Braintree.
Conservative and Unionist Party MP James Cleverly holds the seat on 35.5% of the vote — a split-council geography across 2 councils.
3 Jun 2026
A former Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary now back on the backbenches, Cleverly has been an active opposition voice in recent weeks. He voted to refer Prime Minister Starmer to the Privileges Committee over allegations that Starmer misled Parliament on Peter Mandelson's appointment as US Ambassador -- a politically charged move that placed him at the sharp end of Conservative pressure on the government. Locally, he has pressed ministers on the A120 dualling project, criticising the government's decision to axe road improvements as "shocking" and framing the issue as both a safety and economic priority for Braintree constituents. He has also challenged the government on an asylum centre near the Uttlesford border, formally demanding closure assurances from the Home Office.
Cleverly votes with the Conservative party line 100% of the time and has no rebel votes on record. His participation rate of 66% -- below the Commons average -- reflects the demands of his profile rather than disengagement; his 158 contributions across 76 debates suggest selective but substantive involvement. He speaks most on defence, the economy, immigration, and local government. His stance data marks him as strongly pro-business and consistently opposed to government investment powers over pension funds, siding with the Lords in the Pension Schemes Bill ping-pong.
He deviates from his party average notably on Lords reform -- 29 percentage points above Conservative colleagues -- and consistently backs Lords scrutiny at 100% alignment, suggesting a principled position on upper chamber authority. No committee memberships are recorded. News coverage over the past 90 days spans 87 articles, with cost-of-living generating the most positive sentiment; crime and housing coverage is broadly neutral.
Ward-level direction-of-travel: who controls what, who flipped recently, who holds the line. Each ward links to the council that runs it.
| Ward | Latest winner | Votes | Council | Last cycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bocking Blackwater(3 seats) | Wrench · Walters · Flint | 2,392 | Braintree Con | May 2023 |
| Bocking North(2 seats) | Baugh · Jefferis | 1,087 | Braintree Con | May 2023 |
| Bocking South(2 seats) | Edwards · Thorogood | 996 | Braintree Con | May 2023 |
| Braintree Central Beckers Green(3 seats) | Ayten · Mason · Diamond | 2,080 | Braintree Con | May 2023 |
| Braintree South(2 seats) | Bowers · Green | 925 | Braintree Con | May 2023 |
| Braintree West(2 seats) | Prime · Cunningham | 1,419 | Braintree Con | May 2023 |
| Bumpstead | Diana Garrod | 479 | Braintree Con | May 2023 |
| Felsted Stebbing(2 seats) | Evans · Silcock | 985 | Uttlesford Ind | May 2023 |
| Gosfield Greenstead Green | Peter Schwier | 396 | Braintree Con | May 2023 |
| Great Notley Black Notley(3 seats) | Ricci · Butland · Cunningham | 2,976 | Braintree Con | May 2023 |
| Halstead St Andrews(2 seats) | Munday · Bond | 1,296 | Braintree Con | May 2023 |
| Halstead Trinity(2 seats) | Pell · Fincken | 1,145 | Braintree Con | May 2023 |
| Hedingham(2 seats) | Beavis · Taylor | 1,705 | Braintree Con | May 2023 |
| Rayne | Ann Louise Hooks | 528 | Braintree Con | May 2023 |
| Stour Valley North | Iona Claire Fitzgerald Parker | 507 | Braintree Con | May 2023 |
| Stour Valley South | David Peter Holland | 549 | Braintree Con | May 2023 |
| The Sampfords | Mike Tayler | 344 | Uttlesford Ind | May 2023 |
| Three Fields(2 seats) | Ault · Staines | 1,846 | Braintree Con | May 2023 |
| Yeldham | Richard Michael van Dulken | 312 | Braintree Con | May 2023 |
Source · Democracy Club · DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The seat’s population is concentrated in Braintree (40,627), with Rural & dispersed (23,363) as the second pole. Total population across named built-up areas: 105,361.
Source · ONS Built-Up Areas · Census 2021
| Settlement | Pop. | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Braintree | 40,627 | large town |
| Rural & dispersed | 23,363 | town |
| Halstead (Braintree) | 14,853 | town |
| Great Notley | 7,402 | town |
| Sible Hedingham | 4,150 | village |
| Black Notley | 2,698 | village |
Headline indicators.
| Indicator | Local | National | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment rate | 60.3% | 57.1% | +6% |
| Owner-occupied | 69.1% | 63.1% | +10% |
| Private rented | 15.8% | 20.0% | -21% |
| Social rented | 15.0% | 16.8% | -10% |
Ethnicity.
Source · Census 2021
Population by age & sexCensus 2021 · 18 bands · click to expand
Source · Census 2021 (ONS) · % of usual residents; tick marks the median seat per band
Income tax contribution.
| Total income tax | £399m |
| Taxpayers | 55,000 |
| Median per taxpayer | £3,190 |
| Mean per taxpayer | £7,280 |
Source · HMRC SPI · ±8% confidence
Where the money flows back in.
This constituency is served by Braintree and Uttlesford. Each council’s service spend, peer rank and supplier list lives on its own page — open from the meta block above or the compass strip below.
Move the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings — the household lens.
Headline rate.
By category.
Source · data.police.uk · 3-month rate per 1,000 pop
2024 — full result.
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| James CleverlyWON | Con | 17,414 | 35.5 |
| Matthew Wright | Lab | 13,744 | 28.0 |
| Richard Thomson | Ref | 11,346 | 23.1 |
| Kieron Franks | LD | 2,879 | 5.9 |
| Paul Thorogood | Grn | 2,878 | 5.9 |
| David Heather | Ind | 767 | 1.6 |
Turnout 49,028
Prior contests.
| Year | Winner | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | James Cleverly | Con | 67.5 |
| 2017 | James Cleverly | Con | 62.8 |
| 2015 | James Cleverly | Con | 53.8 |
| 2010 | Newmark, Brooks | Con | 52.6 |
Sources, methods & last update
2023 boundary review
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Census 2021
National avg over 575 seats
±8% confidence
LSOA-aggregated · rolling 12mo