Lab took this seat from Con after 4 consecutive elections.
MP News Approval i
+68
Tom Rutland
Labour PartyTom Rutland is the Labour MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, and has been an MP continually since 4 July 2024.
A vote on whether to allow a Bill to be introduced that would replace the current first-past-the-post voting system with proportional representation (specifically single transferable vote) for UK parliamentary and English local government elections. The Bill was proposed by Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney, arguing the current system produces large parliamentary majorities on small vote shares.
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Sign up freeCoverage of East Worthing and Shoreham has been mixed for Tom across 40 recent articles.
Positive coverage
“Funding boost and volunteer drive announced for Worthing Lido restoration” — Sussex Express
“Political opinion with Tom Rutland MP: £4million for Adur and Worthing flood defences” — Sussex Express
Represented by Lab since 2024. Covers Worthing, Lancing and Sompting and Shoreham-by-Sea. Population 96,700. Recorded crime is 54% below the national average.
New bar to open today in seaside town
The Argus · 8 Apr 2026
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Sign up freeMedian Income▼
£26,800
per year (HMRC 2022-23)
Mean Income▼
£34,800
per year (HMRC 2022-23)
Businesses▼
3,535
VAT/PAYE registered (ONS 2024)
Schools▼
36
20 primary, 6 secondary, 10 other
Total Income Tax▼
£283m
from 56,000 taxpayers
Median Tax▼
£2,510
per taxpayer / year
Mean Tax
£5,050
per taxpayer / year
Source: HMRC Survey of Personal Incomes, tax year 2022-23. Allocated by taxpayer residence. Covers income tax only — excludes NI, VAT, and capital gains. Sample-based estimate (~8% confidence interval).
Attainment 8▼
48.6
average score (DfE)
GCSE Pass Rate▼
73.4%
5+ GCSEs 9-4 (DfE)
1 city, 1 large town, 2 towns — 99,631 total population
Source: ONS Built-Up Areas (Census 2021) + data.police.uk — crime rates are per 1,000 population (last 3 months)
Source: data.police.uk — street-level crime data aggregated from LSOA to constituency
20 councillors across 18 wards · Last elections: May 2024
| Ward | Party | Councillor | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadwater | Labour Party | Cathy Glynn-Davies | May 2024 |
| Buckingham | Labour Party | Nigel Jenner | May 2024 |
| Churchill | Labour Party | Nigel Robert Sweet | May 2024 |
| Cokeham | Labour Party | Carolyn Theresa Fuhrmann | May 2024 |
| Eastbrook | Labour Party | Andrew Richard Harvey | May 2024 |
| Gaisford | Labour Party | John Turley | May 2024 |
| Hillside | Labour Party | Nigel Charles Corston | May 2024 |
| Manor | Conservative and Unionist Party | Carson Albury | May 2024 |
| Marine | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | Joss Loader | May 2024 |
| Mash Barn | Labour Party | Sharon Louise Sluman | May 2024 |
| Offington | Conservative and Unionist Party | Elizabeth Sparkes | May 2024 |
| Peverel | Labour Party | Saffa Jassim Jan | May 2024 |
| Selden | Labour Party | Jon Roser | May 2024 |
| Southlands | Labour Party | Deborah Ann Stainforth | May 2024 |
| Southwick Green | Labour Party | Robina Catherine-Jane Crowther Baine | May 2024 |
| St Marys | Labour Party | Becky Allinson | May 2024 |
| Labour Party | Jeremy Marshall Alexander Gardner | May 2024 | |
| St Nicolas | Green Party of England and Wales | Gerry Thompson | May 2024 |
| Widewater | Labour Party | Adrienne Lowe | May 2024 |
| Labour Party | Pauline Higgins | May 2024 |
Source: DCLEAPIL v1.0 by Jason Leman, LEAP (Andrew Teale) & Democracy Club. CC BY-SA 4.0. Data last refreshed: 1 Apr 2026.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lab | 22,120 | 45.1% | |
| Con | 12,601 | 25.7% | |
| Ref | 7,169 | 14.6% | |
| Green | 3,246 | 6.6% | |
| LD | 3,180 | 6.5% | |
| Ind | 320 | 0.7% | |
