Chesterfield (UK Parliament constituency)

Chesterfield is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Toby Perkins of the Labour Party.^{[n 2]}

Chesterfield
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Interactive map of boundaries from 2024
Boundary of Chesterfield in the East Midlands
County	Derbyshire
Population	93,248 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate	70,722 (2023)[2]
Major settlements	Chesterfield
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of Parliament	Toby Perkins (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Derbyshire East

Constituency profile

The seat covers Chesterfield itself and the villages to the east. 59% of residents voted to leave the EU in 2016. Residents are slightly less healthy and wealthy than the UK average.^[3]

Boundaries

2010–2023

From the 2010 general election, the boundaries were defined as comprising the following Borough of Chesterfield wards: Brimington North, Brimington South, Brockwell, Dunston, Hasland, Hollingwood and Inkersall, Holmebrook, Linacre, Loundsley Green, Middlecroft and Poolsbrook, Moor, Old Whittington, Rother, St Helen's, St Leonard's, Walton, and West.^[4]

The boundaries include the town of Chesterfield, together with areas to the north towards Dronfield and to the east towards Bolsover. The other two Borough of Chesterfield wards (Barrow Hill and New Whittington; Lowgates and Woodthorpe) fell within the neighbouring North East Derbyshire seat.^[4]

Boundary changes before the 2010 general election, when the Mid Derbyshire constituency was created, meant that Chesterfield lost New Whittington to North East Derbyshire but otherwise retained its shape.

Current

Further to a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023,^[5][6] the constituency now comprises the following wards of the Borough of Chesterfield:

• Brampton East & Boythorpe; Brampton West & Loundsley Green; Brimington North; Brimington South; Brockwell; Dunston; Hasland; Linacre; Rother; Spire; Staveley Central (most); Staveley South; Walton; Whittington (part); Whittington Moor.^[7]

The boundaries were unchanged by the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies (which was based on the ward structure in place on 1 December 2020).^[8]

History

Chesterfield has mainly been a Labour seat, with periods when it has been held by other parties; it was gained by the Liberal Democrats in 2001 and held by them until 2010. Chesterfield was safe seat for Labour from 1935 until 2001. Andrew Cavendish, later the Duke of Devonshire, was the National Liberal candidate at the 1945 and 1950 elections.

The seat was held in succession by two prominent Labour politicians for over 35 years. The former Labour cabinet minister Eric Varley held the seat from October 1964 to January 1984, and was succeeded by his ex-government colleague Tony Benn, who held the seat following a by-election in March 1984. He remained the town's MP until his retirement from the House of Commons in 2001, when he famously remarked that his decision was taken to "spend more time on politics". Benn had been a Labour Cabinet Minister between 1966–70 and 1974–1979, while Varley was in the Wilson and Callaghan cabinets in the latter period. Paul Holmes gained the seat for the Liberal Democrats at the 2001 general election, the party's first Commons seat in the East Midlands, but were narrowly defeated at the 2010 by the Labour candidate Toby Perkins, one of only three seats the Labour Party gained at the 2010 general election. In 2015, a collapse in the Liberal Democrat vote nationwide had them fall behind to fourth place, the Conservatives move into second place, and Labour having their largest majority in the seat since 1979.

Members of Parliament

Derbyshire East prior to 1885

Year		Member[9][10]	Party
	1885	Alfred Barnes	Liberal
	1886		Liberal Unionist
	1892	Thomas Bayley	Liberal
	1906	James Haslam	Lib-Lab
	1910		Labour
	1913 by-election	Barnet Kenyon	Lib-Lab
	1918		Liberal
	1929	George Benson	Labour
	1931	Roger Conant	Conservative
	1935	George Benson	Labour
	1964	Eric Varley	Labour
	1984 by-election	Tony Benn	Labour
	2001	Paul Holmes	Liberal Democrat
	2010	Toby Perkins	Labour

Election results

Chesterfield election results 1983-2024

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Chesterfield ^[11][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Toby Perkins	19,316	46.5	+6.3
	Conservative	Ben Flook	8,496	20.4	−16.6
	Reform UK	Dan Price	7,897	19.0	+8.4
	Green	David Wadsworth	2,682	6.5	+4.0
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Barfield	2,553	6.1	−2.7
	Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Independent	Kris Stone	363	0.9	N/A
	Workers Party	Julie Lowe	248	0.6	N/A
Majority			10,820	26.1	+22.9
Turnout			41,555	58.0	−5.6
Registered electors			71,654
	Labour hold		Swing	+11.5

