The placeConstituency · South West · Electorate 74,107 · 2023 boundaries

Chippenham.

Liberal Democrats MP Sarah Gibson holds the seat on 45.5% of the vote.

Member of ParliamentSarah Gibson · Liberal Democrats
CouncilWiltshire
Boundary set2023
ONS codeE14001168
Electorate · 2024
74.1k
Registered to vote
2024 GE — winner
45.5%
Liberal Democrats · +16.4pp over Con
Settlements
9
Largest: Chippenham (Wiltshire)
Crime · per 1k pop · 3mo
14.5
data.police.uk · 12mo rolling
Dispatch
1 Jun 2026

Gibson's most notable recent action is voting to refer Prime Minister Keir Starmer to the Privileges Committee -- a move backed by the Liberal Democrats -- over allegations he misled Parliament on the Peter Mandelson appointment. That fits a broader pattern: she consistently backs Lords scrutiny (96% aligned) and parliamentary accountability (94% aligned), and has voted against the government's attempt to restore a ministerial power to direct pension fund investments -- a provision the Lords stripped out three times. Her sole rebel vote came in March 2025, when she voted against her party on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill's third reading, breaking from the Liberal Democrat majority that supported it.

At 64% voting participation, she falls below the Commons average, though this is not uncommon for newer MPs still building their presence. Her 132 contributions across 49 debates signal active engagement: speeches cluster around the economy, local government, labour markets, housing, and fiscal policy. She votes against employer National Insurance increases 100% of the time, and aligns strongly with pro-business positions (79%), climate action (84%), and criminal justice reform (71%) -- but diverges sharply from her party on workers' rights (23% aligned) and fiscal responsibility (18% aligned), suggesting she prioritises economic flexibility over redistribution.

Locally, Gibson has campaigned vocally on water company failures -- tabling an early day motion calling for Thames Water to enter special administration, launching a "Cut our Water Bills" campaign, and pushing back against a mandatory Digital ID scheme by citing constituent petitions. She sits on the Environmental Audit Committee, which reinforces her focus on utilities and environmental accountability. News coverage over the past 90 days spans 103 articles, with crime and transport featuring prominently; data on speech content is available but no Hansard transcripts were provided to verify direct quotes.

45.5%
LD vote · 2024 GE
1
Council overlapping the seat
19
Wards · 19 councillors
§ 01The local picture — wards.19 wards · 19 councillors

Ward-level direction-of-travel: who controls what, who flipped recently, who holds the line.

WardLatest winnerVotesCouncilLast cycle
Calne Central Ian Leslie Thorn863Wiltshire ConMay 2021
Calne Chilvester Abberd Robert MacNaughton424Wiltshire ConFeb 2024
Calne North Tom Rounds480Wiltshire ConMay 2021
Calne Rural Ashley O'Neill1,199Wiltshire ConMay 2021
Chippenham Cepen Park Derriads Eric Arthur Wakeman693Wiltshire ConMay 2025
Chippenham Cepen Park Hunters Moon Matt Bragg646Wiltshire ConMay 2025
Chippenham Hardenhuish Kathryn Farrah MacDermid675Wiltshire ConMay 2025
Chippenham Hardens Central Liz Alstrom935Wiltshire ConMay 2021
Chippenham Lowden Rowden Ross Henning441Wiltshire ConMay 2025
Chippenham Monkton Nick Murry640Wiltshire ConMay 2025
Chippenham Pewsham Clare Cape797Wiltshire ConMay 2021
Chippenham Sheldon Adrian David Foster351Wiltshire ConMay 2025
Corsham Ladbrook Ruth Mary Catherine Hopkinson844Wiltshire ConMay 2025
Corsham Pickwick Helen Belcher906Wiltshire ConMay 2025
Corsham Without Peter Graham Wragg861Wiltshire ConMay 2025
Lyneham Allison Bucknell817Wiltshire ConMay 2025
Royal Wootton Bassett South West David Michael Bowler938Wiltshire ConMay 2021
Wootton Bassett East Andrew Matthews544Wiltshire ConMay 2025
Wootton Bassett North Lianna Konig515Wiltshire ConMay 2025

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

§ 02Settlements.9 named places

The seat’s population is concentrated in Chippenham (Wiltshire) (34,314), with Calne (17,109) as the second pole. Total population across named built-up areas: 97,214.

large-town 34,314town 57,278village 5,622

Source · ONS Built-Up Areas · Census 2021

SettlementPop.Class
Chippenham (Wiltshire)34,314large town
Calne17,109town
Royal Wootton Bassett13,570town
Rural & dispersed12,421town
Corsham8,517town
Lyneham5,661town
Showing 6 of 9·All 9 settlements
§ 03Demographics.Census 2021 · vs national avg

Headline indicators.

IndicatorLocalNationalΔ
Employment rate61.9%57.1%+8%
Owner-occupied68.9%63.1%+9%
Private rented16.6%20.0%-17%
Social rented14.4%16.8%-14%

Ethnicity.

White94.2%
Asian2.2%
Black1.1%
Mixed1.8%
Other0.6%

Source · Census 2021

Population by age & sexCensus 2021 · 18 bands · click to expand
Male 49.8% Female 50.2% 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
£30,700
HMRC SPI · 2024
Mean income
£39,000
HMRC SPI · 2024
Businesses
3,705
VAT/PAYE-registered
Schools
42
30 primary · 5 secondary
GCSE pass
66.7%
Attainment 8: 46.1

Income tax contribution.

Total income tax£325m
Taxpayers53,000
Median per taxpayer£3,120
Mean per taxpayer£6,170

Source · HMRC SPI · ±8% confidence

Where the money flows back in.

For council finance & suppliers

This constituency is served by Wiltshire. 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
14.5
-30% vs national
Monthly avg / 1k
4.8
12-month rolling
Top category
Violence & sexual offences
42% of recorded crime

By category.

Violence & sexual offences6.0
Anti-social behaviour2.7
Criminal damage & arson1.4
Public order1.0
Shoplifting0.9
Other theft0.8
Drugs0.4

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%
Sarah GibsonWONLD22,55245.5
Nic PuntisCon14,41429.1
Benjamin GinsburgRef6,12712.4
Ravi VenkateshLab3,9257.9
Declan BaseleyGrn1,9544.0
Ed DeediganInd5401.1

Turnout 49,512

Prior contests.

YearWinner%
2019Michelle DonelanCon54.3
2017Michelle DonelanCon54.7
2015Michelle DonelanCon47.6
2010Hames, DuncanLD45.8
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