| Reigate | |
| Parliament: | uk |
| Year: | 1885 |
| Type: | Borough |
| Elects Howmany: | One |
| Previous: | Parts of East, Mid and West Surrey as county constituency also called S.E. Surrey[1] |
| Electorate: | 77,101 (2024)[2] |
| Mp: | Rebecca Paul |
| Party: | Conservative |
| Region: | England |
| County: | Surrey |
| Year2: | 1832 |
| Abolished2: | 1868 |
| Next2: | Mid Surrey |
| Elects Howmany2: | One |
| Type2: | Borough |
| Year3: | 1295 |
| Abolished3: | 1832 |
| Elects Howmany3: | Two |
| Type3: | Borough |
Reigate is a constituency in Surrey represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Rebecca Paul, of the Conservative Party.
Electoral Calculus characterises the seat's electorate as "Kind Yuppies", with right-wing economic views but more liberal social attitudes. Incomes and house prices in the seat are well above UK averages. [3] The seat is predominantly in the London commuter belt with good rail services from Reigate, Redhill and Banstead to Central London, and several financial companies are based in the seat.[4]
1885–1918: The Borough of Reigate, its Sessional Division, and those of Dorking and Godstone except Effingham, Mickleham, Caterham, Warlingham, Chelsham and Farleigh[1]
1918–1950: The Borough of Reigate, the Urban District of Dorking, and the Rural Districts of Dorking and Reigate
1950–1974: The Borough of Reigate, and the Rural District of Godstone
1974: what had been the Rural District was ceded to the East Surrey seat; Banstead U.D. was taken from the Carshalton seat1974–1983: The Borough of Reigate, and the Urban District of Banstead
1983: The northern heart of what had been Banstead U.D. (four wards) were ceded to the Epsom and Ewell seat1983–1997: The Borough of Reigate and Banstead wards of Chipstead Hooley and Woodmansterne, Horley East, Horley West, Kingswood with Burgh Heath, Reigate Central, Reigate East, Reigate North, Reigate North Central, Reigate North East, Reigate South Central, Reigate South East, Reigate South West, Salfords and Sidlow, and Tadworth and Walton
1997–2010: The Borough of Reigate and Banstead wards of Banstead Village, Chipstead Hooley and Woodmansterne, Kingswood with Burgh Heath, Reigate Central, Reigate East, Reigate North, Reigate North Central, Reigate North East, Reigate South Central, Reigate South East, Reigate South West, Salfords and Sidlow, and Tadworth and Walton
2010–2024: The Borough of Reigate and Banstead wards of Banstead Village, Chipstead Hooley and Woodmansterne, Earlswood and Whitebushes, Kingswood with Burgh Heath, Meadvale and St John's, Merstham, Preston, Redhill East, Redhill West, Reigate Central, Reigate Hill, Salfords and Sidlow, South Park and Woodhatch, and Tadworth and Walton
Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency is now composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
The seat gained those parts of Reigate and Banstead Borough previously in the Epsom and Ewell constituency - including the residential areas of Nork and Tattenham Corner, offset by the transfer of the Hooley, Merstham & Netherne ward to East Surrey.
The seat is in Surrey bordering Greater London and is centered on the town of Reigate from which it takes its name. The constituency comprises the bulk of the Reigate and Banstead Borough -excluding the town of Horley which is in the new Dorking and Horley seat, and the community of Mertsham, which is now part of East Surrey.
This constituency was first created with the first election of Burgesses to Parliament in 1295, electing two members. It continued to elect two members until 1832 when its representation was reduced to one member by the Great Reform Act.
In 1868 the constituency was disenfranchised for corruption, but was revived in 1885 by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 when the East Surrey constituency was abolished. Since 1918 the seat has been held by a candidate in the Conservative Party with the exception of four months during which the anti-EU MP in 1997 before the election of that year joined the Referendum Party (UK). The Liberal Democrats including their two predecessor parties amassed their largest share of the vote in 2010. The largest opposition party changed from Labour to the Liberal Democrats in 2005 and 2010, then UKIP in 2015 and back to Labour in the 2017 general election.
