Arundel and South Downs (UK Parliament constituency)

Arundel and South Downs
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Arundel and South Downs in West Sussex.
Location of West Sussex within England.
County	West Sussex
Population	97,267 (2011 census)
Electorate	76,697 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Arundel, Hassocks, Petworth, Pulborough and Steyning
Current constituency
Created	1997
Member of parliament	Nick Herbert (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Arundel and Horsham
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South East England

Arundel and South Downs /ˈærᵿndəl ənd saʊθ daʊnz/ is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Nick Herbert of the Conservative Party.

Boundaries

The constituency contains the town of Arundel, and many villages and hamlets along the South Downs, including Petworth, Pulborough and Steyning.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary boundaries in West Sussex that was approved in 2007, the Boundary Commission for England made alterations to all existing constituencies to deal with population changes. The Arundel and South Downs constituency was created with the following electoral wards:

• From the District of Arun - Angmering, Arundel, Barnham, Findon, and Walberton
• From Chichester - Bury, Petworth, and Wisborough Green
• From Horsham - Bramber, Upper Beeding and Woodmancote, Chanctonbury, Chantry, Cowfold,Partridge Green, Shermanbury and West Grinstead, Henfield, Pulborough and Coldwaltham, and Steyning
• From Mid Sussex - Hassocks, and Hurstpierpoint and Downs.

History

Arundel and South Downs and its predecessor seats have in the 20th century been a Conservative Party stronghold.

The incumbent had national media coverage in the run-up to the 2005 general election due to the deselection requested by the party leader of its sitting Conservative member, Howard Flight a member of Conservative Way Forward who proposed that if elected, spending cuts could be more severe than set out in the small cuts in the 2005 manifesto, in other words in his opinion to this audience he thought the party would likely stray in actual policy from what had been publicized. He had represented the constituency since its creation at the 1997 general election. Anne Marie Morris, Laura Sandys and Nick Herbert put themselves forward for nomination as replacement candidates. The chosen candidate, Nick Herbert, won the seat at the election. Morris and Sandys became MPs elsewhere in 2010.

In their recommendations, the Boundary Commission for England initially suggested calling the new constituency Chanctonbury after Chanctonbury Ring, an ancient hill fort at its centre. This name was rejected during the local inquiry process at which the current name was chosen.

Prior to 1997, this seat had been split between other constituencies. Between 1983 and 1997, the town of Arundel had been part of the eponymous Arundel constituency, which also included the towns of Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, and the area of the South Downs had been part of the Horsham constituency.

Between 1974 and 1983, much of the South Downs area was part of the Shoreham constituency, with the town of Arundel remaining in the Arundel constituency.

Prior to 1974, the seat was largely part of the Arundel and Shoreham constituency.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1997	Howard Flight	Conservative
	2005	Nick Herbert	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Arundel and South Downs

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nick Herbert	34,331	60.8	+3.0
	UKIP	Peter Grace	8,154	14.4	+8.8
	Labour	Christopher Wellbelove	6,324	11.2	+2.6
	Liberal Democrat	Shweta Kapadia	4,062	7.2	-20.7
	Green	Isabel Thurston	3,606	6.4	+6.4
Majority			26,177	46.3
Turnout			56,477	73.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 2010: Arundel and South Downs

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nick Herbert	32,333	57.8	+8.0
	Liberal Democrat	Derek Deedman	15,642	27.9	+0.8
	Labour	Tim Lunnon	4,835	8.6	−8.5
	UKIP	Stuart Bower	3,172	5.7	+0.3
Majority			16,691	29.9
Turnout			55,982	72.2	+1.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Arundel and South Downs

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nick Herbert	24,752	49.8	−2.4
	Liberal Democrat	Derek Deedman	13,443	27.1	+4.7
	Labour	Sharon Whitlam	8,482	17.1	−3.6
	UKIP	Andrew Moffat	2,700	5.4	+0.7
	Protest Vote Party	Mark Stack	313	0.6	+0.6
Majority			11,309	22.8
Turnout			49,690	68.5	3.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	−3.5

General Election 2001: Arundel and South Downs

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Howard Flight	23,969	52.2	−0.9
	Liberal Democrat	Derek R. Deedman	10,265	22.4	−3.4
	Labour	Charles S. Taylor	9,488	20.7	+2.4
	UKIP	Robert Perrin	2,167	4.7	+1.8
Majority			13,704	29.8
Turnout			45,889	64.7	−10.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Arundel and South Downs

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Howard Flight	27,251	53.1	N/A
	Liberal Democrat	John M. Goss	13,216	25.7	N/A
	Labour	Richard Black	9,376	18.3	N/A
	UKIP	James T. Herbert	1,494	2.9	N/A
Majority			14,035	27.3	N/A
Turnout			51,337	75.5	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in West Sussex

Notes and references

Notes

References

Sources

• Election result, 2005 (BBC)
• Election results, 1997 - 2001 (BBC)
• Election results, 1997 - 2001 (Election Demon)
• Election results, 1997 - 2005 (Guardian)