is a
Constituency represented in the
House Of Commons of the
Parliament Of The United Kingdom . It elects one
Member Of Parliament (MP) by the
First Past The Post system of election.
The constituency covers a similar area to the borough of
Weymouth And Portland and the
Purbeck district in Dorset. Weymouth is one of the few large towns in Dorset, but Purbeck is largely rural. The constituency includes
Bovington army camp
In the 1997 election, this seat was won by the
Conservatives by a margin of only 77 votes, one of the smallest margins in the UK. The constituency went on to be won by Labour from the Conservatives in the
2001 Election , but with Labour's smallest majority in England, at 153. In the
2005 Election this constituency was one of the few in which Labour significantly increased their majority. Labour may have been helped with the fact that
Tony Blair started his official campaign in this seat. In both elections the left-wing singer-songwriter
Billy Bragg ran an anti-Conservative
Tactical Voting campaign in Dorset constituencies.
| |
Conservative Party (UK)
|
| |
Ed Matts
|
| |
18,419
|
| |
379
|
| |
&minus37
|
|
| |
Liberal Democrats (UK)
|
| |
Graham Oakes
|
| |
7,647
|
| |
157
|
| |
+13
|
|
| |
United Kingdom Independence Party
|
| |
Hugh Chalker
|
| |
1,571
|
| |
32
|
| |
+12
|
|
| |
Legalise Cannabis Alliance
|
| |
Vic Hamilton
|
| |
282
|
| |
06
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
| |
RESPECT The Unity Coalition
|
| |
Berny Parkes
|
| |
219
|
| |
05
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
| |
Wessex Regionalist Party
|
| |
Colin Bex
|
| |
83
|
| |
02
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
| |
Socialist Labour Party (UK)
|
| |
David Marchesi
|
| |
25
|
| |
01
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
| |
Conservative Party (UK)
|
| |
Ian Bruce
|
| |
18,874
|
| |
416
|
| |
+55
|
|
| |
Liberal Democrats (UK)
|
| |
Andy Canning
|
| |
6,531
|
| |
144
|
| |
-58
|
|
| |
United Kingdom Independence Party
|
| |
Laurie Moss
|
| |
913
|
| |
20
|
| |
+03
|
|
| |
Labour Party (UK)
|
| |
Conservative Party (UK)
|
|
