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 Newbury is a constituency within the West Berkshire district of Berkshire. It is named after its largest town, Newbury, which has a population of around 45,000. Other settlements in the constituency include the towns of Thatcham and Hungerford and the village of Lambourn.
This constituency is predominantly rural and lies almost entirely within the North Wessex Downs, a National Landscape of chalk hills. Most of the population is concentrated in the adjacent towns of Newbury and Thatcham. These towns are mostly affluent and form part of the M4 corridor, a major technology hub; Newbury hosts several company headquarters including that of Vodafone. The rural areas are also generally wealthy, and Lambourn and its surroundings are a nationally important centre for horse racing. House prices across the constituency are similar to the rest of South East England and higher than the national average.
In general, residents of the constituency have average levels of education and homeownership. Household income is high and the child poverty rate is around half the national figure. A high proportion of residents work in professional occupations, particularly in the technology and retail sectors, and a low percentage claim unemployment benefits. White people made up 93% of the population at the 2021 census.
At the local council, most of the constituency is represented by Liberal Democrat councillors with some Conservatives elected in the rural areas. An estimated 51% of voters in the constituency supported remaining in the European Union in the 2016 referendum, marginally higher than the nationwide figure of 48%.
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 1832. In the Redistribution of Seats Act 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:
The Boroughs of Newbury and Reading; the Sessional Divisions of Ilsley, Lambourn, Newbury (including Hungerford), and Reading (except the parishes of East Swallowfield and West Swallowfield); and Part of the Sessional Division of Wokingham.
Only non-resident freeholders of the municipal borough Reading (which comprised the Parliamentary Borough of Reading) were entitled to vote.
1918–1950
The Boroughs of Newbury and Wokingham; The Rural Districts of Hungerford and Newbury; and Parts of the Rural Districts of Bradfield and Wokingham.
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
The Borough of Newbury; and The Rural Districts of Bradfield, Hungerford and Newbury.
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
The Borough of Newbury; The Rural Districts of Bradfield, Hungerford and Newbury; and The County Borough of Reading ward of Tilehurst.
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 borough of Newbury; and The rural districts of Bradfield, Hungerford, and Newbury.
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
The District of Newbury wards of Aldermaston, Basildon, Beenham, Bradfield, Bucklebury, Burghfield, Chieveley, Cold Ash, Compton, Craven, Downlands, Falkland, Greenham, Hungerford, Kintbury, Lambourn Valley, Mortimer, Northcroft, St John's, Shaw-cum-Donnington, Speen, Thatcham North, Thatcham South, Thatcham West, Turnpike, and Winchcombe.
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
The District of Newbury wards of Aldermaston, Basildon, Beenham, Bradfield, Bucklebury, Chieveley, Cold Ash, Compton, Craven, Downlands, Falkland, Greenham, Hungerford, Kintbury, Lambourn Valley, Northcroft, St John's, Shaw-cum-Donnington, Speen, Thatcham North, Thatcham South, Thatcham West, Turnpike, and Winchcombe.
Small loss to Wokingham in the east of the constituency (Burghfield and Mortimer wards).
2010–2024
The District of West Berkshire wards of Aldermaston, Basildon, Bucklebury, Chieveley, Clay Hill, Cold Ash, Compton, Downlands, Falkland, Greenham, Hungerford, Kintbury, Lambourn Valley, Northcroft, St John's, Speen, Thatcham Central, Thatcham North, Thatcham South and Crookham, Thatcham West, and Victoria.
Further minor loss to Wokingham.
2024–present Further to the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies which became effective for the 2024 general election, the constituency is composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
The District of West Berkshire wards of: Chieveley & Cold Ash; Downlands (polling districts BG, CA, CB, EA, FA, FB, GA1, GA2, LB and PC); Hungerford & Kintbury; Lambourn; Newbury Central; Newbury Clay Hill; Newbury Greenham; Newbury Speen; Newbury Wash Common; Thatcham Central; Thatcham Colthrop & Crookham; Thatcham North East; Thatcham West.
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
ElectionMemberParty 1885 William George Mount Conservative 1900 William Mount Conservative 1906 Frederick Coleridge Mackarness Liberal 1910 William Mount Conservative 1922 Howard Clifton Brown Conservative 1923 Harold Stranger Liberal 1924 Howard Clifton Brown Conservative 1945 Anthony Hurd Conservative 1964 John Astor Conservative Feb 1974 Sir Michael McNair-Wilson Conservative 1992 Judith Chaplin Conservative 1993 by-election David Rendel Liberal Democrat 2005Richard Benyon Conservative 2019 IndependentConservative 2019Laura FarrisConservative 2024 Lee Dillon Liberal Democrat
Elections
Elections in the 1880s
Elections in the 1890s
Elections in the 1900s
Elections in the 1910s
Elections in the 1920s
Elections in the 1930s
Elections in the 1940s
Elections in the 1950s
Elections in the 1960s
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 1980s
Elections in the 1990s
Elections in the 2000s
Elections in the 2010s
2019 notional result Party Vote % Conservative 28,075 55.1 Liberal Democrats 16,615 32.6 Labour 3,929 7.7 Green 2,027 4.0 Others 325 0.6Turnout50,97171.2Electorate71,631
Elections in the 2020s
Neighbouring constituencies
See also List of parliamentary constituencies in Berkshire List of parliamentary constituencies in the South East England (region)
Notes
References
Sources
BBC: Newbury constituency (2001) McCalmont, Frederick Haynes, Stenton Michael, Vincent, John Russell. McCalmont's parliamentary poll book: British election results. () F. W. S. Craig. British Parliamentary Election Results 1950–1973. () F. W. S. Craig. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949. ()
External links
BBC News: Tories win Newbury from Lib Dems Independent story on the 2005 campaign West Berkshire Conservative Association David Rendel's Official Homepage Labour South East
Map of old Berkshire Constituency Newbury UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK Newbury UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK Newbury UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK