# South East Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency)

South East Cambridgeshire was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2015 to 2024 by Lucy Frazer, a member of the Conservative Party who has served as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport from 2023 to 2024. The constituency was established for the 1983 general election and was based on the cathedral city of Ely.
Under the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, the constituency was subject to major boundary changes. As a result, the seat was abolished for the 2024 general election, with the majority of the electorate being included in the new constituency of Ely and East Cambridgeshire.

## History

The constituency was created in 1983 from parts of the former seats of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely. Its first MP, Francis Pym, was a Conservative Cabinet Minister, serving in roles such as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1973–1974) in the Heath government and Secretary of State for Defence (1979–1981), Leader of the House of Commons (1981–1982) and most prominently Foreign Secretary (1982–1983, during the Falklands War) under Margaret Thatcher. However, during the four years he served South East Cambridgeshire, he was a Tory 'wet' backbencher, having been sacked by Thatcher for famously remarking during the 1983 election that "Landslides don't on the whole produce successful governments".
It has to date been a safe Conservative seat, although in 2010 the margin was cut to a relatively small 10.3% by the Liberal Democrat candidate (possibly helped by controversies surrounding the Labour candidate). In 2015 and 2017 Labour achieved the largest increase in their share of the vote; in 2017 they achieved their highest ever vote share in the seat (27.7%) and overtook the Liberal Democrats for the first time since 1997; despite this, the Conservatives achieved over 50% of the vote in the seat for the first time since 1992.
According to approximate analysis of the 2016 EU membership referendum, South East Cambridgeshire (which is made up of wards from East Cambridgeshire District Council, which voted 51% to leave, as well as South Cambridgeshire District Council, which voted 60% to remain) voted 54% to remain in the EU.

## Constituency profile

The constituency includes the small city of Ely and is predominantly low-lying and agricultural, with many residents commuting to work in Cambridge. Workless claimants were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 1.4% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.

## Boundaries and boundary changes
### 1983–1997

* The District of East Cambridgeshire wards of Bottisham, Burwell, Cheveley, Dullingham Villages, Ely North, Ely South, Ely West, Fordham Villages, Isleham, Soham, The Swaffhams, and Woodditton; and
* The District of South Cambridgeshire wards of Abington, Balsham, Bar Hill, Castle Camps, Coton, Cottenham, Elsworth, Fulbourn, Girton, Histon, Linton, Longstanton, Milton, Over, Swavesey, Teversham, The Wilbrahams, Waterbeach, and Willingham.
The seat was created for the 1983 general election which followed on from the merger under the Local Government Act 1972, of the two administrative counties of Huntingdon and Peterborough and Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely to form the non-metropolitan county of Cambridgeshire, with effect from 1 April 1974. It was formed from eastern parts of the abolished constituency of Cambridgeshire, together with the city of Ely, which had been in the abolished constituency of Isle of Ely.

### 1997–2010

* The District of East Cambridgeshire wards of Bottisham, Burwell, Cheveley, Dullingham Villages, Ely North, Ely South, Ely West, Fordham Villages, Haddenham, Isleham, Soham, Stretham, The Swaffhams, Witchford, and Woodditton; and
* The District of South Cambridgeshire wards of Abington, Balsham, Castle Camps, Cottenham, Fulbourn, Histon, Linton, Milton, Over, Teversham, The Wilbrahams, Waterbeach, and Willingham.
The westernmost area was transferred to the new constituency of South Cambridgeshire. Minor gain from North East Cambridgeshire.

### 2010–2024

* The District of East Cambridgeshire wards of Bottisham, Burwell, Cheveley, Dullingham Villages, Ely East, Ely North, Ely South, Ely West, Fordham Villages, Haddenham, Isleham, Soham North, Soham South, Stretham, and The Swaffhams; and
* The District of South Cambridgeshire wards of Balsham, Fulbourn, Histon and Impington, Linton, Milton, Teversham, The Wilbrahams, Waterbeach, and Willingham and Over.
Further minor loss to South Cambridgeshire.
The constituency included the eastern half of South Cambridgeshire district and the southern part of East Cambridgeshire. Ely, the largest community, has cathedral city status, and there are many smaller settlements including Burwell, Fulbourn, Isleham, Linton, Milton, Soham and Waterbeach.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1983 | Francis Pym | Conservative |
| 1987 | Sir Jim Paice | Conservative |
| 2015 | Lucy Frazer | Conservative |

