Boston and Skegness is a constituency in Lincolnshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Richard Tice of Reform UK since the 2024 general election. Like all British constituencies, it elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election. Prior to Tice's election, it was considered a safe seat for the Conservatives.

The constituency was created in 1997, from parts of the former constituencies of Holland with Boston and East Lindsey. Until 2024 it had always elected a Conservative MP. In the 1997 and 2001 general elections, the seat was very marginal, with majorities of less than 1,000 votes for the Conservative candidate over the Labour candidate. The next two general elections, in 2005 and 2010, saw large swings towards the Conservatives. In the 2015 general election, the Eurosceptic UK Independence Party (UKIP) overtook Labour to take second place in the constituency; the party won 33.8% of the vote in the seat, which was UKIP's second-highest vote share in any constituency in that election (after Clacton). The seat had been one of UKIP's top target seats in that election, as they had also performed strongly in the constituency at the two previous general elections.

The constituency is estimated to have had the highest vote share in favour of leaving the European Union (EU) in the 2016 EU membership referendum, at 75.6%. For this reason, the leader of UKIP, Paul Nuttall, stood as the party's candidate in the seat in the 2017 general election. UKIP's vote share fell nationally that election; they dropped to third place (behind Labour) with 7.7% of the vote in Boston and Skegness, the party's third largest percentage drop in vote share. In the 2019 general election, the Conservatives increased their majority further, winning 76.7% of the vote. This was their second-highest vote share in the election (after Castle Point). The seat was also the second-safest Conservative seat in that election (measured by swing needed for the second-place party to gain the seat), after the neighbouring seat of South Holland and The Deepings.

Boundaries

Historic

In England, constituency boundaries are determined by the Boundary Commission for England, an independent body which periodically reviews the size of each constituency based on demographic data; these changes must be approved by the UK Parliament. The constituency of Boston and Skegness was created as a county constituency, by a statutory instrument in 1994, as part of the Fourth periodic review of Westminster constituencies, and was first contested in the 1997 general election. When formed, it consisted of the Borough of Boston and the wards of Burgh le Marsh, Friskney, Frithville, Ingoldmells, St Clement's, Scarbrough, Seacroft, Sibsey, Wainfleet, and Winthorpe in the District of East Lindsey. The constituency was largely created from parts of the former Holland with Boston constituency, with the remainder previously part of the former seat of East Lindsey.

The constituency boundaries changed at the 2010 general election as part of the Fifth periodic review of Westminster constituencies, bringing in the two wards of Stickney and Croft from the neighbouring constituency of Louth and Horncastle. The original proposal from the Boundary Commission had been to only transfer the Croft ward, but it was then decided to also include the ward of Stickney because of its ties with the town of Boston.

The Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies was carried out between 2011 and 2018. The review recommended that two wards – Heckington Rural, and Kirkby la Thorpe and South Kyme – be transferred to Boston and Skegness from the constituency of Sleaford and North Hykeham; however the review was not implemented and its results were formally laid aside in 2020.

Boston and Skegness is bordered by the constituencies of Louth and Horncastle to the north, Sleaford and North Hykeham to the west, and South Holland and The Deepings to the south; all three of these constituencies are in the county of Lincolnshire and are all considered safe Conservative seats, and have been represented by MPs from the party since the formation of the constituencies in 1997. Indeed, after the 2019 general election, all seven Parliamentary constituencies in Lincolnshire had a Conservative MP.

Current boundaries

Further to the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency is as follows (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

  • The Borough of Boston.
  • The District of East Lindsey wards of Burgh le Marsh; Chapel St. Leonards; Croft; Friskney; Ingoldmells; St. Clement's; Scarbrough & Seacroft; Sibsey & Stickney; Wainfleet; Willoughby with Sloothby; Winthorpe.

The constituency was expanded to include the two East Lindsey District wards of Chapel St Leonards and Willoughby with Sloothby, transferred from Louth and Horncastle.

Constituency profile

thumb|upright=1.5|alt=A small river, with houses on either side and a church spire in the background|[[Boston, Lincolnshire|Boston, with the spire of St Botolph's Church (the 'Boston Stump') in the background]]

thumb|upright=1.5|alt=A fountain with a sculpture of a person; a clock tower, people and buildings are in the background|The centre of [[Skegness with its clock-tower ]]