South West Hertfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)

South West Hertfordshire
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of South West Hertfordshire in Hertfordshire
Location of Hertfordshire within England
County	Hertfordshire
Electorate	78,269 (December 2010) [1]
Major settlements	Berkhamsted Rickmansworth Tring
Current constituency
Created	1950
Member of Parliament	Gagan Mohindra (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	Watford and Hemel Hempstead [2]

South West Hertfordshire is a constituency ^{[n 1] [n 2]} in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament, represented since 2019 by Gagan Mohindra, a Conservative.

Constituency profile

This seat forms a thin strip along the south-west border of Hertfordshire from South Oxhey in the south, through interspersed settlements and countryside to Tring in the north. Settlements in the constituency include Berkhamsted, Chipperfield, Chorleywood, Croxley Green, Moor Park, Sarratt and Rickmansworth.

Elevated and bordering Greater London and Buckinghamshire, this part of Hertfordshire is for its residents mostly middle-class suburbia, an established haven for commuters who travel from the outer reaches of the London Underground's Metropolitan line or two railways from London which serve different parts of the seat: the West Coast Main Line and Aylesbury Line. A substantial proportion of land is occupied by farms and hillside woodland. ^[3]

Workless claimants were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 1.6% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian . ^[4]

It is estimated that 51% of the seat voted Remain in the 2016 EU referendum.

Boundaries and boundary changes

1950–1974

• The Urban Districts of Bushey, Chorleywood, and Rickmansworth; and
• The Rural District of Watford. ^[5]

The constituency was formed from the Watford Division of Hertfordshire, excluding the part comprising the Municipal Borough of Watford. It also included the parishes of Abbots Langley and Sarratt, transferred from Hemel Hempstead.

1974–1983

• The Urban Districts of Bushey, Chorleywood, and Rickmansworth; and
• The Rural District of Watford civil parishes of Abbots Langley, Sarratt, and Watford Rural. ^[6]

The parish of Aldenha m in the Rural District of Watford was transferred to the new constituency of South Hertfordshire.

1983–1997

• The District of Three Rivers wards of Ashridge, Bedmond, Carpenders Park, Chorleywood, Chorleywood West, Croxley Green, Croxley Green North, Croxley Green South, Hayling, Langleybury, Maple Cross and West Hyde, Mill End, Money Hill, Moor Park, Northwick, Oxhey Hall, Rickmansworth, and Sarratt; and
• The District of Dacorum wards of Berkhamsted Central, Berkhamsted East, Berkhamsted West, Bovingdon and Flaunden, Chipperfield, Kings Langley, and Northchurch. ^[7]

The parts of the District of Dacorum, including Berkhamsted, were transferred from the abolished constituency of Hemel Hempstead. Abbots Langley was transferred to Watford and Bushey to the new constituency of Hertsmere.

1997–2010

• The District of Three Rivers wards of Ashridge, Chorleywood, Chorleywood West, Croxley Green, Croxley Green North, Croxley Green South, Hayling, Maple Cross and West Hyde, Mill End, Money Hill, Moor Park, Northwick, Rickmansworth, and Sarratt; and
• The District of Dacorum wards of Aldbury and Wigginton, Berkhamsted Central, Berkhamsted East, Berkhamsted West, Bovingdon and Flaunden, Chipperfield, Northchurch, Tring Central, Tring East, and Tring West. ^[8]

Map of current boundaries

Gained Tring from the abolished constituency of West Hertfordshire. Kings Langley transferred to a re-established Hemel Hempstead, Bedmond to St Albans, and three further wards in the Three Rivers District to Watford.

2010–present

• The District of Three Rivers wards of Ashridge, Chorleywood East, Chorleywood West, Croxley Green, Croxley Green North, Croxley Green South, Hayling, Maple Cross and Mill End, Moor Park and Eastbury, Northwick, Penn, Rickmansworth, Rickmansworth West, and Sarratt; and
• The District of Dacorum wards of Aldbury and Wigginton, Berkhamsted Castle, Berkhamsted East, Berkhamsted West, Bovingdon, Flaunden and Chipperfield, Northchurch, Tring Central, Tring East, and Tring West. ^[9]

Minor gain from Hemel Hempstead following 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 2024 United Kingdom general election will be (as they existed on 1^st December 2020):

• The Borough of Dacorum ward of Kings Langley.
• The District of Three Rivers. ^[10]

The constituency will undergo major changes with the bulk of the parts currently in the Borough of Dacorum, including the towns of Berkhamsted and Tring, forming part of the newly created constituency of Harpenden and Berkhamsted. The Bovingdon, Flaunden and Chipperfield ward will go to Hemel Hempstead in exchange for the Kings Langley ward. The parts of the District of Three Rivers not within the current boundaries will be transferred primarily from Watford, with a small area from St Albans.

