Hertfordshire_South_West_(UK_Parliament_constituency)

South West Hertfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1950 onwards

South West Hertfordshire is a constituency^{[n 1]}^{[n 2]} in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament, represented since 2019 by Gagan Mohindra, a Conservative.

Quick Facts County, Electorate ...

South West Hertfordshire
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of South West Hertfordshire in Hertfordshire
Location of Hertfordshire within England
County	Hertfordshire
Electorate	78,269 (December 2010)^[1]
Major settlements	Berkhamsted Rickmansworth Tring
Current constituency
Created	1950
Member of Parliament	Gagan Mohindra (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	Watford and Hemel Hempstead^[2]

Constituency profile

This seat forms a thin strip along the south-west border of Hertfordshire from South Oxhey in the south, through interspersed settlements and countryside to Tring in the north. Settlements in the constituency include Berkhamsted, Chipperfield, Chorleywood, Croxley Green, Moor Park, Sarratt and Rickmansworth.

Elevated and bordering Greater London and Buckinghamshire, this part of Hertfordshire is for its residents mostly middle-class suburbia, an established haven for commuters who travel from the outer reaches of the London Underground's Metropolitan line or two railways from London which serve different parts of the seat: the West Coast Main Line and Aylesbury Line. A substantial proportion of land is occupied by farms and hillside woodland.^[3]

Workless claimants were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 1.6% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.^[4]

It is estimated that 51% of the seat voted Remain in the 2016 EU referendum.

Boundaries and boundary changes

1950–1974

The Urban Districts of Bushey, Chorleywood, and Rickmansworth; and
The Rural District of Watford.^[5]

The constituency was formed from the Watford Division of Hertfordshire, excluding the part comprising the Municipal Borough of Watford. It also included the parishes of Abbots Langley and Sarratt, transferred from Hemel Hempstead.

1974–1983

The Urban Districts of Bushey, Chorleywood, and Rickmansworth; and
The Rural District of Watford civil parishes of Abbots Langley, Sarratt, and Watford Rural.^[6]

The parish of Aldenham in the Rural District of Watford was transferred to the new constituency of South Hertfordshire.

1983–1997

The District of Three Rivers wards of Ashridge, Bedmond, Carpenders Park, Chorleywood, Chorleywood West, Croxley Green, Croxley Green North, Croxley Green South, Hayling, Langleybury, Maple Cross and West Hyde, Mill End, Money Hill, Moor Park, Northwick, Oxhey Hall, Rickmansworth, and Sarratt; and
The District of Dacorum wards of Berkhamsted Central, Berkhamsted East, Berkhamsted West, Bovingdon and Flaunden, Chipperfield, Kings Langley, and Northchurch.^[7]

The parts of the District of Dacorum, including Berkhamsted, were transferred from the abolished constituency of Hemel Hempstead. Abbots Langley was transferred to Watford and Bushey to the new constituency of Hertsmere.

1997–2010

The District of Three Rivers wards of Ashridge, Chorleywood, Chorleywood West, Croxley Green, Croxley Green North, Croxley Green South, Hayling, Maple Cross and West Hyde, Mill End, Money Hill, Moor Park, Northwick, Rickmansworth, and Sarratt; and
The District of Dacorum wards of Aldbury and Wigginton, Berkhamsted Central, Berkhamsted East, Berkhamsted West, Bovingdon and Flaunden, Chipperfield, Northchurch, Tring Central, Tring East, and Tring West.^[8]

Map of current boundaries

Gained Tring from the abolished constituency of West Hertfordshire. Kings Langley transferred to a re-established Hemel Hempstead, Bedmond to St Albans, and three further wards in the Three Rivers District to Watford.

2010–present

The District of Three Rivers wards of Ashridge, Chorleywood East, Chorleywood West, Croxley Green, Croxley Green North, Croxley Green South, Hayling, Maple Cross and Mill End, Moor Park and Eastbury, Northwick, Penn, Rickmansworth, Rickmansworth West, and Sarratt; and
The District of Dacorum wards of Aldbury and Wigginton, Berkhamsted Castle, Berkhamsted East, Berkhamsted West, Bovingdon, Flaunden and Chipperfield, Northchurch, Tring Central, Tring East, and Tring West.^[9]

Minor gain from Hemel Hempstead following revision of local authority wards.

Proposed

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the composition of the constituency from the next general election, due by January 2025, will be (as they existed on 1^st December 2020):

The Borough of Dacorum ward of Kings Langley.
The District of Three Rivers.^[10]

The constituency will undergo major changes with the bulk of the parts currently in the Borough of Dacorum, including the towns of Berkhamsted and Tring, forming part of the newly created constituency of Harpenden and Berkhamsted. The Bovingdon, Flaunden and Chipperfield ward will go to Hemel Hempstead in exchange for the Kings Langley ward. The parts of the District of Three Rivers not within the current boundaries will be transferred primarily from Watford, with a small area from St Albans.

Members of Parliament

More information Election, Member ...

Election	Member^[11]
1950	Gilbert Longden	Conservative
Feb 1974	Geoffrey Dodsworth	Conservative
1979 by-election	Richard Page	Conservative
2005	David Gauke	Conservative
September 2019	David Gauke	Independent
December 2019	Gagan Mohindra	Conservative