Wokingham | |
---|---|
County constituency for the House of Commons | |
County | Berkshire |
Electorate | 78,846 (2018) [1] |
Major settlements | Winnersh, Wokingham |
Current constituency | |
Created | 1950 |
Member of Parliament | John Redwood (Conservative) |
Seats | One |
Created from | Newbury and Windsor |
1885–1918 | |
Type of constituency | County constituency |
Created from | Berkshire |
Replaced by | Newbury and Windsor |
Wokingham is a constituency in Berkshire represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 1987 by John Redwood, a Conservative.
The seat covers the prosperous town of Wokingham, the southern suburbs of Reading, and a rural area to the west. Residents are significantly wealthier than the UK average, reflected in high property prices. [2]
Originally, Wokingham was part of a larger constituency of Berkshire, which returned two Members of Parliament (MPs), increased to three in the Reform Act of 1832. In the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885 Berkshire was divided into three county constituencies, Northern (Abingdon), Southern (Newbury), and Eastern (Wokingham), and two borough constituencies, Reading and New Windsor, each returning one member. The constituency was abolished under the Representation of the People Act 1918 being largely replaced by the newly created Windsor Division, with the town of Wokingham itself being added to the Newbury Division.
The second version of the seat was created for the 1950 general election. From 1983, its borders have gradually been moved westwards as new constituencies were created in the east of the county.
The constituency has been represented since 1987 by the high-profile Conservative John Redwood, having continuously elected Conservative MPs with comfortable majorities throughout its history. However, in 2019, the majority was drastically reduced to 11.9% from 31.5% in 2017 (and 43.2% in 2015) when Redwood was challenged by the Liberal Democrat candidate, Philip Lee, who had been the Conservative MP for the neighbouring constituency of Bracknell.
In December 2023, the Labour Party included the seat in its published list of 211 non-battleground seats, suggesting they did not see it as winnable. [3]
The East ward of Reading was transferred from the abolished constituency of Reading South. From the 1964 general election, the Park ward replaced the East ward following a revision to the local authority wards. [5]
The Park ward of the County Borough of Reading was transferred to the re-established constituency of Reading South, along with western parts of the Rural District of Wokingham.
The seat regained north-western parts of Reading South (abolished once again). Eastern areas, comprising the District of Bracknell (formerly the Rural District of Easthampstead) formed the bulk of the new constituency of East Berkshire.
The boundaries moved westwards, gaining parts of Reading East (including Shinfield) and Newbury. The seat lost northern areas to Reading East and the new constituency of Maidenhead, as well as the ward of Wokingham Without in the south to the new constituency of Bracknell.
This change saw a further minor gain from Newbury.
The seat is currently centred on the southern part of Wokingham district, including a small part of the east of West Berkshire. It is in the South East region of England.
The neighbouring constituencies (clockwise from north) are: Reading West, Reading East, Maidenhead, Bracknell, North East Hampshire, Basingstoke, North West Hampshire and Newbury.
Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, from the next general election, due by January 2025, the constituency will be composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
The seat will undergo major changes, with about half the electorate being transferred out - the parts in the District of West Berkshire to the newly named constituency of Reading West and Mid Berkshire; and north-western parts of the District of Wokingham, including Earley and Shinfield, to the newly created constituency of Earley and Woodley. To compensate, the boundaries will be extended southwards to include the Wokingham Without ward and the community of Finchampstead, transferred from Bracknell; and northwards to include the parts of Wokingham Borough currently in Maidenhead, including Twyford.