## Elections
### Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: South East Cambridgeshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Lucy Frazer | 32,187 | 50.0 | −3.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Pippa Heylings | 20,697 | 32.1 | +13.1 |
| | Labour | James Bull | 10,492 | 16.3 | −11.4 |
| | Independent | Edmund Fordham | 1,009 | 1.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,490 | 17.9 | −7.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 64,385 | 74.2 | +1.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −8.3 | |
Edmund Fordham was originally the Brexit Party candidate for the Bury St Edmunds constituency in the 2019 general election.
General election 2017: South East Cambridgeshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Lucy Frazer | 33,601 | 53.3 | +4.8 |
| | Labour | Huw Jones | 17,443 | 27.7 | +12.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Lucy Nethsingha | 11,958 | 19.0 | −1.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,158 | 25.6 | −2.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 63,002 | 73.2 | +2.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −3.8 | |
General election 2015: South East Cambridgeshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Lucy Frazer | 28,845 | 48.5 | +0.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jonathan Chatfield | 12,008 | 20.2 | −17.6 |
| | Labour | Huw Jones | 9,013 | 15.1 | +7.5 |
| | UKIP | Deborah Rennie | 6,593 | 11.1 | +7.4 |
| | Green | Clive Semmens | 3,047 | 5.1 | +3.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,837 | 28.3 | +17.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 59,506 | 70.4 | +1.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +9.0 | |
General election 2010: South East Cambridgeshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | James Paice | 27,629 | 48.0 | +0.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jonathan Chatfield | 21,683 | 37.6 | +6.2 |
| | Labour | John Cowan | 4,380 | 7.6 | −13.8 |
| | UKIP | Andy Monk | 2,138 | 3.7 | New |
| | Green | Simon Sedgwick-Jell | 766 | 1.3 | New |
| | Independent | Geoffrey Woollard | 517 | 0.9 | New |
| | CPA | Daniel Bell | 489 | 0.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,946 | 10.4 | −5.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 57,602 | 69.3 | +4.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −2.7 | |
Percentage changes based on 2005 notional results due to boundary changes.

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: South East Cambridgeshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | James Paice | 26,374 | 47.1 | +2.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jonathan Chatfield | 17,750 | 31.7 | +4.8 |
| | Labour | Fiona Ross | 11,936 | 21.3 | −5.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,624 | 15.4 | −1.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 56,060 | 65.3 | +1.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −1.0 | |
General election 2001: South East Cambridgeshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | James Paice | 22,927 | 44.2 | +1.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sal Brinton | 13,937 | 26.9 | +1.8 |
| | Labour | Andrew Inchley | 13,714 | 26.4 | −0.1 |
| | UKIP | Neil Scarr | 1,308 | 2.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,990 | 17.3 | 0.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,886 | 63.5 | −10.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −0.3 | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: South East Cambridgeshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | James Paice | 24,397 | 42.9 | −15.0 |
| | Labour | Rex Collinson | 15,048 | 26.5 | +6.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sal Brinton | 14,246 | 25.1 | +4.8 |
| | Referendum | John Howlett | 2,838 | 5.0 | New |
| | Building a Fair Society | Karl Lam | 167 | 0.3 | New |
| | Natural Law | Peter While | 111 | 0.2 | −0.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,349 | 17.3 | −20.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 56,807 | 75.1 | −5.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −10.8 | |
General election 1992: South East Cambridgeshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | James Paice | 36,693 | 57.9 | −0.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ronald Wotherspoon | 12,883 | 20.3 | −7.2 |
| | Labour | Arthur Jones | 12,688 | 20.0 | +6.3 |
| | Green | John Marsh | 836 | 1.3 | New |
| | Natural Law | Bridget Langridge | 231 | 0.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 23,810 | 37.5 | +6.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 63,331 | 80.6 | +3.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +3.2 | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: South East Cambridgeshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | James Paice | 32,901 | 58.8 | +1.2 |
| | SDP | Peter Lee | 15,399 | 27.5 | −2.3 |
| | Labour | Thomas Ling | 7,694 | 13.7 | +1.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,502 | 31.3 | +3.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,994 | 77.4 | +3.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +1.8 | |
General election 1983: South East Cambridgeshire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Francis Pym | 28,555 | 57.6 | |
| | SDP | Christopher Slee | 14,791 | 29.8 | |
| | Labour | Mary Jackson | 6,261 | 12.6 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,764 | 27.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,607 | 74.2 | |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |