{{Short description|UK Parliament constituency (since 2024)}} {{Use British English|date=August 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}} {{Infobox UK constituency|name=Melksham and Devizes|parliament=uk|year=[[2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies|2024]]|abolished=|type=County|elects_howmany=One|next= |electorate= 71,823 (2023)<ref>{{cite web |url= https://boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/2023-review/the-2023-review-of-parliamentary-constituency-boundaries-in-england-volume-two-constituency-names-designations-and-composition/the-2023-review-of-parliamentary-constituency-boundaries-in-england-volume-two-constituency-names-designations-and-composition-south-west/#lg_melksham-and-devizes-cc-71823 |title= The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – South West |publisher=Boundary Commission for England |access-date=27 June 2024 |df=dmy }}</ref> |mp= [[Brian Mathew (politician)|Brian Mathew]] |party= [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] |region=England|county=[[Wiltshire]]|towns=[[Bradford-on-Avon]], [[Devizes]], [[Melksham]]|previous=[[Chippenham (UK Parliament constituency)|Chippenham]], [[Devizes (UK Parliament constituency)|Devizes]], [[North Wiltshire (UK Parliament constituency)|North Wiltshire]]|image2=[[File:South West England - Melksham and Devizes constituency.svg|255px|alt=Map of constituency]]|caption2=Boundary of Melksham and Devizes in South West England}}'''Melksham and Devizes''' is a [[List of UK Parliament constituencies|constituency]] of the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] in the [[UK Parliament]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-11-09 |title=How Wiltshire constituency boundaries could change |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-wiltshire-63561333 |access-date=2024-02-26 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> Further to the completion of the [[2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies]], it was first contested at the [[2024 United Kingdom general election|2024 general election]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – South West {{!}} Boundary Commission for England |url=https://boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/2023-review/2023-review-volume-one-report/the-2023-review-of-parliamentary-constituency-boundaries-in-england-volume-one-report-south-west/ |access-date=2023-07-17 |website=boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk}}</ref> when it was won by [[Brian Mathew (politician)|Brian Mathew]] of the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]]. He defeated [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] former [[cabinet minister]] [[Michelle Donelan]], who had been MP for [[Chippenham (UK Parliament constituency)|Chippenham]] from 2015 to 2024.
== Constituency profile == Melksham and Devizes is a constituency in [[Wiltshire]]. It is named after its two largest towns, [[Melksham]] and [[Devizes]], which each have populations of around 20,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/southwestengland/wiltshire/E63005246__melksham/|title=Melksham|website=citypopulation.de|accessdate=10 May 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/southwestengland/wiltshire/E63005312__devizes/|title=Devizes|website=citypopulation.de|accessdate=10 May 2026}}</ref> Other settlements in the constituency include the town of [[Bradford-on-Avon]] and the villages of [[Bowerhill]] and [[Box, Wiltshire|Box]].
The constituency is mostly rural with [[market town]]s and many small villages. Melksham and Devizes are historic towns with traditional rural industries like [[brewing]] and the trade of [[wool]] and [[cereal grain]]s.<ref name="vch trade">{{cite web|website=British History Online|title=Victoria County History – Wiltshire – Vol 10 pp252-285 – The borough of Devizes: Trade, agriculture and local government|editor-first=Elizabeth|editor-last=Crittall|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol10/pp252-285|publisher=University of London|date=1975|access-date=28 October 2019}}</ref> Bradford-on-Avon contains many historic buildings and is popular with tourists due to its location close to the [[Cotswolds]]. The constituency is generally affluent with low levels of deprivation, especially so in the west around Bradford-on-Avon.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/constituency-data-deprivation-in-england/|title=Constituency data: Deprivation in England|website=commonslibrary.parliament.uk|accessdate=10 May 2026}}</ref> House prices across the constituency are generally higher than the regional and national averages.<ref name="EC">{{cite web|url=https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Melksham+and+Devizes|title=Seat Details - Melksham and Devizes|website=electoralcalculus.co.uk|accessdate=10 May 2026}}</ref>
There is a large retiree population in the constituency,<ref name="dashboard">{{cite web |title=Constituency dashboard |url=https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/constituency-dashboard |website=House of Commons Library |accessdate=10 May 2026}}</ref> giving it a high average age.<ref name="EC"/> Residents have average levels of education and above-average rates of income and homeownership.<ref name="EC"/> The child poverty rate is low and few residents are unemployed,<ref name="dashboard"/> with a high proportion working in the manufacturing and agriculture sectors.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/constituency-data-businesses/|title=Constituency data: businesses and industries|website=commonslibrary.parliament.uk|accessdate=10 May 2026}}</ref> [[White people in the UK|White people]] made up 96% of the population at the [[2021 UK Census|2021 census]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/constituency-statistics-ethnicity/|title=2021 census results: Ethnic groups in your constituency|website=commonslibrary.parliament.uk|date=4 July 2024|accessdate=10 May 2026}}</ref>
