Sutton and Cheam

Political history

The area's voters produced a 32.6% swing to the Liberal Party in the 1972 by-election. In the nine prior elections it only returned Conservative MPs and the Liberal candidate polled third behind Labour six times and none stood three times.

The seat is a marginal seat which has since 1970 frequently flipped between electing Conservative and Liberal/Liberal Democrat candidates. During the Conservative Government 1979–1990, the seat was won by a sufficient majority to be branded a Conservative safe seat. It was regained by the Liberal Democrats in the 1997 general election and subsequently held in the 2001, 2005 and 2010 general elections. In the 2015 general election the seat was regained by the Conservatives. In June 2016, an estimated 51.28% of local adults voting in the EU membership referendum chose to leave the European Union instead of to remain. This was matched in two January 2018 votes in Parliament by its MP.

At the 2017 general election, the incumbent Conservative MP, Paul Scully, gained an 8.3% swing which moved the seat away from the typical "marginal" band of analysis: Scully won by a 24.4% majority. Due to the secret ballot only opinion polls can determine if this rise in popularity had more to do with the campaign of the Liberal Democrat candidate and/or the Conservatives picking up votes from the non-standing party UKIP, whose withdrawal was common in 2017 nationwide, following the vote to leave the EU. UKIP had 378 candidates across the UK, 346 fewer than in 2015. Also not standing, and having lost their deposits in 2015, were two left-wing minor candidates. An 11.6% extra vote share was on hand for four parties as the candidate list fell from seven to four.

The seat had ranked from 2015 to 2017 the 39th-slimmest margin of majority, specifically in share of the vote as opposed to number of votes, among the 331 Conservative seats. Labour achieved their highest in Sutton and Cheam since 1970 but still finished third; a swing of several percentage points would have been required to make Labour the closest challengers to the Conservatives. The Conservatives finished in fourth place in the European Election 2019, trailing significantly behind the Liberal Democrats, the Brexit Party, and the Labour Party.

Prominent members

Richard Sharples, the constituency's Conservative MP from 1954, was a former major in the army, and served as a Home Office Minister, before resigning his seat in 1972 to become Governor of Bermuda.

Boundaries

Historic

1945–1950: The Municipal Borough of Sutton and Cheam.

1950–1964: as above (from 1965 becoming wards of the London Borough of Sutton but not described as such in boundary legislation itself for a time).

1964–1978: The London Borough of Sutton wards of Belmont, Cheam North, Cheam South, Cheam West, Sutton Central, Sutton East, Sutton North, Sutton North East, Sutton South, Sutton South East, Worcester Park North, and Worcester Park South.

1978–2002: The London Borough of Sutton wards of Belmont, Cheam South, Cheam West, North Cheam, Rosehill, Sutton Central, Sutton Common, Sutton East, Sutton South, Sutton West, Worcester Park North, and Worcester Park South.

2002–2024: The London Borough of Sutton wards of Belmont, Cheam, Nonsuch, Stonecot, Sutton Central, Sutton North, Sutton South, Sutton West, and Worcester Park.

Current

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the boundaries of the constituency are virtually unchanged. However, following a review of local authority ward boundaries which came into effect on 4 May 2022, the composition of the seat is now composed of the following London Borough of Sutton wards:

• Belmont, Cheam, North Cheam, Stonecot, Sutton Central, Sutton North, Sutton South, Sutton West & East Cheam, Worcester Park North, and Worcester Park South.

Constituency profile

The area maintains separate schooling systems, with grammar schools and comprehensive schools, similar to Kingston upon Thames; it has more semi-detached, terraced and detached properties than the Greater London average.

Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.1% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

|reg. electors = 72,303

Elections in the 2010s

|reg. electors = 71,760

|reg. electors = 70,404

|reg. electors = 69,228 |reg. electors = 66,658

Elections in the 2000s

|reg. electors = 62,885

|reg. electors = 63,648

Elections in the 1990s

|reg. electors = 62,824 |reg. electors = 60,949

Elections in the 1980s

|reg. electors = 63,850

|reg. electors = 63,099

Elections in the 1970s

|reg. electors = 63,038 |reg. electors = 60,559 |reg. electors = 60,109 |reg. electors =

|reg. electors = 61,050

Elections in the 1960s

|reg. electors = 57,227

|reg. electors = 58,898

Elections in the 1950s

|reg. electors = 58,763

|reg. electors = 58,529

|reg. electors = 59,292

|reg. electors = 59,848

|reg. electors = 59,141

Elections in the 1940s

|reg. electors = 55,742

Notes

References

References

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2. "Constituency Referendum Results".
3. "European Union (Withdrawal) Bill — Reject Third Reading — Membership of the European Union: Recent Votes".
4. Library, House of Commons. (8 June 2017). "Who stood in the General Election 2017?".
5. "Conservative Members of Parliament 2015".
6. (6 February 2017). "Estimated 2019 European Parliament election results by constituency".
7. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023".
8. "2011 Census Interactive – ONS". ons.gov.uk.
9. [https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/nov/17/unemployment-and-employment-statistics-economics Unemployment claimants by constituency] ''[[The Guardian]]''
10. {{Rayment-hc. s. 6. (March 2012)
11. (7 June 2024). "Statement of Person Nominated and Notice of Poll: Sutton and Cheam Constituency". Sutton Council.
12. (May 2024). "Statement of Persons Nominated & Notice of Poll - Sutton & Cheam 2019". Sutton Council.
13. (13 December 2014). "Sutton & Cheam parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
14. (9 June 2017). "Sutton & Cheam parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
15. [https://web.archive.org/web/20180225205506/http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7979/CBP-7979.pdf Research briefing]
16. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus.
17. (7 May 2015). "Election Results". Sutton Council.
18. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus.
19. Martin, Paul. (20 April 2010). "Sutton & Cheam Constituency - Statement as to Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll". Sutton Council.
20. "Election Data 2005". [[Electoral Calculus]].
21. "Election Data 2001". [[Electoral Calculus]].
22. "Election Data 1997". [[Electoral Calculus]].
23. "Election Data 1992". [[Electoral Calculus]].
24. "Election Data 1987". [[Electoral Calculus]].
25. "Election Data 1983". [[Electoral Calculus]].
26. (1980). "Election Expenses". [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]].
27. (1970). "The Times' Guide to the House of Commons".
28. (1966). "The Times' Guide to the House of Commons".
29. (1964). "The Times' Guide to the House of Commons".
30. (1959). "The Times' Guide to the House of Commons".
31. (1955). "The Times' Guide to the House of Commons".
32. (1951). "The Times' Guide to the House of Commons".