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result[13]
Party		Vote	%
	Labour	18,171	40.2
	Conservative	16,720	37
	Brexit Party	4,771	10.6
	Liberal Democrats	3,985	8.8
	Green Party of England and Wales	1,148	2.5
	Independent Politician	391	0.9
Majority		1,451	3.2
Turnout		45,186	63.9
Electorate		70,722

General election 2019: Chesterfield ^[14][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Toby Perkins	18,171	40.2	−14.6
	Conservative	Leigh Higgins	16,720	37.0	+2.2
	Brexit Party	John Scotting	4,771	10.6	New
	Liberal Democrats	Emily Coy	3,985	8.8	+3.4
	Green	Neil Jackson	1,148	2.5	+0.9
	Independent	John Daramy	391	0.9	New
Majority			1,451	3.2	−16.8
Turnout			45,186	63.6	−3.3
	Labour hold		Swing	−8.4

^[16][17]

General election 2017: Chesterfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Toby Perkins[18]	26,266	54.8	+6.9
	Conservative	Spencer Pitfield[18]	16,661	34.8	+16.7
	Liberal Democrats	Tom Snowdon[18]	2,612	5.4	−8.4
	UKIP	Stuart Bent[18]	1,611	3.4	−13.1
	Green	David Wadsworth[18]	777	1.6	−1.4
Majority			9,605	20.0	−9.8
Turnout			47,927	66.9	+3.7
	Labour hold		Swing	−4.9

General election 2015: Chesterfield^[19][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Toby Perkins	21,829	47.9	+8.9
	Conservative	Mark Vivis	8,231	18.1	+2.3
	UKIP	Stuart Yeowart	7,523	16.5	+13.4
	Liberal Democrats	Julia Cambridge	6,301	13.8	−24.0
	Green	Matthew Genn	1,352	3.0	+1.7
	TUSC	Matt Whale[20]	202	0.4	New
	Peace	Tommy Holgate	129	0.3	New
Majority			13,598	29.8	+28.6
Turnout			45,567	63.2	−0.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.3

At the 2015 general election, this seat was the 25th most marginal constituency in Great Britain, the Liberal Democrats requiring a swing from Labour of 0.6% to take the seat (based on the result of the 2010 general election).^[21]

General election 2010: Chesterfield^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Toby Perkins	17,891	39.0	−1.6
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Holmes	17,342	37.8	−9.1
	Conservative	Carolyn Abbott	7,214	15.7	+7.5
	UKIP	David Phillips	1,432	3.1	+0.9
	English Democrat	Ian Jerram	1,213	2.6	+0.8
	Green	Duncan Kerr	600	1.3	New
	Independent	John "Noneoftheabove" Daramy	147	0.3	New
Majority			549	1.2	N/A
Turnout			45,839	63.8	+3.8
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	+3.8

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Chesterfield^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Holmes	20,875	47.3	−0.5
	Labour	Simon Rich	17,830	40.4	−1.6
	Conservative	Mark Kreling	3,605	8.2	+0.1
	UKIP	Christopher Brady	997	2.3	New
	English Democrat	Ian Jerram	814	1.8	New
Majority			3,045	6.9	+1.1
Turnout			44,121	59.6	−1.1
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	+0.6

General election 2001: Chesterfield^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Holmes	21,249	47.8	+8.2
	Labour	Reg Race	18,663	42.0	−8.8
	Conservative	Simon Hitchcock	3,613	8.1	−1.1
	Socialist Alliance	Jeannie Robinson	437	1.0	New
	Socialist Labour	Bill Harrison	295	0.7	New
	Independent	Christopher Rawson	184	0.4	New
Majority			2,586	5.8	N/A
Turnout			44,441	60.7	−10.2
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing	+8.6

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Chesterfield^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tony Benn	26,105	50.8	+3.5
	Liberal Democrats	Anthony Rogers	20,330	39.6	+3.8
	Conservative	Martin Potter	4,752	9.2	−7.7
	Independent	Norman Scarth	202	0.4	New
Majority			5,775	11.2	−0.3
Turnout			51,389	70.9	−7.2
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.1

General election 1992: Chesterfield^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tony Benn	26,461	47.3	+2.4
	Liberal Democrats	Anthony Rogers	20,047	35.8	+6.2
	Conservative	PG Lewis	9,473	16.9	−8.1
Majority			6,414	11.5	−3.8
Turnout			55,981	78.1	+1.4
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.9

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Chesterfield^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tony Benn	24,532	44.9	−3.2
	Liberal	Anthony Rogers	15,955	29.6	+10.1
	Conservative	Ronald Grant	13,472	25.0	−7.4
Majority			8,577	15.3	−0.4
Turnout			53,959	76.7	+4.1
	Labour hold		Swing	-6.6

