Melksham and Devizes: MP, 2024 result and local figures
Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat) is the MP for Melksham and Devizes, elected at the general election of 4 July 2024. On 4 July 2024 Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat) won 20,031 votes, 39.1% of the valid vote; Michelle Donelan (Conservative) came second with 17,630. 51,203 valid votes were cast by an electorate of 73,482, 69.7% of those registered. The majority was 2,401.
Key figures
What the figures show
The ONS estimates 95,301 people lived in Melksham and Devizes in mid-2024, up 6.3% on 2014. 24,800 were aged 65 or over and 15,776 were under 16.
The Annual Population Survey puts the employment rate for 16 to 64 year olds at 81.3% for April 2025 to March 2026, give or take 5.7 points. 15.0% were economically inactive.
In 2024/25, 18.6% of children under 16 in Melksham and Devizes (2,936) 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 10.9% in 2021/22 to 12.6% in 2024/25.
Residents of Melksham and Devizes earned more than jobs based there paid in April 2025: median full-time pay was £34,641 for workplace jobs and £40,000 for residents. In April 2024 the residents' figure was £37,511. The residents' figure ranks 227th highest of 632 constituencies with an estimate. The latest year is provisional.
At the 2021 Census there were 40,462 households and 223.2 residents per square kilometre; 35.1% of workers mainly worked from home and 28.1% of residents aged 16 and over were retired.
The median price paid for a home was £325,000 in the year to March 2026 (ONS, from HM Land Registry data). Ten years earlier, in the year to March 2016, it was £238,250. The highest March-year median in the series was £339,995, in the year to March 2023. It ranks 221st highest of 575 constituencies. 1,268 sales were registered in the period, against 1,584 in the year to March 2025.
The claimant count for September 2026 was 1,295, or 2.4% of the working-age population.
Workplaces in Melksham and Devizes accounted for 35,000 jobs in 2024; the business register lists 4,620 local units for March 2026.
MP
Brian Mathew, Liberal Democrat
- MP for Melksham and Devizes since 4 July 2024
Official UK Parliament page · Statements by Brian Mathew on this site
In Parliament
The 5 most recent spoken contributions by Brian Mathew in Hansard, from 14 September 2026 to 16 October 2026, quoted from the official report. Hansard search returns 142 spoken contributions by Brian Mathew since 4 July 2024.
Bannerman’s bar in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency is well frequented, especially during the Edinburgh fringe. We have heard the most wonderful arguments and expositions about pubs from Members from right across the House, but I wonder if the hon.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
I will not go into the ins and outs of hauntings, although they may be of great interest to the hon. Member. In Box, there is the Northey Arms, a historic inn close to the Great Western Railway, and the Queens Head, which is famous locally for its music.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
I thank the hon. Member for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire (Mike Wood) for bringing forward this valuable private Member’s Bill on historic British pubs.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
I heartily agree with the hon. Lady. The centre’s work for the FCDO included the world’s largest open-source monitoring of incidents across Israel, Palestine and Lebanon.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Many across the House, like me, welcome the Foreign Secretary’s announcement of a ban on products from illegal settlements in the occupied territories. Back in the early ’80s, I was a kibbutznik based at Kibbutz Re’im in the Negev, where I was conducting agricultural research.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Read from the Hansard API on 28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Mathew | Liberal Democrat | 20,031 | 39.1% | +11.9 |
| Michelle Donelan | Conservative | 17,630 | 34.4% | −23.4 |
| Malcolm Cupis | Reform UK | 6,726 | 13.1% | |
| Kerry Postlewhite | Labour | 4,587 | 9.0% | −3.0 |
| Catherine Read | Green Party | 2,229 | 4.4% | +1.4 |
Result summary as published: LD gain from Con. 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 | Liberal Democrat 39.1% | Conservative 34.4% | 2,401 | 69.7% |
| 12 December 2019 | General election (notional result on these boundaries) | Conservative 57.8% | Liberal Democrat 27.3% | 17,028 | 77.6% |
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
Melksham and Devizes lies within Wiltshire.
- Wiltshire E06000054
Who has power over Melksham and Devizes
Every body that makes decisions for Melksham and Devizes, 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
- Melksham and Devizes this page: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat) 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 Melksham and Devizes?
Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat), elected on 4 July 2024, according to UK Parliament records.
What was the 2024 general election result in Melksham and Devizes?
The House of Commons Library records 20,031 votes for Brian Mathew of Liberal Democrat and a majority of 2,401; 69.7% of the electorate cast a valid vote.
What is the unemployment claimant rate in Melksham and Devizes?
The ONS claimant count for September 2026 is 1,295, 2.4% of the 16 to 64 population.
What is the average house price in Melksham and Devizes?
£325,000: 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 Melksham and Devizes?
For full-time employees living here the ONS puts median annual pay at £40,000 (April 2025).
How many children in Melksham and Devizes live in low income families?
2,936 children under 16, 18.6%, after housing costs in 2024/25, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.
What is the population of Melksham and Devizes?
95,301 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.