Hertford and Stortford (UK Parliament constituency)
Hertford and Stortford | |
---|---|
County constituency for the House of Commons | |
County | Hertfordshire |
Electorate | 75,396 (2023)[1] |
Major settlements | Hertford, Bishop's Stortford, Ware |
Current constituency | |
Created | 1983 |
Member of Parliament | Josh Dean[2] (Labour) |
Created from | Hertfordshire East and Hertford and Stevenage[3] |
Hertford and Stortford is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Josh Dean of the Labour Party since 2024.[2][n 2]
Constituency profile
[edit]The constituency is semi-rural and includes picturesque villages and farmland. The rivers Rib, Beane, Mimram, and Lea all meet in the county town of Hertford (2011 population 25,000), which is protected from over-development by a Green Belt encircling the town and separating it from Ware (18,000) in the western part of the constituency. Farms continue between Ware and the market town of Bishop's Stortford (40,000), in the northeast corner of the seat.
Hertford and Stortford constituency is generally regarded as an affluent seat,[citation needed] and includes a significant proportion of professional and managerial workers.[citation needed] Central London is within commuting distance by train of all the towns in the constituency. The pharmaceutical industry is a major employer in the seat and surrounding areas: both Ware and Harlow are the sites of GlaxoSmithKline facilities (while Gilston hosted Merck & Co. between 1982 and 2006). Since the early 1990s, Stansted, just beyond the eastern perimeter of the constituency, has also been responsible for bringing jobs and an improved train service to it.
Many commuters live in Bishop's Stortford, which has rail links to London's Liverpool Street station and is also close to Stansted Airport. Since the 1980s, the population of Thorley—now a southern suburb of Stortford—has become increasingly composed of owner-occupied houses in dormitory estates.
The seat was previously held by the Conservative Party with comfortable majorities from its creation in 1983 until the 2024 general election, when the Labour Party won it on a very large swing of 20.4%.
Boundaries
[edit]The new constituency established in 1983 combined Hertford and Ware, from the abolished constituency of Hertford and Stevenage, with Bishop's Stortford, Sawbridgeworth and rural areas to the west, from the abolished constituency of East Hertfordshire.
1983–1997: The District of East Hertfordshire wards of Bishop's Stortford Central, Bishop's Stortford Chantry, Bishop's Stortford Parsonage, Bishop's Stortford Thorley, Braughing, Buntingford, Hertford Bengeo, Hertford Castle, Hertford Kingsmead, Hertford Sele, Hunsdon, Little Hadham, Much Hadham, Sawbridgeworth, Standon St Mary, Stapleford, Tewin, Thundridge, Ware Christchurch, Ware Priory, Ware St Mary's, and Ware Trinity.[4]
1997–2010: The District of East Hertfordshire wards of Bishop's Stortford Central, Bishop's Stortford Chantry, Bishop's Stortford Parsonage, Bishop's Stortford Thorley, Great Amwell, Hertford Bengeo, Hertford Castle, Hertford Kingsmead, Hertford Sele, Hunsdon, Little Amwell, Much Hadham, Sawbridgeworth, Stanstead, Ware Christchurch, Ware Priory, Ware St Mary's, and Ware Trinity.[5]
- The villages of Stanstead Abbotts and Great Amwell transferred from Broxbourne. Northern, rural areas transferred to the new constituency of North East Hertfordshire.
2010–2024: The District of East Hertfordshire wards of Bishop's Stortford All Saints, Bishop's Stortford Central, Bishop's Stortford Meads, Bishop's Stortford Silverleys, Bishop's Stortford South, Great Amwell, Hertford Bengeo, Hertford Castle, Hertford Heath, Hertford Kingsmead, Hertford Sele, Hunsdon, Much Hadham, Sawbridgeworth, Stanstead Abbots, Ware Chadwell, Ware Christchurch, Ware St Mary's, and Ware Trinity.[6]
- Marginal changes due to revision of local authority wards.
2024–present: The District of East Hertfordshire wards of Bishop's Stortford All Saints, Bishop's Stortford Central, Bishop's Stortford North, Bishop's Stortford Parsonage, Bishop's Stortford South, Bishop's Stortford Thorley Manor, Hertford Bengeo, Hertford Castle, Hertford Kingsmead, Hertford Sele, Hunsdon, Much Hadham, Sawbridgeworth, Ware Priory, Ware Rural (part), Ware St Mary's, and Ware Trinity.
- Reduced to meet the electorate size requirements, with the transfer of the three small wards of Great Amwell, Hertford Heath and Stanstead Abbots (as they existed on 1 December 2020) to Broxbourne.[7]
Members of Parliament
[edit]Hertfordshire East and Hertford and Stevenage prior to 1983
Election | Member[8] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Bowen Wells | Conservative | |
2001 | Mark Prisk | Conservative | |
2019 | Julie Marson | Conservative | |
2024 | Josh Dean | Labour |
Elections
[edit]Elections in the 2020s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Josh Dean | 20,808 | 38.5 | +14.8 | |
Conservative | Julie Marson | 16,060 | 29.7 | –26.0 | |
Reform UK | John Burmicz | 8,325 | 15.4 | N/A | |
Green | Nick Cox | 4,373 | 8.1 | +3.5 | |
Liberal Democrats | Helen Campbell | 4,167 | 7.7 | –6.5 | |
Alliance for Democracy and Freedom | Jane Fowler | 139 | 0.3 | N/A | |
Heritage | Barry Hensall | 137 | 0.3 | N/A | |
Majority | 4,748 | 8.8 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 54,009 | 68.0 | –5.8 | ||
Registered electors | 78,915 | ||||
Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | 20.4 |
Elections in the 2010s
[edit]2019 notional result[10] | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Vote | % | |
Conservative | 30,979 | 55.7 | |
Labour | 13,173 | 23.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | 7,907 | 14.2 | |
Green | 2,587 | 4.6 | |
Others | 989 | 1.8 | |
Turnout | 55,635 | 73.8 | |
Electorate | 75,396 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Julie Marson | 33,712 | 56.1 | –4.2 | |
Labour | Chris Vince | 14,092 | 23.4 | –5.2 | |
Liberal Democrats | Chris Lucas | 8,596 | 14.3 | +6.2 | |
Green | Lucy Downes | 2,705 | 4.5 | +1.5 | |
UKIP | Alistair Lindsay | 681 | 1.1 | N/A | |
Independent | Brian Percival | 308 | 0.5 | N/A | |
Majority | 19,620 | 32.7 | +1.0 | ||
Turnout | 60,094 | 72.9 | +0.1 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +0.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Mark Prisk | 36,184 | 60.3 | +4.2 | |
Labour | Katherine Chibah | 17,149 | 28.6 | +10.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | Mark Argent | 4,845 | 8.1 | +0.3 | |
Green | David Woollcombe | 1,814 | 3.0 | –1.8 | |
Majority | 19,035 | 31.7 | –6.5 | ||
Turnout | 59,992 | 72.8 | +1.5 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | –3.25 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Mark Prisk | 31,593 | 56.1 | +2.3 | |
Labour | Katherine Chibah | 10,084 | 17.9 | +4.1 | |
UKIP | Adrian Baker | 7,534 | 13.4 | +10.3 | |
Liberal Democrats | Michael Green | 4,385 | 7.8 | –18.2 | |
Green | Sophie Christophy | 2,681 | 4.8 | N/A | |
Majority | 21,509 | 38.2 | +10.4 | ||
Turnout | 56,277 | 71.3 | +0.7 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | –1.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Mark Prisk | 29,810 | 53.8 | +3.6 | |
Liberal Democrats | Andrew Lewin | 14,373 | 26.0 | +7.5 | |
Labour | Stephen Terry | 7,620 | 13.8 | –10.5 | |
UKIP | David Sodey | 1,716 | 3.1 | +1.0 | |
BNP | Roy Harris | 1,297 | 2.3 | N/A | |
Independent | Loucas Xenophontos | 325 | 0.6 | N/A | |
Independent | Martin Adams | 236 | 0.4 | N/A | |
Majority | 15,437 | 27.8 | 1.4 | ||
Turnout | 55,377 | 70.6 | +4.1 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | –1.9 |
Elections in the 2000s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Mark Prisk | 25,074 | 50.5 | +5.8 | |
Labour | Richard Henry | 11,977 | 24.1 | −8.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | James Lucas | 9,129 | 18.4 | −1.5 | |
Green | Peter Hart | 1,914 | 3.9 | N/A | |
UKIP | David Sodey | 1,026 | 2.1 | −0.5 | |
Veritas | Debbie Le May | 572 | 1.2 | N/A | |
Majority | 13,097 | 26.4 | +14.5 | ||
Turnout | 49,692 | 67.7 | +5.5 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +7.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Mark Prisk | 21,074 | 44.7 | +0.6 | |
Labour | Simon Spellar | 15,471 | 32.8 | +1.4 | |
Liberal Democrats | Mione Goldspink | 9,388 | 19.9 | +2.2 | |
UKIP | Stuart Rising | 1,243 | 2.6 | +0.4 | |
Majority | 5,603 | 11.9 | −0.8 | ||
