Hertford and Stortford (UK Parliament constituency)

Hertford and Stortford
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Hertford and Stortford in Hertfordshire
Location of Hertfordshire within England
County	Hertfordshire
Electorate	79,255 (December 2010) [1]
Major settlements	Hertford, Bishop's Stortford, Ware
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of Parliament	Julie Marson (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	Hertfordshire East and Hertford and Stevenage [2]

Hertford and Stortford is a constituency ^{[n 1]} currently represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Julie Marson of the Conservative Party. ^{[n 2]}

Constituency profile

The constituency is semi-rural and includes picturesque villages and farmland. The rivers Rib, Beane, Mimram, and Lea all meet in the county town of Hertford (2011 population 25,000), which is protected from over-development by a Green Belt encircling the town and separating it from Ware (18,000) in the western part of the constituency. Farms continue between Ware and the market town of Bishop's Stortford (40,000), in the north east corner of the seat.

Hertford and Stortford constituency is generally regarded as an affluent seat,^{[ citation needed ]} and includes a significant proportion of professional and managerial workers.^{[ citation needed ]} Central London is within commuting distance by train of all the towns in the constituency. The pharmaceutical industry is a major employer in the seat and surrounding areas: both Ware and Harlow are the sites of GlaxoSmithKline facilities (while Gilston hosted a Merck between 1982 and 2006). Since the early 1990s, Stansted, just beyond the eastern perimeter of the constituency, has also been responsible for bringing jobs and an improved train service to it.

Many commuters live in Bishop's Stortford, which has rail links to London's Liverpool Street station and is also close to Stansted Airport. Since the 1980s, the population of Thorley – now a southern suburb of Stortford – has become composed increasingly of owner-occupied houses in dormitory estates.

The seat has been held by the Conservative Party, with comfortable majorities, since its creation.

Boundaries and boundary changes

1983–1997

• The District of East Hertfordshire wards of Bishop's Stortford Central, Bishop's Stortford Chantry, Bishop's Stortford Parsonage, Bishop's Stortford Thorley, Braughing, Buntingford, Hertford Bengeo, Hertford Castle, Hertford Kingsmead, Hertford Sele, Hunsdon, Little Hadham, Much Hadham, Sawbridgeworth, Standon St Mary, Stapleford, Tewin, Thundridge, Ware Christchurch, Ware Priory, Ware St Mary's, and Ware Trinity. ^[3]

The new constituency combined Hertford and Ware, from the abolished constituency of Hertford and Stevenage, with Bishop's Stortford, Sawbridgeworth and rural areas to the west, from the abolished constituency of East Hertfordshire.

1997–2010

• The District of East Hertfordshire wards of Bishop's Stortford Central, Bishop's Stortford Chantry, Bishop's Stortford Parsonage, Bishop's Stortford Thorley, Great Amwell, Hertford Bengeo, Hertford Castle, Hertford Kingsmead, Hertford Sele, Hunsdon, Little Amwell, Much Hadham, Sawbridgeworth, Stanstead, Ware Christchurch, Ware Priory, Ware St Mary's, and Ware Trinity. ^[4]

The villages of Stanstead Abbotts and Great Amwell transferred from Broxbourne. Northern, rural areas transferred to the new constituency of North East Hertfordshire.

Map of current boundaries

2010–present

• The District of East Hertfordshire wards of Bishop's Stortford All Saints, Bishop's Stortford Central, Bishop's Stortford Meads, Bishop's Stortford Silverleys, Bishop's Stortford South, Great Amwell, Hertford Bengeo, Hertford Castle, Hertford Heath, Hertford Kingsmead, Hertford Sele, Hunsdon, Much Hadham, Sawbridgeworth, Stanstead Abbots, Ware Chadwell, Ware Christchurch, Ware St Mary's, and Ware Trinity. ^[5]

Marginal changes due to revision of local authority wards.

Proposed

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the composition of the constituency from the next general election, due by January 2025, will be reduced to meet the electorate size requirements, with the transfer of the three small wards of Great Amwell, Hertford Heath and Stanstead Abbots (as they existed on 1 December 2020) to Broxbourne. ^[6]

Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023 ^{[7] [8]} , the constituency will now comprise the following wards of the District of East Hertfordshire from the next general election:

• Bishop's Stortford All Saints; Bishop's Stortford Central; Bishop's Stortford North; Bishop's Stortford Parsonage; Bishop's Stortford South; Bishop's Stortford Thorley Manor; Hertford Bengeo; Hertford Castle; Hertford Kingsmead; Hertford Sele; Hunsdon; Much Hadham; Sawbridgeworth; Ware Priory; Ware Rural (Wareside and Widford Parishes); Ware St Mary's; Ware Trinity. ^[9]

Members of Parliament

Election	Member [10]	Party
1983	Bowen Wells		Conservative
2001	Mark Prisk		Conservative
2019	Julie Marson		Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Next general election: Hertford and Stortford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Julie Marson [11]
	Labour	Josh Dean [12]
	Liberal Democrats	Helen Campbell [13]
	Green	Nick Cox [14]
	Reform UK	John Burmicz [15]
Majority
Turnout

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Hertford and Stortford ^{[16] [17]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Julie Marson	33,712	56.1	4.2
	Labour	Chris Vince	14,092	23.4	5.2
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Lucas	8,596	14.3	6.2
	Green	Lucy Downes	2,705	4.5	1.5
	UKIP	Alistair Lindsay	681	1.1	New
	Independent	Brian Percival	308	0.5	New
Majority			19,620	32.7	1.0
Turnout			60,094	72.9	0.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.5

