The Constituency

The Somerton and Frome constituency was created in 1983 and includes the towns of Frome, Wincanton, Castle Cary, Langport, Bruton and Somerton and the villages of Evercreech, Martock, Milborne Port, Templecombe, Coleford, Norton St Philip and many others.
The electorate numbers around 79,000 people, while the total number of residents is around 90,000.

Part of the constituency is in the South Somerset District Council area www.southsomerset.gov.uk , which is Liberal Democrat controlled, and the rest is covered by Mendip District Council www.mendip.gov.uk, which has been Conservatives controlled since May 2003.

Somerset County Council www.somerset.gov.uk was controlled by the Liberal Democrats since 1993 but it was convincingly won by the Conservatives in June 2009. It's composition is now Conservatives 35, Lib Dems 21, Labour 2.


The Somerton and Frome Association
The Conservative Association has its headquarters in 7 Priory Road, Wells and employs a full-time professional Agent, Mark Merchant. The Conservative organisation is active throughout the constituency with local branches in most of the main towns and villages.

The Association is run by an Executive Council, led by a team of voluntary officers. The Executive Council is comprised of representatives of the Branches. The Association's Officers are elected, by the Association members, at the Annual General Meeting.

The Officers of the Association include the following:-
President : Lord MacLaurin
Chairman : Mr Mike Lewis
Political Deputy Chairman : Mr Edmund Costelloe
Membership Deputy Chairman : Mrs Sarah Chapman
Treasurer : Mr Les Davenport

All Association Officers are listed on our Policy and Peoples Page.   The Officer Team has the responsibility to ensure that the Association's objectives are sustained and progress is maintained in all areas

All play a vital role in ensuring the Association operates to achieve its main objective - that of WINNING ELECTIONS. Like any worthwhile organisation there is a lot of hard work to be done. It is rewarding and often good fun.

Local Branches
Like any voluntary organisation the local Conservative Branch can only be strong and effective if it has a group of active members.
Every local Branch is responsible within its own area for building up membership, raising money, communicating with the electorate and campaigning to win elections. Each Branch is run by a committee, which will normally include a Chairman, a Treasurer, a Secretary and several other Committee Members.

We hold Political Dinners and lunches with leading Conservative figures as guest speakers and conduct political surveys etc.

If you wish to take part in your local Branch you can get involved with campaigning at a number of levels depending upon the amount of time you wish to spend

Patrons Club
The Somerton and Frome Conservatives Patrons Club plays a successful part of the party organisation within the constituency.
The Aims of the Club are:-

a. To facilitate those who wish to contribute to the overall aims of the Party and get greater involvement in the political scene but are constrained by time.

b. To enable those who are already actively involved in the activities of the Party to have a greater involvement in the political scene in a social environment.

c. To increase the annual income of the Conservative Association in order to provide an effective organisation of the Party within the Constituency.

We welcome new members to join the Patrons Club. The minimum annual subscription is £250, or £400 for a couple.

If you want a copy of our new Newsletter, please contact us and we can post or email you a copy.
For further information about the programme of events please contact the Association Office.