Isle of Wight (UK Parliament constituency)

The Isle of Wight had been a single seat of the House of Commons since 1832. It covered the same land as the ceremonial county of the Isle of Wight and the area administered by the unitary authority, Isle of Wight Council: a diamond-shaped island with rounded oblique corners, measuring by , the Needles and similar small uninhabitable rocks of very small square surface area. The island is linked by ferry crossings from four points (five points if counting Cowes and East Cowes separately) to three points in Hampshire: Lymington, Southampton and Portsmouth. Its electorate of 113,021 at the 2019 general election was the largest in the UK, more than 50% above the UK average: 73,181, One or two seats problem The reviews of the Boundary Commission for England since 1954 have consulted locally on splitting the island into two seats (and included occasional proposals for a seat crossing the Solent onto the mainland) but met an overall distaste by the independent commissioners and most consultees and consultation respondents. The consensus of varying panels of Boundary Commissioners, party-interested and neutral commentators is that the island would be best represented by one MP. The Commissioners did make mention perfunctorily of their duty by law to avoid such an extent of malapportionment (termed by most commissioners "leaving the island somewhat oversized"). One problem the independent body cited in 2008 was a difficulty of dividing the island in two in a way that would be acceptable to all major interests. The arbitrary division line problem is routinely encountered in those council areas which have no rural elements or natural divides. Eventually, under the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011, which proposed that the total number of constituencies in the UK Parliament should be reduced from 650 to 600, it was specified that the Isle of Wight should comprise two "protected" seats, meaning that their electorates did not have to be within the statutory range of ±5%. The 2011 Act was amended by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020 which reversed the decrease in the total number of seats but retained the two protected seats for the Isle of Wight. 2024 boundary changes Under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the Boundary Commission for England proposed splitting the island into Isle of Wight East (electorate 56,805) and Isle of Wight West (electorate 54,911). • Isle of Wight East will include the communities of Ryde, Bembridge, Brading, Sandown, Shanklin and Ventnor; • Isle of Wight West will include the communities of Newport, East Cowes, Cowes and Freshwater. ==History==

Before the Reform Act 1832 (apart from the First Protectorate Parliament (1654–1655), when a whole island constituency existed) the island was usually represented by three Parliamentary boroughs: Newport, Newtown, and Yarmouth, each electing two MPs. The county electorate of the island, which included freeholders qualified by property, was represented by the two MPs for Hampshire. The Reform Act abolished the Newtown and Yarmouth parliamentary boroughs, and a single-member county division of Hampshire was created for the island. The separate and overlapping Newport representation was reduced to one MP in 1868 and finally abolished in 1885. Since then, the whole of the Isle of Wight has been represented by one constituency. The constituency has traditionally been a battleground between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats and their predecessors. The seat was held by a Liberal from 1974 until 1987, and a Conservative since then. At the December 2019 general election, Labour came second, marginally increasing the party's vote total and share of the poll compared to 2017. The Liberal Democrats agreed to stand aside and support the Green Party candidate as part the Unite to Remain agreement between the two parties and Plaid Cymru involving 60 constituencies in England and Wales, with the purpose of increasing the chances of candidates who supported remaining in the European Union. ==Members of Parliament==

Pre 1832 • 1654: Lord Lisle; William Sydenham • 1830–1831: Horrace Twiss Since 1832 ==Elections==

Elections in the 2010s Elections in the 2000s Elections in the 1990s Elections in the 1980s Elections in the 1970s Elections in the 1960s Elections in the 1950s Elections in the 1940s General election 1939–40 Another general election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected; • Conservative: Peter Macdonald • Labour: Robert Arthur Lyster • Liberal: Helen de Guerry Browne Elections in the 1930s Elections in the 1920s Elections in the 1910s Another general election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected; • Unionist: Douglas Hall • Liberal: Godfrey Baring Elections in the 1900s Elections in the 1890s Elections in the 1880s • Caused by Webster's appointment as Attorney General for England and Wales. Elections in the 1870s • Caused by Simeon's death. Elections in the 1860s Elections in the 1850s • Caused by Simeon's resignation after he converted from Anglicanism to Catholicism. Elections in the 1840s Elections in the 1830s ==See also==