Sleaford and North Hykeham.
Conservative and Unionist Party MP Caroline Johnson holds the seat on 35.7% of the vote.
1 Jun 2026
Twice breaking with the Conservative whip on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill -- voting for it at Second Reading in November 2024 and again at Third Reading in March 2025 -- Caroline Johnson is not a habitual rebel, but those votes were deliberate. A consultant paediatrician before entering Parliament, she backed the smokefree generation legislation while most of her colleagues opposed it, a rare instance of her medical background visibly shaping her parliamentary behaviour. Beyond those two votes, she has kept near-perfect party discipline (99.4%) and has been most recently visible in pressing for the Prime Minister to be referred to the Privileges Committee over the Mandelson appointment, and opposing the government's Pension Schemes Bill reserve power on investment mandation.
Her participation rate sits at 70%, somewhat below the Commons average. Her speeches cluster heavily around health (117 contributions), with social care and the economy also prominent -- consistent with her clinical background and a rural constituency with pressures on both. She is a 100% supporter of Lords scrutiny positions, systematically backing the upper chamber against the government on the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. She scores strongly pro-business and tough-on-crime, and is notably less aligned with workers' rights or progressive taxation votes than her party average.
Outside Westminster, Johnson secured a high-profile outcome on a constituency crime case: her written referral to the Attorney General over what she called a "woefully inadequate" sentence for a driver who killed two teenagers led directly to an appeal and a longer jail term. She has also secured a parliamentary debate on solar farm development and is lobbying for improvements to Sleaford train station. She sits on the Education Committee. Sentiment data across 22 recent news articles is broadly neutral.
Ward-level direction-of-travel: who controls what, who flipped recently, who holds the line.
| Ward | Latest winner | Votes | Council | Last cycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashby De La Launde Digby Scopwick | Amelia Anne Bailey | 307 | North Kesteven Con | May 2023 |
| Bassingham Rural | Mary Louise Green | 470 | North Kesteven Con | May 2023 |
| Billinghay Rural | Adrian Michael Whittle | 354 | North Kesteven Con | Dec 2023 |
| Branston(2 seats) | Turner · Lundgren | 1,597 | North Kesteven Con | May 2023 |
| Heighington Washingborough(3 seats) | Goodwin · Carrington · Harrington | 2,556 | North Kesteven Con | May 2023 |
| Hykeham Central(3 seats) | Pessol · Clarke · Roe | 2,788 | North Kesteven Con | May 2023 |
| Hykeham Fosse(2 seats) | Lofts · Little | 839 | North Kesteven Con | May 2023 |
| Hykeham Memorial | Nikki Dillon | 252 | North Kesteven Con | May 2023 |
| Kirkby La Thorpe South Kyme | Mervyn Paul Head | 497 | North Kesteven Con | May 2023 |
| Metheringham Rural(2 seats) | Parry · Pembery | 1,313 | North Kesteven Con | May 2023 |
| Ruskington(2 seats) | Waldeck · Wright | 1,639 | North Kesteven Con | May 2023 |
| Skellingthorpe Eagle(2 seats) | Goldson · Johnston | 1,435 | North Kesteven Con | May 2023 |
| Sleaford Castle | Linda Edwards-Shea | 199 | North Kesteven Con | May 2023 |
| Sleaford Holdingham | Robert Arthur Oates | 280 | North Kesteven Con | May 2023 |
| Sleaford Navigation | David Suiter | 354 | North Kesteven Con | May 2023 |
| Sleaford Quarrington Mareham(3 seats) | Oldershaw · Allan · Smith | 1,846 | North Kesteven Con | May 2023 |
| Sleaford Westholme | Sandy Buchanan | 243 | North Kesteven Con | Mar 2026 |
| Waddington Rural(3 seats) | Pennell · Sanders · Cooper | 2,194 | North Kesteven Con | May 2023 |
| Witham St Hughs Swinderby(2 seats) | Overton · Elliott | 1,158 | North Kesteven Con | May 2023 |
Source · Democracy Club · DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The seat’s population is concentrated in Sleaford (16,267), with Rural & dispersed (15,430) as the second pole. Total population across named built-up areas: 96,355.
Source · ONS Built-Up Areas · Census 2021
| Settlement | Pop. | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Sleaford | 16,267 | town |
| Rural & dispersed | 15,430 | town |
| North Hykeham | 15,376 | town |
| Washingborough and Heighington | 7,088 | town |
| Ruskington | 5,650 | town |
| Witham St Hughs | 3,650 | village |
Headline indicators.
| Indicator | Local | National | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment rate | 58.3% | 57.1% | +2% |
| Owner-occupied | 74.4% | 63.1% | +18% |
| Private rented | 15.9% | 20.0% | -20% |
| Social rented | 9.5% | 16.8% | -43% |
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 | £270m |
| Taxpayers | 54,000 |
| Median per taxpayer | £2,830 |
| Mean per taxpayer | £5,020 |
Source · HMRC SPI · ±8% confidence
Where the money flows back in.
This constituency is served by North Kesteven. 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 | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caroline JohnsonWON | Con | 17,348 | 35.7 |
| Hanif Khan | Lab | 13,002 | 26.8 |
| Benjamin Jackson | Ref | 10,484 | 21.6 |
| Robert Oates | Ind | 3,032 | 6.2 |
| Martin Blake | Grn | 2,435 | 5.0 |
| Matthew Winnington | LD | 2,264 | 4.7 |
Turnout 48,565
Prior contests.
| Year | Winner | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Caroline Johnson | Con | 67.1 |
| 2017 | Caroline Johnson | Con | 64.2 |
| 2016 | Caroline Johnson | Con | 53.5 |
| 2015 | Stephen Phillips | Con | 56.2 |
| 2010 | Phillips, Stephen | Con | 51.6 |
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