The placeConstituency · South West · Electorate 75,998 · 2023 boundaries

West Dorset.

Liberal Democrats MP Edward Morello holds the seat on 51.3% of the vote.

Member of ParliamentEdward Morello · Liberal Democrats
CouncilDorset
Boundary set2023
ONS codeE14001575
Electorate · 2024
76.0k
Registered to vote
2024 GE — winner
51.3%
Liberal Democrats · +14.8pp over Con
Settlements
15
Largest: Rural & dispersed
Crime · per 1k pop · 3mo
9.6
data.police.uk · 12mo rolling
Dispatch
2 Jun 2026

Morello's one rebel vote against his party came on the assisted dying bill in May 2025, when he backed an amendment that would allow religious employers -- such as hospices -- to prohibit their staff from participating in assisted dying, even where individual workers would otherwise be willing. That put him slightly below the Liberal Democrat average on assisted dying access. More recently, he voted with his party to refer Keir Starmer to the Privileges Committee over the Mandelson appointment, opposed government powers to direct pension fund investment, and backed Lords amendments on English devolution -- a consistent pattern of supporting parliamentary and Lords scrutiny over executive authority.

At 62% participation, Morello votes in roughly three in five divisions -- below the Commons average -- though his 99.7% party alignment means he rarely breaks ranks. His stance profile marks him out as strongly opposed to the employer NI increase, broadly supportive of climate action and business, and sceptical of housing development. He consistently backs Lords scrutiny (97%) and parliamentary accountability (94%), but votes well below his party's average on workers' rights and progressive taxation. Economy and jobs dominate his speeches, followed by environment, local government, and defence.

His Foreign Affairs Committee membership provides a formal foreign policy role, though his local advocacy draws more coverage: he has pressed ministers on flooding in West Dorset, organised a cross-party pharmacy inquiry, championed grassroots rugby funding, and co-hosted a "Dorset Day" showcase at Westminster. News sentiment across 135 articles in the past 90 days is broadly neutral, suggesting steady local coverage rather than controversy. Rebel vote and speech data are available; some voting context is limited where debate excerpts are absent.

51.3%
LD vote · 2024 GE
1
Council overlapping the seat
12
Wards · 14 councillors
§ 01The local picture — wards.12 wards · 14 councillors

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

WardLatest winnerVotesCouncilLast cycle
Beaminster Craig Monks601Dorset LDMay 2024
Chalk Valleys Jill Haynes683Dorset LDMay 2024
Charminster St Marys David Taylor892Dorset LDMay 2024
Dorchester East(2 seats)Major · Jones2,316Dorset LDMay 2024
Dorchester Poundbury Richard Martin Biggs780Dorset LDMay 2024
Dorchester West(2 seats)Canning · Fry2,657Dorset LDMay 2024
Lyme Charmouth Belinda Bawden884Dorset LDMay 2024
Sherborne East Jon Andrews838Dorset LDMay 2024
Sherborne Rural Robin Andrew Shane Legg916Dorset LDMay 2024
Sherborne West Richard Henry Geoffrey Crabb575Dorset LDMay 2024
Winterborne Broadmayne Roland Tarr747Dorset LDMay 2024
Yetminster Chris Kippax813Dorset LDMay 2024

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

§ 02Settlements.15 named places

The seat’s population is concentrated in Rural & dispersed (26,606), with Dorchester (Dorset) (21,358) as the second pole. Total population across named built-up areas: 92,129.

large-town 26,606town 41,628village 23,895

Source · ONS Built-Up Areas · Census 2021

SettlementPop.Class
Rural & dispersed26,606large town
Dorchester (Dorset)21,358town
Sherborne10,363town
Bridport9,907town
Lyme Regis3,742village
Beaminster2,993village
Showing 6 of 15·All 15 settlements
§ 03Demographics.Census 2021 · vs national avg

Headline indicators.

IndicatorLocalNationalΔ
Employment rate50.5%57.1%-12%
Owner-occupied69.0%63.1%+9%
Private rented16.8%20.0%-16%
Social rented14.2%16.8%-16%

Ethnicity.

White96.8%
Asian1.4%
Black0.3%
Mixed1.2%
Other0.3%

Source · Census 2021

Population by age & sexCensus 2021 · 18 bands · click to expand
Male 47.7% Female 52.4% 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
£28,600
HMRC SPI · 2024
Mean income
£38,700
HMRC SPI · 2024
Businesses
5,120
VAT/PAYE-registered
Schools
53
37 primary · 8 secondary
GCSE pass
65.6%
Attainment 8: 46.7

Income tax contribution.

Total income tax£304m
Taxpayers49,000
Median per taxpayer£2,740
Mean per taxpayer£6,250

Source · HMRC SPI · ±8% confidence

Where the money flows back in.

For council finance & suppliers

This constituency is served by Dorset. 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
9.6
-54% vs national
Monthly avg / 1k
3.2
12-month rolling
Top category
Violence & sexual offences
36% of recorded crime

By category.

Violence & sexual offences3.5
Anti-social behaviour2.2
Shoplifting0.8
Other theft0.7
Criminal damage & arson0.7
Vehicle crime0.5
Public order0.4

Source · data.police.uk · 3-month rate per 1,000 pop

Showing 7 of 14·All 14 categories — full monthly trend & settlement breakdown
§ 06Election history.5 contests · created on 2023 boundaries

2024 — full result.

CandidateVotes%
Edward MorelloWONLD26,99951.3
Chris LoderCon19,21036.5
Donna LumsdenLab3,0865.9
Kelvin ClaytonGrn2,2884.3
Oliver ChisholmInd7331.4
Marcus WhiteInd2890.6

Turnout 52,605

Prior contests.

YearWinner%
2019Chris LoderCon55.1
2017Oliver LetwinCon55.5
2015Oliver LetwinCon50.2
2010Letwin, OliverCon47.6
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