Reading West Parliamentary Constituency
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished. Its area was transferred to the new constituencies of Earley and Woodley (Whitley ward), Reading Central (Battle, Minster and Southcote wards), and Reading West and Mid Berkshire (all other wards). These constituencies were first contested at the 2024 general election.
Constituency profile
Since its 1983 creation the constituency was a bellwether paradigm example of a marginal seat. Boundary changes for the 2010 election took in areas of population expansion to the east in new largely private sector housing estates. Unemployment is close to the regional average, which is lower than the national average and the constituency has seen a marked increase in properties and property prices throughout the 2001 to 2011 period which saw town centre regeneration and investment by a Labour Party-controlled council enhanced by Reading railway station hub improvements and enterprise areas equally.
History
The Reading West parliamentary constituency was first contested in 1983, when it was won by a member of the Conservative Party, Tony Durant, the sitting MP for the abolished Reading North constituency. He held the seat through two subsequent general elections until he retired at the 1997 election.
The constituency was then won by Martin Salter for Labour, as part of the landslide that brought Labour back to power under Tony Blair. Salter held the seat through the 13 years of Labour government until Parliament was dissolved in April 2010, but did not stand in the 2010 general election, when Alok Sharma won the seat for the Conservatives.
Sharma held several posts within government, including serving in the Cabinet as the President for COP26 from January 2021 until October 2022.
Boundaries and boundary changes
1983–1997
- The Borough of Reading wards of Battle, Katesgrove, Kentwood, Minster, Norcot, Southcote, and Tilehurst; and
- The District of Newbury wards of Calcot, Pangbourne, Purley, Theale, and Tilehurst.
Formed as a county constituency, largely from parts of the abolished constituency of Reading North. Extended westwards to include parts of Newbury.
1997–2010
- The Borough of Reading wards of Battle, Kentwood, Minster, Norcot, Southcote, Tilehurst, and Whitley; and
- The District of Newbury wards of Calcot, Pangbourne, Purley, Theale, and Tilehurst.
The boundary with Reading East was realigned, gaining Whitley ward and losing Katesgrove ward.
2010–2024
- The Borough of Reading wards of Battle, Kentwood, Minster, Norcot, Southcote, Tilehurst, and Whitley; and
- The District of West Berkshire wards of Birch Copse, Calcot, Pangbourne, Purley on Thames, Theale, and Westwood.
Marginal changes due to revision of local authority wards.
The constituency was bordered by the seats of Newbury, Henley, Reading East, and Wokingham.
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Tony Durant | Conservative | |
| 1997 | Martin Salter | Labour | |
| 2010 | Alok Sharma | Conservative | |
Elections
Elections in the 2010s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Alok Sharma | 24,393 | 48.4 | –0.5 | |
| Labour Co-op | Rachel Eden | 20,276 | 40.2 | –3.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Meri O'Connell | 4,460 | 8.9 | +3.0 | |
| Green | Jamie Whitham | 1,263 | 2.5 | +0.6 | |
| Majority | 4,117 | 8.2 | +2.6 | ||
| Turnout | 50,392 | 67.9 | −1.6 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +1.3 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Alok Sharma | 25,311 | 48.9 | +1.2 | |
| Labour | Olivia Bailey | 22,435 | 43.3 | +9.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Meri O’Connell | 3,041 | 5.9 | +1.0 | |
| Green | Jamie Whitham | 979 | 1.9 | −1.0 | |
| Majority | 2,876 | 5.6 | −8.1 | ||
| Turnout | 51,766 | 69.5 | +2.8 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | –4.1 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Alok Sharma | 23,082 | 47.7 | +4.5 | |
| Labour | Victoria Groulef | 16,432 | 34.0 | +3.5 | |
| UKIP | Malik Azam | 4,826 | 10.0 | +6.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Meri O'Connell | 2,355 | 4.9 | −15.2 | |
| Green | Miriam Kennet | 1,406 | 2.9 | +1.7 | |
| Independent | Suzie Ferguson | 156 | 0.3 | New | |
| TUSC | Neil Adams | 83 | 0.2 | New | |
| Roman | Philip West | 64 | 0.1 | New | |
| Majority | 6,650 | 13.7 | +1.0 | ||
| Turnout | 48,404 | 66.7 | +0.8 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +0.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Alok Sharma | 20,523 | 43.2 | +9.6 | |
| Labour | Naz Sarkar | 14,519 | 30.5 | −14.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Daisy Benson | 9,546 | 20.1 | +4.3 | |
| UKIP | Bruce Hay | 1,508 | 3.2 | +0.4 | |
| Common Sense | Howard Thomas | 852 | 1.8 | New | |
| Green | Adrian Windisch | 582 | 1.2 | −1.0 | |
