Hemel Hempstead (UK Parliament constituency)

Hemel Hempstead
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire.
Location of Hertfordshire within England.
County	Hertfordshire
Electorate	72,561 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Hemel Hempstead
Current constituency
Created	1997 (1997)
Member of Parliament	Michael Penning (Conservative)
Number of members	One
1918 (1918)–1983 (1983)
Number of members	One
Type of constituency	County constituency
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	East of England

Hemel Hempstead is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Boundaries

For the 1997 General Election, the former West Hertfordshire constituency was reduced in area and renamed "Hemel Hempstead". This reflects the growing population around the edge of London and the decision of the Boundary Commission to create an extra constituency within the county of Hertfordshire.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Hertfordshire the Boundary Commission for England have recommended the creation of a modified Hemel Hempstead seat for the 2010 general election formed from the following electoral wards from the district of Dacorum:

• Adeyfield East, Adeyfield West, Apsley, Ashridge, Bennetts End, Boxmoor, Chaulden and Shrubhill, Corner Hall, Gadebridge, Grove Hill, Hemel Hempstead Central, Highfield and St Pauls, Kings Langley, Leverstock Green, Nash Mills, Warners End, Watling, and Woodhall.

With a notional Conservative majority of just 250 approaching the general election, this seat is ranked 8th amongst Labour's target seats in terms of majority to overturn.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1918-1983

Election		Member	Party
	1918	Gustavus Arthur Talbot	Coalition Conservative
	1920	J. C. C. Davidson	Coalition Conservative
	1923	John Freeman Dunn	Liberal
	1924	J. C. C. Davidson	Conservative
	1937 by-election	The Viscountess Davidson	Conservative
	1959	James Allason	Conservative
	Oct 1974	Robin Corbett	Labour
	1979	Nicholas Lyell	Conservative

MPs 1997-present

Election		Member	Party
	1997	Tony McWalter	Labour Co-operative
	2005	Mike Penning	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: Hemel Hempstead
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mike Penning	24,721	50.0	+9.9
	Liberal Democrat	Richard Grayson	11,315	22.9	+6.0
	Labour	Ayfer Orhan	10,295	20.8	−18.9
	BNP	Janet Price	1,615	3.3	N/A
	UKIP	David Alexander	1,254	2.5	−0.7
	Independent	Mick Young	271	0.5	N/A
Majority			13,406	27.1	+26.7
Turnout			49,471	68.0	+3.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+14.4

This was the highest swing from Labour to Conservative in the 2010 general election.

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Hemel Hempstead
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mike Penning	19,000	40.3	+1.8
	Labour Co-op	Tony McWalter	18,501	39.3	−7.3
	Liberal Democrat	Richard Grayson	8,089	17.2	+4.4
	UKIP	Barry Newton	1,518	3.2	+1.1
Majority			499	1.1
Turnout			47,108	64.4	+2.1
	Conservative gain from Labour Co-op		Swing	+4.6

General Election 2001: Hemel Hempstead
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Tony McWalter	21,389	46.6	+0.9
	Conservative	Paul Ivey	17,647	38.5	−0.6
	Liberal Democrat	Neil Stuart	5,877	12.8	+0.5
	UKIP	Barry Newton	970	2.1	N/A
Majority			3,742	8.1
Turnout			45,883	62.3	−14.3
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Hemel Hempstead
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Tony McWalter	25,175	45.7
	Conservative	Robert Jones	21,539	39.1
	Liberal Democrat	Patricia Lindsley	6,789	12.3
	Referendum Party	Peter Such	1,327	2.4
	Natural Law	Diana Harding	262	0.5
Majority			3,636	6.6
Turnout			55,092	76.6
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Hertfordshire

Sources

• Detailed map of Parliamentary Constituencies in Hertfordshire
• Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd edition ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.