List of parliamentary constituencies in Hertfordshire

The county of Hertfordshire in England is divided into eleven parliamentary constituencies. Each of the eleven elects a Member of Parliament (MP) to represent it at the United Kingdom (UK) Parliament in Westminster. As of the 2019 general election, ten of Hertfordshire's eleven MPs are Conservatives. The county currently has two urban borough constituencies (BC) – Broxbourne and Watford – while the other nine are classed as more rural county constituencies (CC).

The county of Hertfordshire in relation to England

Constituencies

Further information: 2019 United Kingdom general election

 

 

Context of the 2019 result. The county elected 10 Tory MPs and 1 Lib. Dem. MP. Luton, Bedfordshire returned two Labour candidates, it forms a small projection into the county's shape.

Limits of the seats were amended by the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies carried out by the Boundary Commission for England for future elections which have included 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2019. Each constituency is made up of whole or partial local government wards, which elect councillors at English local elections. Nine are designated as county constituencies (in which candidates can spend more per head than their borough counterparts). Two are borough constituencies.

^[1]  Conservative †   Labour ‡   Liberal Democrat ¤

Name^[nb 1]	Electorate^[2]	Majority^[3]^[nb 2]	Member of Parliament^[3]		Nearest opposition^[3]		Map
Broxbourne BC	73,182	19,807		Charles Walker †^[4]		Sean Waters ‡
Hemel Hempstead CC	74,035	14,563		Michael Penning †		Nabila Ahmed ‡
Hertford and Stortford CC	81,765	19,620		Julie Marson †		Chris Vince ‡
Hertsmere CC	73,971	21,313		Oliver Dowden †		Holly Kal-Weiss ‡
Hitchin and Harpenden CC	76,323	6,895		Bim Afolami †		Sam Collins ¤
North East Hertfordshire CC	76,123	18,189		Oliver Heald †		Kelley Green ‡
South West Hertfordshire CC	80,499	14,408		Gagan Mohindra †		David Gauke
St Albans CC	73,727	6,293		Daisy Cooper ¤		Anne Main †
Stevenage CC	71,562	8,562		Stephen McPartland †		Jill Borcherds ‡
Watford BC	83,359	4,433		Dean Russell †		Chris Ostrowski ‡
Welwyn Hatfield CC	74,892	10,955		Grant Shapps †		Rosie Newbigging ‡

2010 boundary changes

The Boundary Commission for England decided not to change Hertfordshire's representation in Parliament for the 2010 election. It did however suggest slight boundary changes to reduce electoral disparity. The recommendations, which became law with the Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007, also ensured that local government wards in Hertfordshire would no longer be split between two Parliamentary constituencies.^[5][6]

	Name	Boundaries 1997-2010	Boundaries 2010–present
1	Broxbourne BC
2	Hemel Hempstead CC
3	Hertford and Stortford CC
4	Hertsmere CC
5	Hitchin and Harpenden CC
6	North East Hertfordshire CC
7	South West Hertfordshire CC
8	St Albans CC
9	Stevenage CC
10	Watford BC
11	Welwyn Hatfield CC

Proposed boundary changes

See 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies for further details.

Following the abandonment of the Sixth Periodic Review (the 2018 review), the Boundary Commission for England formally launched the 2023 Review on 5 January 2021.^[7] Initial proposals were published on 8 June 2021 and, following two periods of public consultation, revised proposals were published on 8 November 2022. The final proposals were published on 28 June 2023.

The commission has proposed that Hertfordshire be combined with Bedfordshire as a sub-region of the Eastern Region, with the creation of the cross-county boundary constituency of Hitchin. As a result of the changes, Hitchin and Harpenden would be abolished and replaced by a new constituency named Harpenden and Berkhamsted.^[8][9][10]

The following seats are proposed:

Containing electoral wards in Broxbourne

• Broxbourne (part)

Containing electoral wards in Dacorum

• Harpenden and Berkhamsted (part)
• Hemel Hempstead
• South West Hertfordshire (part)

Containing electoral wards in East Hertfordshire

• Broxbourne (part)
• Hertford and Stortford
• North East Hertfordshire (part)
• Stevenage (part)

Containing electoral wards in Hertsmere

• Hertsmere (part)
• Watford (part)

Containing electoral wards in North Hertfordshire

• Hitchin (part also in Central Bedfordshire)
• North East Hertfordshire (part)
• Stevenage (part)

Containing electoral wards in St Albans

• Harpenden and Berkhamsted (part)
• St Albans

Containing electoral wards in Stevenage

• Stevenage (part)

