South Dorset: MP, 2024 result and local figures
The MP for South Dorset is Lloyd Hatton (Labour), returned on 4 July 2024. On 4 July 2024 Lloyd Hatton (Labour) won 15,659 votes, 31.9% of the valid vote; Richard Drax (Conservative) came second with 14,611. 49,037 valid votes were cast by an electorate of 75,924, 64.6% of those registered. The majority was 1,048.
Key figures
What the figures show
Compared with other constituencies, South Dorset has the 32nd highest share of adults retired (2021) of the 575 constituencies with this figure (31.1%).
Median annual pay for full-time work was £35,621 for jobs in South Dorset and £35,396 for its residents (April 2025, ASHE). In April 2024 the residents' figure was £31,827. The residents' figure ranks 162nd lowest of 632 constituencies with an estimate. The latest year is provisional.
In mid-2024 the ONS put the number of residents at 100,592; the estimate for 2014 was 96,076. Children under 16 numbered 14,819; people aged 65 and over, 28,450.
In 2024/25, 28.2% of children under 16 in South Dorset (4,183) 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 15.9% in 2021/22 to 18.9% in 2024/25.
Census 2021: 44,272 households, 280.5 people per square kilometre, 23.3% of workers based at home, 31.1% of adults retired.
Workplaces in South Dorset accounted for 36,000 jobs in 2024; the business register lists 4,005 local units for March 2026.
Survey estimates for April 2025 to March 2026 have 76.1% of working-age residents in employment, within a margin of 7.7 points. 17.4% were economically inactive.
HM Land Registry sales put the middle house price at £280,000 for the year to March 2026. Ten years earlier, in the year to March 2016, it was £216,250. The highest March-year median in the series was £300,000, in the year to March 2025. It ranks 286th lowest of 575 constituencies. 1,433 sales were registered in the period, against 1,779 in the year to March 2025.
The number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits stood at 1,535 in September 2026, a claimant rate of 2.7%. September 2025 had 1,420.
MP
Lloyd Hatton, Labour
- MP for South Dorset since 4 July 2024
Official UK Parliament page · Statements by Lloyd Hatton on this site
In Parliament
The 5 most recent spoken contributions by Lloyd Hatton in Hansard, from 14 September 2026 to 27 October 2026, quoted from the official report. Hansard search returns 141 spoken contributions by Lloyd Hatton since 4 July 2024.
T3. Dirty money fuels crime on our streets and conflict overseas, so I welcome the Government’s continued commitment to hosting an illicit finance summit next year. Getting this right really matters for our national security.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
This month, we heard that Wareham’s chemotherapy clinic will reopen early next year, following two years of campaigning, meaning that patients across Purbeck will no longer have to travel long distances to access cancer care.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
T3. Dorset Innovation Park has rapidly become a hub for defence companies, but we now need a college on site to ensure that more young people can gain the qualifications they need to stay and work locally.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Dorset Innovation Park is home to a number of defence firms that are looking to expand. However, too many young people right across South Dorset are unable to get the qualifications that these employers are looking for.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Thank you, Sir Jeremy. As we have heard from many Members today, the privatised model in the water sector has, to put it mildly, completely and utterly broken.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lloyd Hatton | Labour | 15,659 | 31.9% | +7.2 |
| Richard Drax | Conservative | 14,611 | 29.8% | −29.4 |
| Morgan Young | Reform UK | 8,168 | 16.7% | |
| Matt Bell | Liberal Democrat | 8,017 | 16.3% | +5.7 |
| Catherine Bennett | Green Party | 2,153 | 4.4% | 0.0 |
| Joy Wilson | Independent | 192 | 0.4% | |
| Giovanna Lewis | Independent | 185 | 0.4% | |
| Rosie Morrell | Independent | 52 | 0.1% |
Result summary as published: Lab 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 | Labour 31.9% | Conservative 29.8% | 1,048 | 64.6% |
| 12 December 2019 | General election (notional result on these boundaries) | Conservative 59.2% | Labour 24.8% | 18,147 | 68.8% |
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
South Dorset lies within Dorset.
- Dorset E06000059
Who has power over South Dorset
Every body that makes decisions for South Dorset, 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
- South Dorset this page: Lloyd Hatton (Labour) 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 South Dorset?
Lloyd Hatton (Labour), elected on 4 July 2024, according to UK Parliament records.
What was the 2024 general election result in South Dorset?
The House of Commons Library records 15,659 votes for Lloyd Hatton of Labour and a majority of 1,048; 64.6% of the electorate cast a valid vote.
What is the unemployment claimant rate in South Dorset?
The ONS claimant count for September 2026 is 1,535, 2.7% of the 16 to 64 population.
What is the average house price in South Dorset?
£280,000: 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 South Dorset?
For full-time employees living here the ONS puts median annual pay at £35,396 (April 2025).
How many children in South Dorset live in low income families?
4,183 children under 16, 28.2%, after housing costs in 2024/25, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.
What is the population of South Dorset?
100,592 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.