Bridgwater: MP, 2024 result and local figures
Sir Ashley Fox (Conservative) is the MP for Bridgwater, elected at the general election of 4 July 2024. On 4 July 2024 Ashley Fox (Conservative) won 12,281 votes, 30.6% of the valid vote; Leigh Redman (Labour) came second with 10,932. 40,129 valid votes were cast by an electorate of 71,571, 56.1% of those registered. The majority was 1,349.
Key figures
What the figures show
Compared with other constituencies, Bridgwater has the 56th lowest share working mainly from home (2021) of the 575 constituencies with this figure (19.7%).
Bridgwater counted 42,871 households on Census day 2021; 26.1% of adults were retired and 19.7% of those in work were mostly working from home.
Residents of Bridgwater earned more than jobs based there paid in April 2025: median full-time pay was £33,264 for workplace jobs and £34,731 for residents. In April 2024 the residents' figure was £31,694. The residents' figure ranks 127th lowest of 632 constituencies with an estimate. The latest year is provisional.
In 2024/25, 29.2% of children under 16 in Bridgwater (5,391) lived in relative low income families once housing costs are taken off, says the DWP; the UK figure is 26.0%. On the before-housing-costs measure it rose from 18.8% in 2021/22 to 21.5% in 2024/25.
Workplaces in Bridgwater accounted for 46,000 jobs in 2024; the business register lists 3,755 local units for March 2026.
In mid-2024 the ONS put the number of residents at 103,600; the estimate for 2014 was 93,581. 23,221 were aged 65 or over and 18,475 were under 16.
HM Land Registry sales put the middle house price at £259,950 for the year to March 2026. Ten years earlier, in the year to March 2016, it was £171,250. The highest March-year median in the series was £260,000, in the year to March 2023. It ranks 234th lowest of 575 constituencies. 1,291 sales were registered in the period, against 1,674 in the year to March 2025.
The Annual Population Survey puts the employment rate for 16 to 64 year olds at 77.5% for April 2025 to March 2026, give or take 7.2 points. 18.1% were economically inactive.
The number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits stood at 1,780 in September 2026, a claimant rate of 2.9%. A year earlier the count was 1,735.
MP
Sir Ashley Fox, Conservative
- MP for Bridgwater since 4 July 2024
Official UK Parliament page · Statements by Sir Ashley Fox on this site
In Parliament
The 5 most recent spoken contributions by Sir Ashley Fox in Hansard, from 15 October 2026 to 22 October 2026, quoted from the official report. Hansard search returns 501 spoken contributions by Sir Ashley Fox since 4 July 2024.
Waste crime and fly-tipping affect rural communities across Somerset. While I welcome the action that the Government are taking, does the Minister agree that the very substantial increases that we have seen in landfill tax enable rogue waste operators to undercut legitimate …
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
In the hon. Gentleman’s discussions with farmers in South West Norfolk, are they content with the Government changes to agricultural property relief, or do they still think the family farm tax should be abolished in its entirety?
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way. I am glad that he is brave enough to take an intervention from a Member from Somerset.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
The quality of life of many local people in Bridgwater is being undermined by a small minority who show little regard for others with street drinking, drug misuse, shoplifting and other forms of intimidating and antisocial behaviour.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Farmers across Somerset have been left without certainty and support by this latest DEFRA snafu, and they will not be consoled by the thought of a workshop.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Read from the Hansard API on 26 October 2026. Up to two items per debate; remarks under 40 characters are left out. All contributions in Hansard.
General election, 4 July 2024
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Change in share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashley Fox | Conservative | 12,281 | 30.6% | −27.3 |
| Leigh Redman | Labour | 10,932 | 27.2% | +6.5 |
| Wiliam Fagg | Reform UK | 8,913 | 22.2% | |
| Claire Sully | Liberal Democrat | 5,781 | 14.4% | −3.2 |
| Charles Graham | Green Party | 1,720 | 4.3% | +2.2 |
| Pelé Barnes | Independent | 334 | 0.8% | |
| Gregory Tanner | Workers Party of Britain | 168 | 0.4% |
Result summary as published: Con hold. Change in share is in percentage points against the notional 2019 result on the new boundaries. Source: House of Commons Library, election results (data, read 14 October 2026).
Results on these boundaries
| Date | Election | First | Second | Majority | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 July 2024 | General election | Conservative 30.6% | Labour 27.2% | 1,349 | 56.1% |
| 12 December 2019 | General election (notional result on these boundaries) | Conservative 57.9% | Labour 20.7% | 16,724 | 63.0% |
Only results on the constituency boundaries first used at the 2024 general election are shown. The 2019 figures are the House of Commons Library's notional estimates of how votes cast in 2019 would have fallen on these boundaries, not a result that was declared. Source: House of Commons Library, constituency results.
Councils
Bridgwater lies within Somerset.
- Somerset E06000066
Who has power over Bridgwater
Every body that makes decisions for Bridgwater, from the street up to the G20. Each one links to its page on the official record. How the ten levels work.
Level 1: Neighbourhood and community power
Residents' and tenants' groups, neighbourhood forums and local policing panels.
Level 2: Parish, town and community councils
Parish, town and community councils, where the area has them, sit below the council.
Level 3: Local councils
Level 5: Devolved and state governments
England has no devolved parliament of its own: its laws are made by the UK Parliament.
Level 6: National government
- Bridgwater this page: Sir Ashley Fox (Conservative) MP
- All 650 MPs votes, interests and costs
- UK government and Parliament official figures and sources
Level 7: Regional blocs and supranational bodies
- Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (CoE / ECtHR) The UK Government says the United Kingdom was one of the Council of Europe's founding members.
Level 8: The UN and global treaty bodies
- United Nations (General Assembly and Security Council) The UN lists the United Kingdom as a member admitted on 24 October 1945.
- United Nations Security Council (UNSC) The UK is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council and holds the veto, according to the UN.
- NATO NATO lists the United Kingdom among its 12 founding members, which signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C.
- World Health Organization (WHO) WHO's list of member states includes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- World Trade Organization (WTO) The WTO says the United Kingdom has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995 and a member of GATT since 1 January 1948.
- Commonwealth of Nations The UK is one of the 56 members, one of three European members with Cyprus and Malta, and the Commonwealth Secretariat is headquartered at Marlborough House in London.
Level 9: The IMF, World Bank and global finance
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) The UK has been a member since 27 December 1945 and has a quota of SDR 20,155.1 million (IMF country page for the United Kingdom).
- World Bank Group (WBG) The UK holds 3.75% of voting power in the IBRD (data as of 30 June 2026) and 6.92% in IDA (as of 30 June 2026), according to the World Bank's voting tables.
Level 10: G7, G20, Davos and global forums
Sources
| Figure | Period | Publisher | Read | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | mid-2024 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Claimants as a share of residents aged 16 to 64 | September 2026 | ONS | 29 October 2026 | data · area |
| Claimant count | September 2026 | ONS | 29 October 2026 | data · area |
| Employment rate, aged 16 to 64 | April 2025 to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Median full-time pay of residents | April 2025 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Median full-time pay of people working here | April 2025 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Median house price | the year to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Homes sold | the year to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Children in relative low income families, after housing costs | 2024/25 | DWP | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Children in relative low income families, before housing costs | 2024/25 | DWP | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Business sites (local units) | March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| People employed by businesses here | 2024 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Economically inactive, aged 16 to 64 | April 2025 to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Households | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Residents per square kilometre | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Workers mainly working from home | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Residents aged 16+ who are retired | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
"Data" is the file or query each figure was read from (its SHA-256 is in the link title); "area" shows the same table for this constituency alone.
Common questions
Who is the MP for Bridgwater?
Sir Ashley Fox (Conservative), elected on 4 July 2024, according to UK Parliament records.
What was the 2024 general election result in Bridgwater?
The House of Commons Library records 12,281 votes for Ashley Fox of Conservative and a majority of 1,349; 56.1% of the electorate cast a valid vote.
What is the unemployment claimant rate in Bridgwater?
The ONS claimant count for September 2026 is 1,780, 2.9% of the 16 to 64 population.
What is the average house price in Bridgwater?
£259,950: the middle price of homes sold in the year to March 2026, published by the ONS from Land Registry records.
What is the average salary in Bridgwater?
For full-time employees living here the ONS puts median annual pay at £34,731 (April 2025).
How many children in Bridgwater live in low income families?
5,391 children under 16, 29.2%, after housing costs in 2024/25, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.
What is the population of Bridgwater?
103,600 in mid-2024, the latest ONS estimate.
Built 14 October 2026 from official records; how these pages are compiled. This page lists what the record shows and gives no verdict on the MP or the area. Link moved or figure wrong? Tell us.