Reading West and Mid Berkshire is a constituency[n 1] in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was formed as a result of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies and primarily replaced the former Reading West constituency, also subsuming parts for the Newbury and Wokingham constituencies. It was first contested at the 2024 general election.[2][3] Since 2024 it has been represented by Olivia Bailey of the Labour Party.

Some 30% of the constituency's voters live in the Borough of Reading, with the remainder living in the West Berkshire local government area.[1]

History

At the time of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, there were eight constituencies in the county of Berkshire. Of these constituencies, only three (Reading East, Reading West, and Windsor) were within the permitted electorate range of no fewer than 69,724 electors and no more than 77,062. All of the remaining constituencies were above the upper limit. The Boundary Commission for England therefore proposed the addition of a ninth constituency within the county.[3][4]

Whilst both Reading constituencies could have remained unchanged, the boundary commission instead proposed a reconfiguration to account for the increased electorates of the surrounding constituencies, and to better reflect local ties in the surrounding communities. This involved the creation of two new constituencies (Earley and Woodley and Mid Berkshire), both with the bulk of their electorate outside the Borough of Reading but including outer wards of the borough, together with a new Reading Central constituency entirely within the borough.[3]

During the process of acceptance of these proposals, the name was changed from Mid Berkshire to West Reading and Mid Berkshire, despite the relative small proportion of the constituency that is within Reading. The new constituency includes three borough wards and twelve wards from West Berkshire, as opposed to seven and six respectively for the old Reading West constituency.[1][3]

Constituency profile

The constituency has a mixed nature, including parts of the continuously built-up urban area of Reading (both within and without the boundaries of the borough) and an extensive rural area, which includes villages such as Aldermaston, Aldworth, Bradfield, Basildon, Bucklebury, Burghfield, Compton, East Ilsley, Hampstead Norreys, Mortimer, Pangbourne, Streatley, Theale, West Ilsley, Woolhampton and Yattendon. Some 30% of the constituency's voters live in the Borough of Reading, with the remainder living in the West Berkshire local government area.[1][5]

The wards that make up the constituency are represented by 26 councillors. As of November 2023, these comprise 11 Liberal Democrats, 8 Conservatives, 6 Labour and 1 Green.[1][6][7]

Boundaries

The constituency is composed of the following wards (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

The Reading wards, together with Pangbourne, Theale and the three Tilehurst wards in West Berkshire, comprising 67% of the electorate, were previously in the Reading West seat, with the remaining areas coming from Newbury and Wokingham in equal parts.[9]

The seat is bordered by the parliamentary constituencies of Newbury, Didcot and Wantage, Henley and Thame, Reading Central, Earley and Woodley, Wokingham, North East Hampshire, and North West Hampshire.[10]

Members of Parliament

Reading West prior to 2024

Election Member Party
2024 Olivia Bailey Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Reading West and Mid Berkshire[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Olivia Bailey 16,273 35.0 +12.1
Conservative Ross Mackinnon 14,912 32.0 –24.8
Reform UK Kate Bosley 6,260 13.4 N/A
Liberal Democrats Helen Belcher 5,103 10.9 –5.9
Green Carolyne Culver 3,169 6.8 +3.4
Independent Adrian Abbs 562 1.2 N/A
Independent Adie Peppiatt 272 0.6 N/A
Majority 1,361 3.0 N/A
Turnout 46,551 67.7 –2.9
Registered electors 68,786
Labour gain from Conservative Swing Increase18.5
2019 notional result[12]
Party Vote %
Conservative 28,078 56.8
Labour 11,320 22.9
Liberal Democrats 8,356 16.9
Green 1,690 3.4
Turnout 49,444 70.6
Electorate 69,999

See also

Notes

  1. ^ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – South East". Boundary Commission for England. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  2. ^ "South East | Boundary Commission for England". Boundary Commission for England. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d "Initial proposals for new Parliamentary constituency boundaries in the South East region". Boundary Commission for England. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Background to the 2023 Review". Boundary Commission for England. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Your Councillors by Ward". West Berkshire Council. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Your Councillors by Ward". Reading Borough Council. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  8. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 6 South East region.
  9. ^ "Boundary review 2023: Which seats will change in the UK?".
  10. ^ "Revised Proposals for the South East Region" (PDF). Boundary Commission for England. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Reading West and Mid Berkshire results - Election 2024". BBC News. 4 July 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  12. ^ "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.

51°27′N 1°08′W / 51.45°N 1.14°W / 51.45; -1.14

Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid_Berkshire_(UK_Parliament_constituency)
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