- Reading West (UK Parliament constituency)
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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 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 county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like all such constituencies, it elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency covers an area in and around the town of Reading in the county of Berkshire.
Contents
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 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
The Reading West parliamentary constituency was first contested in 1983, when it was won for the Conservative Party by Tony Durant, the sitting MP for the previous Reading North constituency. He held the seat through all subsequent general elections until he retired before the 1997 election.
The constituency was then won for the Labour Party by Martin Salter, as part of the landslide that brought Labour back to power under Tony Blair. Salter held the seat through two subsequent general elections 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.
Members of Parliament
Election Member [3] 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 Party 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,[4] BBC[5] 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[6] 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,[7] 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[7] General Election 1992: Reading West[8] 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 See also
References
- ^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. http://www.boundarycommissionforengland.org.uk/electoral-figures/electoral-figures.htm. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. http://www.election-maps.co.uk/. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 1)
- ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated - Notice of Poll - Reading West Constituency". Reading Borough Council. http://www.reading.gov.uk/Documents/Council_and_Democracy/Electoral/readingWest2010personsNominated.pdf. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ "Election 2010 - Reading West". BBC. 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/election2010/results/constituency/d64.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ "Electoral Commission - Reading West". Electoral Commission. 2005. http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/elections/results/general_elections/uk-general-election-2005/reading-west. Retrieved 2010-05-29.
- ^ a b "Ask Aristotle — Reading West". Guardian Unlimited. 2005. http://politics.guardian.co.uk/hoc/constituency/0,9338,-1238,00.html. Retrieved 2005-05-04.
- ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge92/ge92index.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
Reading, Berkshire Topics Politics ConstituenciesReading East · Reading WestElectionsReading by-election, 1910 · Reading Borough Council election, 2011Places Within the boroughCaversham · Caversham Heights · Caversham Park Village · Coley · Coley Park · East Reading · Emmer Green · Horncastle · Katesgrove · Lower Caversham · Newtown · Norcot · Southcote · Tilehurst · West Reading · Whitley · Whitley WoodOutside the boroughBeansheaf Farm · Calcot · Earley · Fords Farm · Holybrook · Little Heath · Lower Earley · Maiden Erlegh · Purley-on-Thames · WoodleyCategories:- Parliamentary constituencies in Berkshire
- Politics of Reading, Berkshire
- United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies established in 1983
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