Reading Central (UK Parliament constituency) explained
| Reading Central |
| Parliament: | uk |
| Year: | 2024 |
| Type: | Borough |
| Electorate: | 71,283 (2023)[1] |
| Party: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Region: | England |
| Elects Howmany: | One |
Reading Central is a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was formed as a result of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. It subsumes parts of the former Reading West and Reading East constituencies but, unlike them, the whole of the new constituency will be within the Borough of Reading. It will be first contested in the 2024 general election.[2] [3] [4]
History
At the time of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, there were eight constituencies in the county of Berkshire. Of these constituencies, only three (Reading East, Reading West, and Windsor) were within the permitted electorate range of no fewer than 69,724 electors and no more than 77,062. All of the remaining constituencies were above the upper limit. The Boundary Commission for England therefore proposed the addition of a ninth constituency within the county.[4] [5]
Whilst both Reading constituencies could have remained unchanged, the boundary commission instead proposed a reconfiguration to account for the increased electorates of the surrounding constituencies, and to better reflect local ties in the surrounding communities. This involved the creation of two new constituencies, Earley and Woodley and Mid Berkshire (renamed Reading West and Mid Berkshire in the final proposals), both with the bulk of their electorate outside the Borough of Reading but including outer wards of the borough, together with a new Reading constituency entirely within the borough.[4]
During the process of acceptance of these proposals, the name was changed from Reading to Reading Central.[2] [4]
On 5 February 2024, the Liberal Democrats selected Henry Wright, a local NHS worker, as their candidate. On 12 March, the Green Party selected Dave McElroy, a local councillor, as their candidate. On 31 May, after the General Election was called, the Conservative Party selected Raj Singh, a local councillor, as their candidate. Matt Rodda, the former MP for the Reading East constituency, was selected by the Labour Party to stand as their candidate in Late 2023.[6] [7] [8] [9]
Boundaries
The constituency is defined as being composed of the following wards of the Borough of Reading as they existed on 1 December 2020:
- Abbey, Battle, Caversham, Katesgrove, Mapledurham, Minster, Park, Peppard, Redlands, Southcote, and Thames.
The Battle, Minster and Southcote wards are currently part of Reading West, with the remainder, comprising 73% of the new seat, in Reading East.[10]
As a result of a local government boundary review[11] which came into effect in May 2022,[12] the constituency will now comprise the following Borough of Reading wards from the 2024 general election:
- Abbey, Battle (most), Caversham, Caversham Heights, Coley, Emmer Green, Katesgrove, Norcot (small part), Redlands (most), Southcote, and Thames.[13]
Since 2024 it bordered by the seats of Reading West and Mid Berkshire, Henley and Thame, and Earley and Woodley.[14] [15]
Constituency profile
Electoral Calculus characterises the seat as "Progressive", with soft left or liberal views and high levels of university education.[16] Incomes and house prices in the seat are slightly higher than UK averages.
Members of Parliament
Reading East and Reading West prior to 2024
Elections
Elections in the 2010s
| 2019 notional result[17] |
|---|
| Party | Vote | % |
|---|
| | 27,107 | 52.6 |
| | 18,756 | 36.4 |
| | 3,288 | 6.4 |
| | 1,603 | 3.1 |
| | 574 | 1.1 |
| Others | 202 | 0.4 |
|
| Turnout | 51,530 | 72.3 |
| Electorate | 71,283 | |
See also
External links
51.46°N -0.97°W
Notes and References
- Web site: The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – South East . Boundary Commission for England . 19 June 2024 . dmy .
- Web site: The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – South East . . 2023-11-13 . 2023-11-13 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231113141056/https://boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/2023-review/the-2023-review-of-parliamentary-constituency-boundaries-in-england-volume-two-constituency-names-designations-and-composition/the-2023-review-of-parliamentary-constituency-boundaries-in-england-volume-two-constituency-names-designations-and-composition-south-east/#lg_reading-central-bc-71283.
- Web site: South East Boundary Commission for England . . 2023-11-13 . 2023-11-13 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231113142143/https://boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/web/20231113142143/https://boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/2023-review/south-east/.
- Web site: Initial proposals for new Parliamentary constituency boundaries in the South East region . . 2023-11-13 . 2023-11-13 . live. https://web.archive.org/web/20231113143035/https://boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/web/20231113143035/https://boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/2023-review/south-east/initial-proposals-for-new-parliamentary-constituency-boundaries-in-the-south-east-region/page/5/#lg_initial-proposals-for-the-berkshire-hampshire-and-surrey-sub-region.
- Web site: Background to the 2023 Review . . 2023-11-13 . 2023-11-13 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231113143331/https://boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/web/20231113143331/https://boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/2023-review/south-east/initial-proposals-for-new-parliamentary-constituency-boundaries-in-the-south-east-region/page/3/.
- Web site: Liberal Democrats announce General Election candidates for Reading . Reading Liberal Democrats . 5 February 2024 . 3 June 2024.
- Web site: Dave McElroy named as Green Party candidate for Reading Central . 2024-03-21 . RDG.Today.
- News: Councillor standing for Tories for main Reading MP seat . 31 May 2024 . James . Aldridge . Reading Chronicle . 3 June 2024.
- Web site: Matt Rodda for Reading Central . whocanivotefor.co.uk . 3 June 2024.
- Web site: Boundary review 2023: Which seats will change in the UK? .
- Web site: LGBCE . Reading LGBCE . 2024-03-27 . lgbce.org.uk.
- Web site: The Reading (Electoral Changes) Order 2021 .
- Web site: New Seat Details – Reading Central . 2024-03-27 . electoralcalculus.co.uk.
- Web site: Revised Proposals for the South East Region . . 2023-11-13 . 2023-11-13 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231113143735/https://boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/review2023/b65f7782-658b-4c4a-9cba-59c16c807f77/a0-maps/A0_RP_SE_Landscape_Final.pdf.
- Web site: 2023 Review final recommendations map . 2024 . . 2024-05-28.
- Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/calcwork23.py?seat=Reading+Central
- Web site: Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019 . 11 July 2024 . Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News . UK Parliament.