Election | Member [11] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1885 | Sir George Russell, Bt. | Conservative | |
1898 by-election | Oliver Young | Conservative | |
1901 by-election | Ernest Gardner | Conservative | |
1918 | Constituency abolished |
Election | Member [11] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1950 | Peter Remnant | Conservative | |
1959 | Sir William van Straubenzee | Conservative | |
1987 | Sir John Redwood | Conservative |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Clive Jones [12] | ||||
Conservative | John Redwood [13] | ||||
Reform UK | Colin Wright [14] | ||||
Majority | |||||
Turnout | |||||
Registered electors | |||||
Swing | |||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Redwood | 30,734 | 49.6 | −7.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | Phillip Lee | 23,351 | 37.7 | +21.8 | |
Labour | Annette Medhurst | 6,450 | 10.4 | −14.7 | |
Green | Kizzi Johannessen | 1,382 | 2.2 | −0.1 | |
Advance | Annabel Mullin | 80 | 0.1 | New | |
Majority | 7,383 | 11.9 | −19.6 | ||
Turnout | 61,997 | 73.8 | −1.6 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | −14.4 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Redwood | 33,806 | 56.6 | −1.1 | |
Labour | Andy Croy | 15,008 | 25.1 | +10.6 | |
Liberal Democrats | Clive Jones | 9,512 | 15.9 | +2.4 | |
Green | Russell Seymour | 1,364 | 2.3 | −1.4 | |
Majority | 18,798 | 31.5 | −11.7 | ||
Turnout | 59,690 | 75.1 | +3.2 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | −5.85 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Redwood | 32,329 | 57.7 | +5.0 | |
Labour | Andy Croy | 8,132 | 14.5 | +4.4 | |
Liberal Democrats | Clive Jones | 7,572 | 13.5 | −14.5 | |
UKIP | Philip Cunnington [19] | 5,516 | 9.9 | +6.8 | |
Green | Adrian Windisch | 2,092 | 3.7 | +2.7 | |
Independent | Kaz Lokuciewski | 358 | 0.6 | New | |
Majority | 24,197 | 43.2 | +19.5 | ||
Turnout | 55,999 | 71.9 | +0.4 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +0.3 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Redwood | 28,754 | 52.7 | +4.6 | |
Liberal Democrats | Prue Bray | 15,262 | 28.0 | −4.7 | |
Labour | George Davidson | 5,516 | 10.1 | −4.9 | |
Independent | Mark Ashwell | 2,340 | 4.3 | New | |
UKIP | Ann Zebedee | 1,664 | 3.1 | +0.9 | |
Green | Marjory Bisset | 567 | 1.0 | New | |
Monster Raving Loony | Peter "Top Cat Bananaman" Owen | 329 | 0.6 | −0.6 | |
Independent | Robin Smith | 96 | 0.2 | New | |
Majority | 13,492 | 24.7 | +9.0 | ||
Turnout | 54,528 | 71.5 | +4.4 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +4.7 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Redwood | 22,174 | 48.1 | +2.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | Prue Bray | 14,934 | 32.4 | 0.0 | |
Labour | David Black | 6,991 | 15.2 | −2.2 | |
UKIP | Frank Carstairs | 994 | 2.2 | +0.2 | |
Monster Raving Loony | Peter "Top Cat Bananaman" Owen | 569 | 1.2 | −0.8 | |
BNP | Richard Colborne | 376 | 0.8 | New | |
Telepathic Partnership | Michael Hall | 34 | 0.1 | New | |
Majority | 7,240 | 15.7 | +2.0 | ||
Turnout | 46,072 | 67.1 | +3.0 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +1.0 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Redwood | 20,216 | 46.1 | −4.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | Royce Longton | 14,222 | 32.4 | +1.0 | |
Labour | Matthew Syed | 7,633 | 17.4 | +0.6 | |
UKIP | Franklin Carstairs | 897 | 2.0 | New | |
Monster Raving Loony | Peter "Top Cat Bananaman" Owen | 880 | 2.0 | +0.2 | |
Majority | 5,994 | 13.7 | -5.0 | ||
Turnout | 43,848 | 64.1 | −11.0 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | -2.6 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Redwood | 25,086 | 50.1 | -11.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | Royce Longton | 15,721 | 31.4 | +5.7 | |
Labour | Patricia Colling | 8,424 | 16.8 | +5.5 | |
Monster Raving Loony | Peter "Top Cat Bananaman" Owen | 877 | 1.8 | +1.1 | |
Majority | 9,365 | 18.7 | -17.6 | ||
