Maidenhead (UK Parliament constituency)

Maidenhead
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Maidenhead in Berkshire.
Location of Berkshire within England.
County	Berkshire
Electorate	74,028 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Maidenhead, Bray, Wargrave, Sonning, Twyford
Current constituency
Created	1997
Member of parliament	Theresa May (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Windsor & Maidenhead, and Wokingham
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South East England

Maidenhead is a constituency in Berkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 1997 creation by Home Secretary Theresa May, a Conservative.

History

The constituency was created in 1997 from parts of the seats of Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham. Theresa May, the Home Secretary (Secretary of State for the Home Department) from 2010 under the Cameron Ministry, has represented it since its creation. In the 2010 general election May achieved the 9th highest share of the vote of the 307 seats held by a Conservative.

Constituency Profile

Housing is, in the Wokingham district part, at the northern end of a belt in which still more than 40% is detached and fewer than 10.8% is purpose-built flats or tenements (maisonettes) (2011 figures, by district) Reflecting a national trend in this period, the latter band was in 2001 a band of fewer than 8% of housing stock as flats. The other borough is the most expensive house price district of the country outside of Greater London Homes are in the technology-rich M4 corridor including the largest company headquarters estate in Europe at Slough and though most the communities have slower links to London than Maidenhead town centre, they instead have close links to Reading and Bracknell. A minority commute to the City of London which is just under one hour's commute from the two mainline stations. Fortunate geographical features are illustrated colourfully by the internationally leading restaurants, the Fat Duck at Bray and Waterside Inn; by the low hills in the north of the seat and by the Chiltern Hills to the north. Taking the constituent electoral ward results since the decline of the Liberal Party in the 1910s, the area has to date been a safe seat for Conservative candidates. One broadsheet political column encapsulated the constituency as a "seat of Thamesside towns", these house a majority of its residents other than Twyford which spans the multi-stream river in the town over which it has two fords.

Boundaries

Its largest settlement is the town of Maidenhead in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Berkshire. It borders the constituencies of Reading East, Henley, Wycombe, Beaconsfield, Windsor, Bracknell and Wokingham.

For the 2010 election the seat had electoral wards:

• Belmont; Bisham and Cookham; Boyn Hill; Bray; Cox Green; Furze Platt; Hurley and Walthams; Maidenhead Riverside; Oldfield; Pinkneys Green in the Royal borough
• Charvil; Coronation; Hurst; Remenham, Wargrave and Ruscombe; Sonning; Twyford

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1997	Rt Hon Theresa May	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Maidenhead

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Theresa May	35,453	65.8	+6.4
	Labour	Charlie Smith	6,394	11.9	+4.8
	Liberal Democrat	Tony Hill	5,337	9.9	-18.3
	UKIP	Herbie Crossman	4,539	8.4	+6.1
	Green	Emily Blyth	1,915	3.6	+2.7
	Independent	Ian Taplin	162	0.3	+0.3
	Class War	Joe Wilcox	55	0.1	+0.1
Majority			29,059	54.0	+22.8
Turnout			53,855	72.6	-1.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 2010: Maidenhead

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Theresa May	31,937	59.5	+7.6
	Liberal Democrat	Tony Hill	15,168	28.2	−8.0
	Labour	Pat McDonald	3,795	7.1	−2.1
	UKIP	Kenneth Wright	1,243	2.3	+0.9
	BNP	Tim Rait	825	1.5	+0.1
	Green	Peter Forbes	482	0.9	N/A
	Freedom and Responsibility	Peter Prior	270	0.5	N/A
Majority			16,769	31.2
Turnout			53,720	73.7	+3.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.8
Source BBC

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Maidenhead

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Theresa May	23,312	50.8	+5.8
	Liberal Democrat	Mrs. Kathryn Druscilla Newbound	17,081	37.3	−0.1
	Labour	Janet Pritchard	4,144	9.0	−6.2
	BNP	Tim Rait	704	1.5	N/A
	UKIP	Douglas Lewis	609	1.3	−0.4
Majority			6,231	13.6	+6.0
Turnout			45,850	71.7	+9.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.0

General Election 2001: Maidenhead

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Theresa May	19,506	45.0	−4.8
	Liberal Democrat	Mrs. Kathryn Druscilla Newbound	16,222	37.4	+11.2
	Labour	John O'Farrell	6,577	15.2	−2.9
	UKIP	Dennis Richard Cooper	741	1.7	+1.2
	Monster Raving Loony	Lloyd Clarke	272	0.6	N/A
Majority			3,284	7.6
Turnout			43,318	62.0	−13.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Maidenhead

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Theresa May	25,344	49.8	N/A
	Liberal Democrat	Andrew Ketteringham	13,363	26.3	N/A
	Labour	Denise Robson	9,205	18.1	N/A
	Referendum	Charles Taverner	1,638	3.2	N/A
	Liberal	David Munkley	896	1.8	N/A
	UKIP	N. Spiers	277	0.5	N/A
	Glow Bowling Party	Kristian Ardley	166	0.3	N/A
Majority			11,981	23.5	N/A
Turnout			50,889	75.6	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Berkshire

Notes and references

Notes

References