Cornwall Cumbria Derbyshire Devon Dorset Durham Essex Gloucestershire Greater Manchester Hampshire Herefordshire and Worcestershire Hertfordshire Humberside Isle of Wight Kent Lancashire Leicestershire and Rutland Lincolnshire London Merseyside Norfolk Northamptonshire Northumberland Nottinghamshire Oxfordshire Shropshire Somerset Staffordshire Suffolk Surrey East Sussex West Sussex Tyne and Wear Warwickshire West Midlands Wiltshire North Yorkshire South Yorkshire West Yorkshire
Wales	Clwyd Dyfed Gwent Gwynedd Mid Glamorgan Powys South Glamorgan West Glamorgan

List of parliamentary constituencies in Dorset

Contents

Constituencies

Boundary changes

2024

Results history

2024

Percentage votes

Seats

Maps

1885-1910

1918-1945

1950-1979

1983-present

Historical representation by party

Before 1885

1885 to 1918

1918 to 1950

1950 to 1983

1983 to present (7, then 8 MPs)

See also

Notes

References

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