Turnout | 47,176 | 62.2 | −13.3 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Elections in the 1990s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Bowen Wells | 24,027 | 44.1 | ||
Labour | Simon Spellar | 17,142 | 31.4 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Michael Wood | 9,679 | 17.7 | ||
Referendum | Hugo Page Croft | 2,105 | 3.9 | ||
UKIP | B G Smalley | 1,233 | 2.2 | ||
ProLife Alliance | Michael Franey | 259 | 0.5 | ||
Majority | 6,885 | 12.7 | |||
Turnout | 54,571 | 75.5 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Bowen Wells | 35,716 | 57.5 | 0.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | CJ White | 15,506 | 25.0 | −3.3 | |
Labour | AJ Bovaird | 10,125 | 16.3 | +3.5 | |
Green | JA Goth | 780 | 1.3 | −0.1 | |
Majority | 20,210 | 32.5 | +3.3 | ||
Turnout | 62,127 | 81.0 | +3.3 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +1.7 |
Elections in the 1980s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Bowen Wells | 33,763 | 57.5 | +1.5 | |
SDP | Ronald Wotherspoon | 16,623 | 28.3 | −2.8 | |
Labour Co-op | Patricia Sumner | 7,494 | 12.8 | +0.8 | |
Green | Graham Cole | 814 | 1.4 | N/A | |
Majority | 17,140 | 29.2 | +4.3 | ||
Turnout | 58,694 | 77.7 | +2.1 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +2.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Bowen Wells | 29,039 | 56.0 | ||
SDP | Ronald Wotherspoon | 16,110 | 31.1 | ||
Labour | John Carr | 6,203 | 12.0 | ||
BNP | G Wiles | 304 | 0.6 | ||
Prosperity For All | P Cullen | 221 | 0.4 | ||
Majority | 12,929 | 24.9 | |||
Turnout | 51,877 | 75.6 | |||
Conservative win (new seat) |
See also
[edit]- List of parliamentary constituencies in Hertfordshire
- List of parliamentary constituencies in the East of England (region)
Notes
[edit]- ^ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
- ^ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
References
[edit]- ^ "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.
- ^ a b "Hertford and Stortford General Election Results 2024". BBC News. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "'Hertford and Stortford', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983". www.legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". www.legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". www.legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part 2 Eastern region.
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 3)
- ^ Hertford and Stortford
- ^ "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.
- ^ Cassidy, Richard (14 November 2019). "Statement of persons nominated, notice of poll and situation of polling stations. Election of a Member of Parliament for Hertford and Stortford Constituency" (PDF). East Hertfordshire District Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ^ "Commons Briefing Paper 8749. General Election 2019: results and analysis" (PDF). London: House of Commons Library. 28 January 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
- ^ "Hertford and Stortford General Election candidate for the Liberal Democrats will be Mark Argent". Hertfordshire Mercury. 19 April 2017. Archived from the original on 30 April 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
- ^ "Hertford & Stortford parliamentary constituency – Election 2017". Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "General Election: Mark Prisk wins fourth term as Hertford and Stortford MP". Herts & Essex Observer. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ^ "Hertford & Stortford". BBC News. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
- ^ "Commons Briefing Paper 7979. General Election 2017: results and analysis" (PDF) (Second ed.). House of Commons Library. 29 January 2019 [7 April 2018]. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2019.
- ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
External links
[edit]- Hertford and Stortford UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
- Hertford and Stortford UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
- Hertford and Stortford UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK