Hastings and Rye (UK Parliament constituency)

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Hastings and Rye is a constituency^{[n 1]} in East Sussex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Helena Dollimore of the Labour and Co-operative Party.

Constituency profile

As its name suggests, the main settlements in the constituency are the seaside resort of Hastings and smaller nearby tourist town of Rye. The constituency also includes the Cinque Port of Winchelsea and the villages of Fairlight, Winchelsea Beach, Three Oaks, Guestling, Icklesham, Playden, Iden, Rye Harbour, East Guldeford, Camber, and Pett.

The constituency is set in a relatively isolated part of the southeast from the railways perspective and so does not enjoy some of the more general affluence of this part of the country. In the 2000 index of multiple deprivation a majority of wards fell within the bottom half of rankings so it can arguably be considered a deprived area.^[1] Hastings has some light industry, while Rye has a small port, which includes hire and repair activities for leisure vessels and fishing. Hastings is mostly Labour-voting, whereas Rye and the rest of the areas from Rother council are Conservative.

Property prices in the villages are however rising and are in affluent areas, unlike residential estates in the towns. Three Oaks does enjoy a nearby train station for its residents, which has services allowing connecting services to London.

History

The constituency was created in 1983 by combining most of Hastings with a small part of Rye. The Conservative MP for Hastings since 1970, Kenneth Warren, won the new seat.^{[n 2]}. Warren held Hastings and Rye until he chose to retire in 1992; during this period its large majorities suggested it was a Conservative safe seat, with the Liberal Party (now the Liberal Democrats) regularly coming second. Jacqui Lait won the seat on Warren's retirement, but in 1997 the Labour candidate Michael Foster narrowly defeated Lait, becoming the second-least expected (on swing) Labour MP in the landslide of that yearScript error: No such module "Unsubst". and since 2001 setting a pattern that suggests the seat is a two-way Labour-Conservative marginal.

Foster held the seat, again with slim majorities over Conservatives, in 2001 and 2005, but lost it to Conservative Amber Rudd in 2010. Rudd was re-elected with an increased majority in 2015, but in the 2017 general election, the Green Party declined to contest the seat and instead called on its supporters to back the Labour candidate.^[2] Rudd held the seat with a slim majority of 346, making it the 24th-closest nationally (of 650 seats).^[3] From 2010 until 2019, Rudd served as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Minister for Women and Equalities, Secretary of State for the Home Department and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under the governments of David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson.

After losing the Conservative whip, Rudd did not stand at the 2019 general election, which was won for the Conservatives by Sally-Ann Hart. In 2024, Helena Dollimore recaptured the seat for Labour with a majority of 18.8%.

Boundaries

Template:Maplink 1983–2010: The Borough of Hastings, and the District of Rother wards of Camber, Fairlight, Guestling and Pett, Rye, and Winchelsea.

2010–2024: The Borough of Hastings, and the District of Rother wards of Brede Valley, Eastern Rother, Marsham, and Rye.

2024–present: The Borough of Hastings, and the District of Rother wards of Eastern Rother, Rye & Winchelsea, and Southern Rother.^[4]

Minor changes to bring the electorate within the permitted range and align to new ward boundaries in the District of Rother.

Members of Parliament

Hastings prior to 1983

Election	Member^[5]	Party
1983	Kenneth Warren	REDIRECT Template:Party name with color Template:Redirect category shell
1992	Jacqui Lait	REDIRECT Template:Party name with color Template:Redirect category shell
1997	Michael Foster	REDIRECT Template:Party name with color Template:Redirect category shell
2010	Amber Rudd	REDIRECT Template:Party name with color Template:Redirect category shell
September 2019	Amber Rudd	REDIRECT Template:Party name with color Template:Redirect category shell
2019	Sally-Ann Hart	REDIRECT Template:Party name with color Template:Redirect category shell
2024	Helena Dollimore	REDIRECT Template:Party name with color Template:Redirect category shell