# Hove and Portslade (UK Parliament constituency)

Hove and Portslade is a borough constituency in East Sussex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Peter Kyle of the Labour Party, who currently serves as Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology in the government of Keir Starmer.
It was previously called Hove. Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, there were no changes to the constituency boundaries, but it was renamed from the 2024 general election. Before it was renamed, it had the joint shortest name of any constituency of the UK Parliament, with 4 letters, the same as Bath.

## Boundaries

1950–1983: The County Borough of Hove, and the Urban District of Portslade-by-Sea.
1983–2010: The Borough of Hove.
2010–2023: The City of Brighton and Hove wards of Brunswick and Adelaide, Central Hove, Goldsmid, Hangleton and Knoll, Hove Park, North Portslade, South Portslade, Westbourne, and Wish.
2023–present: Further to a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023, the constituency now comprises the following wards of the City of Brighton and Hove:
* Brunswick and Adelaide, Central Hove, Goldsmid, Hangleton & Knoll, North Portslade, South Portslade, Westbourne & Poets' Corner, Westdene & Hove Park (majority), and Wish; and a very small part of Regency.
The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which was based on the ward structure in place at 1 December 2020, left the boundaries unchanged, but the name was changed from Hove to Hove and Portslade.
The constituency covers Hove and Portslade in the city of Brighton and Hove.

## Constituency profile

The settlement of Hove is an economically active seaside resort which is both a commuter town and centred in an area of high local employment, stretching from Portsmouth to London Gatwick Airport. The seat acted as a barometer of the national result between 1979 and 2015.

## History

It was not until the 1950 general election, when major boundary changes occurred in Brighton, that Hove acquired a parliamentary seat of its own, having previously been in the former two-seat Brighton constituency. Hove was a Conservative stronghold until the 1997 general election, when the Labour Party saw a landslide parliamentary victory and with it, as in Greater London, wide success on the developed East Sussex coast.
Labour retained the seat, though with narrow majorities, at the 2001 and 2005 general elections. The Liberal Democrats including their two predecessor parties amassed their largest share of the vote in 2010 at 22.6% of the vote. Mike Weatherley, a Conservative, regained the seat at the 2010 general election. Weatherley stood down after one term, and the 2015 election saw Peter Kyle regain the seat for Labour on a 3.1% swing. The 2015 result gave the seat the 14th-smallest majority of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority. Kyle was reelected in 2017 by a margin of 32.6%, a 15.1% swing to Labour; this was not only the biggest margin Labour had ever won Hove by, but the largest margin any MP for Hove had won since 1987. The Conservative Party polled its lowest number of votes since 2005 and recorded their lowest percentage of the vote (31.6%) in the constituency since its creation. Turnout at the 2017 general election was 77.6%, the highest turnout in the constituency at a general election since its creation in 1950. In the 2024 election,the Greens moved into 2nd place behind Labour, the latter's vote decreasing, but managing their largest majority since they first gained the seat in 1997, and indeed being the largest majority of any seat in South East England.

## Members of Parliament

Brighton and Lewes prior to 1950
| Election | Member | Party |
| 1950 | Anthony Marlowe | Conservative |
| 1965 by-election | Martin Maddan | Conservative |
| 1973 by-election | Tim Sainsbury | Conservative |
| 1997 | Ivor Caplin | Labour |
| 2005 | Celia Barlow | Labour |
| 2010 | Mike Weatherley | Conservative |
| 2015 | Peter Kyle | Labour |

## Elections
### Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Hove and Portslade :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Peter Kyle | 27,209 | 52.4 | −5.9 |
| | Green | Sophie Broadbent | 7,418 | 14.3 | +9.9 |
| | Conservative | Carline Deal | 6,630 | 12.8 | −15.3 |
| | Reform UK | Martin Hess | 4,558 | 8.8 | +6.8 |
| | Independent | Tanushka Marah | 3,048 | 5.9 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Michael Wang | 3,046 | 5.9 | −0.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19,881 | 38.1 | 7.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,909 | 70.1 | 5.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 74,063 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 7.9 | |

### Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Hove :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Peter Kyle | 32,876 | 58.3 | –5.8 |
| | Conservative | Robert Nemeth | 15,832 | 28.1 | –3.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Beatrice Bass | 3,731 | 6.6 | +4.3 |
| | Green | Oliver Sykes | 2,496 | 4.4 | +2.7 |
| | Brexit Party | Angela Hancock | 1,111 | 2.0 | New |
| | Monster Raving Loony | Dame Dixon | 195 | 0.3 | New |
| | Independent | Charlotte Sabel | 150 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,044 | 30.2 | –2.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 56,391 | 75.9 | –1.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | –1.2 | |
Peter Kyle's 21.8% vote share increase was the 5th largest for any Labour Party candidate at the 2017 election.
General election 2017: Hove :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Peter Kyle | 36,942 | 64.1 | +21.8 |
| | Conservative | Kristy Adams | 18,185 | 31.6 | –8.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Carrie Hynds | 1,311 | 2.3 | –1.3 |
| | Green | Phélim Mac Cafferty | 971 | 1.7 | –5.1 |
| | Independent | Charley Sabel | 187 | 0.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18,757 | 32.5 | +30.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 57,596 | 77.6 | +6.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +15.1 | |
General election 2015: Hove :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Peter Kyle | 22,082 | 42.3 | +9.3 |
| | Conservative | Graham Cox | 20,846 | 39.9 | +3.2 |
| | Green | Christopher Hawtree | 3,569 | 6.8 | +1.6 |
| | UKIP | Kevin Smith | 3,265 | 6.3 | +3.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Lambell | 1,861 | 3.6 | –19.0 |
| | Independent | Jenny Barnard-Langston | 322 | 0.6 | New |
| | TUSC | Dave Hill | 144 | 0.3 | New |
| | Monster Raving Loony | Dame Jon Dixon | 125 | 0.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,236 | 2.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,214 | 71.0 | +1.5 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +3.1 | |
General election 2010: Hove :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Mike Weatherley | 18,294 | 36.7 | +0.2 |
| | Labour | Celia Barlow | 16,426 | 33.0 | −4.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Paul Elgood | 11,240 | 22.6 | +4.7 |
| | Green | Ian Davey | 2,568 | 5.2 | −0.5 |
| | UKIP | Paul Perrin | 1,206 | 2.4 | +1.1 |
| | Independent | Brian Ralfe | 85 | 0.2 | +0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,868 | 3.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,819 | 69.5 | +5.4 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +2.4 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Hove :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Celia Barlow | 16,786 | 37.5 | −8.4 |
| | Conservative | Nick Boles | 16,366 | 36.5 | −1.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Paul Elgood | 8,002 | 17.9 | +8.8 |
| | Green | Anthea P. Ballam | 2,575 | 5.7 | +2.4 |
| | UKIP | Stuart N. Bower | 575 | 1.3 | +0.4 |
| | Respect | Paddy O'Keefe | 268 | 0.6 | New |
| | Independent | Bob Dobbs | 95 | 0.2 | New |
| | Silent Majority Party | Richard Franklin | 78 | 0.2 | New |
| | Independent | Brian Ralfe | 51 | 0.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 420 | 1.0 | −6.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,796 | 64.1 | +5.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -3.3 | |
General election 2001: Hove :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Ivor Caplin | 19,253 | 45.9 | +1.3 |
| | Conservative | Jenny M. Langston | 16,082 | 38.3 | +1.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Harold De Souza | 3,823 | 9.1 | −0.6 |
| | Green | Anthea P. Ballam | 1,369 | 3.3 | +2.0 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Andy K. Richards | 531 | 1.3 | New |
| | UKIP | Richard Franklin | 358 | 0.9 | +0.5 |
| | Liberal | Nigel R. Donovan | 316 | 0.8 | New |
| | Free Party | Simon Dobbshead | 196 | 0.5 | New |
| | Independent | Thomas S. Major | 60 | 0.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,171 | 7.6 | −0.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,988 | 58.9 | −10.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -0.3 | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Hove :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Ivor Caplin | 21,458 | 44.6 | +20.1 |
| | Conservative | Robert Guy | 17,499 | 36.4 | −12.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Thomas Pearce | 4,645 | 9.7 | −9.7 |
| | Referendum | Stuart R. Field | 1,931 | 4.0 | New |
| | Ind. Conservative | John P. Furness | 1,735 | 3.6 | −1.7 |
| | Green | Philip A.T. Mulligan | 644 | 1.3 | −0.3 |
| | UKIP | J.E. Vause | 209 | 0.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,959 | 8.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,121 | 69.6 | −4.5 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +16.4 | |
General election 1992: Hove :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Tim Sainsbury | 24,525 | 49.0 | −9.8 |
| | Labour | Donald Turner | 12,257 | 24.5 | +6.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Anne F. Jones | 9,709 | 19.4 | −2.4 |
| | Ind. Conservative | John P. Furness | 2,658 | 5.3 | New |
| | Green | Gordon S. Sinclair | 814 | 1.6 | New |
| | Natural Law | John H. Morilly | 126 | 0.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,268 | 24.5 | −12.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,089 | 74.1 | +6.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −8.0 | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Hove :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Tim Sainsbury | 28,952 | 58.8 | −1.7 |
| | SDP | Margaret Collins | 10,734 | 21.8 | −2.3 |
| | Labour | Donald Turner | 9,010 | 18.3 | +4.4 |
