Bassetlaw – As the country gets ready for the general election on 4 July, the voters in Bassetlaw prepare to choose their MP.
Bassetlaw  – General Election 2024
Candidates:
Brendan Clarke-Smith (Con)
Rachel Sara Reeves (Green)
Helen Tamblyn-Saville (Lib Dem)
Frank Ward (Reform)
Jo White (Lab)
Bassetlaw  – Election Results 2019
In the 2019 general election, Brendan Clarke-Smith of the Conservative Party won the seat with a majority of 14,013 votes, a gain from the Labour Party. The turnout was 63.5%. The breakdown of votes for the top five parties was as follows:
- Conservative (Con): 28,078 votes
- Labour (Lab): 14,065 votes
- Brexit Party: 5,366 votes
- Liberal Democrats (LD): 3,332 votes
Brendan Clarke-Smith was not an MP before the election. The majority percentage was 27.6%, and the constituency had a valid vote count of 50,841 out of an electorate of 80,024.

Bassetlaw Overview
Bassetlaw, situated in the East Midlands, has a population of 110,380. The area covers 480 square kilometers, making it the 135th largest constituency in terms of area. The population density stands at 230 people per square kilometer. The primary land use in Bassetlaw includes 8% built-up areas, 80% agricultural land, and 8% forest or semi-natural areas.
Bassetlaw Parliamentary Constituency Map

Population by Age
- 0 to 17 years: 20%
- 18 to 24 years: 6%
- 25 to 34 years: 13%
- 35 to 49 years: 18%
- 50 to 64 years: 22%
- 65 and over: 22%
Country of Birth
The majority of Bassetlaw’s residents were born in the UK, similar to the overall trends in the East Midlands and England & Wales. A smaller portion of the population originates from EU countries and the rest of the world.
Universal Credit Rollout
As of November 2023, 9,045 households in Bassetlaw are claiming Universal Credit (UC), with 78% of the caseload rollout complete. The graph shows a rising trend in UC claimants from 2016 to 2024, reflecting economic changes and the impacts of the pandemic.
Child Poverty
In 2021/22, the relative child poverty rate in Bassetlaw was 27.3%, higher than the regional (25.4%) and national (20.1%) averages. This statistic indicates the percentage of children aged 0-15 living in households with income below 60% of the median before housing costs are considered.
Unemployment Benefits
As of May 2024, the claimant rate for unemployment benefits in Bassetlaw is 3.6%, with 2,330 claimants. The graph shows an increase in claimants during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a subsequent decline and stabilization.
House Prices
In September 2023, the average house price in Bassetlaw was £185,000, lower than the regional (£239,950) and national (£285,000) averages. The median house price trend shows a consistent increase over the years.
School Funding
For the academic year 2022-23, the funding per pupil in Bassetlaw was £5,363, ranking 282nd out of 533 constituencies in England. This is an increase from the previous year, with funding levels slightly above regional and national averages.
Road Traffic Collisions and Casualties
In 2022, Bassetlaw reported 5 fatal, 66 serious, and 55 slight casualties from road traffic collisions. A map indicates the locations of these accidents within the constituency.
Broadband Coverage
Bassetlaw has a high level of broadband coverage, with 66.7% of the constituency having access to gigabit broadband, which is below the national average of 78.5%. Additionally, 97.0% have access to superfast broadband compared to the national average of 96.8%.
Sources
- Population: Office for National Statistics, 2021 census, Table TS007: Age by single year; Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, 2021 census flexible table builder; National Records of Scotland, UK parliamentary constituency population estimates (2011 Data Zone based)
- Area: ONS, Standard Area Measurements for electoral areas in the United Kingdom, 2018 (area to mean high water)
- Land use: CORINE Land Cover inventory, 2018
- Country of birth: ONS, 2021 Census, Table TS004; Commons Library calculations
- House prices: ONS, House price statistics for small areas
- Wages: ONS, Employee earnings in the UK
- People claiming unemployment benefit: ONS Nomis; DWP StatXplore; House of Commons Library calculations
- Universal Credit rollout: HMRC, ONS and DWP; see our Universal Credit dashboard for details
- School funding: DfE, Dedicated Schools Grant: Various Years and Schools Block Funding Allocations: Various Years; GDP Deflators: December 2019, HM Treasury
- Traffic accidents: DfT, Road accidents and safety statistics; labelled with the stats19 R package (Lovelace et al., 2019)
- Broadband coverage: Ofcom, Connected Nations reports and data