Wokingham (UK Parliament constituency)

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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 following the dissolution of parliament.

Since 4 July 2024, Wokingham has been represented by Clive Jones, a Liberal Democrat.

Constituency profile

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.^[1] In 2019 the area was ranked as the least deprived constituency in the UK.^[2]

History

Originally, Wokingham was part of a larger constituency of Berkshire, which returned two Members of Parliament (MPs), increased to three in the Reform Act 1832. In the Redistribution of Seats Act 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'.^[3]^[4] The 2024 election result saw Clive Jones of the Liberal Democrats take the seat – the first non-Conservative to do so in the seat's history.

Boundaries and boundary changes

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1885–1918

The Sessional Divisions of Maidenhead and Windsor;
Part of the Sessional Division of Wokingham; and
In the Sessional Division of Reading, the parishes of East Swallowfield and West Swallowfield.^[5]

1950–1955

The Borough of Wokingham; and
The Rural Districts of Easthampstead and Wokingham.^[6]

1955–1974

The Borough of Wokingham;
The Rural Districts of Easthampstead and Wokingham; and
The East ward of the County Borough of Reading.^[6]

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.^[6]

1974–1983

The Borough of Wokingham;
The Rural District of Easthampstead; and
The Rural District of Wokingham parishes of Remenham, Ruscombe, St Nicholas Hurst, Twyford, Wargrave, and Wokingham Without.^[7]

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.

1983–1997

The District of Wokingham wards of Bulmershe, California, Charvil, Coronation, Emmbrook, Evendons, Hurst, Little Hungerford, Loddon, Norreys, Redhatch, Remenham and Wargrave, St Sebastian's, Sonning, South Lake, Twyford and Ruscombe, Wescott, Whitegates, and Winnersh.^[8]

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.

1997–2010

The District of Wokingham wards of Arborfield, Barkham, Emmbrook, Evendons, Little Hungerford, Norreys, Redhatch, Shinfield, Swallowfield, Wescott, and Winnersh; and
The District of Newbury wards of Burghfield and Mortimer.^[9]

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.

2010–2024

The District of Wokingham wards of Arborfield, Barkham, Emmbrook, Evendons, Hawkedon, Hillside, Maiden Erlegh, Norreys, Shinfield North, Shinfield South, Swallowfield, Wescott, and Winnersh; and
The District of West Berkshire wards of Burghfield, Mortimer, and Sulhamstead.^[10]

This change saw a further minor gain from Newbury.

2024–present

Under the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, the constituency was defined as being composed of the following, as they existed on 1 December 2020:

The Borough of Wokingham wards of: Arborfield; Barkham; Charvil; Emmbrook; Evendons; Finchampstead North; Finchampstead South; Hurst; Norreys; Remenham, Wargrave and Ruscombe; Swallowfield; Twyford; Wescott; Winnersh; Wokingham Without.^[11]

The seat underwent 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 western parts of the District of Wokingham, including Earley and Shinfield, to the newly created constituency of Earley and Woodley. To compensate, the boundaries were 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 previously in Maidenhead, including Twyford.

Following a local government boundary review in Wokingham which came into effect in May 2024,^[12] the constituency now comprises the following from the 2024 general election:

The Borough of Wokingham wards or part wards of: Barkham & Arborfield; Emmbrook; Evendons; Finchampstead; Norreys; Spencers Wood & Swallowfield (part); Thames (except Sonning parish); Twyford, Ruscombe & Hurst; Wescott; Winnersh; Wokingham Without.^[13]

The seat currently comprises a majority of Wokingham district in Berkshire, centred around the town of Wokingham itself. It is in the South East region of England.

The neighbouring constituencies (clockwise from north) are: Wycombe, Maidenhead, Bracknell, North East Hampshire, Reading West and Mid Berkshire, Earley and Woodley, and Henley and Thame.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1885–1918

Election		Member^[14]	Party
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1885	Sir George Russell, Bt.	Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1898 by-election	Oliver Young	Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1901 by-election	Ernest Gardner	Conservative
	1918	Constituency abolished

MPs since 1950

Election		Member^[14]	Party
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1950	Peter Remnant	Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1959	Sir William van Straubenzee	Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1987	Sir John Redwood	Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	2024	Clive Jones	Liberal Democrats