Ashfield (UK Parliament constituency)

Ashfield is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It is in the English county of Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, to the north west of the city of Nottingham in the Erewash Valley along the border with neighbouring county Derbyshire.

Ashfield was part of the Red Wall, a group of constituencies in the Midlands and Northern England which formerly almost always voted for the Labour Party, until many of them switched to the Conservative Party in the 2019 general election. In the 2016 referendum on membership of the European Union, Ashfield voted 70% in favour of Brexit.

Constituency profile
The seat contains the market towns of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Sutton-in-Ashfield and Huthwaite. Coal mining was formerly a significant part of the local economy. Electoral Calculus categorises the seat as having socially conservative views and economically soft left views alongside strong support for Brexit. Around 57% of the constituency is deprived, slightly higher than the national average of 52%, according to the site. The average age is 50.8, at least 80% of the local population owns a car, whilst 68% own a home, and the gross household income is £35,124.

Historic
1955–1974: The Urban Districts of Eastwood, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, and Sutton-in-Ashfield, and in the Rural District of Basford the parishes of Annesley, Bestwood Park, Brinsley, Felley, Linby, Newstead, Papplewick, and Selston.

1974–1983: The Urban Districts of Hucknall, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, and Sutton-in-Ashfield, and in the Rural District of Basford the parishes of Annesley, Felley, and Selston.

1983–2010: The District of Ashfield wards of Jacksdale, Kirkby-in-Ashfield Central, Kirkby-in-Ashfield East, Kirkby-in-Ashfield West, Selston, Sutton-in-Ashfield Central, Sutton-in-Ashfield East, Sutton-in-Ashfield North, Sutton-in-Ashfield West, Underwood, and Woodhouse, and the Borough of Broxtowe wards of Brinsley, Eastwood East, Eastwood North, and Eastwood South.

2010–2024: The District of Ashfield wards of Jacksdale, Kirkby-in-Ashfield Central, Kirkby-in-Ashfield East, Kirkby-in-Ashfield West, Selston, Sutton-in-Ashfield Central, Sutton-in-Ashfield East, Sutton-in-Ashfield North, Sutton-in-Ashfield West, Underwood, and Woodhouse, and the Borough of Broxtowe wards of Brinsley, Eastwood North and Greasley Beauvale, and Eastwood South.

Current
Following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, and reflecting the local government boundary review in the District of Mansfield which came into effect in May 2023, the constituency is composed of the following with effect from the 2024 general election:


 * The District of Ashfield wards of: Abbey Hill; Annesley & Kirkby Woodhouse; Ashfields; Carsic; Central & New Cross; Huthwaite & Brierley; Jacksdale; Kingsway; Kirkby Cross & Portland; Larwood; Leamington; St. Mary’s; Selston; Skegby; Stanton Hill & Teversal; Summit; Sutton Junction & Harlow Wood; The Dales; Underwood.

The parts in the Borough of Broxtowe were transferred to the Broxtowe constituency and the parts in Mansfield District were transferred from the Mansfield constituency.
 * Parts of the District of Mansfield wards of: Lindhurst; Pleaseley; Rufford; Sherwood.1

History
Until the Conservatives gained the seat at the 2019 general election, it was almost always a Labour Party seat since its creation for the 1955 general election. The Ashfield constituency has been served by a former Secretary of State, Geoff Hoon, and since its creation until 2019, for only two years has been served by one member of another party, Tim Smith of the Conservative Party, from 1977 to 1979. Ashfield's 2019 result indicates quite a large Conservative majority. In 2010, the seat had a marginal majority of only 192 votes over the Liberal Democrats, but this was increased to 8,820 in 2015 after a collapse in the Liberal Democrat vote, with the Conservatives finishing in second place. In 2017, there was another narrow margin of victory for Labour after an 8.9% swing to the Conservatives, who squeezed most of the fairly substantial UKIP vote from two years earlier, and also a large vote for the Ashfield Independents candidate of nearly 10%, but Labour on that occasion did just enough to hang on by just over 400 votes. In 2019, the Ashfield Independents candidate Jason Zadrozny, who had come close to winning the seat for the Liberal Democrats nine years earlier, came second with a substantial vote, and the Conservatives took the seat despite achieving fewer votes and a smaller percentage of the total vote than in 2017.

Elections in the 2010s
The Liberal Democrats had again selected Jason Zadrozny as their prospective parliamentary candidate for the 2015 general election, but he was suspended by the party and removed as a candidate just weeks before the election after being arrested; he was later cleared. He was replaced by Philip Smith.