The placeConstituency · East of England · Electorate 77,673 · 2023 boundaries

Braintree.

Conservative and Unionist Party MP James Cleverly holds the seat on 35.5% of the vote — a split-council geography across 2 councils.

Member of ParliamentJames Cleverly · Conservative and Unionist Party
CouncilsBraintree · Uttlesford
Boundary set2023
ONS codeE14001121
Electorate · 2024
77.7k
Registered to vote
2024 GE — winner
35.5%
Conservative and Unionist Party · +7.5pp over Lab
Settlements
12
Largest: Braintree
Crime · per 1k pop · 3mo
16.2
data.police.uk · 12mo rolling
Dispatch
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.

35.5%
Con vote · 2024 GE
2
Councils overlapping the seat
19
Wards · 34 councillors
§ 01The local picture — wards.19 wards · 34 councillors · 2 councils

Ward-level direction-of-travel: who controls what, who flipped recently, who holds the line. Each ward links to the council that runs it.

WardLatest winnerVotesCouncilLast cycle
Bocking Blackwater(3 seats)Wrench · Walters · Flint2,392Braintree ConMay 2023
Bocking North(2 seats)Baugh · Jefferis1,087Braintree ConMay 2023
Bocking South(2 seats)Edwards · Thorogood996Braintree ConMay 2023
Braintree Central Beckers Green(3 seats)Ayten · Mason · Diamond2,080Braintree ConMay 2023
Braintree South(2 seats)Bowers · Green925Braintree ConMay 2023
Braintree West(2 seats)Prime · Cunningham1,419Braintree ConMay 2023
Bumpstead Diana Garrod479Braintree ConMay 2023
Felsted Stebbing(2 seats)Evans · Silcock985Uttlesford IndMay 2023
Gosfield Greenstead Green Peter Schwier396Braintree ConMay 2023
Great Notley Black Notley(3 seats)Ricci · Butland · Cunningham2,976Braintree ConMay 2023
Halstead St Andrews(2 seats)Munday · Bond1,296Braintree ConMay 2023
Halstead Trinity(2 seats)Pell · Fincken1,145Braintree ConMay 2023
Hedingham(2 seats)Beavis · Taylor1,705Braintree ConMay 2023
Rayne Ann Louise Hooks528Braintree ConMay 2023
Stour Valley North Iona Claire Fitzgerald Parker507Braintree ConMay 2023
Stour Valley South David Peter Holland549Braintree ConMay 2023
The Sampfords Mike Tayler344Uttlesford IndMay 2023
Three Fields(2 seats)Ault · Staines1,846Braintree ConMay 2023
Yeldham Richard Michael van Dulken312Braintree ConMay 2023

Source · Democracy Club · DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

§ 02Settlements.12 named places

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.

large-town 40,627town 45,618village 19,116

Source · ONS Built-Up Areas · Census 2021

SettlementPop.Class
Braintree40,627large town
Rural & dispersed23,363town
Halstead (Braintree)14,853town
Great Notley7,402town
Sible Hedingham4,150village
Black Notley2,698village
Showing 6 of 12·All 12 settlements
§ 03Demographics.Census 2021 · vs national avg

Headline indicators.

IndicatorLocalNationalΔ
Employment rate60.3%57.1%+6%
Owner-occupied69.1%63.1%+10%
Private rented15.8%20.0%-21%
Social rented15.0%16.8%-10%

Ethnicity.

White95.0%
Asian1.6%
Black1.1%
Mixed1.8%
Other0.5%

Source · Census 2021

Population by age & sexCensus 2021 · 18 bands · click to expand
Male 49.2% Female 50.8% Median seat
MaleAgeFemale
85+
80-84
75-79
70-74
65-69
60-64
55-59
50-54
45-49
40-44
35-39
30-34
25-29
20-24
16-19
10-15
5-9
0-4

Source · Census 2021 (ONS) · % of usual residents; tick marks the median seat per band

§ 04Local economy.Income · tax · businesses · schools
Median income
£30,200
HMRC SPI · 2024
Mean income
£42,100
HMRC SPI · 2024
Businesses
4,530
VAT/PAYE-registered
Schools
45
34 primary · 5 secondary
GCSE pass
60.5%
Attainment 8: 42.3

Income tax contribution.

Total income tax£399m
Taxpayers55,000
Median per taxpayer£3,190
Mean per taxpayer£7,280

Source · HMRC SPI · ±8% confidence

Where the money flows back in.

For council finance & suppliers

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.

For household tax breakdown

Move the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings — the household lens.

§ 05Recorded crime.data.police.uk · 12-month rolling

Headline rate.

Per 1k pop · 3mo
16.2
-22% vs national
Monthly avg / 1k
5.4
12-month rolling
Top category
Violence & sexual offences
43% of recorded crime

By category.

Violence & sexual offences6.9
Shoplifting1.5
Anti-social behaviour1.3
Public order1.3
Criminal damage & arson1.3
Other theft1.1
Drugs0.8

Source · data.police.uk · 3-month rate per 1,000 pop

Showing 7 of 15·All 15 categories — full monthly trend & settlement breakdown
§ 06Election history.5 contests · created on 2023 boundaries

2024 — full result.

CandidateVotes%
James CleverlyWONCon17,41435.5
Matthew WrightLab13,74428.0
Richard ThomsonRef11,34623.1
Kieron FranksLD2,8795.9
Paul ThorogoodGrn2,8785.9
David HeatherInd7671.6

Turnout 49,028

Prior contests.

YearWinner%
2019James CleverlyCon67.5
2017James CleverlyCon62.8
2015James CleverlyCon53.8
2010Newmark, BrooksCon52.6
Sources, methods & last update
Method The dispatch paragraphs are AI-generated from the public sources listed below. Every figure links to its source. If we’re wrong, please tell us — corrections within 48 hours.
BoundariesONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundary review
Wards & councilsLGBCE · Democracy Club
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
SettlementsONS Built-Up Areas
Census 2021
DemographicsONS · Nomis · Census 2021
National avg over 575 seats
Income & taxHMRC SPI
±8% confidence
SchoolsDfE · attainment data
Crimedata.police.uk
LSOA-aggregated · rolling 12mo
ElectionsElectoral Commission