Containing electoral wards in Three Rivers

• South West Hertfordshire (part)

Containing electoral wards in Watford

• Watford (part)

Containing electoral wards in Welwyn Hatfield

• Hertsmere (part)
• Welwyn Hatfield

Results history

Primary data source: House of Commons research briefing - General election results from 1918 to 2019^[11]

2019

The number of votes cast for each political party who fielded candidates in constituencies comprising Hertfordshire in the 2019 general election were as follows:

Party	Votes	%	Change from 2017	Seats	Change from 2017
Conservative	317,018	52.7%	1.6%	10	1
Labour	141,143	23.5%	8.6%	0	0
Liberal Democrats	110,006	18.3%	8.4%	1	1
Greens	15,132	2.5%	0.2%	0	0
Others	17,764	3.0%	1.6%	0	0
Total	601,063	100.0		11

Percentage votes

Election year	1974 (Feb)	1974 (Oct)	1979	1983	1987	1992	1997	2001	2005	2010	2015	2017	2019
Conservative	40.4	41.3	51.1	50.3	52.0	53.3	40.6	41.8	44.8	50.4	52.6	54.3	52.7
Labour	35.0	38.5	34.4	19.0	19.8	25.5	39.7	38.9	30.2	19.0	22.4	32.1	23.5
Liberal Democrat^1	24.4	19.8	13.2	30.2	27.8	20.3	16.0	16.9	21.4	24.0	8.7	9.9	18.3
Green Party	-	-	-	-	*	*	*	*	*	0.8	3.6	2.3	2.5
UKIP	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	*	*	3.3	12.5	1.2	*
Other	0.2	0.4	1.3	0.5	0.4	0.9	3.7	2.4	3.6	2.5	0.2	0.2	3.0

¹1974 & 1979 - Liberal Party; 1983 & 1987 - SDP-Liberal Alliance

* Included in Other

Seats

Election year	1974 (Feb)	1974 (Oct)	1979	1983	1987	1992	1997	2001	2005	2010	2015	2017	2019
Conservative	7	5	9	10	10	10	6	6	9	11	11	11	10
Labour	2	4	0	0	0	0	5	5	2	0	0	0	0
Liberal Democrat^1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Total	9	9	9	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	11	11

¹1974 & 1979 - Liberal Party; 1983 & 1987 - SDP-Liberal Alliance

Maps

1885-1910

•  

  1885

•  

  1886

•  

  1892

•  

  1895

•  

  1900

•  

  1906

•  

  Jan 1910

•  

  Dec 1910

1918-1945

•  

  1918

•  

  1922

•  

  1923

•  

  1924

•  

  1929

•  

  1931

•  

  1935

•  

  1945

1950-1970

•  

  1950

•  

  1951

•  

  1955

•  

  1959

•  

  1964

•  

  1966

•  

  1970

1974-present

•  

  Feb 1974

•  

  Oct 1974

•  

  1979

•  

  1983

•  

  1987

•  

  1992

•  

  1997

•  

  2001

•  

  2005

•  

  2010

•  

  2015

•  

  2017

•  

  2019

Timeline

See also: List of former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies

  Former constituency

  * Constituency for the 2017 United Kingdom general election

Constituency	Years
	1290–1298	1298–1307	1307–1852	1852–1885	1885–1918	1918–1945	1945–1950	1950–1955	1955–1974	1974–1983	1983–1997	1997–*
Hertfordshire^[12]	1290–1885
Hertford^[12]^[13]		1298–1974
St Albans^[nb 3]^[12]^[13]			1307–1852		1885–*
Watford^[13]					1885–*
Hitchin^[13]					1885–1983
Hemel Hempstead^[14]						1918–1983						1997–*
Barnet							1945–1974			Part of Greater London from 1965
South West Hertfordshire^[15]^[16]								1950–*
East Hertfordshire^[17]									1955–1983
Hertford and Stevenage										1974–1983
South Hertfordshire										1974–1983
Welwyn Hatfield										1974–*
North Hertfordshire											1983–1997
West Hertfordshire											1983–1997
Broxbourne											1983–*
Hertford and Stortford											1983–*
Hertsmere											1983–*
Stevenage											1983–*
Hitchin and Harpenden												1997–*
North East Hertfordshire												1997–*

Historical representation by party

A cell marked → (with a different colour background to the preceding cell) indicates that the previous MP continued to sit under a new party name.

