Earley and Woodley (UK Parliament constituency)

Earley and Woodley
County constituency for the House of Commons
County	Berkshire
Electorate	70,083 (2020) [1]
Current constituency
Created	Next general election
Member of Parliament	Not yet contested
Seats	One
Created from	Reading West, Reading East, Maidenhead, and Wokingham

Earley and Woodley is a proposed constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. ^[2] Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it will first be contested at the next general election.

History

At the time of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, there were eight constituencies in the county of Berkshire. Of these constituencies, only three (Reading East, Reading West, and Windsor) were within the permitted electorate range of no fewer than 69,724 electors and no more than 77,062. All of the remaining constituencies were above the upper limit. The Boundary Commission for England therefore proposed the addition of a ninth constituency within the county. ^{[3] [4]}

Whilst both Reading constituencies could have remained unchanged, the boundary commission instead proposed a reconfiguration to account for the increased electorates of the surrounding constituencies, and to better reflect local ties in the surrounding communities. This involved the creation of two new constituencies, Earley and Woodley and Mid Berkshire (renamed Reading West and Mid Berkshire in the final proposals), both with the bulk of their electorate outside the Borough of Reading but including outer wards of the borough, together with a new Reading Central constituency entirely within the borough. ^[3]

In June 2023, the Conservatives selected Pauline Jorgensen, the leader of the opposition group on Wokingham Borough Council, as their prospective parliamentary candidate for the seat. In December 2023, the Labour Party selected Yuan Yang, a Financial Times journalist and social campaigner, as their candidate. As of mid-December 2023, no other parties had announced their final selection. ^{[5] [6]}

Boundaries

Map of boundaries from 2024

The constituency will be composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

• The Borough of Reading wards of: Church; Whitley.
• The Borough of Wokingham wards of: Bulmershe and Whitegates; Coronation; Hawkedon; Hillside; Loddon; Maiden Erlegh; Shinfield North; Shinfield South; Sonning; South Lake. ^[7]

It will comprise:

• The southern-most Borough of Reading wards of Church and Whitley, transferred respectively from the former Reading East and Reading West constituencies

• Western areas of the Borough of Wokingham previously included in the constituencies of Maidenhead, Reading East and Wokingham, including the communities of Sonning, Earley, Shinfield and Woodley

The constituency will be bordered by the seats of Reading West and Mid Berkshire, Reading Central, Henley, and Wokingham. ^[8]

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Next general election: Earley & Woodley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Pauline Jorgensen [9]
	Labour	Yuan Yang [10]
	Liberal Democrats	Tahir Maher [11]
	SDP	Alastair Hunter [12]
Majority
Turnout
			Swing

References

1. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – South East". Boundary Commission for England. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
2. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – South East | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
3. "Initial proposals for new Parliamentary constituency boundaries in the South East region". Boundary Commission for England. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
4. "Background to the 2023 Review". Boundary Commission for England. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
5. Atkinson, William (25 June 2023). "'Hard-working' Jorgensen selected in Earley and Woodley". Conservative Home. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
6. "Yuan Yang selected as Labour candidate for new Earley and Woodley MP seat". Reading Chronicle. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
7. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 6 South East region.
8. "Revised Proposals for the South East Region" (PDF). Boundary Commission for England. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
9. "Pauline Jorgensen selected as Conservative candidate for new Earley and Woodley constituency". Wokingham Conservatives. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
10. "Labour candidate for Earley and Woodley MP seat selected". Reading Chronicle. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
11. "Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidates". Mark Pack. 5 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
12. "GENERAL ELECTION CANDIDATES". SDP . Retrieved 6 February 2024.