Yeovil.
Liberal Democrats MP Adam Dance holds the seat on 48.5% of the vote.
2 Jun 2026
Adam Dance's most visible recent work has been a private member's bill on neurodiversity screening in primary schools, backed by a personal connection to dyslexia and supported by the British Dyslexia Association and Jamie Oliver. He has also taken a petition to Parliament over the proposed closure of a local stroke unit -- a campaign that drew significant local coverage. In votes this week, he backed referring Prime Minister Starmer to the Privileges Committee over the Peter Mandelson appointment, opposed government powers to direct pension fund investments, and voted against carrying over the Northern Ireland Troubles Legacy Bill.
Dance votes with the Liberal Democrats on every recorded division -- a 100% party alignment -- and has never broken ranks. At 72% participation he sits below the Commons average, though that figure can reflect absences for legitimate reasons rather than disengagement. His 143 speech contributions across 95 debates are spread across economy and jobs, social care, health, local government, and fiscal policy. He is a consistent supporter of Lords scrutiny (97% aligned) and parliamentary oversight (95%), and firmly opposed the employer National Insurance increase. He sits well below his party's average on housing development votes, backing new homes in only around one in twelve relevant divisions.
Dance holds no select committee seat. His news coverage over the past 90 days runs to nearly 100 articles, with education, local transport, and community issues generating most of the attention -- broadly neutral in tone. One data artefact worth flagging: a negative news hit in the coverage relates to his predecessor Marcus Fysh, not to Dance himself.
Ward-level direction-of-travel: who controls what, who flipped recently, who holds the line.
| Ward | Latest winner | Votes | Council | Last cycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brympton(2 seats) | Snell · Seib | 1,825 | Somerset LD | May 2022 |
| Chard North(2 seats) | Kenton · Wale | 2,203 | Somerset LD | May 2022 |
| Chard South(2 seats) | Payne · Baker | 1,831 | Somerset LD | May 2022 |
| Coker(2 seats) | Hewitson · Patrick | 3,713 | Somerset LD | May 2022 |
| Crewkerne(2 seats) | Best · Ashton | 2,282 | Somerset LD | May 2022 |
| Ilminster(2 seats) | Osborne · Keitch | 2,891 | Somerset LD | May 2022 |
| South Petherton Islemoor(2 seats) | Dance · Greene | 5,557 | Somerset LD | May 2022 |
| Yeovil Central(2 seats) | Kendall · Woan | 1,972 | Somerset LD | May 2022 |
| Yeovil East(2 seats) | Oakes · Lock | 2,039 | Somerset LD | May 2022 |
| Yeovil South(2 seats) | Soughton · Purbrick | 1,837 | Somerset LD | May 2022 |
| Yeovil West(2 seats) | Potts-Jones · Read | 1,845 | Somerset LD | May 2022 |
Source · Democracy Club · DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The seat’s population is concentrated in Yeovil (50,239), with Chard (14,291) as the second pole. Total population across named built-up areas: 104,745.
Source · ONS Built-Up Areas · Census 2021
| Settlement | Pop. | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Yeovil | 50,239 | large town |
| Chard | 14,291 | town |
| Rural & dispersed | 9,130 | town |
| Crewkerne | 6,687 | town |
| Ilminster | 6,145 | town |
| Tatworth | 2,737 | village |
Headline indicators.
| Indicator | Local | National | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment rate | 56.7% | 57.1% | -1% |
| Owner-occupied | 67.6% | 63.1% | +7% |
| Private rented | 17.2% | 20.0% | -14% |
| Social rented | 15.1% | 16.8% | -10% |
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 | £245m |
| Taxpayers | 56,000 |
| Median per taxpayer | £2,660 |
| Mean per taxpayer | £4,360 |
Source · HMRC SPI · ±8% confidence
Where the money flows back in.
This constituency is served by Somerset. 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 | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adam DanceWON | LD | 23,765 | 48.5 |
| Marcus Fysh | Con | 11,497 | 23.5 |
| Laura Bailhache | Ref | 7,677 | 15.7 |
| Rebecca Montacute | Lab | 3,002 | 6.1 |
| Serena Wootton | Grn | 2,403 | 4.9 |
| Steve Ashton | Ind | 608 | 1.2 |
Turnout 48,952
Prior contests.
| Year | Winner | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Marcus Fysh | Con | 58.4 |
| 2017 | Marcus Fysh | Con | 54.5 |
| 2015 | Marcus Fysh | Con | 42.5 |
| 2010 | Laws, David | LD | 55.7 |
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