The county of Hertfordshire in England is divided into twelveHitchin is a cross-county constituency, mostly covering areas of northern Hertfordshire but also containing electoral wards in Central Bedfordshire. parliamentary constituencies. Each of the twelve elects a Member of Parliament (MP) to represent it at the United Kingdom (UK) Parliament in Westminster. As of the 2024 general election, seven of Hertfordshire's MPs are from the Labour Party, three are Conservatives, and two are Liberal Democrats. The county currently has one urban borough constituency (BC) – Watford - while the other eleven are classed as more rural county constituencies (CC).

Constituencies

Boundaries of the seats were amended by the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies carried out by the Boundary Commission for England, which came into effect from the 2024 general election. Each constituency is made up of whole or partial local government wards, which elect councillors at English local elections. Eleven are designated as county constituencies (in which candidates can spend more per head than their borough counterparts). One is a borough constituency.

NameBC denotes borough constituency, CC denotes county constituency.ElectorateMajorityThe majority is the number of votes the winning candidate receives more than their nearest rival.Member of ParliamentNearest oppositionMapBroxbourne CC75,4542,858 Lewis Cocking † Catherine Deakin ‡Harpenden and Berkhamsted CC71,63510,708Victoria Collins ¤Nigel Gardner †Hemel Hempstead CC70,4964,857David Taylor ‡Andrew Williams †Hertford and Stortford CC75,3964,748Josh Dean ‡Julie Marson †Hertsmere CC73,2567,992Oliver Dowden †Josh Tapper ‡Hitchin CC72,1127,109Alistair Strathern ‡Bim Afolami †North East Hertfordshire CC76,8491,923Chris Hinchliff ‡Nikki da Costa †South West Hertfordshire CC71,5524,456Gagan Mohindra †Sally Symington ¤St Albans CC70,88119,834Daisy Cooper ¤James Spencer †Stevenage CC70,3706,618Kevin Bonavia ‡Alex Clarkson †Watford BC70,5764,723Matt Turmaine ‡Dean Russell †Welwyn Hatfield CC74,5353,799Andrew Lewin ‡Grant Shapps †

Boundary changes 2024

For the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, which redrew the constituency map ahead of the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the Boundary Commission for England opted to combine Hertfordshire with Bedfordshire as a sub-region of the East of England region, with the creation of the cross-county boundary constituency of Hitchin. As a result, Hitchin and Harpenden was abolished, with Harpenden being included in a new constituency named Harpenden and Berkhamsted, along with the towns of Berkhamsted and Tring, previously part of South West Hertfordshire - which in turn gained areas of Three Rivers District, primarily form Watford. These changes had knock-on effects in the rest of the county, with most of the rest of the constituencies undergoing relatively minor boundary changes, the only exceptions being North East Hertfordshire and Stevenage, which remained effectively unchanged (save minor realignments with new ward boundaries).

Former nameBoundaries 2010-2024Current nameBoundaries 2024–present Broxbourne BC Hemel Hempstead CC Hertford and Stortford CC Hertsmere CC Hitchin and Harpenden CC North East Hertfordshire CC South West Hertfordshire CC St Albans CC Stevenage CC Watford BC Welwyn Hatfield CC Broxbourne CC Harpenden and Berkhamsted CC Hemel Hempstead CC Hertford and Stortford CC Hertsmere CC Hitchin CC North East Hertfordshire CC South West Hertfordshire CC St Albans CC Stevenage CC Watford BC Welwyn Hatfield CC

2010 For the fifth periodic review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect ahead of the 2010 general election, the Boundary Commission for England retained the same eleven Hertfordshire constituencies that had existed previously. It did however make 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.Boundary Commission for England pp. 346–350. NameBoundaries 1997-2010Boundaries 2010–present1Broxbourne BC2Hemel Hempstead CC3Hertford and Stortford CC4Hertsmere CC5Hitchin and Harpenden CC6North East Hertfordshire CC7South West Hertfordshire CC8St Albans CC9Stevenage CC10Watford BC11Welwyn Hatfield CC

Results history Primary data source: House of Commons research briefing - General election results from 1918 to 2019

2024 The number of votes cast for each political party who fielded candidates in constituencies comprising Hertfordshire in the 2024 general election were as follows: PartyVotes%Change from 2019SeatsChange from 2019Labour177,65830.5%7.0%77Conservative177,26430.4%22.3%37Liberal Democrats108,70418.6%0.3%21Reform UK80,96713.9%New0NewGreen33,8505.8%3.3%00Others5,4920.8%2.2%00Total583,127100.012

Percentage votes Election year1974 (Feb)1974 (Oct)197919831987199219972001200520102015201720192024Labour35.038.534.419.019.825.539.738.930.219.022.432.123.530.5Conservative40.441.351.150.352.053.340.641.844.850.452.654.352.730.4Liberal Democrat124.419.813.230.227.820.316.016.921.424.08.79.918.318.6Reform UK - - - - - - - - - - - - - 13.9Green Party - - - -*****0.83.62.32.55.8UKIP - - - - - -***3.312.51.2**Other0.20.41.30.50.40.93.72.43.62.50.20.23.00.8 11974 & 1979 - Liberal Party; 1983 & 1987 - SDP–Liberal Alliance

* Included in Other

Seats Election year1974 (Feb)1974 (Oct)197919831987199219972001200520102015201720192024Labour24000055200007Conservative759101010669111111103Liberal Democrat100000000000012Total9991010101111111111111112 11974 & 1979 - Liberal Party; 1983 & 1987 - SDP–Liberal Alliance

Maps 1885-1910

1918-1945

1950-1970

1974-present

Timeline

ConstituencyYears1290–12981298–13071307–18521852–18851885–19181918–19451945–19501950–19551955–19741974–19831983–19971997–20242024-present* Hertfordshire 1290–1885  Hertford  1298–1974 St AlbansSt Albans was abolished in 1852, but re-established in 1885.  1307–1852  1885–* Watford  1885–* Hitchin  1885–19832024–* Hemel Hempstead 1918–1983 1997–*Barnet 1945–1974Transferred to Greater London South West Hertfordshire 1950–* East Hertfordshire 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–* Stevenage1983–* Hitchin and Harpenden 1997–2024 North East Hertfordshire 1997–* Harpenden and Berkhamsted 2024–*

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

Constituency1885188618921895981900041906Jan 10Dec 101116HertfordA. SmithE. CecilA. H. SmithRollestonBillingHitchinDimsdaleHudsonBertramHillierR. CecilSt AlbansJ. W. GrimstonGibbsSlackCarlileWatfordHalseyMicklemWard

1918 to 1955

Constituency191819202119221923192419291931331935374143194519501951HertfordBillingSueter→Walker-SmithHitchinR. CecilKindersleyKnebworthWilsonBerryJonesFisherSt AlbansCarlileFremantleJ. GrimstonDumpletonJ. GrimstonWatfordHerbertFreemanHemel HempsteadTalbotJ. DavidsonDunnJ. DavidsonF. DavidsonBarnetTaylorMaudlingHertfordshire SWLongden

1955 to 1983

Constituency19551959196419661970Feb 1974Oct 1974197979BarnetMaudlingTransferred to Greater LondonHemel HempsteadDavidsonAllasonCorbettLyellHertford / Hertford & Stevenage (1974)LindsayWilliamsWellsHitchinMaddanWilliamsStewartSt AlbansGrimstonGoodhewWatfordFarey-JonesTuckGarel-JonesHertfordshire SWLongdenDodsworthPageHertfordshire EastWalker-SmithHertfordshire SouthParkinsonWelwyn and HatfieldLindsayHaymanMurphy

1983 to present

Constituency1983198719921997200120052010201520171920192024BroxbourneRoeWalker CockingHarpenden and Berkhamsted CollinsWest Herts / Hemel Hempstead (1997)JonesMcWalterPenning TaylorHertford & StortfordWellsPriskMarson DeanNorth Herts / NE Herts (1997)StewartHeald HinchliffHertfordshire SWPageGauke→MohindraHertsmereParkinsonClappisonDowdenHitchin & Harpenden / Hitchin (2024)1LilleyAfolami StrathernSt AlbansLilleyPollardMainCooperStevenageWoodFollettMcPartland BonaviaWatfordGarel-JonesWardHarringtonRussell TurmaineWelwyn and HatfieldMurphyEvansJohnsonShapps Lewin 1includes an area of Bedfordshire

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

References

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