South West · England · 72,857Boundary · 2023

Forest of Dean

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Dispatch
Apr 2026

A marginal seat — won by just 278 votes (0.6%) in 2024. Covers Lydney, Cinderford and Coleford (Forest of Dean). Population 87,019, notably older (median age 48 vs 41 nationally). Recorded crime is 62% below the national average.

Forest of Dean's MP is making hotel safety a signature issue, following a serious incident involving a constituent at a Travelodge. Matt Bishop has met with company leadership, introduced legislation targeting systemic safety failures, and his campaign has drawn national BBC coverage -- with a follow-up investigation finding such failures are "not confined" to Travelodge. He has also co-signed a cross-party letter demanding FA action on racism, organised a SEND roundtable for local families, and visited disability support charity Forest Pulse. His one rebel vote came in December 2024, when he voted against his own party on a Ten Minute Rule Motion to introduce proportional representation -- backing the first-past-the-post status quo against the Labour majority position.

At 60% voting participation, Bishop is notably below the Commons average, though he has been active in debates with 93 contributions across 53 topics. Crime dominates his parliamentary speech activity, with 34 contributions in that category -- consistent with his hotel safety campaign and his seat on the Justice Committee. He votes with Labour 99.7% of the time on divisions he attends. His stance profile shows strong alignment with progressive taxation and workers' rights, but low scores on civil liberties (25%), pro-business measures (20%), and parliamentary scrutiny (7%), the latter reflecting consistent support for the government against Lords amendments.

295
Commons votes
This parliament
£27k
Median income
HMRC · 2024
72.9k
Electorate
2024 GE

Lab took this seat from Con after 4 consecutive elections.

Current Member of Parliament

Matt Bishop

Matt Bishop

Labour Party

Matt Bishop is the Labour MP for Forest of Dean, 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

A marginal seat — won by just 278 votes (0.6%) in 2024. Covers Lydney, Cinderford and Coleford (Forest of Dean). Population 87,019, notably older (median age 48 vs 41 nationally). Recorded crime is 62% below the national average.

2024 General Election

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

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

§ 07The record, at a glance.295 divisions voted

Two readings of the same data. Issue volume shows where Bishop 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
72
Economy
62
Employment
32
Crime & Policing
28
Welfare and Benefits
25
Education
21
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.22 wards

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

WardCouncillorVotesParty
Berry HillJamie Elsmore560Independ
Berry HillTim Gwilliam571Independ
BreamAlison Jennifer Bruce537Green Pa
BreamBeth Llewellyn377Green Pa
Cinderford EastDi Martin458Labour P
Cinderford EastMatt Bishop421Labour P
Cinderford WestJacob Edward Sanders367Labour P
Cinderford WestMark David Turner359Independ
ColefordClive Terence Elsmore643Independ
ColefordIan Whitburn577Independ
ColefordPatrick Joseph Kyne619Labour P
DymockGill Kilmurray431Liberal
Population (2021 Census)
87,019
Electorate 72,857 · 2024 register
Median income
£26,900
HMRC SPI 2024
Households renting privately
13.5%
England average 20.0%
Schools
58
48 primary · 6 secondary
Next · dig deeperEvery division, question, speech and committee record

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record → Data view

Filter divisions, search written questions, read every speech since the election. Sortable, searchable, downloadable.

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