Didcot and Wantage

Didcot and Wantage
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundaries since 2024
Boundary of Didcot and Wantage in South East England
County	Oxfordshire
Electorate	74,356 (2023) [1]
Major settlements	Didcot, Wantage, Wallingford
Current constituency
Created	2024
Member of Parliament	Olly Glover (Liberal Democrats)
Seats	One
Created from	Wantage

Didcot and Wantage is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. ^{[2] [3]} Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election. The seat was won by Olly Glover representing the Liberal Democrats.

The constituency is named for the towns of Didcot and Wantage in Oxfordshire. ^[4]

Constituency profile

Didcot and Wantage is a mostly rural constituency located in Oxfordshire (although traditionally in Berkshire). Its largest town is Didcot, which has a population of around 32,000. ^[5] Other settlements in the constituency include the towns of Wantage and Wallingford and the large village of Grove. Didcot is an important railway town and Wantage and Wallingford are historic market towns. The Harwell Science and Innovation Campus is a significant local employer. ^[6] The constituency is generally affluent with low levels of deprivation. ^[7]

Residents of the constituency have high rates of education and professional employment, and household income is considerably higher than the national average. At the 2021 census, White people made up 92% of the population. ^[8] Most of the constituency is represented by Liberal Democrats at the local council level, with some Labour Party councillors in Didcot and Greens in rural areas. An estimated 53% of voters in the constituency supported remaining in the European Union in the 2016 referendum compared to 48% nationwide. ^[8]

History

A campaign to change the name of the previous Wantage constituency to include 'Didcot' dates back to at least 2016. ^[9]

Boundaries

The constituency is composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

• The District of South Oxfordshire wards of: Cholsey; Didcot North East; Didcot South; Didcot West; Sandford & the Wittenhams; Wallingford.
• The District of Vale of White Horse wards of: Blewbury & Harwell; Drayton; Grove North; Hendreds; Ridgeway; Stanford; Steventon & the Hanneys; Sutton Courtenay; Wantage & Grove Brook; Wantage Charlton. ^[10]

It comprises the majority of the former Wantage constituency plus a small part of the former Henley electorate (Sandford-on-Thames): ^[11]

Members of Parliament

Wantage prior to 2024

Election		Member	Party
	2024	Olly Glover	Liberal Democrats

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Didcot and Wantage ^{[12] [13]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Olly Glover	21,793	39.8	+8.5
	Conservative	David Johnston	15,560	28.4	−21.4
	Labour	Mocky Khan	8,045	14.7	−1.3
	Reform	Steve Beatty	6,400	11.7	N/A
	Green	Sam Casey-Rerhaye	2,693	4.9	+4.2
	SDP	Kyn Pomlett	242	0.4	N/A
Majority			6,233	11.4	N/A
Turnout			54,733	67.8	−5.3
Registered electors			80,689
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	+15.0

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result ^[14]

Party		Vote	%
	Conservative	27,045	49.8
	Liberal Democrats	17,022	31.3
	Labour	8,708	16.0
	Others	1,201	2.2
	Green	370	0.7
Turnout		54,346	73.1
Registered electors		74,356

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Oxfordshire
• List of parliamentary constituencies in the South East England (region)

References

1. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – South East". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
2. "Didcot and Wantage CC" (PDF). Boundary Commission for England . Retrieved 7 July 2024.
3. "South East | Boundary Commission for England". Boundary Commission for England . Retrieved 2023-06-20.
4. "MAPPED: What the new election boundaries for Oxfordshire could look like". Oxford Mail. 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
5. "Didcot". City population. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
6. "HSIC website".
7. "Constituency data: Deprivation in England". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
8. "Seat Details - Didcot and Wantage". electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
9. "It would be nonsense if name of constituency isn't changed to include town, says bid backer". Oxford Mail. 2016-12-15. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
10. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 6 South East region.
11. "New Seat Details - Didcot and Wantage". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
12. Stone, Mark (7 June 2024). "Election of a Member of Parliament for Didcot and Wantage Constituency" (PDF). Retrieved 7 June 2024– via Vale of White Horse District Council.
13. "Didcot and Wantage - General election results 2024". BBC News.
14. "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament . Retrieved 11 July 2024.

External links

• Didcot and Wantage UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK