Newbury is a constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, located in the English county of Berkshire. It was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 and has been in continual existence since then. It has been represented by Lee Dillon of the Liberal Democrats since 2024.

Constituency profile

The constituency consists of most of West Berkshire and includes Newbury, Thatcham and Hungerford. To the east, the rest of West Berkshire is incorporated into the Wokingham and Reading West constituencies. Since its creation it has been a Conservative or Liberal/Liberal Democrat seat, sometimes seemingly marginal and sometimes seen as a safe seat, with a tendency towards being Conservative. West Berkshire which is similar to its neighbours has a rather thriving economy with the headquarters of the communications company Vodafone that has created a cluster of around 80 mobile phone related businesses in Newbury, while the Lambourn area is the second most important centre for the racehorse industry in Great Britain, employing over 800 people directly, and producing an annual income of £20 million. West Berkshire is also home to Atomic Weapons Establishment, near Aldermaston, Wolseley plc and PepsiCo. There are high proportions of detached and semi-detached housing, and lower than average dependency on social housing. The constituencies bordering Newbury (clockwise from north) are Witney, Didcot and Wantage, Reading West and Mid Berkshire, North West Hampshire and East Wiltshire.

History

Originally, Newbury 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 Conservatives have held the constituency for all but seventeen years since the creation of the seat – only three spells of Liberal Party, or Liberal Democrat, majorities have intersected their control. In 2015, the party held the largest majority in the seat since 1935 at 46%, before being reduced to 40.1% in 2017. Since the February 1974 election, the Liberal Democrats have been one of the two largest parties in the constituency. They most recently gained the seat at the 1993 by-election, holding it until 2005 where it was regained by the Conservatives. The constituency in 2010 produced the third lowest share of the vote for Labour (4.3%), one of five lost deposits for Labour nationally, below the 5% of the vote deposit threshold. In 2017, Labour earned its highest share of the vote in Newbury since the October 1974 election with 14.1% of the vote. It was estimated that the constituency voted 51% in favour of remaining in the European Union during the 2016 referendum on EU membership, with 49% voting to leave. 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.

Boundaries and boundary changes

1885–1918

The constituency was created as the Southern or Newbury Division of Berkshire under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, when the three-member Parliamentary County of Berkshire was divided into the three single-member constituencies of Abingdon, Newbury and Wokingham. It comprised: Only non-resident freeholders of the municipal borough Reading (which comprised the Parliamentary Borough of Reading) were entitled to vote.

1918–1950

''Extended eastwards, with the addition of Wokingham and surrounding areas from the abolished Wokingham Division. Small area in the north transferred to Abingdon and areas which had been annexed by Reading County Borough transferred to the Parliamentary Borough thereof.''

1950–1955

''Wokingham and rural areas to the south and east of Reading transferred to the re-established constituency of Wokingham. Small area transferred from Abingdon.''

1955–1974

''Gained the Tilehurst ward from the abolished constituency of Reading North. From the 1964 general election, the wards of Norcot and Tilehurst were included following a revision to the local authority wards in Reading. ''

1974–1983

''The two Reading wards were transferred back to the re-established constituency of Reading North. The boundary with Abingdon was slightly amended to take account of changes to local government boundaries.''

1983–1997

''Gained a small area of the abolished constituency of Abingdon (part of the former Rural District of Wantage) which was retained by Berkshire when the rest of the area comprising Abingdon was transferred to Oxfordshire by the Local Government Act 1972. Areas to the west of Reading included in the new constituency of Reading West.''

1997–2010

Small loss to Wokingham in the east of the constituency (Burghfield and Mortimer wards).

2010–2024

Further minor loss to Wokingham.

2024-present

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which became effective for the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the constituency is composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020): The electorate was further reduced to bring it within the permitted range by transferring eastern, rural areas to the new constituency of Reading West and Mid Berkshire.

Members of Parliament

An incumbent MP has been defeated five times, in the elections of 1906, 1923, 1924, 2005, and 2024. Berkshire prior to 1885

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

After the 1970 general election, Newbury's boundaries were altered to reduce the size of the electorate which had grown to over 85,000. After the boundary changes, the electorate numbered around 72,000 people. This came into effect for the first general election in February 1974.

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1940s

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1880s

Neighbouring constituencies

Sources