Bognor Regis and Littlehampton
Bognor Regis and Littlehampton is a constituency in West Sussex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Alison Griffiths, a Conservative.
Constituency profile
The constituency is located on the south coast of England, within the Arun district of the county of West Sussex. It stretches from Aldwick in the west to Rustington in the east and contains the large seaside resort town of Bognor Regis, the smaller town of Littlehampton and the village of Yapton. Bognor Regis was traditionally a small fishing village which grew rapidly in the late 19th century as a coastal tourist town.Compared to national averages, residents of the constituency are older, more deprived and have lower levels of education and professional employment. The proportion of social housing is lower than the UK average, and White people make up 95% of the population. Local politics are mixed; at the most recent district council election in 2023, voters in Bognor Regis elected primarily Conservative or Liberal Democrat councillors, whilst the Labour Party won most of the seats in Littlehampton. In the 2016 referendum on European Union membership, voters in the constituency strongly supported Brexit with an estimated 65% voting in favour.
Boundaries
The constituency is elongated along the south coast of England. It includes the towns of Bognor Regis and Littlehampton.1997–2010: The District of Arun wards of Aldwick East, Aldwick West, Bersted, Felpham East, Felpham West, Hotham, Littlehampton Beach, Littlehampton Central, Littlehampton Ham, Littlehampton River, Littlehampton Wick, Marine, Middleton on Sea, Orchard, Pagham, and Pevensey.
2010–2024: The District of Arun wards of Aldwick East, Aldwick West, Beach, Bersted, Brookfield, Felpham East, Felpham West, Ham, Hotham, Marine, Middleton-on-Sea, Orchard, Pagham and Rose Green, Pevensey, River, Wick with Toddington, and Yapton.
2024–present: The District of Arun wards of: Aldwick East; Aldwick West; Beach; Brookfield; Courtwick with Toddington; Felpham East ; Felpham West; Hotham; Marine; Middleton-on-Sea; Orchard; Pevensey; River; Rustington East; Rustington West; Yapton.
History
Political history
The vote share and majority for the Conservative MP, Nick Gibb, who won the first six general elections in this seat, grew since 2001 to reach over 22,000 votes.At the first three general elections, the Labour Party candidate was runner-up, notably denting Gibb's winning margin to 5,632 votes in 2001. In 2010, the Liberal Democrat candidate took second place, more than 4,000 votes ahead of Labour and 13,063 short of Gibb's total. Mirroring nationwide performance, the Lib Dem vote share fell in 2015, whilst the UKIP vote share rose in this constituency, becoming the runner-up, but 13,944 votes short of Gibb's tally.
In June 2016, an estimated 64.8% of local adults voting in the EU membership referendum voted to Leave the European Union. This was matched in two January 2018 votes in Parliament by MP Nick Gibb.
In 2017, Labour's candidate of 2015 was reselected to stand and took second place.
The year 2017 saw an independent candidate, Paul Sanderson, the chaplain of The Littlehampton Academy come within 1% of retaining his political deposit and ahead of the UKIP and Green candidates.
Gibb was re-elected for a seventh time in 2019, with an increased majority of 22,503 votes and a vote share of 63.5%. He did not stand at the 2024 general election and his successor as the Conservative candidate, Alison Griffiths, was elected with a drastically reduced majority of 1,765, having suffered an adverse swing of 19.8%.