| | Spare the Earth | Thomas Layton | 522 | 1.1 | 0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18,218 | 37.0 | +0.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,218 | 67.8 | +2.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +2.0 | |
General election 1983: Hove :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Tim Sainsbury | 28,628 | 60.5 | +0.4 |
| | Liberal | Theodora Beamish | 11,409 | 24.1 | +6.7 |
| | Labour | Chris Wright | 6,550 | 13.9 | −7.6 |
| | Spare the Earth | Thomas Layton | 524 | 1.1 | New |
| | Modern Democratic Party | K.H. Lillie | 189 | 0.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,219 | 36.4 | −2.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,300 | 65.8 | −5.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -3.6 | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Hove :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Tim Sainsbury | 30,256 | 60.1 | +6.5 |
| | Labour | B. R. Fitch | 10,807 | 21.5 | −0.4 |
| | Liberal | James M. M. Walsh | 8,771 | 17.4 | −7.1 |
| | National Front | F. Sheridan | 508 | 1.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19,449 | 38.6 | +9.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,342 | 71.6 | +1.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +3.5 | |
General election October 1974: Hove :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Tim Sainsbury | 27,345 | 53.6 | −0.6 |
| | Liberal | James M. M. Walsh | 12,469 | 24.5 | −9.2 |
| | Labour | L. E. Hamilton | 11,179 | 21.9 | +10.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,876 | 29.1 | +8.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,993 | 69.8 | −7.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +4.9 | |
General election February 1974: Hove :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Tim Sainsbury | 30,451 | 54.2 |
| | Liberal | Des Wilson | 18,942 | 33.7 |
| | Labour | R. A. Wallis | 6,374 | 11.3 |
| | National Front | Ted Budden | 442 | 0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,509 | 20.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 56,209 | 77.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
By-election 1973: Hove :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Tim Sainsbury | 22,070 | 47.9 | −20.8 |
| | Liberal | Des Wilson | 17,224 | 37.4 | New |
| | Labour | Ronald Wallis | 5,335 | 11.6 | −19.7 |
| | National Front | John Harrison-Broadley | 1,409 | 3.1 | New |
| | Marxist-Leninist (England) | Carole Reakes | 128 | 0.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,846 | 10.5 | −26.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,038 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -29.2 | |
General election 1970: Hove :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Martin Maddan | 34,287 | 68.7 | +11.5 |
| | Labour | David G. Nicholas | 15,639 | 31.3 | +5.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18,648 | 37.4 | +5.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,926 | 66.7 | −5.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +8.6 | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Hove :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Martin Maddan | 28,799 | 57.2 | −11.2 |
| | Labour | Trevor Williams | 12,909 | 25.7 | −6.6 |
| | Liberal | Oliver Moxon | 8,037 | 16.0 | N/A |
| | Independent | Max Cossmann | 574 | 1.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,890 | 31.5 | −5.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,319 | 72.1 | +13.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -4.7 | |
1965 Hove by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Martin Maddan | 25,339 | 62.0 | −6.4 |
| | Labour | Thomas James Marsh | 8,387 | 21.0 | −10.7 |
| | Liberal | Oliver Moxon | 6,867 | 16.7 | New |
| | Independent | Max Cossman | 121 | 0.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,952 | 41.0 | +4.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,714 | 58.2 | −11.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +2.1 | |
General election 1964: Hove :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Anthony Marlowe | 32,923 | 68.4 | −6.4 |
| | Labour | Thomas James Marsh | 15,214 | 32.3 | +7.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,709 | 36.9 | –12.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,137 | 69.6 | −2.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -6.4 | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Hove :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Anthony Marlowe | 36,150 | 74.76 | +0.61 |
| | Labour | Thomas James Marsh | 12,206 | 25.24 | −0.61 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 23,944 | 49.52 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,356 | 72.15 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +0.61 | |
General election 1955: Hove :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Anthony Marlowe | 34,314 | 74.15 | −0.07 |
| | Labour | Harry F. Parker | 11,961 | 25.85 | +0.07 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 22,353 | 48.30 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,275 | 70.96 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -0.07 | |
General election 1951: Hove :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Anthony Marlowe | 37,230 | 74.22 | +7.30 |
| | Labour | Alfred D. Bermel | 12,934 | 25.78 | +2.40 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 24,296 | 48.44 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,164 | 77.40 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +4.85 | |
General election 1950: Hove :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Anthony Marlowe | 33,748 | 66.92 |
| | Labour | Finlay R. Rea | 11,791 | 23.38 |
| | Liberal | John Richard Colclough | 4,893 | 9.70 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 21,957 | 43.54 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,432 | 81.93 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |