County Surrey Created 1974 (1974) European Parliament constituency South East England Number of members 1 Major settlements Epsom, Ewell, Ashtead | Electorate 76,916 (December 2010) Created from Epsom Member of parliament Chris Grayling Replaced by Epsom | |
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Epsom and Ewell is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2001 by Chris Grayling, a Conservative and the current Secretary of State for Transport.
Contents
Boundaries
1974-1983: The Municipal Borough of Epsom and Ewell, and the Urban District of Leatherhead.
1983-1997: The Borough of Epsom and Ewell, and the Borough of Reigate and Banstead wards of Banstead Village, Nork, Preston, and Tattenhams.
1997-2010: The Borough of Epsom and Ewell, the District of Mole Valley wards of Ashtead Common, Ashtead Park, and Ashtead Village, and the Borough of Reigate and Banstead wards of Nork, Preston, and Tattenhams.
2010-present: The Borough of Epsom and Ewell, the District of Mole Valley wards of Ashtead Common, Ashtead Park, and Ashtead Village, and the Borough of Reigate and Banstead wards of Nork and Tattenhams.
Before 1997 it lacked Ashtead but instead included Banstead from Reigate and Banstead. As the borough is small and includes steeply undulating parts such as Epsom Downs it has consistently contained areas in neighbouring Surrey districts.
In 2005, the Boundary Commission's report led to changes for 2010. The boundary with Mole Valley moves slightly on the uninhabited portions of land by the M25 motorway adjoining Ashtead and Leatherhead, in line with local government wards. The Preston ward (in Tadworth) was transferred to Reigate to bring that constituency's electorate closer to the county average.
History
The constituency was established for the February 1974 general election, forming the centre of the previous Epsom constituency. Epsom had been held by a Conservative since its creation in the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.
In Westminster elections, Epsom and Ewell is one of the strongest Conservative areas in the country. However locally the borough council is controlled by the Epsom and Ewell Residents Association, with the Conservatives lacking a firm base here and until recently rarely the party contested local elections. There are also a number of Residents Association councillors in the Reigate & Banstead wards in the constituency, although Mole Valley lacks Residents Association councillors.
In 1987, Barbara Follett, later Member of Parliament for Stevenage, unsuccessfully stood for the Labour Party in the constituency.