Reading West (UK Parliament constituency)
| Reading West | |
|---|---|
| County constituency | |
| for the House of Commons | |
 Boundary of Reading West in Berkshire. |
|
 Location of Berkshire within England. |
|
| County | Berkshire |
| Electorate | 73,216 (December 2010)[1] |
| Major settlements | Reading, Theale and Tilehurst |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 1983 |
| Member of Parliament | Alok Sharma (Conservative) |
| Number of members | One |
| Created from | Reading North and Reading South |
| Overlaps | |
| European Parliament constituency | South East England |
Reading West is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Alok Sharma, a Conservative.[n 2]
Boundaries
The constituency comprises the western part of the Borough of Reading (specifically the wards of Battle, Kentwood, Minster, Norcot, Southcote, Tilehurst and Whitley) together with the villages / civil parishes of Holybrook, Pangbourne, Purley-on-Thames, Tidmarsh with Sulham, Theale and Tilehurst in West Berkshire District. It is bounded by the constituencies of Newbury, Henley, Reading East, and Wokingham.[2]
- History of boundaries
Parliament accepted the Boundary Commission's Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which slightly altered this constituency for General Election 2010 by which Reading West received the previously Reading East shared electoral wards of Whitley and Battle. Whitley was at that date a long Labour-councillor represented area, relatively highly social housing-reliant[3][4] whereas Battle adjoins Reading Station and is an economically mixed ward in terms of income with many 21st-century apartments[5] and improved properties, but with significantly higher unemployment than in more suburban and rural parts of the seat.[6] Overall, the 2010 changes were thought to slightly favour the Labour Party.[1]
History
The Reading West parliamentary constituency was first contested in 1983, when it was won by a member of the Conservative Party, Tony Durant, the sitting MP for abolished Reading North. He held the seat through two subsequent general elections until he retired before the 1997 election.
The constituency was then won by Martin Salter a member of the Labour Party, as part of the landslide that brought Labour back to power under Tony Blair. Salter held the seat through the Blair-Brown Ministry until Parliament was dissolved in April 2010, but did not stand in the 2010 general election, when Alok Sharma won the seat for the Conservatives.
Constituency Profile
Since its 1983 creation the constituency has been a bellwether and boundary changes have narrowed the seat down gradually and moved it slightly east since 2010. Unemployment is similar to the regional average which is lower than the national average[7] and the constituency has seen a marked increase in properties throughout from 2001-2011.[8]
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member [9] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Tony Durant | Conservative | |
| 1997 | Martin Salter | Labour | |
| 2010 | Alok Sharma | Conservative | |
Elections
Elections in the 2010s
| General Election 2010: Reading West | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Alok Sharma | 20,523 | 43.2 | 9.6 | |
| Labour | Naz Sarkar | 14,519 | 30.5 | -14.5 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Daisy Benson | 9,546 | 20.1 | 4.3 | |
| UKIP | Bruce Hay | 1,508 | 3.2 | 0.4 | |
| Common Sense | Howard Thomas | 852 | 1.8 | 1.8 | |
| Green | Adrian Windisch | 582 | 1.2 | -1 | |
| Majority | 6,004 | 12.6 | |||
| Turnout | 47,530 | 65.9 | +6.0 | ||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | 12.1 | |||
| Source Reading Borough Council,[10] BBC[11] | |||||
Elections in the 2000s
| General Election 2005: Reading West | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Martin Salter | 18,940 | 44.9 | -8.0 | |
| Conservative | Ewan Cameron | 14,258 | 33.8 | +1.8 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Denise Gaines | 6,663 | 15.8 | +3.0 | |
| UKIP | Peter Williams | 1,180 | 2.8 | +0.8 | |
| Green | Adrian Windisch | 921 | 2.2 | N/A | |
| Veritas | Dave Boyle | 267 | 0.6 | N/A | |
| Majority | 4,672 | 11.1 | |||
| Turnout | 42,229 | 61.0 | +1.9 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +5.0 | |||
| Source Electoral Commission[12] | |||||
| General Election 2001: Reading West | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Martin Salter | 22,300 | 53.1 | +8.0 | |
| Conservative | Stephen Reid | 13,451 | 32.0 | -6.9 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Polly Martin | 5,387 | 12.8 | +0.1 | |
| UKIP | David Black | 848 | 2.0 | +1.5 | |
| Majority | 8,849 | 21.1 | |||
| Turnout | 41,986 | 59.1 | -11.0 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | -7.5 | |||
| Source Guardian Unlimited,[13] ONS[citation needed] | |||||
Elections in the 1990s
| General Election 1997: Reading West | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Martin Salter | 21,841 | 45.1 | +17.3 | |
| Conservative | Nicholas Bennett | 18,844 | 38.9 | -14.0 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Dee Tomlin | 6,153 | 12.7 | -5.4 | |
| Referendum Party | Steven G Brown | 976 | 2.0 | N/A | |
| BNP | Ian Dell | 320 | 0.7 | N/A | |
| UKIP | D M Black | 255 | 0.5 | N/A | |
| Majority | 2,997 | 6.2 | |||
| Turnout | 48,389 | 70.1 | -7.9 | ||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | -15.7 | |||
| Source Guardian Unlimited[13] | |||||
| General Election 1992: Reading West[14] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Sir Tony Durant | 28,048 | 52.9 | −2.4 | |
| Labour | PM Ruhemann | 14,750 | 27.8 | +6.6 | |
| Liberal Democrat | KH Lock | 9,572 | 18.1 | −4.3 | |
| Green | PJ Unsworth | 613 | 1.2 | +0.1 | |
| Majority | 13,298 | 25.1 | −7.8 | ||
| Turnout | 52,983 | 78.0 | +5.7 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −4.5 | |||
Notes and References
- Notes
- ^ A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
- ^ 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
- ^ a b "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ 2001 Census
- ^ List of Reading BC Councillors
- ^ Local Planning Policy Statements
- ^ 2001 Census
- ^ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
- ^ 2011 census interactive maps
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 1)[self-published source][better source needed]
- ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated - Notice of Poll - Reading West Constituency". Reading Borough Council. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ "Election 2010 - Reading West". BBC. 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ "Electoral Commission - Reading West". Electoral Commission. 2005. Retrieved 2010-05-29.
- ^ a b "Ask Aristotle — Reading West". Guardian Unlimited. 2005. Retrieved 2005-05-04.
- ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
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