General election 2017: Hertford and Stortford ^{[18] [19]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Prisk	36,184	60.3	4.2
	Labour	Katherine Chibah	17,149	28.6	10.7
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Argent	4,845	8.1	0.3
	Green	David Woollcombe	1,814	3.0	1.8
Majority			19,035	31.7	6.5
Turnout			59,992	72.8	1.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.25

General election 2015: Hertford and Stortford ^{[20] [21] [22] [23]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Prisk	31,593	56.1	2.3
	Labour	Katherine Chibah	10,084	17.9	4.1
	UKIP	Adrian Baker	7,534	13.4	10.3
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Green	4,385	7.8	18.2
	Green	Sophie Christophy	2,681	4.8	New
Majority			21,509	38.2	10.4
Turnout			56,277	71.3	0.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.0

General election 2010: Hertford and Stortford ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Prisk	29,810	53.8	3.6
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Lewin	14,373	26.0	7.5
	Labour	Stephen Terry	7,620	13.8	10.5
	UKIP	David Sodey	1,716	3.1	1.0
	BNP	Roy Harris	1,297	2.3	New
	Independent	Loucas Xenophontos	325	0.6	New
	Independent	Martin Adams	236	0.4	New
Majority			15,437	27.8	1.4
Turnout			55,377	70.6	4.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.9

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Hertford and Stortford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Prisk	25,074	50.5	+5.8
	Labour	Richard Henry	11,977	24.1	−8.7
	Liberal Democrats	James Lucas	9,129	18.4	−1.5
	Green	Peter Hart	1,914	3.9	New
	UKIP	David Sodey	1,026	2.1	−0.5
	Veritas	Debbie Le May	572	1.2	New
Majority			13,097	26.4	+14.5
Turnout			49,692	67.7	+5.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.2

General election 2001: Hertford and Stortford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Prisk	21,074	44.7	+0.6
	Labour	Simon Spellar	15,471	32.8	+1.4
	Liberal Democrats	Mione Goldspink	9,388	19.9	+2.2
	UKIP	Stuart Rising	1,243	2.6	+0.4
Majority			5,603	11.9	-0.8
Turnout			47,176	62.2	-13.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Hertford and Stortford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bowen Wells	24,027	44.1
	Labour	Simon Spellar	17,142	31.4
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Wood	9,679	17.7
	Referendum	Hugo Page Croft	2,105	3.9
	UKIP	B G Smalley	1,233	2.2
	ProLife Alliance	Michael Franey	259	0.5
Majority			6,885	12.7
Turnout			54,571	75.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1992: Hertford and Stortford ^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bowen Wells	35,716	57.5	0.0
	Liberal Democrats	CJ White	15,506	25.0	−3.3
	Labour	AJ Bovaird	10,125	16.3	+3.5
	Green	JA Goth	780	1.3	−0.1
Majority			20,210	32.5	+3.3
Turnout			62,127	81.0	+3.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.7

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Hertford and Stortford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bowen Wells	33,763	57.5	+1.5
	SDP	Ronald Wotherspoon	16,623	28.3	-2.8
	Labour Co-op	Patricia Sumner	7,494	12.8	+0.8
	Green	Graham Cole	814	1.4	New
Majority			17,140	29.2	+4.3
Turnout			58,694	77.7	+2.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.2

General election 1983: Hertford and Stortford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bowen Wells	29,039	56.0
	SDP	Ronald Wotherspoon	16,110	31.1
	Labour	John Carr	6,203	12.0
	BNP	G Wiles	304	0.6
	Prosperity For All	P Cullen	221	0.4
Majority			12,929	24.9
Turnout			51,877	75.6
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Hertfordshire

Notes

1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. 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.

References

1. "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
2. "'Hertford and Stortford', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
3. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983". www.legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
4. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". www.legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
5. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". www.legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
6. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part 2 Eastern region.
7. LGBCE. "East Hertfordshire | LGBCE". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
8. "The East Hertfordshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2023".
9. "New Seat Details - Hertford and Stortford". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
10. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 3)
11. "Rank-and-file Stortford Tories back MP Marson to fight next General Election". Bishop's Stortford Independent. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
12. "General Election: Politics student Josh Dean named Labour candidate for Hertford and Stortford seat". Bishop's Stortford Independent. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
13. "Hertford and Stortford Lib Dems prepare for next General Election by naming Helen Campbell as their candidate". Bishop's Stortford Independent. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
14. "Full list of all Green Party candidates at the next general election". Bright Green. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
15. "Find My PPC (Eastern England)" (PDF). Reform UK . Retrieved 15 December 2023.
16. Cassidy, Richard (14 November 2019). "Statement of persons nominated, notice of poll and situation of polling stations. Election of a Member of Parliament for Hertford and Stortford Constituency" (PDF). East Hertfordshire District Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
17. "Commons Briefing Paper 8749. General Election 2019: results and analysis" (PDF). London: House of Commons Library. 28 January 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
18. "Hertford and Stortford General Election candidate for the Liberal Democrats will be Mark Argent". Hertfordshire Mercury . 19 April 2017. Archived from the original on 30 April 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
19. "Hertford & Stortford parliamentary constituency - Election 2017". Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2019– via www.bbc.co.uk.
20. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
21. "General Election: Mark Prisk wins fourth term as Hertford and Stortford MP". Herts & Essex Observer. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
22. "Hertford & Stortford". BBC News . Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
23. "Commons Briefing Paper 7979. General Election 2017: results and analysis" (PDF) (Second ed.). House of Commons Library. 29 January 2019 [7 April 2018]. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2019.
24. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
25. "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.

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