South East · England · 74,738Boundary · 2023

East Worthing & Shoreham

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Dispatch
Apr 2026

Represented by Lab since 2024. Covers Worthing, Lancing and Sompting and Shoreham-by-Sea. Population 96,700. Recorded crime is 55% below the national average.

A near-perfect party loyalist with one notable exception, Tom Rutland broke ranks in December 2024 to vote against a Ten Minute Rule Motion on proportional representation -- opposing a Liberal Democrat-backed bill that would have replaced first-past-the-post with the single transferable vote. That stands as his only rebel vote in the current parliament. More recently, his local profile has been visible: he has secured £4 million in flood defence funding for Adur and Worthing, joined a community campaign over a dangerous school crossing in Worthing, and championed restoration funding for Worthing Lido. These efforts have generated consistent local press coverage, particularly on environment and community issues.

At 84% voting participation, Rutland is slightly below the Commons average, though not dramatically so for a first-term MP. He votes with Labour 99.8% of the time -- one of the tightest party alignments in the current cohort. His stance profile shows strong support for progressive taxation and housing development, but consistently lower alignment on welfare expansion, pension protection, and disability benefits than the Labour average -- deviations of up to 35 percentage points on pension protection. His 75 parliamentary contributions span economy and jobs, defence, social care, health, and cost of living, suggesting broad rather than specialist focus. He holds no committee seats.

410
Commons votes
This parliament
£27k
Median income
HMRC · 2024
74.7k
Electorate
2024 GE

Lab took this seat from Con after 4 consecutive elections.

Current Member of Parliament

Tom Rutland

Tom Rutland

Labour Party

Tom Rutland is the Labour MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, and has been an MP continually since 4 July 2024.

Notable Votes

A vote on whether to allow a Bill to be introduced that would replace the current first-past-the-post voting system with proportional representation (specifically single transferable vote) for UK parliamentary and English local government elections. The Bill was proposed by Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney, arguing the current system produces large parliamentary majorities on small vote shares.

MP voted NoAgainst party majority

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Voting at a Glance

Represented by Lab since 2024. Covers Worthing, Lancing and Sompting and Shoreham-by-Sea. Population 96,700. Recorded crime is 55% below the national average.

2024 General Election

§ 06This week in Westminster.Live · today’s sittingOrder Paper · refreshed daily

Rutland’s scheduled Commons activity this week — whipped divisions, oral questions, debates — drawn from the House of Commons Order Paper.

§ 07The record, at a glance.419 divisions voted

Two readings of the same data. Issue volume shows where Rutland has cast the most ballots — a proxy for engagement, not direction. Notable votes are the moments where the whip was free or where they broke ranks.

Issue volume
Top issues by total divisions voted · cumulative this Parliament
Taxation
95
Economy
88
Employment
46
Crime & Policing
35
Education
34
Welfare and Benefits
29
Notable votes
Free votes and rebellions — moments the MP’s own judgment matters more than the whip
Elections (proportional representation): Ten Minute Rule Motion 03 Dec 2024 · free vote
No
§ 08The local picture.18 wards

Constituencies are not uniform. Below — the local council make-up, key facts worth knowing, and the neighbouring seats on either side.

WardCouncillorVotesParty
BroadwaterCathy Glynn-Davies1,218Labour P
BuckinghamNigel Jenner681Labour P
ChurchillNigel Robert Sweet411Labour P
CokehamCarolyn Theresa Fuhrmann407Labour P
EastbrookAndrew Richard Harvey596Labour P
GaisfordJohn Turley1,364Labour P
HillsideNigel Charles Corston623Labour P
ManorCarson Albury572Conserva
MarineJoss Loader933Independ
Mash BarnSharon Louise Sluman655Labour P
OffingtonElizabeth Sparkes1,256Conserva
PeverelSaffa Jassim Jan514Labour P
Population (2021 Census)
96,700
Electorate 74,738 · 2024 register
Median income
£26,800
HMRC SPI 2024
Households renting privately
17.0%
England average 20.0%
Schools
36
20 primary · 6 secondary
Next · dig deeperEvery division, question, speech and committee record

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More constituency data is being added, including local issue analysis and historical trends. Learn about our methodology. View data sources & attribution.