| Wokingham | |
| Parliament: | uk |
| Year: | 1950 |
| Type: | County |
| Electorate: | 70,235 (2023) [1] |
| Party: | Liberal Democrats (UK) |
| Region: | England |
| Year2: | 1885 |
| Abolished2: | 1918 |
| Type2: | County |
| Elects Howmany: | One |
Wokingham is a constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, located in the English county of Berkshire. From its creation in 1950 until 2024, it was represented solely by Conservatives, most notably, John Redwood, who held his position from 1987 until 2024 when he stepped down after the dissolution of parliament.
Since 4 July 2024, Wokingham has been represented by Clive Jones, a Liberal Democrat.
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] The area is currently ranked as the least deprived constituency in the UK.[3]
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. On 24 May 2024, two days after announcement of the date of the 2024 UK general election, and just 40 days before the actual date, John Redwood announced he would not be standing again, saying that he had ‘other things I wish to do’.[4] [5]
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.
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 2024 United Kingdom general election, 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 | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1885 | Conservative | |||
| 1898 by-election | Conservative | |||
| 1901 by-election | Conservative | |||
| 1918 | Constituency abolished | |||
| Election | Member | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Conservative | |||
| 1959 | Conservative | |||
| 1987 | Conservative | |||
| 2024 | Liberal Democrats | |||
| 2019 notional result[13] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| 30,524 | 55.5 | ||
| 17,774 | 32.3 | ||
| 5,423 | 9.9 | ||
| 1,211 | 2.2 | ||
| Others | 80 | 0.1 | |
| Turnout | 55,012 | 78.3 | |
| Electorate | 70,235 | ||