1885 to 1918

  Conservative   Independent   Liberal

Constituency	1885	1886	1892	1895	98	1900	04	1906	Jan 10	Dec 10	11	16
Hertford	A. Smith				E. Cecil	A. H. Smith			Rolleston			Billing
Hitchin	Dimsdale		Hudson					Bertram	Hillier		R. Cecil
St Albans	J. W. Grimston		Gibbs				Slack	Carlile
Watford	Halsey							Micklem	Ward

1918 to 1955

  Anti-Waste League   Conservative   Independent   Labour   Liberal   Silver Badge

Constituency	1918	19	20	21	1922	1923	1924	1929	1931	33	1935	37	41	43	1945	1950	1951
Hertford	Billing			Sueter	→										Walker-Smith
Hitchin	R. Cecil					Kindersley			Knebworth	Wilson			Berry		Jones	Fisher
St Albans	Carlile	Fremantle												J. Grimston	Dumpleton	J. Grimston
Watford	Herbert														Freeman
Hemel Hempstead	Talbot		J. Davidson			Dunn	J. Davidson					F. Davidson
Barnet															Taylor	Maudling
Hertfordshire SW																Longden

1955 to present

  Conservative   Independent   Labour   Liberal Democrats

Constituency	1955	1959	1964	1966	1970	Feb 1974	Oct 1974	1979	79	1983	1987	1992	1997	2001	2005	2010	2015	2017	19	2019
Barnet	Maudling					Transferred to Greater London
Hemel Hempstead (1945–83, 97-) / W Herts (1983)	Davidson	Allason					Corbett	Lyell		Jones			McWalter		Penning
Hertford / & Stevenage (1974) / H & Stortford (1983)	Lindsay					Williams		Wells						Prisk						Marson
Hitchin / North Herts (1983) / NE Herts (1997)	Maddan		Williams			Stewart						Heald
St Albans	Grimston	Goodhew								Lilley			Pollard		Main					Cooper
Watford	Farey-Jones		Tuck					Garel-Jones					Ward			Harrington				Russell
Hertfordshire SW	Longden					Dodsworth			Page						Gauke				→	Mohindra
Hertfordshire E / Broxbourne (1983)	Walker-Smith									Roe					Walker
Hertfordshire South / Hertsmere (1983)						Parkinson						Clappison					Dowden
Welwyn and Hatfield						Lindsay	Hayman	Murphy			Evans		Johnson		Shapps
Stevenage										Wood			Follett			McPartland
Hitchin and Harpenden													Lilley					Afolami

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in the East of England (region)
• History of parliamentary constituencies and boundaries in Hertfordshire
• East of England (European Parliament constituency)
• Hertfordshire County Council
• Hertfordshire local elections

Footnotes

1. BC denotes borough constituency, CC denotes county constituency.
2. The majority is the number of votes the winning candidate receives more than their nearest rival.
3. St Albans was abolished in 1852, but re-established in 1885.

References

General

• (PDF). Boundary Commission for England. Crown Copyright. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
• Craig, Frederick Walter Scott (1972). Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885–1972. Chichester, Sussex: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
• Robinson, Gwennah (1978). Barracuda Guide to County History, Vol III: Hertfordshire. Barracuda Books. ISBN 0-86023-030-9.
• Richard Hacker (13 February 2001). (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 January 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2009.

Specific

1. "Variation of election expenses limits for candidates at UK Parliamentary and local government elections" (PDF). The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
2. Baker, Carl; Uberoi, Elise; Cracknell, Richard (28 January 2020). "General Election 2019: full results and analysis". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
3. "Constituencies A-Z - Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
4. "Constituency:Broxbourne". BBC News. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
5. Boundary Commission for England pp. 346–350.
6. . Office of Public Sector Information. Crown copyright. 13 June 2007. Archived from the original on 11 February 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
7. "2023 Review | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
8. "Boundary proposals reveal brand new constituency - so is your MP changing?". Watford Observer. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
9. Adams, Matt (8 June 2021). "Harpenden constituency to go under proposed boundary changes". Herts Advertiser. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
10. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report | Boundary Commission for England". paras 207-234. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
11. Watson, Christopher; Uberoi, Elise; Loft, Philip (17 April 2020). "General election results from 1918 to 2019". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
12. David Boothroyd. "Parliamentary Constituencies in the unreformed House". David Boothroyd. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
13. "Historic maps". David Rumsey Historical Map Collection. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
14. "Full text of "The Representation of the people act, 1918 : with explanatory notes"". Internet Archive. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
15. . politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
16. . politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
17. . politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2009.