1984 Chesterfield by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tony Benn	24,633	46.5	−1.6
	Liberal	Max Payne	18,369	34.7	+15.2
	Conservative	Nick Bourne	8,028	15.2	−17.2
	Independent Labour	Bill Maynard	1,355	2.6	New
	Monster Raving Loony	Screaming Lord Sutch	178	0.3	New
	Independent	David Bentley	116	0.2	New
	Independent	John Davey	83	0.2	New
	Independent	Thomas Layton	46	0.1	New
	Independent	Helen Anscombe	34	0.1	New
	Independent	Jitendra Bardwaj	33	0.1	New
	Independent	Donald Butler	24	0.1	New
	Independent	Paul Nicholls-Jones	22	0.0	New
	Independent	Sid Shaw	20	0.0	New
	Independent	Christopher Hill	17	0.0	New
	Independent	Giancarlo Piccaro	15	0.0	New
	Independent	David Cahill	12	0.0	New
	Independent	John Connell	7	0.0	New
Majority			6,264	11.8	−3.9
Turnout			52,992	76.9	+4.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-8.4

General election 1983: Chesterfield^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Eric Varley	23,881	48.1	−9.3
	Conservative	Nick Bourne	16,118	32.4	+0.2
	Liberal	Max Payne	9,705	19.5	+9.1
Majority			7,763	15.7	−9.5
Turnout			49,704	72.6	−0.8
	Labour hold		Swing	-4.75

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Chesterfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Eric Varley	31,049	57.4	−2.5
	Conservative	S. Hill	17,445	32.2	+6.3
	Liberal	Max Payne	5,617	10.4	−3.8
Majority			13,604	25.2	−8.8
Turnout			54,111	73.4	+0.8
	Labour hold		Swing	-4.4

General election October 1974: Chesterfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Eric Varley	30,953	59.9	+5.1
	Conservative	J. D. Taylor	13,393	25.9	−1.7
	Liberal	M. W. Brown	7,349	14.2	−3.4
Majority			17,560	34.0	+6.8
Turnout			51,695	72.6	−7.5
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.4

General election February 1974: Chesterfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Eric Varley	31,040	54.8	−4.2
	Conservative	J. D. Taylor	15,644	27.6	−3.9
	Liberal	M. W. Brown	9,937	17.6	+8.1
Majority			15,396	27.2	−0.3
Turnout			56,621	80.1	+7.7
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.15

General election 1970: Chesterfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Eric Varley	30,386	59.0	−2.6
	Conservative	John C Ramsden	16,217	31.5	+5.2
	Liberal	Terence D Bamford	4,891	9.5	−2.7
Majority			14,169	27.5	−7.8
Turnout			51,494	72.4	−4.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.9

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Chesterfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Eric Varley	31,542	61.6	+5.1
	Conservative	Alan T Hale	13,443	26.3	−2.4
	Liberal	Terence D. Bamford	6,227	12.2	−2.6
Majority			18,099	35.3	+7.5
Turnout			51,212	76.7	−2.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.75

General election 1964: Chesterfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Eric Varley	29,452	56.5	−0.1
	Conservative	William G Blake	14,944	28.7	−3.0
	Liberal	Derek A McKie	7,738	14.8	+3.0
Majority			14,508	27.8	+2.9
Turnout			52,134	78.8	−3.9
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.49

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Chesterfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Benson	30,534	56.6	−1.0
	National Liberal	James Anthony Lemkin	17,084	31.7	−10.7
	Liberal	Geoffrey R. Smedley-Stevenson	6,360	11.8	New
Majority			13,450	24.9	+9.6
Turnout			53,978	82.7	+2.8
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.85

General election 1955: Chesterfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Benson	29,602	57.7	−6.0
	National Liberal	Frank Hadfield	21,748	42.4	+6.1
Majority			7,854	15.3	−12.1
Turnout			51,350	79.9	−4.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-6.05

General election 1951: Chesterfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Benson	34,753	63.7	+2.9
	National Liberal	John F. Nash	19,776	36.3	+5.4
Majority			14,977	27.4	−2.5
Turnout			54,529	84.2	−2.8
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.25

General election 1950: Chesterfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Benson	33,914	60.8	−2.0
	National Liberal	Andrew Cavendish	17,231	30.9	−6.3
	Liberal	John William O'Neill	4,052	7.3	New
	Communist	Bas Barker[29]	554	1.0	New
Majority			16,683	29.9	+4.2
Turnout			55,751	87.0	+9.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.15

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Chesterfield ^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Benson	29,459	62.8	+11.9
	Conservative	Andrew Cavendish	17,424	37.2	−2.1
Majority			12,035	25.6	+14.0
Turnout			46,883	77.4	−2.4
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.0