Members of Parliament

Election	Member [11]	Party
1950	Gilbert Longden		Conservative
Feb 1974	Geoffrey Dodsworth		Conservative
1979 by-election	Richard Page		Conservative
2005	David Gauke		Conservative
September 2019			Independent
December 2019	Gagan Mohindra		Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: South West Hertfordshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gagan Mohindra [12]
	Workers Party	Muhammed Pervez Khan [13]
	Reform UK	Keith Steers [14]
	Labour	Alex Sufit [15]
	Liberal Democrats	Sally Symington [16]
Majority
Turnout

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: South West Hertfordshire ^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gagan Mohindra	30,327	49.6	8.3
	Independent	David Gauke	15,919	26.0	26.0
	Labour	Ali Aklakul	7,228	11.8	13.9
	Liberal Democrats	Sally Symington	6,251	10.2	1.5
	Green	Tom Pashby	1,466	2.4	0.2
Majority			14,408	23.6	8.6
Turnout			61,191	76.1	0.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 2017: South West Hertfordshire ^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Gauke	35,128	57.9	1.0
	Labour	Robert Wakely	15,578	25.7	9.4
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Townsend	7,078	11.7	1.4
	Green	Paul De Hoest	1,576	2.6	1.9
	UKIP	Mark Anderson	1,293	2.1	9.4
Majority			19,550	32.2	8.4
Turnout			60,653	75.5	3.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	4.2

General election 2015: South West Hertfordshire ^{[19] [20] [21]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Gauke	32,608	56.9	2.7
	Labour	Simon Diggins	9,345	16.3	4.8
	UKIP	Mark Anderson	6,603	11.5	8.9
	Liberal Democrats	Nigel Quinton	5,872	10.3	17.6
	Green	Charlotte Pardy	2,583	4.5	New
	Common Sense Party	Graham Cartmell	256	0.4	New
Majority			23,263	40.6	14.3
Turnout			57,267	71.9	0.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.1

General election 2010: South West Hertfordshire ^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Gauke	30,773	54.2	7.2
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Townsend	15,853	27.9	2.1
	Labour	Harry Mann	6,526	11.5	9.3
	UKIP	Mark Benson	1,450	2.6	0.4
	BNP	Deirdre Gates	1,302	2.3	New
	Independent	James Hannaway	846	1.5	New
Majority			14,920	26.29	9.3
Turnout			56,750	72.53
	Conservative hold		Swing	4.66

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: South West Hertfordshire ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Gauke	23,494	46.9	2.6
	Liberal Democrats	Edward Featherstone	15,021	30.0	3.7
	Labour	Kerron Cross	10,466	20.9	6.1
	UKIP	Colin Rodden	1,107	2.2	0.4
Majority			8,473	16.9	0.4
Turnout			50,088	68.5	4.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.5

General election 2001: South West Hertfordshire ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Page	20,933	44.3	1.7
	Labour	Graham Dale	12,752	27.0	0.9
	Liberal Democrats	Edward Featherstone	12,431	26.3	4.0
	UKIP	Colin Dale-Mills	847	1.8	New
	ProLife Alliance	Julia Goffin	306	0.6	New
Majority			8,181	17.3	0.8
Turnout			47,269	64.5	12.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: South West Hertfordshire ^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Page	25,462	46.0	11.0
	Labour	Mark Wilson	15,441	27.9	8.5
	Liberal Democrats	Ann Shaw	12,381	22.3	0.8
	Referendum	Timothy Millward	1,853	3.3	New
	Natural Law	Christopher Adamson	274	0.5	0.0
Majority			10,021	18.1	15.8
Turnout			55,411	77.3	6.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	9.8

General election 1992: South West Hertfordshire ^{[26] [27]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Page	33,825	57.0	1.2
	Liberal Democrats	A Shaw	13,718	23.1	5.8
	Labour	AP Gale	11,512	19.4	4.1
	Natural Law	CJ Adamson	281	0.5	New
Majority			20,107	33.9	7.0
Turnout			59,336	83.7	6.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.5

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: South West Hertfordshire ^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Page	32,791	55.8	2.2
	Liberal	Ian Murray Blair	17,007	28.9	3.1
	Labour	Ian Willmore	8,966	15.3	1.4
Majority			15,784	26.9	5.3
Turnout			58,764	77.7	1.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	2.6

General election 1983: South West Hertfordshire ^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Page	30,217	53.6	1.1
	Liberal	Ian Murray Blair	18,023	32.0	15.8
	Labour	Edward Playfair	7,818	13.9	13.9
	Independent	M Luton	307	0.5	New
Majority			12,194	21.6	5.4
Turnout			56,365	75.8	3.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

