Constituency profile

New Forest East

South East · County constituency · New Forest borough

Sir Julian Lewis MP
Sitting MP

Sir Julian Lewis

Conservative

First elected May 1997

Current PollCheck projection

Region & type
South East
County constituency, New Forest council
Last 5 GE winners
CCCCC
Conservative 5/5
EU referendum 2016
60.2% Leave
UK average 51.9%; +8.3pp above mean
Current outlook
Conservative +6.6pp
vs Reform UK 29.0%
SouthernStrong Leave area

About the New Forest East constituency

New Forest East is a county constituency in the South East, covering most or all of New Forest. The sitting MP is Sir Julian Lewis (Conservative), first elected in May 1997.

At the 2024 general election, the Conservatives won New Forest East with 38.5% of the vote, ahead of Labour on 19.7%, a majority of 8,495 votes. Turnout was 64.0%.

If a general election were held today, PollCheck's projection at the current seven-poll average has the Conservatives on 35.5% and Reform UK on 29.0% in New Forest East, a margin of 6.6 points. The projection updates automatically as new polls are added.

Demographically, New Forest East is a strongly Leave-voting area (an estimated 60.2% voted Leave in 2016). About 29.7% of residents hold a degree, 74.1% of homes are owner-occupied, and the seat has a median age of about 49 (2021 Census).

Across the most recent general elections on record here, the seat has been won by the Conservatives each time.

Who lives in New Forest East? Constituency demographics

From the 2021 Census and 2016 EU referendum estimates. Constituency-level data on 2024 boundaries.

Leave vote 2016
60.2%
UK average ~52%
Degree or above
29.7%
UK average ~34%
No qualifications
15.9%
UK average ~18%
Owner-occupied
74.1%
UK average ~63%
Renting (social + private)
25.3%
UK average ~36%
Median age
48.6
UK median ~40
Age 65+
30.4%
UK average ~19%
Age 18-34
22.9%
UK average ~28%

How did New Forest East vote in 2024 and how would it vote now?

2024 vote shares from the HoC Library. Current projection is at the 7-poll average.

2024 general election

Con hold · majority 8,495 votes (18.8pp) · turnout 64.0%

Current projection

If a general election were held today, at current poll average

Map of New Forest East

Switch between ward-level 2024 election winners and a demographic view. Ward winners are Britain Elects' / New Statesman modelled estimates with an average ~4pp margin of error per ward. The demographic view splits the seat into small neighbourhoods (around 1,500 residents each, from the 2021 Census). Hover any area for detail.

Council layer (not Westminster)

New Forest East within New Forest

The Westminster constituency of New Forest East sits entirely within New Forest Council. Local council elections are a separate ballot from Westminster general elections - New Forest District Council was not itself in the 2026 election cycle, but the Hampshire County Council election was held on Thursday 7 May 2026; the county-division results covering this seat are shown below. The most recent district ward results are shown after them.

Council overlap

CouncilShare of seat
New Forest
60 LSOAs
100%

Hampshire County Council election, Thursday 7 May 2026

The county council is a separate tier of local government from the district council and from Westminster. These are the results for the county divisions covering this seat; vote shares are computed from the declared per-candidate ballots.

DivisionWinnerTop 3 vote sharesTurnout
BrockenhurstConCon 37% Ref 27% Grn 21%48.8%
Dibden & HytheLDLD 51% Ref 27% Con 12%46.7%
Lyndhurst & FordingbridgeLDLD 35% Ref 26% Con 24%49.6%
South WatersideRefRef 36% Con 27% LD 15%41.3%
Totton North & Netley MarshConCon 35% Ref 31% LD 21%40.6%
Totton South & MarchwoodLDLD 46% Ref 29% Con 14%40.9%

Most recent council ward results

Latest council winner per ward. Where the council held a May 2026 election, those results are shown; otherwise we show the most recent available ward result (via DCLEAPIL, 2014-2024), or, where the seat was uncontested at the last election, the current sitting councillor from OpenCouncilData. The "Shift since GE2024" column is only computed for May 2026 results - earlier council votes pre-date the GE, so no directional shift is shown.

Ward GE2024 winner Latest council winner Shift since GE2024 Turnout

Projection trajectory

PollCheck's projection for New Forest East at each of the last 60 GB polls. Hover the chart for the underlying poll details.

Who has won New Forest East at past general elections?

2024 result is on current boundaries. The 2019 row is the UK Parliament's notional recalculation onto the 2024 boundaries (directly comparable to 2024). The 2010, 2015 and 2017 rows are on the boundaries in force at the time and aren't directly comparable.

Year Result MP Lab Con LD Right (Ref/UKIP) Green Other Majority Turnout
2010Con holdJulian Lewis9.8%52.8%30.3%5.0% UKIP2.0%-11,30768.7%
2015Con holdJulian Lewis12.2%56.3%9.4%17.5% UKIP4.7%-19,16268.0%-0.7
2017Con holdJulian Lewis19.8%62.6%15.2%-2.4%-21,99570.8%+2.8
2019notionalConservative winnerJulian Lewis 2019 MP, pre-review boundary14.8%64.5%14.6%-4.8%1.3%25,25168.8%-2.0
2024Con holdJulian Lewis19.7%38.5%15.9%16.9% Ref6.9%2.1%8,49564.0%-4.8

Earlier years are on pre-2024 boundaries; comparable results on the new boundary will be added when sourced.

Constituencies most like New Forest East

Five seats with similar demographic profiles to New Forest East. Politics shown for context.

What would change this seat?

Move the sliders to set national vote shares. The per-seat projection updates live. Reset returns to the current 7-poll average.

Related

Sources

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