Reading Central (UK Parliament constituency)

Reading Central
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
County	Berkshire
Electorate	71,283 (2020) [1]
Current constituency
Created	2024
Member of Parliament	Not yet contested
Seats	One
Created from	Reading West and Reading East

Reading Central is a proposed constituency ^{[n 1]} in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was formed as a result of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. It subsumes parts of the, soon to be former, Reading West and Reading East constituencies but, unlike them, the whole of the new constituency will be within the Borough of Reading. It will be first contested in the 2024 general election. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

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 constituency entirely within the borough. ^[3]

During the process of acceptance of these proposals, the name was changed from Reading to Reading Central. ^{[1] [3]}

Boundaries

Map of boundaries from 2024

The constituency is defined as being composed of the following wards of the Borough of Reading as they existed on 1 December 2020:

• Abbey, Battle, Caversham, Katesgrove, Mapledurham, Minster, Park, Peppard, Redlands, Southcote, and Thames. ^{[n 2] [1] [2]}

The Battle, Minster and Southcote wards are currently part of Reading West, with the remainder, comprising 73% of the new seat, in Reading East. ^[5]

As a result of a local government boundary review ^[6] which came into effect in May 2022, ^[7] the constituency will now comprise the following Borough of Reading wards from the 2024 general election:

• Abbey, Battle (most), Caversham, Caversham Heights, Coley, Emmer Green, Katesgrove, Norcot (small part) Redlands (most), Southcote, and Thames. ^[8]

It will be bordered by the seats of Reading West and Mid Berkshire, Henley, and Earley and Woodley. ^[9]

Constituency profile

Electoral Calculus characterises the proposed seat as "Progressive", with soft left or liberal views and high levels of university education. ^[10] Incomes and house prices in the seat are slightly higher than UK averages.

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Reading Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Dave McElroy [11]
	Labour	Matt Rodda [12]
	Liberal Democrats	Henry Wright [13]
	TUSC	Adam Gillman[ citation needed ]
	Reform UK	Andy Williams[ citation needed ]

Notes

1. A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. For the purposes of this definition, the Boundary Commission have used the borough ward names and definitions as existed prior to 2022 rather than the current names and definitions.

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. "South East | Boundary Commission for England". Boundary Commission for England. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 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. "Boundary review 2023: Which seats will change in the UK?".
6. LGBCE. "Reading | LGBCE". lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
7. "The Reading (Electoral Changes) Order 2021".
8. "New Seat Details – Reading Central". electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
9. "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.
10. Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/calcwork23.py?seat=Reading+Central
11. "Dave McElroy named as Green Party candidate for Reading Central". RDG.Today. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
12. Matt Rodda [@MattRodda] (15 August 2022). "🌹RESELECTED IN READING EAST🌹 I am really pleased to have been reselected by members and affiliates to be the @UKLabour candidate for Reading East at the next General Election. Thank you to everyone who has put their faith in me once again. I will not let you down" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
13. "Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidates". Mark Pack . Retrieved 6 February 2024.