Turnout | 50,108 | 75.0 | -6.8 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | -8.7 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Redwood | 43,497 | 61.4 | 0.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | Paul G.T. Simon | 17,788 | 25.1 | −4.8 | |
Labour | Nelson T.G. Bland | 8,846 | 12.5 | +3.8 | |
Monster Raving Loony | Peter "Top Cat Bananaman" Owen | 531 | 0.7 | New | |
Independent | Philip Harriss | 148 | 0.2 | New | |
Majority | 25,709 | 36.3 | +4.8 | ||
Turnout | 70,810 | 81.8 | +3.7 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +2.4 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Redwood | 39,808 | 61.4 | +1.0 | |
Liberal | John Leston | 19,421 | 29.9 | −1.7 | |
Labour | Peter Morgan | 5,622 | 8.7 | +0.7 | |
Majority | 20,387 | 31.5 | +2.7 | ||
Turnout | 64,851 | 78.1 | +2.1 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +0.8 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William van Straubenzee | 32,925 | 60.4 | +6.0 | |
Liberal | John Leston | 17,227 | 31.6 | +13.4 | |
Labour | Michael Orton | 4,362 | 8.0 | -18.2 | |
Majority | 15,698 | 28.8 | +0.6 | ||
Turnout | 54,514 | 76.0 | -2.2 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | -3.7 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William van Straubenzee | 36,194 | 54.44 | +11.29 | |
Labour | AE Furley | 17,448 | 26.24 | -3.06 | |
Liberal | P Mullarky | 12,120 | 18.23 | -9.32 | |
National Front | G Sanders | 722 | 1.09 | New | |
Majority | 18,746 | 28.20 | +14.35 | ||
Turnout | 65,762 | 78.22 | +2.62 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +7.18 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William van Straubenzee | 24,009 | 43.15 | -2.01 | |
Labour | RW Crew | 16,304 | 29.30 | +2.31 | |
Liberal | T Blyth | 15,329 | 27.55 | -0.30 | |
Majority | 7,705 | 13.85 | -3.46 | ||
Turnout | 55,642 | 75.60 | -7.24 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William van Straubenzee | 27,223 | 45.16 | -9.84 | |
Liberal | SMM Cuff | 16,791 | 27.85 | +11.67 | |
Labour | RW Crew | 16,269 | 26.99 | -1.83 | |
Majority | 10,432 | 17.31 | -8.87 | ||
Turnout | 60,283 | 82.84 | +10.63 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William van Straubenzee | 43,183 | 55.00 | +7.11 | |
Labour | Christopher AR Helm | 22,630 | 28.82 | -5.59 | |
Liberal | Denis HV Case | 12,704 | 16.18 | -1.51 | |
Majority | 20,553 | 26.18 | +12.70 | ||
Turnout | 78,517 | 72.21 | -7.02 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William van Straubenzee | 34,011 | 47.89 | ||
Labour | Raymond Carter | 24,437 | 34.41 | ||
Liberal | Margaret Wingfield | 12,564 | 17.69 | ||
Majority | 9,574 | 13.48 | |||
Turnout | 71,012 | 79.23 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William van Straubenzee | 32,777 | 50.23 | -7.30 | |
Labour | John Ellis | 17,954 | 27.52 | -0.24 | |
Liberal | Margaret Wingfield | 13,875 | 21.26 | ||
Ind. Conservative | Charles Ford | 645 | 0.99 | New | |
Majority | 14,823 | 22.71 | |||
Turnout | 65,251 | 79.21 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William van Straubenzee | 30,896 | 57.53 | -1.99 | |
Labour | Terence Boston | 14,905 | 27.76 | -1.94 | |
Liberal | Claud William J Rout | 7,899 | 14.71 | +3.93 | |
Majority | 15,991 | 29.77 | |||
Turnout | 53,700 | 79.98 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Peter Remnant | 25,843 | 59.52 | ||
Labour | Terence Boston | 12,895 | 29.70 | -0.18 | |
Liberal | John Patrick McQuade | 4,679 | 10.78 | +1.67 | |
Majority | 12,948 | 29.82 | |||
Turnout | 43,417 | 76.63 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Peter Remnant | 21,652 | 61.01 | ||
Labour | Eric A Hubble | 10,606 | 29.88 | ||
Liberal | John Patrick McQuade | 3,233 | 9.11 | ||
Majority | 11,046 | 31.13 | |||
Turnout | 35,491 | 78.45 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Peter Remnant | 20,612 | 57.7 | ||
Labour | Eric A Hubble | 10,296 | 28.8 | ||
Liberal | John Patrick McQuade | 4,793 | 13.4 | ||
Majority | 10,316 | 28.9 | |||
Turnout | 35,701 | 81.0 | |||