In 1974, the seat saw major boundary changes which removed some of Eastern Surrey which was in the seat into the radically redesigned East Surrey seat and added the Banstead area to the seat.
| Parliament | First member | Second member | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1386 | John Aubyn | Richard atte Mere[6] | |
| 1388 (February) | John Chaunce I | Thomas Ballard | |
| 1388 (September) | John Aubyn | William Bone | |
| 1390 (January) | John Aubyn | William Bone | |
| 1390 (November) | |||
| 1391 | Roger Chaunce I | William Bone | |
| 1393 | John Aubyn | John Bavell | |
| 1394 | |||
| 1395 | John Skinner | John Bavell | |
| 1397 (January) | John Skinner | John Bavell | |
| 1397 (September) | John Skinner | Richard atte Mere | |
| 1399 | John Skinner | Roger Chaunce I | |
| 1401 | |||
| 1402 | Richard Turner | Thomas Barber | |
| 1404 (January) | |||
| 1404 (October) | |||
| 1406 | John Chaunce II | John Taylor | |
| 1407 | John Chaunce II | Thomas Barber | |
| 1410 | |||
| 1411 | |||
| 1413 (February) | |||
| 1413 (May) | |||
| 1414 (April) | |||
| 1414 (November) | John Skinner | Roger Chaunce II | |
| 1415 | John Skinner | Walter Wrigge | |
| 1416 (March) | |||
| 1416 (October) | |||
| 1417 | John Knight | John Chaunce II | |
| 1419 | John Pope | John Chaunce II | |
| 1420 | John Pope | John Skinner | |
| 1421 (May) | John Pope | Walter Urry | |
| 1421 (December) | Robert Wanford | Roger Chaunce II | |
| 1432 | Thomas Russell[7] | ||
| 1510–1523 | No names known[8] | ||
| 1529 | John Skinner I | Thomas Michell | |
| 1536 | ? | ||
| 1539 | ? | ||
| 1542 | James Skinner | John Skinner II | |
| 1545 | ? | ||
| 1547 | Robert Richers | William More | |
| 1553 (March) | Robert Robotham | Henry Fisher | |
| 1553 (October) | Sir Thomas Saunders | Thomas Ingler | |
| 1554 (April) | Henry White | Robert Richers | |
| 1554 (November) | Robert Richers | James Skinner | |
| 1555 | Thomas Windsor | Walter Haddon | |
| 1558 | George Elsden | Thomas Banester | |
| 1559 | William Howard | John Skinner[9] | |
| 1562–63 | Sir George Howard | William Howard | |
| 1571 | William Howard | John Agmondesham I | |
| 1572 | William Howard | John Skinner | |
| 1584 | William Howard | Edmund Sanders | |
| 1586 | William Howard | Edmund Sanders | |
| 1588 | Julius Caesar | Thomas Lyfield | |
| 1593 | William Howard | John Trevor | |
| 1597 | Sir William Howard | Edward Howard | |
| 1601 | Edward Howard | John Trevor | |
| 1604 | Sir Edward Howard | Herbert Pelham | |
| 1614 | Sir Edward Howard | John Suckling | |
| 1621 | Thomas Glemham | Robert Lewis | |
| 1624 | Robert Lewis | ||
| 1625 | Sir Roger James | ||
| 1626 | Sir William Monson | ||
| 1628 | Charles Cockayne | Sir Thomas Bludder | |
| 1629–1640 | No Parliaments summoned | ||
| 1640 (April) | Edward Thurland | Sir Thomas Bludder | |
| 1640 (November) | William Lord Monson | George Evelyn | |
| 1645 | |||
| 1648 | |||
| 1653 | Reigate not represented in Barebones Parliament | ||
| 1654 | Edward Bysshe | (one seat only) | |
| 1656 | ?John Goodwin | (one seat only) | |
| 1659 | John Hele | Edward Thurland | |
| Year | First member | First party | Second member | Second party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1660 | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1661 | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1673 | |||||||
