Ely and East Cambridgeshire.
Liberal Democrats MP Charlotte Cane holds the seat on 32.7% of the vote — a split-council geography across 2 councils.
1 Jun 2026
Cane has been one of the more visible new Liberal Democrat MPs since entering Parliament in 2024, driven largely by local campaigning. Her most prominent work has centred on the Ely Junction rail upgrade -- a cross-party infrastructure push she has sustained since taking office, raising it in Parliament and winning at least a government acknowledgement that the scheme would be considered for future funding. She has also led a hospice funding campaign following a threatened £829,000 cut to Arthur Rank Hospice, launching a petition that gathered over 15,000 signatures. Away from local issues, she voted to refer Prime Minister Starmer to the Privileges Committee over the Mandelson appointment and voted against regulations that would allow asylum support to be withdrawn from those found working illegally -- both consistent with Liberal Democrat positions.
Her participation rate of 70% sits below the Commons average. She votes with the Liberal Democrats on 99.7% of divisions, making her one vote from the assisted dying bill her only notable departure -- she backed New Clause 2, diverging from her party's majority position. Her stance profile shows strong opposition to the employer National Insurance increase and consistent support for Lords scrutiny and parliamentary accountability. She deviates from her party by being somewhat more resistant to benefit cuts and more supportive of tenant rights. Her 97 contributions span local government, the economy, social care, education, and health.
She sits on the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee and the Statutory Instruments Select Committee -- roles that align with her high scores on parliamentary and Lords scrutiny. News coverage over the past 90 days has been dominated by crime-related local stories at near-neutral sentiment, with transport and community coverage slightly more positive. Speech and voting data are available from July 2024 onwards.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bottisham(2 seats) | Cane · Trapp | 1,719 | East Cambridgeshire Con | May 2023 |
| Burwell(2 seats) | Brown · Edwards | 1,644 | East Cambridgeshire Con | May 2023 |
| Cottenham | Eileen Wilson | 864 | South Cambridgeshire LD | Mar 2023 |
| Downham Villages | Anna Bailey | 598 | East Cambridgeshire Con | May 2023 |
| Ely East(2 seats) | Holtzmann · Wade | 1,797 | East Cambridgeshire Con | May 2023 |
| Ely North(2 seats) | Whelan · Akinwale | 1,724 | East Cambridgeshire Con | May 2023 |
| Ely West | Ross David Trent | 1,125 | East Cambridgeshire Con | Apr 2024 |
| Fordham Isleham(2 seats) | Huffer · Pettitt | 1,622 | East Cambridgeshire Con | May 2023 |
| Haddenham | Gareth Laurence Philip Wilson | 496 | East Cambridgeshire Con | May 2023 |
| Littleport(3 seats) | Smith · Miller · Goodearl | 2,162 | East Cambridgeshire Con | May 2023 |
| Milton Waterbeach(3 seats) | Bradnam · Rippeth · Bearpark | 4,152 | South Cambridgeshire LD | May 2022 |
| Soham North(2 seats) | Horgan · Goldsack | 1,013 | East Cambridgeshire Con | May 2023 |
| Soham South(2 seats) | Bovingdon · Vellacott | 1,108 | East Cambridgeshire Con | May 2023 |
| Stretham | Lee Denney | 820 | East Cambridgeshire Con | May 2025 |
| Sutton(2 seats) | Dupré · Inskip | 2,236 | East Cambridgeshire Con | May 2023 |
| Woodditton(2 seats) | Sharp · Lay | 1,760 | East Cambridgeshire Con | May 2023 |
Source · Democracy Club · DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The seat’s population is concentrated in Ely (19,346), with Rural & dispersed (12,596) as the second pole. Total population across named built-up areas: 105,457.
Source · ONS Built-Up Areas · Census 2021
| Settlement | Pop. | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Ely | 19,346 | town |
| Rural & dispersed | 12,596 | town |
| Soham | 11,230 | town |
| Littleport | 8,137 | town |
| Cottenham | 6,778 | town |
| Burwell | 6,407 | town |
Headline indicators.
| Indicator | Local | National | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment rate | 62.9% | 57.1% | +10% |
| Owner-occupied | 69.6% | 63.1% | +10% |
| Private rented | 16.7% | 20.0% | -16% |
| Social rented | 13.6% | 16.8% | -19% |
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 | £457m |
| Taxpayers | 62,000 |
| Median per taxpayer | £3,390 |
| Mean per taxpayer | £7,340 |
Source · HMRC SPI · ±8% confidence
Where the money flows back in.
This constituency is served by East Cambridgeshire and South Cambridgeshire. 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 | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte CaneWON | LD | 17,127 | 32.7 |
| Lucy Frazer | Con | 16,632 | 31.8 |
| Elizabeth McWilliams | Lab | 9,160 | 17.5 |
| Ryan Coogan | Ref | 6,443 | 12.3 |
| Andy Cogan | Grn | 2,359 | 4.5 |
| Hoo-Ray Henry | Ind | 271 | 0.5 |
| Robert Bayley | Ind | 172 | 0.3 |
| Obi Monye | Ind | 103 | 0.2 |
| Rob Rawlins | Ind | 102 | 0.2 |
Turnout 52,369
Prior contests.
Created on the 2023 boundary review. 2024 General Election was the first contest on these boundaries.
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