General Election 1939–40:

Another general election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected; *Labour: George Benson,

• Conservative:

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Chesterfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Benson	21,439	50.94
	Conservative	Roger Conant	16,555	39.33
	Liberal	Robert George Hill	4,096	9.73	New
Majority			4,884	11.61	N/A
Turnout			40,072	79.78
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General election 1931: Chesterfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Roger Conant	23,026	57.46
	Labour	George Benson	17,046	42.54
Majority			5,980	14.92	N/A
Turnout			40,072	80.02
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929: Chesterfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Benson	20,296	54.1	+14.4
	Unionist	Roger Conant	9,915	26.4	New
	Liberal	Harry Cropper	7,329	19.5	−40.8
Majority			10,381	27.7	N/A
Turnout			37,540	77.8	+13.4
Registered electors			48,278
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing	+27.6

General election 1924: Chesterfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Barnet Kenyon	13,971	60.3	+9.4
	Labour	George Benson	9,206	39.7	+13.8
Majority			4,765	20.6	−4.4
Turnout			23,177	64.4	−4.6
Registered electors			35,989
	Liberal hold		Swing	−2.2

Barnet Kenyon

General election 1923: Chesterfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Barnet Kenyon	12,164	50.9	N/A
	Labour	George Benson	6,198	25.9	New
	Unionist	R F H Broomhead-Colton-Fox	5,541	23.2	New
Majority			5,966	25.0	N/A
Turnout			23,903	69.0	N/A
Registered electors			34,648
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1922: Chesterfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Barnet Kenyon	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Chesterfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Barnet Kenyon	Unopposed
	Liberal gain from Labour

Kenyon

1913 Chesterfield by-election^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Lib-Lab	Barnet Kenyon	7,725	55.8	−3.2
	Unionist	Edward Christie	5,539	40.0	−1.0
	Independent Labour	John Scurr	583	4.2	New
Majority			2,186	15.8	−2.2
Turnout			13,847	81.5	+5.6
Registered electors			16,995
	Lib-Lab hold		Swing	−1.1

General election December 1910: Chesterfield^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	James Haslam	7,283	59.0	−0.1
	Conservative	W.G.W. Radford	5,055	41.0	+0.1
Majority			2,228	18.0	−0.2
Turnout			12,338	75.9	−9.8
Registered electors			16,248
	Labour hold		Swing	−0.1

General election January 1910: Chesterfield^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	James Haslam	8,234	59.1	+2.6
	Conservative	W.G.W. Radford	5,693	40.9	−2.6
Majority			2,541	18.2	+5.2
Turnout			13,927	85.7	+0.5
Registered electors			16,248
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.6

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1906: Chesterfield^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Lib-Lab	James Haslam	7,254	56.5	+3.1
	Conservative	Godfrey Locker-Lampson	5,590	43.5	−3.1
Majority			1,664	13.0	+6.2
Turnout			12,844	85.2	+1.1
Registered electors			15,077
	Lib-Lab hold		Swing	+3.1

General election 1900: Chesterfield^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Bayley	5,418	53.4	+2.0
	Conservative	A. W. Byron	4,729	46.6	−2.0
Majority			689	6.8	+4.0
Turnout			10,147	84.1	−1.3
Registered electors			12,069
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.0

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1895: Chesterfield^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Bayley	4,572	51.4	+0.3
	Conservative	A. W. Byron	4,325	48.6	−0.3
Majority			247	2.8	+0.6
Turnout			8,897	85.4	+4.8
Registered electors			10,413
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.3

General election 1892: Chesterfield^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Bayley	4,249	51.1	+1.9
	Liberal Unionist	Alfred Barnes	4,067	48.9	−1.9
Majority			182	2.2	N/A
Turnout			8,316	80.6	−0.9
Registered electors			10,313
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing	+1.9

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1886: Chesterfield^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Alfred Barnes	3,567	50.8	+22.1
	Liberal	Thomas Bayley	3,453	49.2	+3.5
Majority			114	1.6	N/A
Turnout			7,020	81.5	−5.0
Registered electors			8,616
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+9.3

General election 1885: Chesterfield^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Alfred Barnes	3,408	45.7
	Conservative	John Cumming Macdona	2,136	28.7
	Independent Liberal-Labour	James Haslam	1,907	25.6
Majority			1,272	17.0
Turnout			7,451	86.5
Registered electors			8,616
	Liberal win (new seat)

See also

• 1913 Chesterfield by-election
• List of parliamentary constituencies in Derbyshire

Notes

1. A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.