The placeConstituency · South East · Electorate 79,112 · 2023 boundaries

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.

Member of ParliamentCharlotte Cane · Liberal Democrats
CouncilsEast Cambridgeshire · South Cambridgeshire
Boundary set2023
ONS codeE14001224
Electorate · 2024
79.1k
Registered to vote
2024 GE — winner
32.7%
Liberal Democrats · +0.9pp over Con
Settlements
22
Largest: Ely
Crime · per 1k pop · 3mo
14.2
data.police.uk · 12mo rolling
Dispatch
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Privileges Committee over the Mandelson appointment and voted against regulations that would allow asylum support to be withdrawn from those found working illegally -- both consistent with Liberal Democrat positions.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.

32.7%
LD vote · 2024 GE
2
Councils overlapping the seat
16
Wards · 29 councillors
§ 01The local picture — wards.16 wards · 29 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
Bottisham(2 seats)Cane · Trapp1,719East Cambridgeshire ConMay 2023
Burwell(2 seats)Brown · Edwards1,644East Cambridgeshire ConMay 2023
Cottenham Eileen Wilson864South Cambridgeshire LDMar 2023
Downham Villages Anna Bailey598East Cambridgeshire ConMay 2023
Ely East(2 seats)Holtzmann · Wade1,797East Cambridgeshire ConMay 2023
Ely North(2 seats)Whelan · Akinwale1,724East Cambridgeshire ConMay 2023
Ely West Ross David Trent1,125East Cambridgeshire ConApr 2024
Fordham Isleham(2 seats)Huffer · Pettitt1,622East Cambridgeshire ConMay 2023
Haddenham Gareth Laurence Philip Wilson496East Cambridgeshire ConMay 2023
Littleport(3 seats)Smith · Miller · Goodearl2,162East Cambridgeshire ConMay 2023
Milton Waterbeach(3 seats)Bradnam · Rippeth · Bearpark4,152South Cambridgeshire LDMay 2022
Soham North(2 seats)Horgan · Goldsack1,013East Cambridgeshire ConMay 2023
Soham South(2 seats)Bovingdon · Vellacott1,108East Cambridgeshire ConMay 2023
Stretham Lee Denney820East Cambridgeshire ConMay 2025
Sutton(2 seats)Dupré · Inskip2,236East Cambridgeshire ConMay 2023
Woodditton(2 seats)Sharp · Lay1,760East Cambridgeshire ConMay 2023

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

§ 02Settlements.22 named places

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.

town 72,511village 32,946

Source · ONS Built-Up Areas · Census 2021

SettlementPop.Class
Ely19,346town
Rural & dispersed12,596town
Soham11,230town
Littleport8,137town
Cottenham6,778town
Burwell6,407town
Showing 6 of 22·All 22 settlements
§ 03Demographics.Census 2021 · vs national avg

Headline indicators.

IndicatorLocalNationalΔ
Employment rate62.9%57.1%+10%
Owner-occupied69.6%63.1%+10%
Private rented16.7%20.0%-16%
Social rented13.6%16.8%-19%

Ethnicity.

White93.6%
Asian2.5%
Black0.9%
Mixed2.3%
Other0.8%

Source · Census 2021

Population by age & sexCensus 2021 · 18 bands · click to expand
Male 49.1% Female 50.9% 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
£31,200
HMRC SPI · 2024
Mean income
£42,100
HMRC SPI · 2024
Businesses
5,220
VAT/PAYE-registered
Schools
47
32 primary · 6 secondary
GCSE pass
69.9%
Attainment 8: 47.6

Income tax contribution.

Total income tax£457m
Taxpayers62,000
Median per taxpayer£3,390
Mean per taxpayer£7,340

Source · HMRC SPI · ±8% confidence

Where the money flows back in.

For council finance & suppliers

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.

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
14.2
-31% vs national
Monthly avg / 1k
4.7
12-month rolling
Top category
Violence & sexual offences
31% of recorded crime

By category.

Violence & sexual offences4.5
Anti-social behaviour2.5
Shoplifting1.6
Other theft1.4
Burglary1.0
Criminal damage & arson0.9
Vehicle crime0.8

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.1 contest · created on 2023 boundaries

2024 — full result.

CandidateVotes%
Charlotte CaneWONLD17,12732.7
Lucy FrazerCon16,63231.8
Elizabeth McWilliamsLab9,16017.5
Ryan CooganRef6,44312.3
Andy CoganGrn2,3594.5
Hoo-Ray HenryInd2710.5
Robert BayleyInd1720.3
Obi MonyeInd1030.2
Rob RawlinsInd1020.2

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
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