Conservative win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Ernest Gardner | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold | |||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Ernest Gardner | 8,132 | 66.5 | +10.4 | |
Liberal | Holford Knight | 4,095 | 33.5 | −10.4 | |
Majority | 4,037 | 33.0 | +20.8 | ||
Turnout | 12,227 | 85.3 | +2.2 | ||
Registered electors | 14,327 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +10.4 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Ernest Gardner | 6,075 | 56.1 | N/A | |
Liberal | George Gordon | 4,750 | 43.9 | New | |
Majority | 1,325 | 12.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 10,825 | 83.1 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 13,033 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Ernest Gardner | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold | |||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Oliver Young | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold | |||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Oliver Young | 4,726 | 56.2 | N/A | |
Liberal | George William Palmer | 3,690 | 43.8 | New | |
Majority | 1,036 | 12.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 8,416 | 75.2 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 11,189 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | George Russell | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold | |||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | George Russell | 4,986 | 64.6 | N/A | |
Liberal | Frederick Joseph Patton [30] | 2,738 | 35.4 | New | |
Majority | 2,248 | 29.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 7,724 | 76.2 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 10,142 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | George Russell | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold | |||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | George Russell | 4,710 | 60.6 | ||
Liberal | Edwin Lawrence | 3,062 | 39.4 | ||
Majority | 1,648 | 21.2 | |||
Turnout | 7,772 | 83.9 | |||
Registered electors | 9,258 | ||||
Conservative win (new seat) |
Wokingham is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, 37 miles (60 km) west of London, 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Reading, 8 miles (13 km) north of Camberley and 4 miles (6 km) west of Bracknell. It is the main administrative centre of the wider Borough of Wokingham.
The Borough of Wokingham is a local government district with borough status in Berkshire, England. It is named after its main town, Wokingham. Other places in the district include Arborfield, Barkham, Charvil, Earley, Finchampstead, Hurst, Sonning, Remenham, Ruscombe, Shinfield, Twyford, Wargrave, Three Mile Cross, Winnersh, Spencers Wood and Woodley. The population of Wokingham is 177,500 according to 2021 census.
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Wokingham Rural District was a rural district in the county of Berkshire, England. It was created in 1894. It was named after and administered from Wokingham, though this was a separate municipal borough.
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Charlton was a hundred in the English county of Berkshire. Like all hundreds, although never abolished, it effectively ceased to function after 1886.
The 2018 Wokingham Borough Council election took place on Thursday 3 May 2018. That was the same day as other United Kingdom local elections in order to elect members of Wokingham Unitary Council in Berkshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed comfortably in overall control of the council.
Reading West and Mid Berkshire is a proposed constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was formed as a result of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies and subsumes parts of the Newbury, Wokingham, and, soon to be former, Reading West constituencies. It will be first contested at the next general election.
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