| February 1679 | |||||||
| October 1679 | |||||||
| 1680 | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1681 | |||||||
| 1685 | < | -- party --> | |||||
| January 1689 | < | -- party --> | |||||
| March 1689 | |||||||
| 1690 | |||||||
| 1698 | Stephen Hervey | < | -- party --> | ||||
| 1701 | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1707 | Whig | ||||||
| 1710 | |||||||
| 1713 | Whig | ||||||
| 1717 | |||||||
| 1720 | |||||||
| 1722 | Whig | ||||||
| 1739 | |||||||
| 1741 | Whig | ||||||
| June 1747 | Charles Cocks[10] | < | -- party --> | ||||
| December 1747 | Whig | ||||||
| 1768 | |||||||
| 1784 | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1787 | < | -- party --> | |||||
| 1789 | |||||||
| 1790 | Tory | ||||||
| February 1806 | |||||||
| November 1806 | Tory | Tory | |||||
| 1808 | Tory | ||||||
| 1812 | Tory | ||||||
| 1818 | Tory | James Somers Cocks | Tory | ||||
| 1823 | Tory | ||||||
| April 1831 | Tory | ||||||
| July 1831 | Tory | ||||||
| Election | Member | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1832 | John Somers-Cocks < | -- 19 Mar 1788 to 5 Oct 1852 --> | Tory[11] | |
| 1834 | Conservative | |||
| 1841 by-election | Conservative | |||
| 1847 | Conservative | |||
| 1857 | William Hackblock | Independent Whig[12] [13] | ||
| February 1858 by-election | Conservative[14] [15] [16] [17] | |||
| October 1858 by-election | William Monson < | -- 18 February 1829 to 16 April 1898 --> | Whig[18] [19] | |
| 1859 | Liberal | |||
| 1863 by-election | Granville William Gresham Leveson-Gower | Liberal | ||
| 1868 | Constituency disenfranchised for corruption | |||
| Year | Member | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1885 | Sir Trevor Lawrence | Conservative | ||
| 1892 | Henry Cubitt | Conservative | ||
| 1906 | Harry Brodie | Liberal | ||
| 1910 | Richard Rawson | Conservative | ||
| 1917 | National Party | |||
| 1918 | Sir George Cockerill | Unionist | ||
| 1931 | Sir Gordon Touche | Conservative | ||
| 1950 | John Vaughan-Morgan | Conservative | ||
| 1970 | Geoffrey Howe | Conservative | ||
| 1974 | Sir George Gardiner | Conservative | ||
| 1996 | Referendum Party | |||
| 1997 | Crispin Blunt | Conservative | ||
| 2023 | Independent | |||
| 2024 | Rebecca Paul | Conservative | ||
| 2019 notional result[20] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| 29,846 | 55.8 | ||
| 10,626 | 19.9 | ||
| 9,045 | 16.9 | ||
| 3,092 | 5.8 | ||
| Others | 860 | 1.6 | |
| Turnout | 53,469 | 70.2 | |
| Electorate | 76,139 | ||
This constituency underwent boundary changes between the 1992 and 1997 general elections and thus change in share of vote is based on a notional calculation. George Gardiner changed party from the Conservative Party to the Referendum Party following his deselection by the local Conservative association.
General Election 1914–15:
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
Somers-Cocks succeeded to the peerage, becoming 2nd Earl Somers and causing a by-election.
Hackblock's death caused a by-election.
Rawlinson was appointed a member of the Council of India, requiring a by-election
Monson succeeded to the peerage, becoming Lord Monson and causing a by-election.
Joseph Sydney Yorke's death caused a by-election.
Charles Yorke resigned in order to contest a by-election at, causing a by-election. He was unsuccessful and stood again for Reigate.