The 2024 General Election is the first to be held since the Isle of Wight was split into 2 new constituencies; Isle of Wight East and Isle of Wight West. It means that 2 MPs will represent the Island in Parliament to fight on behalf of Islanders.
It took some time for the boundaries to be agreed upon by The Boundary Commission, with earlier submissions including one put forward by Labour that split the Island vertically in 2 in a north/south divide. But that was thrown out as it split Newport – the county town – in half.
Other proposed ideas sought to split Ventnor from fellow seaside towns Shanklin and Sandown but the decision was made that due to their close economic and social links, they should remain together. East Cowes was originally split from Cowes and was in the Isle of Wight East Constituency. The final decision – which is outlined on the map below – was confirmed back in July 2023.
Isle of Wight East consists of major towns like Ryde, Sandown, Shanklin and Ventnor with towns like Newport, Cowes and East Cowes in the Isle of Wight West.
There will be a total of 20 wards in the Isle of Wight East Constituency which has an electorate of 56,805. In the Isle of Wight West, there are a total of 19 wards and an electorate of 54,911.