By-election 13 December 1979: South West Hertfordshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Page	17,031	45.94	8.75
	Labour	Susan Ann Reeves	10,259	27.67	0.05
	Liberal	Dane Clouston	8,752	23.61	7.41
	Ecology	Nigel Jeskins	602	1.62	New
	ACMFT	David Bundy	288	0.78	New
	Independent	Nigel Ffooks	143	0.39	New
Majority			6,772	18.27	8.70
Turnout			37,075	48.30	31.44
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.8
Registered electors			76,776

• Note: ACMFT stands for the Anti Common Market and Free Trade Party.
• Resignation of Dodsworth 24 October 1979

General election 1979: South West Hertfordshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Geoffrey Dodsworth	33,112	54.69
	Labour	Tony Colman	16,784	27.72
	Liberal	G Cass	9,808	16.20
	National Front	P Graves	839	1.39	New
Majority			16,328	26.97
Turnout			60,543	79.74
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election October 1974: South West Hertfordshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Geoffrey Dodsworth	24,939	42.63
	Labour	ALC Cohen	19,098	32.64
	Liberal	JES Jarrett	14,470	24.73
Majority			5,841	9.99
Turnout			58,507	76.99
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election February 1974: South West Hertfordshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Geoffrey Dodsworth	26,563	42.15
	Labour	JE Mitchell	18,465	29.30
	Liberal	JES Jarrett	17,987	28.54
Majority			8,098	12.85
Turnout			63,015	83.78
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1970: South West Hertfordshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gilbert Longden	32,661	50.32
	Labour	Bruce Grocott	24,214	37.31
	Liberal	John W.S. Jarrett	7,489	11.54
	Independent Resident	Ronald Skilton	542	0.84	New
Majority			8,447	13.01
Turnout			64,906	75.66
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: South West Hertfordshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gilbert Longden	28,378	45.66
	Labour	S. John Chapman	25,186	40.52
	Liberal	Peter A.S. Benton	8,590	13.82
Majority			3,192	5.14
Turnout			62,154	83.12
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1964: South West Hertfordshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gilbert Longden	28,308	45.77
	Labour	Syd Bidwell	22,237	35.96
	Liberal	R. Douglas Brown	11,301	18.27
Majority			6,071	9.81
Turnout			61,846	83.01
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: South West Hertfordshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gilbert Longden	29,724	50.8	-6.1
	Labour	Anthony John Whiteside	19,487	33.3	-9.8
	Liberal	Desmond Banks	9,278	15.9	New
Majority			10,237	17.5	+3.8
Turnout			58,489	84.4	+3.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1955: South West Hertfordshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gilbert Longden	28,847	56.87
	Labour	Wyndham Thomas (town planner)	21,878	43.13
Majority			6,969	13.74
Turnout			50,725	81.31
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1951: South West Hertfordshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gilbert Longden	27,049	58.75
	Labour	Lawrence Allaker	18,991	41.25
Majority			8,058	17.50
Turnout			46,040	85.02
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1950: South West Hertfordshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gilbert Longden	23,608	55.37
	Labour	Lawrence Allaker	14,913	34.98
	Liberal	George C Middleton	4,114	9.65
Majority			8,695	20.39
Turnout			42,635	86.10
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Hertfordshire
• 1979 South West Hertfordshire by-election

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. Craig, F.W.S., ed. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1985-1972. Chichester, Sussex: Political Reference Publications. ISBN   0-900178-09-4.
3. England, Historic. "Search the List – Find listed buildings – Historic England". list.english-heritage.org.uk.
4. Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
5. "Representation of the People Act, 1948". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
6. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
7. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
8. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
9. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
10. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part 2 Eastern region.
11. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 3)
12. "Gagan Mohindra readopted as the Conservative candidate for South West Hertfordshire". gaganmohindra.org. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
13. "General Election candidates". Workers Party of Britain. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
14. "South West Hertfordshire Constituency". Reform UK.
15. Labour East [@EofELabour] (12 March 2024). "Congratulations Alex Sufit, Labour's Parliamentary candidate for South West Hertfordshire!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
16. "Sally Symington Selected as Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for South West Herts". nickhollinghurst.org. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
17. "Hertfordshire South West Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
18. "Election 2017 – Hertfordshire South West". BBC . Retrieved 12 June 2017.
19. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
20. "Statement Of Persons Nominated And Notice Of Poll". Acting Returning Officer. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
21. "Hertfordshire South West parliamentary constituency – Election 2017". BBC.
22. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
23. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
24. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
25. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
26. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
27. "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
28. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
29. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

51°44′N0°32′W / 51.733°N 0.533°W / 51.733; -0.533