Chesham and Amersham is a parliamentary constituency in Buckinghamshire, South East England, represented in the House of Commons by Sarah Green, a Liberal Democrat elected at a 2021 by-election.
Constituency profile
The Chesham and Amersham constituency is located in Buckinghamshire. It lies within the Metropolitan Green Belt, the protected rural area surrounding London, and also within the Chiltern Hills, a National Landscape. It is named after the neighbouring market towns of Chesham and Amersham, and also includes the smaller town of Gerrards Cross and the villages of Hazlemere, Little Chalfont, Chalfont St Giles and Chalfont St Peter. The constituency is highly affluent and most areas within it form part of the 10% least-deprived areas in England. The average house price is more than double the national average. Chesham and Amersham are connected to London by the Metropolitan line, making them some of the most distant locations from central London served by the London Underground.
Compared to national averages, residents of the constituency are older, well-educated, considerably wealthier and much more likely to work in professional occupations. At the local county council, Chesham and Amersham are represented by Liberal Democrat councillors whilst the southern parts of the constituency around Gerrards Cross elected Conservatives. Most voters in the constituency supported remaining in the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 55% voted to remain compared to 48% nationally. In the 2019 EU Parliament elections more than 50 per cent voted for parties supporting continued UK membership of the EU, although the turnout was only 42.8 per cent. The pro-EU Liberal Democrats were the most popular party with 31.9 per cent, with the pro-Leave Brexit Party in second place on 30 per cent. Despite the seat's support for remaining in the EU, its pro-Brexit MP, Dame Cheryl Gillan, was re-elected in both general elections held after the 2016 referendum (in the case of 2017 with her highest vote share since her first election in 1992), albeit with slightly reduced majorities.
Gillan died in office on 4 April 2021, and the seat was gained by the Liberal Democrats' pro-EU Sarah Green in the subsequent by-election on 17 June 2021 with a majority of 8,028 votes. and party leader Ed Davey tweeted that the result had "sent a shockwave through British politics". It was the first in a series of likewise safe Conservative seats that were lost to the Liberal Democrats through by-elections in that Parliament.
In December 2023, the Labour Party included the seat in its published list of 211 non-battleground seats, suggesting they did not see it as winnable. Sarah Green retained the seat for the Liberal Democrats at the 2024 general election with a swing of 22.4%, giving her a majority of 5,451 (10.0%).
Boundaries
1974–1983: Chesham Urban District and Amersham Rural District.
1983–1997:
- The District of Chiltern wards of Amersham Common, Amersham-on-the-Hill, Amersham Town, Asheridge Vale, Ashley Green and Latimer, Austenwood, Chalfont Common, Chalfont St Giles, Chalfont St Peter Central, Chartridge, Chenies, Chesham Bois and Weedon Hill, Cholesbury and The Lee, Coleshill and Penn Street, Gold Hill, Hilltop, Holmer Green, Little Chalfont, Little Missenden, Lowndes, Newtown, Penn, Pond Park, St Mary's, Seer Green and Jordans, Townsend, and Waterside; and
- The District of Wycombe wards of Hazlemere North and Hazlemere South.
:Hazlemere was transferred from Wycombe. Great Missenden was transferred to Aylesbury.
1997–2010:
- The Chiltern District except the wards of Ballinger and South Heath, Great Missenden, and Prestwood and Heath End; and
- The Wycombe District wards of Hazlemere Central, Hazlemere East and Hazlemere West.
2010–2024: The Chiltern District.
:Great Missenden transferred back from Aylesbury and Hazlemere returned to Wycombe.
2024–present: Further to the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies which became effective for the 2024 general election, the constituency is composed of the following:
- The District of Buckinghamshire wards of Amersham and Chesham Bois, Chalfont St. Giles & Little Chalfont, Chalfont St. Peter, Chesham North (part), Chesham South, Gerrards Cross & Denham (part), Hazlemere (part), Penn, Tylers Green & Loudwater (part) and The Missendens (part)
:The boundaries are similar to those of 1983 to 2010, with Great Missenden and the nearby village of Chartridge now included in the new constituency of Mid Buckinghamshire, and Hazlemere returned from Wycombe. In addition, the town of Gerrards Cross was transferred in from Beaconsfield.
Members of Parliament
The present Member of Parliament for Chesham and Amersham is the Liberal Democrat Sarah Green MP who was elected at the 2021 by-election. Previous MPs were the Conservative Cheryl Gillan, who held the position from 1992 until her death in 2021, and Ian Gilmour, who served from 1974 to 1992.
South Buckinghamshire and Aylesbury prior to 1974
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Election!!Member
!Party
|-
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1974
| Ian Gilmour
| Conservative
|-
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 1992
| Dame Cheryl Gillan
| Conservative
|-
| style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
| 2021 by-election
| Sarah Green
| Liberal Democrats
|-
|}
Elections
thumb|centre|750px|Election results 1974-2024
Elections in the 2020s
Vote share changes for the 2024 election are compared to the notional results from the 2019 election, not the 2021 by-election.
Cheryl Gillan died on 4 April 2021,
Elections in the 2010s
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="4" | 2019 notional result
|-
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="130px" colspan="2" | Party
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="50px" | Vote
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30px" | %
|-
|
| Conservative ||align=right| 30,264 ||align=right| 56.3
|-
|
| Liberal Democrats ||align=right| 12,048 ||align=right| 22.4
|-
|
| Labour ||align=right| 7,473 ||align=right| 13.9
|-
|
| Green ||align=right| 2,600 ||align=right| 4.8
|-
|
| Others ||align=right| 1,326 ||align=right| 2.5
|-
|colspan="4" bgcolor="#EAECF0"|
|-
|colspan="2"|Turnout
|align=right|53,711
|align=right|72.4
|-
|colspan="2"|Electorate
|align=right|74,155
|}
Elections in the 2000s
Elections in the 1990s
<section end="Elections"/>
Elections in the 1980s
Elections in the 1970s
See also
- 2021 Chesham and Amersham by-election
- List of parliamentary constituencies in Buckinghamshire
- List of parliamentary constituencies in the South East England (region)
References
External links
- nomis Constituency Profile for Chesham and Amersham — presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.
- Chesham and Amersham UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
- Chesham and Amersham UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
- Chesham and Amersham UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK