| Earley and Woodley | |
|---|---|
| County constituency for the House of Commons | |
| County | Berkshire |
| Electorate | 70,083 (2023)[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 (since renamed Reading West and Mid Berkshire), 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 and boundary changes
As proposed
As proposed, the constituency will include the following areas:
- 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.[7]
References
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "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.
- 1 2 "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.
- ↑ "Background to the 2023 Review". Boundary Commission for England. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ↑ Atkinson, William (25 June 2023). "'Hard-working' Jorgensen selected in Earley and Woodley". Conservative Home. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ↑ "Yuan Yang selected as Labour candidate for new Earley and Woodley MP seat". Reading Chronicle. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ↑ "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.