Reading North (UK Parliament constituency)

Reading North
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Reading North in Berkshire, boundaries 1974–83
County	Berkshire
Major settlements	Reading
1950–1955
Created from	Reading
Replaced by	Reading
1974 (1974)–1983
Type of constituency	Borough constituency
Created from	Reading
Replaced by	Reading East and Reading West

Reading North was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency covered an area in and around the town of Reading in the county of Berkshire.

History

The Reading North parliamentary constituency was first created for the 1950 general election by splitting the previous parliamentary constituency of Reading into North and South divisions. These constituencies were merged back into a single Reading constituency for the 1955 general election.

The Reading North constituency was recreated in 1974, when it was won for the Conservative Party by Tony Durant. In 1983 the constituencies in Reading were reorganised, creating the new constituencies of Reading East and Reading West. Tony Durant went on to hold the Reading West constituency until 1997.

In both its incarnations, the constituency included Reading town centre.

Boundaries

1950–1955

The County Borough of Reading wards of Abbey, Battle, Castle, Caversham East, Caversham West, Tilehurst, and Victoria. ^[1]

It was then abolished and absorbed into the re-established constituency of Reading, with the exception of the Tilehurst ward, which was transferred to Newbury.

1974–1983

The County Borough of Reading wards of Abbey, Battle, Castle, Caversham, Katesgrove, Minster, Norcot, Thames, and Tilehurst. ^[1]

The Tilehurst and Norcot wards were transferred back from Newbury; the remaining wards were previously part of the abolished constituency of Reading.

The constituency was abolished again for the 1983 general election, with the majority forming the basis of the new county constituency of Reading West, whilst northern areas, including Caversham, formed part of the new county constituency of Reading East.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1950–1955

Election		Member	Party
	1950	Ronald Mackay	Labour
	1951	Frederic Bennett	Conservative
	1955	constituency abolished: see Reading

MPs 1974–1983

Election		Member	Party
	Feb 1974	Tony Durant	Conservative
	1983	constituency abolished: see Reading East & Reading West

Elections

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Reading North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Kim Mackay	15,681	46.0
	Conservative	Sir John Stanley Vincent Marling	15,154	44.5
	Liberal	J Michael Derrick	3,238	9.5
Majority			527	1.5
Turnout			34,073	86.8
Registered electors			39,261
	Labour win (new seat)

General election 1951: Reading North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederic Bennett	17,378	50.4	+6.0
	Labour	Kim Mackay	17,076	49.6	+3.5
Majority			302	0.9	N/A
Turnout			34,454	86.8	+0.0
Registered electors			39,681
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+1.2

Elections in the 1970s

1970 notional result [2]
Party		Vote	%
	Conservative	24,400	52.6
	Labour	21,200	45.7
	Others	800	1.7
Turnout		46,400	72.5
Electorate		64,021

General election February 1974: Reading North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Durant	19,984	39.4	–13.2
	Labour	M. J. Denby	17,615	34.7	–11.0
	Liberal	J. Burnett	13,137	25.9	New
Majority			2,369	4.7	–2.2
Turnout			50,736	79.4	+6.9
Registered electors			63,943
	Conservative hold		Swing	–1.1

General election October 1974: Reading North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Durant	18,734	40.2	+0.8
	Labour	M. J. Denby	18,266	39.1	+4.4
	Liberal	K. Watts	9,064	19.4	–6.5
	National Front	P. Baker	594	1.3	New
Majority			468	1.1	–3.7
Turnout			46,658	72.4	–7.0
Registered electors			64,484
	Conservative hold		Swing	–1.8

General election 1979: Reading North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Durant	25,085	50.6	+10.4
	Labour	D. M. Mason	17,662	35.6	–3.5
	Liberal	P. Minton	6,170	12.4	–7.0
	National Front	P. Baker	554	1.1	–0.2
	Independent	L. W. Edwards	126	0.3	New
Majority			7,423	15.0	+14.0
Turnout			49,597	75.9	+3.5
Registered electors			65,369
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.0

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Berkshire

References

1. Craig, Fred W.S. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1885-1972. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. ISBN   0900178094. OCLC   539011.
2. Michael Stead. "1970 notional general election & February 1974 general election". BBC. Retrieved 18 March 2025.

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 1)
• "UK General Elections since 1832". Election results 1974–1979. Retrieved 3 July 2005.