| Ind | 273 | 0.6% | |
| Ind | 169 | 0.3% |
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
✓ Won 2017 GEWon 2015 GEWon 2010 GE | Con | 27,107 | 51.0% |
| Lab | 19,633 | 37.0% | |
| LD | 4,127 | 7.8% | |
| Green | 2,006 | 3.8% | |
| Ind | 255 | 0.5% |
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
✓ Won 2019 GEWon 2015 GEWon 2010 GE | Con | 25,988 | 48.9% |
| Lab | 20,882 | 39.3% | |
| LD | 2,523 | 4.8% | |
| Ind | 1,444 | 2.7% | |
| Green | 1,273 | 2.4% | |
| Ind | 575 | 1.1% | |
| Ind | 432 | 0.8% |
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
✓ Won 2019 GEWon 2017 GEWon 2010 GE | Con | 24,686 | 49.5% |
| Lab | 9,737 | 19.5% | |
| Ind | 8,267 | 16.6% | |
| LD | 3,360 | 6.7% | |
| Green | 2,605 | 5.2% | |
| Ind | 1,243 | 2.5% |
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
✓ Won 2019 GEWon 2017 GEWon 2015 GE | Con | 23,458 | 48.5% |
| LD | 12,353 | 25.5% | |
| Lab | 8,087 | 16.7% | |
| Ind | 2,984 | 6.2% | |
| Green | 1,126 | 2.3% | |
| Ind | 389 | 0.8% |
Tom Rutland has not appeared in national political news coverage tracked by our system. This is common for backbench MPs who focus on constituency-level work rather than national policy debates.
17 articles hidden as not sufficiently relevant to this constituency
A new bar called The Underground Bar is opening today in Worthing, featuring live music, comedy, and sports viewing. The venue replaces the previous LGBTQ+ bar The Lock-In and aims to become a major entertainment destination in the town.
A two-week Tree Festival will take place across Sussex from May 23 to June 7, 2026, featuring talks, walks, and family activities celebrating trees and their environmental benefits. The festival includes events at Worthing Museum and other local venues, organised by CPRE Sussex with community support.
The British Hen Welfare Trust is hosting an urgent rehoming event in Worthing on April 12 to find 200 ex-caged hens new homes before they face slaughter. The event requires registration by April 10 and aims to provide these end-of-life commercial hens with a second chance at retirement.
The Shoreham by Sea Fundraising Calendar 2026, organised by Enjoy Shoreham By Sea, raised a record-breaking £2,775 for ESTEEM, a youth support charity serving 14-26 year-olds in the area. The community-led project, now in its third year, showcases local photography and has grown significantly from its origins during the Covid lockdown.
Magistrates' court results from the Worthing area (March 9-18, 2026) listing convictions and sentences for various offences including drink-driving, assault, theft, and weapons possession. The cases involve residents of Worthing, Shoreham, Littlehampton, and surrounding areas.
Worthing Borough Council is launching a new citizen science water testing facility at Splashpoint Leisure Centre to enable local swimming groups to monitor seawater quality at designated bathing sites. The initiative, developed with Southern Water and South Downs Leisure, will bring testing equipment to Worthing rather than requiring samples to be sent to Hove, strengthening local environmental monitoring.
Two separate incidents of wastewater misconnections in Worthing have been discovered, with 18 flats in a supported living block illegally discharging sewage into surface water drains instead of the sewer system. This follows a previous case affecting 8 flats that discharged sewage onto Worthing beach, highlighting a serious public health and environmental issue affecting local bathing waters.
The Environment Agency has allocated nearly £4 million in flood defence funding to Adur and Worthing, with £1.8 million for Worthing's Capital Maintenance Project and £2.1 million for Shoreham and Lancing coastal protection improvements. East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tom Rutland welcomed the funding, which is part of a record £10.5 billion national flood defence investment programme.