At [[Wiltshire Council|the local unitary authority]], most of the constituency is represented by [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]], who were elected in the towns and the more affluent rural west. Some [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] councillors were elected in the rural east. An estimated 52% of voters in the constituency supported leaving the [[European Union]] in the [[Brexit referendum|2016 referendum]], identical to the nationwide figure.<ref name="EC"/>
== Boundaries == {{maplink|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Melksham and Devizes (UK Parliament constituency)}}|frame=yes|text=Map of boundaries from 2024}} The constituency is composed of the following electoral districts of Wiltshire (as they existed on 4 May 2021):
* Bowerhill; Box & Colerne; Bradford-on-Avon North; Bradford-on-Avon South; Bromham, Rowde & Roundway; Calne South; Devizes East; Devizes North; Devizes Rural West; Devizes South; Holt; Melksham East; Melksham Forest; Melksham South; Melksham Without North & Shurnhold; Melksham Without West & Rural; The Lavingtons; Urchfont & Bishops Cannings; Winsley & Westwood.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/1230/schedules/made |at=Schedule 1 Part 7 South West region}}</ref>
It comprises the following areas:<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Seat Details – Melksham and Devizes |url=https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/calcwork23.py?seat=Melksham+and+Devizes |access-date=2024-02-26 |website=www.electoralcalculus.co.uk}}</ref>
* The towns of [[Melksham]] and [[Bradford-on-Avon]], transferred from [[Chippenham (UK Parliament constituency)|Chippenham]] * The town of [[Devizes]], transferred from the [[Devizes (UK Parliament constituency)|constituency of Devizes]] (the majority of which was incorporated into the new constituency of [[East Wiltshire]]) * Rural parishes east of Trowbridge, transferred from [[South West Wiltshire]] * The wards of [[Box, Wiltshire|Box]] and [[Colerne]], and [[Calne]] South, transferred from the abolished [[North Wiltshire (UK Parliament constituency)|North Wiltshire]] constituency
== Elections ==
=== Elections in the 2020s === {{Election box begin|title=[[2024 United Kingdom general election|General election 2024]]: Melksham and Devizes<ref>{{Cite news |title=Melksham and Devizes |date=5 July 2024 |url=https://election.news.sky.com/elections/general-election-2024/melksham-and-devizes-397 |access-date=5 July 2024 |work=Sky News}}</ref> }} {{Election box winning candidate with party link|party=Liberal Democrats (UK)|candidate=[[Brian Mathew (politician)|Brian Mathew]]|votes=20,031|percentage=39.1|change=+11.8}} {{Election box candidate with party link|party=Conservative Party (UK)|candidate=[[Michelle Donelan]]|votes=17,630|percentage=34.4|change=-23.4}} {{Election box candidate with party link|party=Reform UK|candidate=Malcolm Cupis|votes=6,726|percentage=13.1|change=''N/A''}} {{Election box candidate with party link|party=Labour Party (UK)|candidate=Kerry Postlewhite|votes=4,587|percentage=9.0|change=-3.0}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Green Party of England and Wales|candidate=Catherine Read|votes=2,229|percentage=4.4|change=+1.4}}
{{Election box majority|votes=2,401|percentage=4.7|change=''N/A''}} {{Election box turnout|votes=51,203|percentage=71.1|change=-6.5}} {{Election box registered electors|reg. electors=71,999}} {{Election box gain with party link|winner=Liberal Democrats (UK)|loser=Conservative Party (UK)|swing=+17.7|}} {{Election box end}}
===Elections in the 2010s=== {| class="wikitable" |- ! colspan="4" | [[2019 United Kingdom general election|2019]] [[2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies|notional result]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://electionresults.parliament.uk/general-elections/5 |title=Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019 |date= |access-date=11 July 2024 |work=Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News |publisher=[[UK Parliament]]}}</ref> |- ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="130px" colspan="2" | Party ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="50px" | Vote ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30px" | % |- | {{party color cell|Conservative Party (UK)}} | [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] ||align=right| 32,227 ||align=right| 57.8 |- | {{party color cell|Liberal Democrats (UK)}} | [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] ||align=right| 15,199 ||align=right| 27.3 |- | {{party color cell|Labour Party (UK)}} | [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] ||align=right| 6,686 ||align=right| 12.0 |- | {{party color cell|Green Party of England and Wales}} | [[Green Party of England and Wales|Green]] ||align=right| 1,652 ||align=right| 3.0 |- |colspan="4" bgcolor="#EAECF0"| |- |colspan="2"|'''Turnout''' |align=right|55,764 |align=right|77.6 |- |colspan="2"|'''Electorate''' |align=right|71,823 |}
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://mapit.mysociety.org/area/168806.html Melksham and Devizes UK Parliament constituency] (boundaries from June 2024) at ''MapIt UK''
{{Constituencies in South West England}}
[[Category:Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 2024]] [[Category:Parliamentary constituencies in Wiltshire]]