Plymouth Sutton and Devonport (Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport until 2024) is a constituency created in 2010, and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Luke Pollard of the Labour and Co-operative Party. The seat is a borough constituency (for the purposes of type of returning officer and election expenses). As with all current constituencies it elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system.
Pollard's 2017 win was one of 30 net gains for the Labour Party. The seat was in 2010 and 2015 a very marginal win for Oliver Colvile of the Conservative Party, his greatest majority being 2.6%.
Constituency profile
Plymouth Sutton and Devonport is a constituency in Devon in South West England. It covers the city centre of Plymouth and its surrounding neighbourhoods, including Devonport, Stonehouse, Lipson, Stoke, Keyham, Milehouse, Mannamead, Compton, Efford, Peverell and Hartley.
Plymouth is a port city with a maritime history. Its importance as a naval base and centre for shipbuilding made it a target for the Luftwaffe during World War II and much of the city was destroyed in the Plymouth Blitz. As a result, the city underwent significant redevelopment after the war. This constituency contains HMNB Devonport, the largest naval base in Western Europe. The University of Plymouth, located in the city centre, has around 18,000 students. Much of the constituency consists of dense terraced housing, largely built to accommodate civilian dockyard workers. Many areas are highly-deprived, particularly in the city centre, in Devonport and in Efford, a large, post-war council estate. The northern suburb of Hartley is mostly affluent. House prices across the constituency are considerably lower than the regional and UK averages.
Plymouth Sutton and Devonport has a large student population and a low proportion of retirees. Residents have low levels of income and homeownership and the child poverty rate is above-average. They are generally well-educated and a high proportion work in the manufacturing, tourism and defence sectors. The percentage of residents claiming unemployment benefits is above-average. White people made up 90% of the population at the 2021 census.
Most of this constituency is represented by the Labour Party at the local city council, although some Reform UK and Green Party representatives were elected at the most recent council election. An estimated 52% of voters in Plymouth Sutton and Devonport supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, identical to the UK-wide figure.
Boundaries
2010–2024 The City of Plymouth wards of:
Compton, Devonport, Stonehouse, Drake (which includes the University and Mutley), Efford and Lipson, Peverell, St Peter and the Waterfront, Stoke, and Sutton and Mount Gould.
2024–present As above less polling districts KC and KD of Peverell ward.
Further to the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency was reduced slightly in order to bring the electorate within the permitted range by transferring north-western parts of Peverell ward to Plymouth Moor View. The name of the constituency was changed to remove the comma.
History History of boundaries The 2007 review by the Boundary Commission for England recommended the creation of this seat and Plymouth Moor View, which was duly approved by Parliament. It is largely based on the former Plymouth Sutton. To this is added smaller parts of the former Plymouth Devonport seat.
History of results
This constituency was won on creation in 2010 by a Conservative, Oliver Colvile. In 2015, against opinion polls for losing, Colvile held it (but narrowly) over the Labour candidate Luke Pollard. The 2015 result gave the seat the 7th most marginal majority of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority.
In 2017, Pollard defeated Colvile to gain the seat with a majority of 6,807; originally, the majority was declared as 6,002, but a spreadsheet error meant the votes from the Efford and Lipson wards were not included in the declaration on the night of the count. Additionally about 35,000 postal voters received two polling cards, and some postal votes were not sent out.
Members of Parliament ElectionMemberParty 2010 Oliver Colvile Conservative 2017 Luke Pollard Labour Co-op
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
Elections in the 2010s
2019 notional result Party Vote % Labour 23,847 48.4 Conservative 18,725 38.0 Brexit Party 2,799 5.7 Liberal Democrats 2,416 4.9 Green 1,476 3.0Turnout49,26367.0Electorate73,495
See also List of parliamentary constituencies in Devon
References
Sources Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, UKPollingReport
External links Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK Plymouth Sutton and Devonport UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK