Ely and East Cambridgeshire is a rural constituency located in
Cambridgeshire. Its largest settlement is the small
cathedral city of
Ely, which has a population of around 19,000. Other settlements include the towns of
Soham and
Littleport and the villages of
Sutton-in-the-Isle,
Cottenham,
Milton and
Burwell. Ely is the
seat of
a diocese and was historically an island in
the Fens, an area of
marshland which was drained in the 18th and 19th centuries. Deprivation in the constituency is low and the area is generally affluent. House prices are higher than the national average. In general, residents are older, well-educated and more likely to work in professional occupations compared to the rest of the country. Household income is high.
White people made up 94% of the population at the
2021 census. At the local council level, most of the constituency is represented by
Liberal Democrats, although
Conservatives were elected in Soham and Littleport. An estimated 51% of voters in the constituency supported remaining in the
European Union in the
2016 referendum compared to 48% nationwide. == Boundaries ==