Worthing West MP Beccy Cooper has announced £1.29 million in funding from Worthing Borough Council for the restoration of Worthing Lido, a Grade II listed seafront landmark. The council is launching a community volunteer drive and working with heritage groups to address critical structural issues, with early estimates suggesting at least £4.5 million will be needed for full substructure repairs.
A Worthing heritage charity is launching a new exhibition and digital archive project celebrating the town's pioneers and transition from fishing village to seaside resort. The initiative, funded by private donations and book sales, aims to make local history more accessible to younger audiences through interactive films, walks, and talks.
The government has delayed its decision on how West Sussex will be reorganised into unitary authorities, with Secretary of State Steve Reed citing concerns about proposals that would group Worthing with rural districts. The delay affects East Worthing and Shoreham as Worthing may be placed in a coastal unitary with Adur and Arun, or potentially with other districts, with a final decision expected later and implementation planned for 2028.
AI-powered smart signs have been installed at Worthing's bathing beaches (Goring Beach, Worthing Beach, and Worthing Beach House) to provide real-time information about water quality and gather visitor observations. The Hello Lamp Post technology, funded by the Environment Agency, allows beachgoers to ask questions via QR codes and report concerns, supporting ongoing efforts to maintain the 'Good' bathing water quality rating recently achieved.
Worthing's £45m Integrated Care Centre has been cleared of legionella bacteria, but the building remains unable to open due to unresolved water system issues. The council is working with contractor Galliford Try and NHS partners to complete remaining works and establish an opening timeline.
A photo gallery celebrating World Book Day 2026 at schools across Worthing, Shoreham, Littlehampton and Lancing, featuring children dressed as book characters. The article is a community interest piece with no policy implications or news content.
Worthing Integrated Care Centre (WICC), a £45million health facility on Stoke Abbott Road that was due to open in January 2024, has cleared legionella from its water system but remains closed pending final safety compliance. The project, now years overdue and significantly over budget, is the subject of a compensation claim against contractors as the council seeks to recover costs from taxpayers.
A new AI-powered interactive platform has launched in Worthing to provide real-time seawater quality information at three beach locations, addressing long-standing water quality concerns including wastewater pollution affecting bathing waters. The initiative, funded by the Environment Agency and delivered with Worthing Borough Council and Southern Water, aims to improve public transparency and citizen science reporting while tackling pollution issues that have deterred swimmers.
Worthing Borough Council has installed AI-powered interactive signs at three bathing sites (Goring Beach, Worthing Beach, and Worthing Beach House) to share water quality information and collect real-time pollution data from residents. The initiative, developed with the Environment Agency and Hello Lamp Post platform, aims to improve transparency about coastal water quality and empower residents to report observations, with Worthing Beach House currently rated 'poor' while Goring Beach and Heene Road upgraded to 'good'.
East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tom Rutland joined a campaign addressing dangerous road conditions at the Sompting Road roundabout in Broadwater, where over 600 pupils from multiple schools cross daily. The MP pledged to maintain pressure on West Sussex County Council, which has repeatedly rejected safety measures including a pedestrian crossing, speed restrictions, and HGV limitations despite a lollipop officer quitting over safety concerns.
East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tom Rutland attended the opening of a new community hub in Worthing town centre's Beach House Park, where local food and community organizations will operate. The hub aims to address food insecurity, sustainability, and community resilience through cooking classes, food education, and community events.
Worthing Borough Council is proposing a Public Space Protection Order to ban people from feeding birds in the town centre, with potential £1,000 fines. Wildlife rescuers and animal welfare experts have criticised the plan, arguing it could harm endangered species, set a dangerous precedent, and divert council resources from more pressing issues.
The Environment Agency and Worthing Borough Council are continuing multimillion-pound coastal flood defence improvements along Worthing seafront, including groyne repairs and extensions across seven areas. The project is part of a broader regional investment, with Worthing and Adur receiving £4 million in government funding to strengthen flood protection for homes and businesses.
Tom Rutland MP highlights £4 million in flood defence funding for Adur and Worthing as part of a broader £1.4 billion national investment, and reports on local engagement activities including road safety meetings at schools and community events across the constituency.
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