Witham: MP, 2024 result and local figures
Witham is represented in the House of Commons by Priti Patel (Conservative). Priti Patel took the seat for Conservative in July 2024 with 18,827 votes (37.2%), ahead of Rumi Chowdhury (Labour) on 13,682. Turnout, counted as valid votes over the electorate, was 64.1% (50,603 of 78,991); the winning margin was 5,145 votes.
Key figures
What the figures show
Half of the homes sold in the year to March 2026 went for more than £366,000 and half for less. That is up 46% on £250,000 ten years before. The highest March-year median in the series was £382,500, in the year to March 2023. It ranks 163rd highest of 575 constituencies. The figure rests on 1,487 recorded sales.
5,515 business sites were registered in Witham in March 2026 (5,380 a year before), and employed 40,000 people in 2024.
About 108,700 people live in Witham: the ONS figure for mid-2024 is 108,748. There were more residents aged 65 and over (23,962) than children under 16 (20,146).
Median annual pay for full-time work was £34,942 for jobs in Witham and £40,415 for its residents (April 2025, ASHE). A year before, the residents' median was £40,188. The residents' figure ranks 216th highest of 632 constituencies with an estimate. The latest year is provisional.
4,059 children in Witham were in relative low income families after housing costs in 2024/25, the Department for Work and Pensions estimates: 20.1% of under-16s, where the UK share is 26.0%. Before housing costs the share was 12.6% in 2024/25, from 12.5% in 2021/22.
Census 2021: 42,668 households, 242.9 people per square kilometre, 32.3% of workers based at home, 25.6% of adults retired.
Survey estimates for April 2025 to March 2026 have 75.7% of working-age residents in employment, within a margin of 7.5 points. The economically inactive share was 19.8%.
In September 2026, 2.6% of 16 to 64 year olds in Witham were claimants (1,655 people). September 2025 had 1,500.
MP
Priti Patel, Conservative
- MP for Witham since 4 July 2024
- In the House of Commons since 6 May 2010
Official UK Parliament page · Statements by Priti Patel on this site
In Parliament
What Priti Patel said most recently in Parliament, word for word from Hansard (from 9 July 2026 to 12 October 2026). Hansard search returns 258 spoken contributions by Priti Patel since 4 July 2024.
Rural areas could create and support more jobs if they had the right transport infrastructure.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Since the Secretary of State first announced these plans, when she last held this role, the Labour Government have played fast and loose with our local democracy, cancelling elections and creating chaos and uncertainty in our councils as they struggle to deliver key frontline …
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
The Secretary of State has doubled housing targets for Maldon district, causing it to fall behind on its five-year supply; that is putting green spaces at risk in villages such as Tollesbury.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
I am grateful to the Foreign Secretary for advance sight of her statement. I start by recognising some of the positive commitments in the NATO summit communiqué, including the important reaffirmation of the alliance’s commitment to collective defence under article 5 and to the …
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
The terrorist regime in Tehran has once again violated the ceasefire, illegally attacking commercial shipping in the strait of Hormuz and striking our allies in the region, including Bahrain and Kuwait.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Priti Patel | Conservative | 18,827 | 37.2% | −29.5 |
| Rumi Chowdhury | Labour | 13,682 | 27.0% | +9.6 |
| Timothy Blaxill | Reform UK | 9,870 | 19.5% | |
| James Abbott | Green Party | 3,539 | 7.0% | +1.2 |
| Ashley Thompson | Liberal Democrat | 3,439 | 6.8% | −3.2 |
| Chelsey Jay | Independent | 1,246 | 2.5% |
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 37.2% | Labour 27.0% | 5,145 | 64.1% |
| 12 December 2019 | General election (notional result on these boundaries) | Conservative 66.7% | Labour 17.5% | 25,669 | 69.4% |
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
Witham covers wards in 3 local authority areas, listed by the number of wards in the constituency.
- Braintree E07000067
- Maldon E07000074
- Colchester E07000071
Who has power over Witham
Every body that makes decisions for Witham, 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 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
- Witham this page: Priti Patel (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 Witham?
UK Parliament lists Priti Patel, Conservative, as the Member of Parliament for Witham since the July 2024 general election.
What was the 2024 general election result in Witham?
Priti Patel (Conservative) won with 18,827 votes, a majority of 5,145, on a turnout of 64.1% (House of Commons Library).
What is the unemployment claimant rate in Witham?
2.6% of residents aged 16 to 64 in September 2026, 1,655 people, on the ONS claimant count.
What is the average house price in Witham?
The median price paid was £366,000 in the year to March 2026 (ONS, from HM Land Registry sales).
What is the average salary in Witham?
Median full-time pay of residents was £40,415 a year in April 2025 (ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings).
How many children in Witham live in low income families?
DWP counts 4,059 (20.1% of under-16s) in relative low income after housing costs for 2024/25.
What is the population of Witham?
The ONS estimate for mid-2024 is 108,748 residents.
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.