| Majority | 6,004 | 12.7 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 47,530 | 65.9 | +6.0 | ||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +12.1 | |||
Elections in the 2000s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Martin Salter | 18,940 | 44.9 | −8.2 | |
| Conservative | Ewan Cameron | 14,258 | 33.8 | +1.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Denise Gaines | 6,663 | 15.8 | +3.0 | |
| UKIP | Peter Williams | 1,180 | 2.8 | +0.8 | |
| Green | Adrian Windisch | 921 | 2.2 | New | |
| Veritas | Dave Boyle | 267 | 0.6 | New | |
| Majority | 4,672 | 11.1 | −10.0 | ||
| Turnout | 42,229 | 61.0 | +1.9 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | −2.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Martin Salter | 22,300 | 53.1 | +8.0 | |
| Conservative | Stephen Reid | 13,451 | 32.0 | −6.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Polly Martin | 5,387 | 12.8 | +0.1 | |
| UKIP | David Black | 848 | 2.0 | +1.5 | |
| Majority | 8,849 | 21.1 | +14.9 | ||
| Turnout | 41,986 | 59.1 | −11.0 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +7.5 | |||
Elections in the 1990s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Martin Salter | 21,841 | 45.1 | +17.3 | |
| Conservative | Nicholas Bennett | 18,844 | 38.9 | −14.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Dee Tomlin | 6,153 | 12.7 | −5.4 | |
| Referendum | Steven G Brown | 976 | 2.0 | New | |
| BNP | Ian Dell | 320 | 0.7 | New | |
| UKIP | David M Black | 255 | 0.5 | New | |
| Majority | 2,997 | 6.2 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 48,389 | 70.1 | −7.9 | ||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | −15.7 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Tony Durant | 28,048 | 52.9 | −2.4 | |
| Labour | PM Ruhemann | 14,750 | 27.8 | +6.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | KH Lock | 9,572 | 18.1 | −4.3 | |
| Green | PJ Unsworth | 613 | 1.2 | +0.1 | |
| Majority | 13,298 | 25.1 | −7.8 | ||
| Turnout | 52,983 | 78.0 | +5.8 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −4.5 | |||
Elections in the 1980s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Tony Durant | 28,122 | 55.3 | +3.9 | |
| Liberal | Keith Lock | 11,369 | 22.4 | −5.5 | |
| Labour | Michael Orton | 10,819 | 21.3 | +0.9 | |
| Green | EP Wilson | 542 | 1.1 | New | |
| Majority | 16,753 | 32.9 | +9.4 | ||
| Turnout | 50,852 | 72.2 | −1.3 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +4.7 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Tony Durant | 24,948 | 51.4 | ||
| Liberal | James Day | 13,549 | 27.9 | ||
| Labour | Richard Evans | 9,220 | 20.4 | ||
| Independent | E Lilley | 161 | 0.3 | ||
| Majority | 11,399 | 23.5 | |||
| Turnout | 47,878 | 73.5 | |||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
See also
Notes
- ^ A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
- ^ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
- ^ For the purposes of this definition, the Electoral Commission appears to have used the borough ward names and definitions as existed prior to 2022 rather than the current names and definitions.
References
- ^ "England Parliamentary electorates 2010-2018". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
- ^ "'Reading West', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
- ^ "South East | Boundary Commission for England". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – South East". Boundary Commission for England. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "Initial proposals for new Parliamentary constituency boundaries in the South East region". Boundary Commission for England. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 1)
- ^ "Reading West Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
- ^ "Reading Borough Council statement of persons nominated 2017" (PDF).
- ^ "Reading Borough Council". www.reading.gov.uk.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ Fort, Linda (9 December 2014). "Reading West has new independent General Election candidate".
- ^ "Parliamentary results 2015". Reading Borough Council. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ^ "UK Polling Report". ukpollingreport.co.uk.
- ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated – Notice of Poll – Reading West Constituency" (PDF). Reading Borough Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "Election 2010 – Reading West". BBC. 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Ask Aristotle – Reading West". London: Guardian Unlimited. 2005. Archived from the original on 11 April 2005. Retrieved 4 May 2005.
- ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
- ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
External links
- Reading West UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
- Reading West UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
