Harpenden and Berkhamsted
| Harpenden and Berkhamsted | |
|---|---|
| County constituency for the House of Commons | |
 Interactive map of boundaries since 2024 | |
 Boundary of Harpenden and Berkhamsted in the East of England | |
| County | Hertfordshire |
| Electorate | 71,635 (2023)[1] |
| Major settlements | Harpenden, Berkhamsted and Tring |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2024 |
| Member of Parliament | Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrats) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Hitchin and Harpenden & South West Hertfordshire |
Harpenden and Berkhamsted is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament.[2] It was established by the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies and was first contested at the 2024 general election.[3] It is represented by Victoria Collins of the Liberal Democrats.
Constituency profile
The Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency is located in Hertfordshire. Its largest town is Harpenden, which has a population of around 31,000.[4] The constituency also includes the towns of Berkhamsted and Tring and the villages of Wheathampstead and Redbourn. The Chiltern Hills pass between Berkhamsted and Tring. The area is popular with commuters to London and is well-connected to the city by rail. The constituency is highly affluent with very low levels of deprivation.[5] The average house price is more than double the nationwide average.[6]
In general, residents are older and well-educated compared to the rest of the country. They have high levels of income and homeownership,[6] and a high proportion of residents work in professional and scientific occupations.[7] White people made up 92% of the population at the 2021 census.[6] At the local council level, most of the constituency is represented by Liberal Democrats with some Conservatives elected in the rural areas between Harpenden and Berkhamsted. Voters in the constituency strongly supported remaining in the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 61% voted to remain compared to the nationwide figure of 48%.[6]
Boundaries
The constituency is composed of the following electoral wards:[8][9]
- The Borough of Dacorum wards of Aldbury and Wigginton, Ashridge, Berkhamsted Castle, Berkhamsted East, Berkhamsted West, Northchurch, Tring Central, Tring East, Tring West and Rural, and Watling.
- The City of St Albans wards of Harpenden East, Harpenden North & Rural, Harpenden South, Harpenden West, Marshalswick East & Jersey Farm (part), Redbourn, Sandridge & Wheathampstead, and parts of the Marshalswick West, St Stephen and Verulam wards.
It covers the following areas:[10]
- Harpenden, Redbourn, Sandridge and Wheathampstead, transferred from the abolished constituency of Hitchin and Harpenden
- Berkhamsted and Tring, transferred from South West Hertfordshire
- A sparsely populated rural area connecting the above two areas, transferred from Hemel Hempstead
Members of Parliament
Hitchin & Harpenden and South West Hertfordshire prior to 2024
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Victoria Collins | Liberal Democrats | |
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Victoria Collins | 27,282 | 50.2 | +24.9 | |
| Conservative | Nigel Gardner | 16,574 | 30.5 | −21.8 | |
| Reform | Saba Poursaeedi | 4,245 | 7.8 | N/A | |
| Labour | Zara Layne | 4,061 | 7.5 | −3.1 | |
| Green | Paul de Hoest | 1,951 | 3.6 | +2.0 | |
| SDP | Mark Patten | 223 | 0.4 | N/A | |
| Majority | 10,708 | 19.7 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 54,336 | 75.2 | –2.6 | ||
| Registered electors | 72,242 | ||||
| Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | +23.4 | |||
Elections in the 2010s
| 2019 notional result[12] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| Conservative | 29,136 | 52.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 14,092 | 25.3 | |
| Labour | 5,908 | 10.6 | |
| Others | 5,695 | 10.2 | |
| Green | 907 | 1.6 | |
| Turnout | 55,738 | 77.8 | |
| Electorate | 71,635 | ||
See also
- parliamentary constituencies in Hertfordshire
- List of parliamentary constituencies in the East of England (region)
References
- ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – Eastern". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
- ^ "Hitchin and Harpenden set for shake-up after boundary review". The Comet. 2023-06-30. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
- ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – Eastern | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
- ^ "Harpenden built-up area". NOMIS. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ "Constituency data: Deprivation in England". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ^ a b c d Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Harpenden+and+Berkhamsted
- ^ "Constituency data: businesses and industries". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- ^ "New Seat Details – Harpenden and Berkhamsted". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part 2 Eastern region.
- ^ "New Seat Details – Harpenden and Berkhamsted". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
- ^ "Statement of persons nominated and notice of poll – Harpenden and Berkhamsted" (PDF). Dacorum Borough Council. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
- ^ "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
External links
- Harpenden and Berkhamsted UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK