# Bridgwater and West Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)

Bridgwater and West Somerset was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Ian Liddell-Grainger, a Conservative.
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be subject to boundary changes, with the loss of the area comprising the former District of West Somerset to the newly created constituency of Tiverton and Minehead. This will be partly offset by the addition of the communities of Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge. As a consequence of these changes, the constituency reverted to its former name of Bridgwater, first contested at the 2024 general election.

## History

Bridgwater was one of the original parliamentary borough constituencies in England (with fifteen years of non-existence in the late 19th century after the seat was abolished for corruption in 1870 and being subsumed into a slightly larger seat on a review of Somerset's representation by the Boundary Commission in 1885).
In 2010 seven candidates stood. The second placed candidate was a Liberal Democrat, Theo Butt Philip, 11.2% ahead of the candidate from the Labour Party. The incumbent, Ian Liddell-Grainger, is a former Major in the Territorial Army, farmer and defence advisor.
In the snap election of 2017 Liddell-Grainger increased his majority to 15,000, the largest in the constituency's history, and Labour finished second in the seat for the first time.

## Boundaries

2010–2024: The District of Sedgemoor wards of Bridgwater Bower, Bridgwater Eastover, Bridgwater Hamp, Bridgwater Quantock, Bridgwater Sydenham, Bridgwater Victoria, Cannington and Quantocks, East Poldens, Huntspill and Pawlett, King's Isle, North Petherton, Puriton, Sandford, West Poldens, and Woolavington, and the District of West Somerset.

## Members of Parliament

See also: Bridgwater constituency
| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 2010 | Ian Liddell-Grainger | Conservative |
| | 2024 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Elections
### Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Bridgwater and West Somerset :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ian Liddell-Grainger | 35,827 | 62.1 | +7.0 |
| | Labour | Oliver Thornton | 11,388 | 19.8 | −8.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Bill Revans | 7,805 | 13.5 | +2.6 |
| | Green | Mickie Ritchie | 1,877 | 3.3 | +1.5 |
| | Liberal | Fares Moussa | 755 | 1.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 24,439 | 42.3 | +15.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 57,652 | 67.9 | +2.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +7.9 | |
General election 2017: Bridgwater and West Somerset :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ian Liddell-Grainger | 32,111 | 55.1 | +9.1 |
| | Labour | Wes Hinckes | 16,663 | 28.6 | +11.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Marcus Kravis | 6,332 | 10.9 | −1.5 |
| | UKIP | Simon Smedley | 2,102 | 3.6 | −15.6 |
| | Green | Kay Powell | 1,059 | 1.8 | −3.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,448 | 26.5 | −0.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 58,267 | 65.3 | −2.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −0.9 | |
General election 2015: Bridgwater and West Somerset :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ian Liddell-Grainger | 25,020 | 46.0 | +0.7 |
| | UKIP | Stephen Fitzgerald | 10,437 | 19.2 | +14.4 |
| | Labour | Michael Lerry | 9,589 | 17.6 | +0.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Theo Butt Philip | 6,765 | 12.4 | −15.9 |
| | Green | Julie Harvey-Smith | 2,636 | 4.8 | +3.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,583 | 26.8 | +9.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,447 | 67.6 | −3.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −6.9 | |
The Liberal Democrats initially selected Justine Baker as their candidate. After being accepted for Bridgwater and West Somerset, Baker resigned in order to apply to stand as the candidate for Taunton Deane, a more 'winnable' seat; she was not successful, and ultimately was not a candidate anywhere at the 2015 general election. She was replaced by Theo Butt Philip, who had been the Liberal Democrat candidate at the 2010 general election.
General election 2010: Bridgwater and West Somerset :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ian Liddell-Grainger* | 24,675 | 45.3 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Theo Butt Philip | 15,426 | 28.3 | |
| | Labour | Kathy Pearce | 9,332 | 17.1 | |
| | UKIP | Peter Hollings | 2,604 | 4.8 | |
| | BNP | Donna Treanor | 1,282 | 2.4 | |
| | Green | Charles Graham | 859 | 1.6 | |
| | Independent | Bob Cudlipp | 315 | 0.6 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,249 | 17.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,493 | 71.2 | |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |
    * Served as the MP for Bridgwater 2001–2010